When the Blogs Go Silent

Well, about a month after most back in the States finished up classes, Fernando and I are finally coming to the end of the semester, and our first year in Rome.  The year has been great; it was full of joy and challenges, both of which motivate and strengthen us to take and the summer and next year. 

Writing on this blog, in its own way, was a important experience.  We got to see first hand how the power of the internet can be used to share our experiences and, hopeful, build up the Christina community.  In this world were the New Evangelization should be on everybody’s mind, the opportunity to witness personally to the joy and blessing of life in Christ is all the more important. 

Yet as we get closer and closer to almost a year of blogging, I want to point to something, perhaps counter-intuitive which the pope said recently.  In his annual address for the World Day of Communications, Benedict drew attention to the importance, in this world of radio, TV, and Youtube, of silence.  Here is what he said:

Silence is an integral element of communication; in its absence, words rich in content cannot exist. In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others; and we choose how to express ourselves. By remaining silent we allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself; and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested. In this way, space is created for mutual listening, and deeper human relationships become possible. It is often in silence, for example, that we observe the most authentic communication taking place between people who are in love: gestures, facial expressions and body language are signs by which they reveal themselves to each other. Joy, anxiety, and suffering can all be communicated in silence – indeed it provides them with a particularly powerful mode of expression. Silence, then, gives rise to even more active communication, requiring sensitivity and a capacity to listen that often makes manifest the true measure and nature of the relationships involved. When messages and information are plentiful, silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary…Read more.

This is a humbling message for Fernando and I, reminding us that it is not so much the words that we say but the message that we communication;  it is not that you hear my words, but the Word, who has come from the Father.  And silence is an essential part of that.

So as we head of to our summer works, myself to Guatemala to learn Spanish and Fernando to India to work with the poor, we hope to keep you up to date and continue to share the experiences the Lord gives us.  But we want to encourage you to reflect on the role silence plays in your life.  When all the blogs go silent and the internet is shut down, can you participate in the depth of communication that happens then?

 

Please pray for us as we take our exams.  Since this post did lend itself to pictures, enjoy some random one that (I hope) I haven’t put up this year.

p.s. Here’s a song by Switchfoot that hits on the similar theme.