Dear Friends,
Church law requires every priest to make a weeklong annual retreat. I will be leaving for my retreat tomorrow
and will return the following Monday. Please keep me in your prayers this week. I will keep you in mine. I have
always enjoyed retreats and this unique time of silence. During the retreat, I am re-centered on God and on the
things that God holds important.
Coming after the recent election season, it feels more than ever like I do need the retreat for a time for personal
healing, quiet and calm. One of the unsettling things for me during the election was the use of fear to motivate
voters. As someone in the middle of his sixth decade of life, the use of fear as a political tool left me frustrated
and sad. Rather than presenting a view of what we could be, too often they presented of view of what we should
fear.
I remember the 1960’s when prophets of doom proclaimed that we were on a precipice – there was the
possibility of global thermonuclear war; there was a rising understanding of inequality among races; there was
increasing pollution – rivers were burning, forests dying and a silent spring approaching with the loss of
songbirds; there were riots and universities were in turmoil; the Vietnam War was taking lives of young men;
etc. Clearly, the 60’s did not start the sense of doom. Prior to this, the world had gone through two major wars
and a worldwide depression. We had become aware of the holocaust and the extermination of Jews in the Soviet
Union. There was much to regret and much to worry about. And, after the 60’s we still had challenges with
Ebola, starvation in Africa, 9/11, global warming…All of these were real challenges…but it has always been so.
In the midst of great progress in the world, there is more work to be done. We are far from perfect.
It is the human condition to be in crisis. Death is always nipping at our heels. The problem today is that for many
people the hand of God is no longer involved in our world, so every crisis becomes one of world-threatening
emergency. Trusting in God’s providence is gone. Both sides of the political spectrum throw words at each other
that evoke the language of emergency. The rhetoric of fear muddles our thinking and tempts us to run to the
barricades. From there we shout at the other side. Where dialogue is needed between parties, we receive instead a
polarization that makes progress impossible.
Into our human condition of crisis, Jesus brings his consistent message of love and peace. Jesus says over and
over again that we should not be afraid. He tells us not to fear. “Do not live in fear little flock; it has pleased the
Father to give you the Kingdom.” It is the evil one who encourages division and fear of the other; it is the evil
one that Jesus calls “the father of lies.” Jesus invites us into a community of disciples who learn to reach out
beyond their own narrow experience to embrace the other with the good news that they are loved by God. We are
to see the provident hand of God at work in our lives. God is the giver and God is the redeemer. Placing our lives
into the hands of God, we can trust that no matter what happens, God is in charge and God will win out.
My retreat is one of silence. I know that does not make sense to some people, but I think silence is essential if we
are going to encounter God in a deeper way. Silence is not the same as quiet. In a way, silence could be the
opposite of quiet. Quiet and silence have entirely different aims. We are quiet for the benefit of others, so as not
to disturb them, but we are silent for the benefit of our soul. We are silent because we want to be about the
business of inner thought.
When teachers ask students to do something quietly that is so the students do not disturb other students, but if
they ask to do something silently it is because they want them to think and explore what is going on inside of
them. Being quiet shows a concern for community, while being silent is an act of mysticism; the silent person is
making room for God to work directly within their spirit. This is similar to humility where we put aside our pride
so that God might have a place in us to make God’s strength perfect in us. Silence invites God into the deep inner
recesses of our heart to speak a word of love. The noise of our world makes it hard to hear God’s words of love.
The noise of the election season made it even harder.
So, I go off to hear the soft voice of God. Doing so will make me better for you on my return.
Peace,
Fr. Damian