A bit of hush

Spiritual reflection with Ronnie Convery, Director of Communications for the Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow.

Script:
Hello there and good morning to you. At this hour of the morning the chances are your house is still in a period of relative silence compared to the noise levels thar are likely to increase in an hour or two …
I know my instinct when finding myself in a silent moment is to fill it with something. Noise, social media, music, news … anything other than silence! Yet that tendency deprives us of so much …
In the stillness of an ancient world, St Augustine said something that continues to speak across the centuries: “Our hearts are restless O Lord until they rest in you.”
He sensed that beneath the noise of life there lies a deeper longing — what he described as a quiet ache for God.

But today, our lives are filled to the brim. Screens glow, notifications hum, and the constant flow of information presses in on every side. Ours is an age of infobesity — overwhelmed, overstimulated, and increasingly unable to hear the gentler voices within.

And yet, the story at the heart of this Advent season begins in – and depends on - silence.
• Mary contemplating the angel’s message in the stillness of her heart
• The seemingly endless silent wait for the Messiah
• The silent night of Bethlehem

A century ago our grandparents or great-grandparents were much more comfortable with silence — the kind of silence in which thoughts could settle and souls could listen. We may not have that luxury now, but we still have the same need: to rest our restless hearts in God.

So today, maybe our prayer can be to seek out some small sanctuaries of silence — a few minutes before the day begins, a pause between tasks, a brief moment to breathe and listen.
And in that stillness, may we hear again the voice that calls us home. Amen.