Quiet Your Heart… and begin a new conversation.
Modern monk Thomas Merton, who withdrew into a hermitage within the monastery of Gethsemene, wrote: “When I am liberated by silence, when I am no longer involved in the measurement of life, but in the living of it, I can discover a form of prayer in which there is effectively, no distraction. My whole life becomes a prayer. My whole silence is full of prayer. Silence is the strength of our interior life.”
“Be still and know that I am God,” invites the psalmist.
The season of Lent is designed to prepare our hearts to believe the impossible: the dead can be raised to life; this earth is not all there is.
The forty days of Lent invite us to journey with Jesus up to Jerusalem where he knows that death awaits him. To share this journey we, too, must carry our cross. To strengthen our shoulders, to renew our resolve, to deepen our faith, the Church invites us to commit to a Lenten practice, a Lenten discipline.
This Lent, begin a new conversation with God and the people around you, encourages Spiritual Director and Dominican Sister Diane Zerfas, OP.
This Lent, the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids invite you to quiet your heart, to begin a new conversation with God and community.
In the Gospel of the Church, Ash Wednesday is a time to give up something. Our Sisters believe the path to Hope can be found in the release, the surrender, and even in lament.
Father Jim Marchionda, OP,“ preaching at Chapel of the Word at Marywood recently told us, “Engaged contemplative prayer does what nothing else can do. It sustains us in God’s presence with our agony and our rage.”
“Contemplative prayer, a very Dominican value, does what nothing else can do for us. It sustains us in God’s presence. It leads us to the place where we are held by God. This prayer form is described as a dance between the Word and silence, where openness to God is encouraged. This is why contemplative prayer is integral in the formative experiences at Dominican Center Marywood at Aquinas College,” says Mindy Hills, director of the spirituality center which welcomes people of all faiths, as well as seekers.
Carve out a space for solitude, invites Sister Diane.
Return to your inner room and breathe in the peace that silence of the heart can bring.
In a noisy world filled with busyness it can be difficult to hear the Word of God. This noise can drown out the still, small whisper of God’s voice. It can mask our innate loneliness while we fill every moment with busyness.
In choosing to read the Scripture or to pray more during this Lenten season, the first step is to find a quiet corner in our heart.
Silence helps us turn off the noise around us and within us and disposes us to hear what God wants to say to us, what we really need to hear. Silence lies at the center of religious experience.
Give up rushing around, feeling responsible for the world, filling every minute with busyness.
Sit quietly, if only for a few moments, in the presence of your eternal Friend.
Choose to be silent in the face of accusations and betrayals. Let the silence quiet your heart and give you peace. And then our heavenly Father who sees in secret will whisper in your heart.
More Prayer & Contemplative Prompts
We offer these prompts for your contemplation and prayer in the days ahead.
Prompt 1
Be Born in Me | Francesca Battistelli
“Everything in inside me cries for order.
Everything inside me wants to hide.
Is this shadow an angel or a warrior?
If God is pleased with me, why am I so terrified?
Someone tell me I am only dreaming
Somehow help me see with heaven’s eyes.
And before my head agrees,
my heart is on its knees.
Holy is He,
Blessed am I.
Be born in me
Be born in me.
Trembling heart,
Somehow I believe that You chose me.
Prompt 2
Fall in Love With Your Life, Today.
Seek quiet and calm.
Dwell in the every day.
Explore beauty in the small things.
Discover interconnections.
Nurture relationships that fill your cup.
Prompt 3
“If worries weigh down our hearts and induce us to close in on ourselves,
Jesus, on the other hand, invites us to lift up our heads, to trust His love that wants to save us and that draws close to us in every situation of our existence.
He asks us to make room for Him in order to find hope again.”
~ Pope Francis, Angelus, December 1, 2024
Prompt 4
May the God Who Calls bless you with ears to hear the voice of God in the cries of the poor, the whispers of the meek, and the silence of the helpless. May you hear God’s call in cricket and bird song, in thunder and rain, and in the prayer of children. May the God Who Calls bless you.
Maxine Shonk, OP
Prompt 5
“Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds.”
Scripture Philippians 4: 6-7
