Over the past few weeks, I have been writing about silence in the Liturgy. I will continue with that theme today. It has been my intention to systematically go through the Liturgy and talk about moments of silence. Last week in covering this topic, I was able to talk about silence after the time of the homily. This is were I will continue to write today.
Silence after the homily is meant to do a few things. It is there to help us reflect on what God was stirring up in our hearts during the homily. Sometimes the homily didn’t reach us so it can be a moment to talk to God about that. It also can be a chance to talk some more with God about something that was moving us from the readings or even something that is going on in our lives at this moment. There are a lot of things that we can do with silence that can help us grow in our relationship with God.
The next time for silence in the Liturgy is during the Consecration. That is the moment when the priest says the words of Institution, (“This is my Body, “This is my Blood”). Remember it is Jesus saying these words through the priest who is in the person of Christ. After each species is consecrated (The Body and Blood), the priest elevates the paten with the Host and later elevates the chalice. Both of these elevations are moments of silence. They are times to tell God that we love Him. They are moments to tell God how great He is. I especially like to, at the elevation of the chalice, place prayer petitions into it (not literally). This is a beautiful moment of silence with God.
Just a note: I am on retreat and will return late on Monday, October 26th. Thanks to Fr. Michael Goodavish for being here to celebrate the Masses this weekend.
Fr. Thomas P. Galarneault