Feedback. (sounding board).Q. If we as a culture and a church "worship activity instead of adoration adoration, n a prayer of worship and praise. ," it's because ... Of an American bias for admiring doers, not thinkers. Those in silent meditation are assumed to be "doing nothing." Thomas Valdez San Jose, Calif. We've been conditioned to it. Especially for children and young people, it's all they know. Joyce W. Hilburn Bainbridge, Ga. We are afraid to be alone with our thoughts. James Richey Del City, Okla. Our society has us convinced to be busy. In school the sisters constantly reminded us, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." Nancy Clauto Ebensburg, Penn. Activity can be adoration! Jean Ulrich Bellingham, Minn. Our "work ethic work ethic n. A set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. work ethic Noun a belief in the moral value of work " persuades us to accomplish something tangible with every moment of our day. Silence seems unproductive. Father Brian J. Ingrain Bellmore, N. Y. There is a chance the silence will challenge us to act in a way that makes us uncomfortable. Kyla Morrison Pittsburgh, Penn. We have few role models to look to who promote silent adoration. We rarely even see the pope in silent refection REFECTION, civil law. Reparation, reestablishment of a building. Dig. 19, 1, 6, 1. , though we know he spends time daily in silence. Amy Badger Valparaiso, Ind. Q: The most obvious example of unnecessary noise in our culture is ... Canned music when we are put on hold on the phone. Judy McCourt Gibson City, Ill. Continuous bombardment on TV and radio with rapid-fire, high-volume advertisements. Thomas J. Donnelly Centereach, N. Y. Noise from traffic, especially large trucks; loud music from passing cars; lawn mowers on a Sunday afternoon. Gerald R. McMullen Edensburg, Penn. The routine of turning on a TV set while having dinner with family. Mike McManamon Freemont, Calif. Music in stores, elevators, on the telephone. Even worse, radio when we are on hold--commercials and all. Barbara Morandi Laramie, Wyo. The prevalence of the cell phone and pager. Believe it or not, while praying before Mass someone in the pew in front of us was on a cell phone, and later someone was on one while people were still going up to Communion. Ken Roos Pittsburgh, Penn. Not being allowed a few minutes of contemplative con·tem·pla·tive adj. Disposed to or characterized by contemplation. See Synonyms at pensive. n. 1. A person given to contemplation. 2. A member of a religious order that emphasizes meditation. silence before the beginning of Mass, but being requested to practice a song. Roger Kenny Warne, N.C. Q: The most striking memory I have of experiencing nearly complete silence was ... Early in the morning when the rest of the family is asleep and it's still dark outside. The only noise is the coffee percolating. John Walters Berwyn, Ill. The more striking memories of silence are not in church settings, but in nature: standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, great gorge of the Colorado River, one of the natural wonders of the world; c.1 mi (1.6 km) deep, from 4 to 18 mi (6.4–29 km) wide, and 217 mi (349 km) long, NW Ariz. , resting on a rocky peak Rocky Peak is the name of the 3rd highest point in the Santa Susana Mountains, which overlook both Chatsworth and Simi Valley, in Southern California. The peak, which is 2,714 feet above sea level, sits on the Los Angeles County/Ventura County line. of Mount Rainier A format for providing platform interoperability and native OS support for CD-RW and DVD+RW disks. The "MRW" or "CD-MRW" format enables files to be saved to RW disks as if they were hard disks (from any Save dialog or dragged and dropped). , or holding a sleeping, newborn newborn /new·born/ (noo´born?) 1. recently born. 2. newborn infant. new·born adj. Very recently born. n. A neonate. grandchild in a lightless room in the middle of the night. Karen Twitty-Hartlieb Carbondale, Ill. Sadly, I have none. Name withheld Manchester, Mo. Spending a weekend in a Benedictine monastery A Benedictine monastery is a monastery that follows the Rule of St Benedict on monastic living, written by the founder of western monasticism Saint Benedict of Nursia/Italy (fl. 6th century). The Benedictine Order has been active since that time. . Walter Ayres Selkirk, N.Y. The last time my husband left town, after the kids were asleep. I was suddenly and uncomfortably aware of the silence and the length of time I had gone without quiet. Name withheld Union City, Calif. I sat with a friend at my mother's deathbed. Claremary McDermott, S.D.S. Milwaukee, Wis. We had a power outage Noun 1. power outage - equipment failure resulting when the supply of power fails; "the ice storm caused a power outage" power failure equipment failure, breakdown - a cessation of normal operation; "there was a power breakdown" during the winter for six days. Name withheld East Machias, Maine Waiting up late at night for children to come home--and praying for their safety. Name withheld Valencia, Penn. In our twice-a-month meditation group. Barbara Q. Schmidt St. Louis, Mo. Q: The most helpful thing the church or