Extracted and modified from Fr. Dan Westermann’s article in RM Website 2023
At the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel likely came to Mary while she was in prayer, in silence and solitude. Jesus often went to the wilderness to spend time alone with the Father. Jesus wasn’t annoyed with his disciples or frustrated with being around so many people. He was demonstrating how to find intimacy with the Father.
Solitude is a privileged place of encounter with the Father. In silence, I must confront the broken places in my heart, the ones I am not proud of. We must become aware of these places, so we can bring them to the Lord.
It’s like being in the ocean, where waves prevent us from seeing the deeper reality beneath the surface. The Lord wants us to live out of the deep places; to do that, we must get past the choppiness on the surface. When we step away from the noise of this world, we can encounter the Lord in a deep place in our hearts.
Jesus Himself spends time in prayer with the Father before making big decisions like calling the apostles. We are all called to be on a mission, and for fruitful and effective ministry, we must live out of a deep place of intimacy with the Lord.
Every disciple is invited into an intimate relationship with the Lord that looks different for different people. We enter silent prayer with the Lord by turning off other things.
Intentionally discern how to limit distractions to prayer. This may even mean music, which influences us even where we’re not aware of it. In a waiting room, the background music can move your heart without you even paying attention. We must intentionally carve out time for silence with the Lord. It’s going to be difficult and a sacrifice, but you will never regret spending time with the Lord.
Forming this disposition of silence and prayer allows us to live in deep peace and contentment with the Lord. We won’t get whipped around by the difficulties of the day or stirred up into a flurry when something goes wrong. It is hard, and we are still learning this, but it’s worth it!
Westermann, Fr. D. (2023, May 19). Silence & Solitude. Renewal Ministries. https://www.renewalministries.net/silence-solitude/
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