Buechner: keeping silence

Monday, July 22, 2013
    Feast of Mary Magdalen, Apostle to the Apostles
Meditation:
    Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near. The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.
    —Zephaniah 1:7 (NIV)
Quotation:
    What deadens us most to God’s presence within us, I think, is the inner dialogue that we are continuously engaged in with ourselves, the endless chatter of human thought. I suspect that there is nothing more crucial to true spiritual comfort... than being able from time to time to stop that chatter including the chatter of spoken prayer. If we choose to seek the silence of the holy place, or to open ourselves to its seeking, I think there is no surer way than by keeping silent.
    ... Frederick Buechner (b. 1926), The Temple: a book of prayers, William Edwin Orchard, 3rd ed., New York, E. P. Dutton, 1918, p. 105 (see the book)
    See also Zeph. 1:7; Deut. 27:9-10; Ps. 4:4; 46:10; Hab. 2:20; Zech. 2:13; Luke 4:33-35; Rom. 9:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, still the voice of my vanity within. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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