parishes could do to help cultivate cul·ti·vate tr.v. cul·ti·vat·ed, cul·ti·vat·ing, cul·ti·vates 1. a. To improve and prepare (land), as by plowing or fertilizing, for raising crops; till. b. silence is ... To keep reminding us how countercultural yet how beneficial silence is. Name withheld Springfield, Ill. Promote gathering in gathering spaces, but ask for silence once inside the church proper. Father Donald Ahles Cary, Ill. Remind us in a homily homily (hŏm`əlē), type of oral religious instruction delivered to a church congregation. In the patristic period through the Middle Ages the focus of the homily was on the explanation and application of texts read or sung during the of its value, then give us a topic to meditate med·i·tate v. med·i·tat·ed, med·i·tat·ing, med·i·tates v.tr. 1. To reflect on; contemplate. 2. To plan in the mind; intend: meditated a visit to her daughter. on, then be silent for five minutes instead of preaching. This will take courage, because people will accuse ac·cuse v. ac·cused, ac·cus·ing, ac·cus·es v.tr. 1. To charge with a shortcoming or error. 2. To charge formally with a wrongdoing. v.intr. the homilist hom·i·ly n. pl. hom·i·lies 1. A sermon, especially one intended to edify a congregation on a practical matter and not intended to be a theological discourse. 2. A tedious moralizing lecture or admonition. of not preparing. Al Kendziora Metuchen, N.J. Have toddlers put in a nursery during Mass. Name withheld Waite Park, Minn. The pauses and silences during Mass should be faithfully kept. Maybe explaining why to the congregation. So many of us need to be reminded when and why we should be silent. Joan Hochmuth Salisbury, Md. Silence after Communion. Hymns are nice, but just quiet music while we make our private thanksgiving Thanksgiving annual U.S. holiday celebrating harvest and yearly blessings; originated with Pilgrims (1621). [Am. Culture: EB, IX: 922] See : America Thanksgiving national holiday with luxurious dinner as chief ritual. [Am. Pop. . Dorothea Lasley Poplar Bluff, Mo. Create space that is dedicated to silence (a chapel, meditation room, outdoor shrine shrine: see pilgrim. ). Tim Power Eden Prairie, Minn. Find a specific time and place for it, rather than force it on attendees at Mass. David Berg Greenfield, Ind. Encourage parish leaders to include silent time in their meetings. M.H. Chrobet San Diego, Calif. Offer a silent retreat or open a perpetual adoration chapel. Cecile D. Brown Plaquemine, La. I don't think they need to cultivate silence, even though I appreciate silence on my own time. Church and parishes are for fostering community, in my opinion. Joanne Tomerlin Big Spring, Texas To understand and explain its real purpose--to give God some space in our lives. God rarely speaks out loud but speaks in the silence of our hearts and in the gaps of discontinuity dis·con·ti·nu·i·ty n. pl. dis·con·ti·nu·i·ties 1. Lack of continuity, logical sequence, or cohesion. 2. A break or gap. 3. Geology A surface at which seismic wave velocities change. in our lives. Name withheld Farmington, N.M. General Comments We should remember that Elijah didn't find God in the thunder or the wind, but in a whisper. Arthur Boccaccio Baldwinsville, N. Y. It's important to recognize that extroverts may not require the same amount of quiet reflective time as introverts do. Anne Hillebrand Bolingbrook, Ill. If we know how to quiet ourselves, we can enter silence even amidst the surrounding noise. Bridget Brennan St. Louis, Mo. I live alone, so I have silence every day. I don't make good use of the silence, which is another issue altogether. Name withheld Tekoa, Wash. Each year, I teach my eighth-grade CCD CCD in full charge-coupled device Semiconductor device in which the individual semiconductor components are connected so that the electrical charge at the output of one device provides the input to the next device. students how to meditate. They seem to savor the 15 minutes, though some struggle with it. Many, at year's end, when asked the most valuable thing they learned, respond that it was learning to meditate. Paul Armstrong Bethel Park, Penn. Quiet can be habit-forming.
Anne Langsdale
Springboro, Ohio
AND THE SURVEY SAYS ...
1. I think we're a culture that's
afraid of silence.
agree 84%
disagree 4%
other 12%
2. In our worship today ...
44% We need more
periods of silence for
reflection.
35% Silence seems well
balanced with the
other parts of the
liturgy.
11 Silence is overrated.
The Mass is a
community event, not
a chance for
individual prayer.
10% Other.
3. I seek out a time of silence
each day.
agree 79%
disagree 12%
other 9%
4. If I'm guilty of wasting
everyday opportunities for
silence, ifs because I ...
29% Do it out of habit.
20% Need to--and,
indeed, like to--communicate
with others.
16% Happen to relish
certain "noisy"
pastimes, such as
listening to music or
news programs.
14% Simply spend most
of my day in noisy
surroundings, such
as on the job or
with kids.
7% Need to "zone out"
after an intense day
or encounter.
14% Other.
These results are based on survey
responses from 225 U.S. CATHOLIC
readers and Web site visitors.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion