martes, 6 de diciembre de 2011

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT


Silence restores and recognizes the missing contemplative dimension. Silence refreshes language and restores precision. Without silence even sacred words can become noise, babble. Silence in the Eucharist does not threaten emptiness or denote absence but exposes presence and invites responsiveness. The places in the Eucharist where silences are especially useful and enhancing have already been identified. Many celebrants begin with a few moments of silence in the sacristy with the acolytes before processing in. Whenever the celebrant calls the community to pray, Let us pray demands a moment of silence and reflexion. The penitential rite then invites people to reflect interiorly so that they can prepare our soul and body –our whole being- to experience the Eucharist as a healing and forgiving celebration. The readings especially call for silent pauses, before the responsorial psalm or the gospel acclamation rush us on. The readings must be proclaimed with preparation and devout attention and meditative silence that enable the Word of God to touch people’s minds and hearts in order that the words of the disciples will be ours: Mane Nobiscum Domine, Stay with us, Lord.

A living silence will arouse or, better perhaps, identify the deeper hunger that is at the heart of the Church and our world. Learning to pray at the contemplative level will teach us to live better in the spirit, because the way we pray is the way we live and the way we pray is the way we celebrate the Holy Eucharist.

This hunger for contemplation, then, is our greatest hope. It is vital to rediscover the value of silence»[1] It is in silence where God speaks to us. Do not fear the silence!

Fr. Agustín, Pastor.



[1] Published by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on their web site: http://www.cccb.ca

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