MASS: TIME FOR SILENCE
MASS: TIME FOR SILENCE
By
Rev. Fr. Casmir Odundo
We
live in a world filled with pleasant and unpleasant sounds. From the barking of
dogs, the bleating of goats, trumpeting of elephants, hooting of cars, buzzing
of the mobile phones, clangor of hammers, shuffling of feet, to the zooming of
aero planes one cannot fail to conclude that our world is a noisy world.
Sometimes,
man, whether he is aware of it or not craves for some sense of serenity, some
sense of silence. To others of course, because they have been so used to noise,
the word silence itself makes them uncomfortable. The brief moments of silence during
mass and other liturgical celebrations may for many people
may be the longest they will experience all week, given so many busy and hectic
(and even chaotic) schedules of the week.
In the First Books of Kings, we read about the experience
of the Prophet Elijah:
The
Lord said to Elijah "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the
Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent
the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was
not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the
earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire;
and after the fire a still small voice. And when Elijah heard this small still
voice, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance
of the cave.” (1st Kings 19:11-14)
The
Lord reveled himself to Elijah neither in the form of great and strong wind,
nor an earthquake, nor fire but in the form of a still small voice “Sibilius Aurae
Tenuis.”
The
Catholic Church has always been a lover of Silence. Perhaps this could be one
of the things that distinguish it from other ecclesial communities. The figure
of St. Joseph, the silent man of whom scripture gives so little details and of
whom not a single word is recorded in the Gospel has always been the model that
inspires this silence. St. Joseph, of course, is the Patron of the Universal
Church.
Among
the many areas and places where the Church has called on the faithful to
safeguard this spirit of silence is the Liturgy of the Mass, which is “the summit towards
which the activity of the Church is directed and the font from which all her
powers flow.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 10). In the Book of Revelation,
we read that there was silence in heaven for half an hour before the last seal,
the seventh seal was opened. (Revelation 8:1)
The
Council Fathers of the Vatican II Council urged that all faithful should be led
to “full,
conscious and active participation.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 14).
The silence that the Church calls for in the liturgical celebrations is in no
way contradictory to the full, conscious and
active participation of all the faithful during Holy Mass. Rather, it
is an incentive to it, as what the Church desires is not an empty silence but
rather a sacred silence. A silence punctuated with prayer. As St. (Mother)
Teresa of Calcutta loved to say, “The fruit of silence
is prayer.”
The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, (GIRM) calls
this Sacred silence, “an important part of
the Eucharistic celebration that ought to be observed at the designated times.”
(GIRM, n. 45) The purpose of this sacred silence however, depends on the time
it occurs in each part of the celebration.
The
Church prescribes silence in the following places during the Mass:
I.
Before the Celebration itself: GIRM
notes that, “Even before the celebration itself, it is commendable that silence to
be observed in the church, in the sacristy, in the vesting room, and in
adjacent areas, so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred
action in a devout and fitting manner.This means that those who intend to do a
recitation of the Holy Rosary, should do it way before mass begins, perhaps 30
minutes before. The rosary (and others devotions) are neither a prelude nor a
perquisite of the Mass. The moments before mass should also not be moments for
the choir to practise the hymns for the mass. Let this be done way before the
initial minutes before the Holy Mass commences.
II.
Within the Act of Penitence, when the priest calls on all to “…call to mind their
sins.” The purpose of this Silence according to GIRM is for
recollection.
III.
After the Invitation, “Let us Pray…” just
before the main celebrant prays the Collect. In one of his Wednesday
catechesis, on the Holy Mass, Pope Francis re-emphasized the need for this
silence. “After
the Gloria, the priest invites the assembly to pray and observes a moment of
silence so that the faithful may be conscious of the fact that they are in
God’s presence and formulate their petitions. This silence is not just an
absence of words but a time to listen “to other voices: that of our heart and,
above all, the voice of the Holy Spirit.” He added: “I
recommend this to the priests. Without this silence, we risk neglecting the
reflection of the soul.” (Pope Francis, Catechesis, 10th January
2018).
IV.
Just before the Readings, (GIRM n. 56): A short period of silence before the
reading “heightens
people’s expectations of the Word that is to come.”
Explains Liturgist Turlough Baxter. The Kenyan Conference of the Catholic
Bishops through its Liturgical Commission, in the document Pastoral Guidelines
on the Celebration of Liturgy in the Dioceses of Kenya allowed the
procession of the word of God before the proclamation as a preparation for the
congregation to listen to the Word of God. Even so, there can still be silence
before the proclamation of the word. It may seem fitting that after the
procession, reception of the Lectionary or the Bible, the faithful observe one
or two minutes of silence before the first reading.
V.
Silence within the Readings: The Lectors (Readers) and the Psalmists are to proclaim the
word in a spirit that promotes meditation observing moments of Silence. The GIRM
explains this: “The
Liturgy of the Word is to be celebrated in such a way as to promote meditation,
and so any sort of haste that hinders recollection must clearly be avoided.
During the Liturgy of the Word, it is also appropriate to include brief periods
of silence, accommodated to the gathered assembly, in which, at the prompting
of the Holy Spirit, the word of God may be grasped by the heart and a response
through prayer may be prepared.” (GIRM, n. 56)
VI.
Appropriately therefore, brief period of
silence is observed after the first reading, after the Psalm and after the
second reading before the singing of the Gospel Acclamation, after the Gospel.
It is a moment when we allow the Word of God to seep into our being.
VII.
It is appropriate that silence be also
observed after the Homily, so that all may, “meditate briefly on what they have
heard.” (GIRM n. 45)
VIII.
After Communion, that is before the post communion prayer,
so that all may “praise and pray to God in their hearts.” (GIRM n. 45). This
is a time of thanksgiving to God for having fed us with his very self in the
Eucharist. It is a time, “words fail us
the most for “Thank-you” seems as just a mere pittance to give to the Father.”
I wish also to draw your attention to another
part where this brief period of silence can be practiced and that is during the
sign of peace. Sometimes there are places where people sing a hymn of peace
during this moment. It is important to observe as noted by Pope Benedict XVI
following the recommendation of the Synod of Bishops this moment ought to be
brief. For me, it can be expressed, when people exchange the sign of peace in
silence. After all, there is no liturgical rubric that recommends for any type
of singing during the rite of peace. “Nothing is lost when
the sign of peace is marked by sobriety which preserves the proper spirit of
the celebration.”(Benedict XVI, Sacramentum Caritatis n. 49)
This said, we need to note that silence may
sometimes be destructive to the liturgy. As Liturgist Turlough Baxter notes: “We all know about the
desires for periods of silence during the liturgy; however, there can be a fine
line between prayerful meditation and people simply wondering if someone has
missed his cue…In liturgy, silence is not meant to be an embarrassing, barren
or uncontrolled lack of sound that occurs because things have broken down or no
one knows what to do next, but rather a purposeful period when people
communicate in a way that is deeper than words.”
It is my hope that many of our catholic
faithful may appreciate the beauty and find solace in the silence
that the Church offers us especially during the Holy Mass. As Cardinal Robert
Sarah, in his new book on Silence observes: “God doesn’t inflict
silence on men as an obstruction, in order to jealously guard his power. On the
contrary, the true God prescribes his sacred, adoring silence in order better
to communicate with us. “Silence before the Lord God!” cried the prophet
(Zephaniah 1:7); but Isaiah explains: “Listen in silence before me!” (Isaiah
41:1)”
The author is parochial vicar: St. Veronica Parish, Keringet.
Email: casmirthomas28@gmail.com
Wonderful Padre🙏
ReplyDelete