Retreating into Silence

By Anne A. Simpkinson, Director of Communications

Posted on 6/22/2017

This week Mercy by the Sea is immersed in silence. The summer retreat season, which runs from the end of June through July and August, is now in full swing with a combination of directed retreats and two summer Sabbaths.

All week long we see individuals sitting apart in the dining room, eating quietly; slowly walking the grounds; and reading or simply watching the water as they sit on the beach or a bench. We sometimes pass the retreatants in the hallway on their way to a spiritual direction session or to their room to change or nap. They bring a sense of peace to the Center, which I savor.

But what I love most about the directed retreat weeks is the fact that often half a dozen or so of the retreatants join our Centering Prayer circle on Wednesday evening. They inevitably bring an almost palpable sense of quiet with them so that the silence and holy Presence that the group generally experiences seems to expand and deepen exponentially.

“We need to find God,” Mother Teresa once wrote, “and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature — trees, flowers, grass— grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. ... We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Silence allows us to touch our soul, as well as the souls of the people we love; live, work, pray and study with; live near; and serve.

Once I participated in a 10-day intensive Centering Prayer retreat at the Retreat House at St. Benedict’s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. One of the things I remember – and there are many – was grace before lunch one day. Since we retreatants, perhaps two dozen of us, were in Grand Silence, the prayer before the meal was wordless. We gathered in a large circle around one of the long tables, held hands and after a minute or so, we spontaneously breathed in and then exhaled. As we did, it was as if our collective breath created a profound awareness and sense of unity below and beyond words. The room was filled with a deep peace. We squeezed the hand of the person of either side of us and took our seats for the meal. I will always remember the depth of gratitude and connection I felt in that simple ritual of giving thanks for the food we were about to receive; it was truly a grace-filled blessing far beyond any I had every spoken or heard. Such is the power of silence.