Advent, Salvation, and the Gift of Silence

In his letter to the Romans, Paul exhorts both Jew and Gentile about the necessity of belief in Jesus Christ as the path to salvation. And it is not only belief but in practice, as established by Christ through the Apostles, specifically through the celebration of the Mass commemorating Christ, culminating in the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass. St. Paul places great emphasis on the relationship between a confession, assent, and belief of faith.

But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. The Scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. For, “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”[1]

Within St. Paul’s exhortation is the necessity of confessing a faith in Christ, which amounts to the proclamation and assent to the Creed or making a Profession of Faith. However, there is a very important point that St. Paul makes that is vital to anyone’s ability to embrace the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. He proclaims the following; So, faith comes from what is heard. [2] The necessity to be still and listen to the Word of God proclaimed must be our first act of faith. Any confirmation of faith in Christ Jesus requires us to actively and consciously remove all distractions, impediments, and deviations that would cause you and I to either slowly drift away or remove ourselves entirely from a relationship with Christ.

The Catechism reminds us of the importance of listening first to the Word of God proclaimed to understand our mandate as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.[3] The virtue of silence is integral in spiritually harnessing our relationship with the Messiah, especially as we prepare for the coming of our Lord during Advent. In his sermon (187) on Christmas Day, St. Augustine places great emphasis on the importance of silence and listening to the Word of God that is unchangeable,

Just as the which we carry in the mind becomes the voice when we utter it from the mouth; and yet it isn’t changed into this voice, but remains whole in itself, while the voice is assumed to carry it out to others; and in this what is to be understood can remain inside, and what is to be heard can sound outside. Yet for all that it’s the same thing that is uttered n a sound as had previously sounded in silence; and thus, when word becomes voice, it isn’t changed into voice, but remaining in the light of the mind, it both goes forth to the listener in the voice of flesh it has assumed, and still does not abandon the one who thought it.[4]

The necessity of the practice of silence, especially in prayer, is, I argue, the essential gateway toward listening to Jesus Christ and developing a relationship with Him. The Catechism recognizes the importance of silence in prayer and associates the virtue of silence with the practice of contemplative prayer as a means to understand the life of Christ and the nature and purpose of the coming of the Messiah.

Contemplative prayer is silence, the symbol of the world to come, or silent love. Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches; they are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the outer man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word, who suffered, died, and rose; in this silence, the Spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus.[5]

The necessity for silence calls us to have esteem for silence where our mind is focused on the life of Christ, where we begin to engage in the school of silence centered on Christ that allows us to both know and understand him in quiet and silent contemplation. Removing all human distractions that will allow us to engage in an act of holy silence may help us understand the importance of being in active fellowship with Christ.

To conclude, King David reminds us that an active relationship with our Father in heaven requires us of the necessity to receive Him in silence,

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved. How long will you set upon a man to shatter him, all of you, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his eminence. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse. For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.[6]