Inclining the ear of my heart

Without much thought and really no deliberation, the importance of the three fundamental spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and alms-giving have really re-asserted themselves to me during this Lent. Up to this point, I have written a lot about the discipline of fasting. Central to my view of fasting is that it is properly practiced by eating and drinking less, or even not all for a specified period of time, but only if one is able to do so without harming one's health. Don't worry! This is not another post about fasting.

On this First Friday of Lent, I want to briefly address the spiritual discipline of prayer. Specifically, the need for silence when praying. Silence is often the fruit of prayer, how one brings a period dedicated to prayer to an end. Silence is also important when you are in the thick of prayer. It is often observed that God's first language in silence. If we take this observation with the seriousness it deserves, then prayer becomes the venue and the method for learning the divine language. You need to be quiet so you can hear. You need to hear in order to listen.

The Rule of St. Benedict famously begins with these words: Obsculta, o fili, praecepta magistri, et inclina aurem cordis tui, et admonitionem pii patris libenter excipe et efficaciter comple... The late Boniface Verheyen translates this: "Listen, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father..." A good rule for prayer is that you should spend at least as much time in silence as you do speaking, even you're not speaking out loud. Stated another way, as in any balanced conversation, you should listen at least as much as you speak, if not more.

In his book Anam Cara, the late John O'Donohue insightfully notes: "True listening brings us in touch even with that which is unsaid and unsayable." Indeed, silence is often more eloquent than any words could ever be. "Sometimes," O'Donohue continues, "the most important threshold of mystery are places of silence." More to the point I am trying to make, this priest/poet/mystic insists that if you want to "be genuinely spiritual" you must have "great respect for the possibilities and presence of silence." Just as compassion for others flows from listening to God, fasting helps in developing this respect.

In our day, silence is very difficult. We live in a noisy world, one that is full of distractions. Prayer, fasting, and alms-giving are the keys to a holy and fruitful Lent. Silence is an essential ingredient.

Since St Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday this year, it takes a backseat. This is more than alright. Without the resurrection of Christ, which we celebrate every Sunday, even during Lent, which is why Sundays do not count against the forty days of this penitential season, there would be no St Patrick and so no feast day for this Pan-Celtic saint. Flogging Molly singing "A Prayer for Me in Silence is our Friday traditio:

"Beware the Ides of March!"