“Do not speak unless you can improve the silence.” How true and beautiful this phrase by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges is!
In an increasingly noisy, hurried world, full of words, we all feel the need to rediscover the beauty of silence and its gentle, delicate way of speaking.
In Silence, the Space of Encounter
Silence, in fact, is the only condition that truly allows us to listen to and encounter others, and therefore also to speak after listening and understanding. Increasingly often, we get the feeling that we are alone, even while walking through a crowded city, because people are no longer capable of exchanging a glance, a greeting, or a smile... everyone seems to live in their own bubble, filled with constant input: the sound of a cellphone, an incoming message, the radio or earbuds... And so the world disappears; others are there, but they do not touch us.
And yet it is in the space of encounter that we also understand whether it is better to speak with words or to do so with our eyes, preserving silence, because we do not always, in every situation, have to speak.
There are pains so deep or joys so great that we realize it is the eyes that speak and that, even in silence - or rather, precisely in silence - we finally manage to understand one another and draw close.
The Pope's Silence at Auschwitz
Pope Francis taught us the language of silence when, during the XXXI World Youth Day, held in Poland in 2016, he walked through the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in absolute, weighty silence: that was not the time for words; it is not a place for words.
The Teacher of Silence
The one we could certainly call the “teacher” of silence is Mary. The Gospel reports very few words from her.
Mary lives in silence, treasuring everything in her heart; in silence she prays, and in silence she is a mother.
To her, Cardinal John Henry Newman dedicates this beautiful prayer, which we can make our own.
Prayer to the Silent Mother
Silent Mary, who imagined everything without
to speak, beyond every human vision, help me
to enter into the mystery of Christ slowly and deeply,
like a pilgrim parched with thirst
enters a dark cave, at the end of which I hear a
gentle trickle of water.
Let me first and foremost kneel down in adoration,
let me then feel the rock, trusting, and venture forth
serene in the mystery.
Finally, let me quench my thirst with the water of
the Word in silence like you.
Perhaps then, Mary, the secret of the crucified Son
will be revealed to me in its immensity without
boundaries will fall, and images and words will appear to
room only for infinity. Amen.
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