“Do you believe that it is of little importance for a soul who is easily distracted, to understand this truth (that God is in it), and to know that, in order to speak with its heavenly Father and to enjoy His company, it does not have to go up to heaven or even raise its voice? No matter how softly it speaks, He always hears it, because He is so near. It does not need wings to go to contemplate Him in itself” —Saint Teresa of Avila
As a culture, we get distracted pretty easily. Our attention spans seem to be getting shorter and shorter as the years pass. It’s like we’re almost trained to go from one thing to the next.
In our pursuit of God, we sometimes take a similar approach. Bouncing from place to place, prayer to prayer, and book to book in search for Him.
But, Saint Teresa reminds us that to encounter God, to converse with Him, we must recollect Him inwards, in our own souls.
The difficulty is that we’re bombarded with noise today, so much that sometimes it’s hard to even think. We must push back and reclaim the silence.
Our days are filled with busyness, distractions, and feeling rushed and preoccupied. We must remind ourselves to slow down and take a minute. Find time during the day to engage the silence. Plunge into the stillness and depths of our soul. Pray. No matter what we’re doing, remember the presence of God within us. Retreat inward to the dwelling place of the Lord.
Be still. Be silent.