Time for silence

The intrepid pilgrims on the way of St James (see previous post) arrived in Pamplona after 3 days of uphill walking in the Pyrenees and a brutal storm. They are now on route towards Burgos. I know this through just two text messages. It is right that pilgrims ditch technology for the most part and all of us should find some silence in the course of a day. How else will we hear what God is speaking to us? Our world is full of noise and new technologies have increased this dramatically. Televisions, radios, the internet, computer games, CD players, MP 3's, lawnmowers, car engines and horns, sirens, smoke alarms, ice cream vans drown out the birdsong, the breeze, the rustle of leaves, the pitter patter of rainfall, the frog's croak, the bee's buzz and so on. Mobile phones bleep and ring everywhere, even in church during Mass. Have you stopped to listen to silence recently? For it is only in the silence or to the accompaniment of the gentle sounds of God's creation that we can communicate with Him. Take five minutes from your day to seek out silence. This might be easier for the camino pilgrims, on the other hand, they may have other distractions like pain and discomfort. Remember them in your silence.