Finding God in Silence

I am taking a catechism course with Father Deprey. He mentioned that silence is very important for the well being of the soul. When he was in seminary school, there was complete silence during both breakfast and supper. He said that people get caught up in their daily actions and forget simple things such as silent prayer. It is easy to get too wrapped up in one's activities, which could be things that aren't bad in themselves such as sports, computer, dancing, etc. I agree with him. Our priorities can start to wobble in the wrong direction. This leads to idolatry in the sense that we can get overly focused on our activities, which distracts us from remembering that God is the center of our lives. I believe that this inclination to let oneself get distracted from God's presence by means of busyness is very common in our society. I know this happens to me.

"We need to find God, 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. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life." -Blessed Mother Teresa

Poems

"If the track is tough and the hill is rough,
THINKING you can just ain't enough!" -Shel Silverstein

Hmm. The little engine that could, from another story, had courage and said over and over “I think I can I think I can!” And he made it up the hill. But he also had to put his words into action. I am determined to do that with my schoolwork. But you know those days, when you are in a dreamy child-like mood, and feel like walking through a forest in bare feet, sticking your toes in the ocean and breathing in the fresh salty air, climbing up a tree, and doing some watercolour painting? Well maybe that's just me... but it's one of those days for me. Yes, sometimes I'm still the twelve-year-old adventurous tree-hugger that I used to be. With Spring on the horizon, sunny weather, and little snow drops here and there I just get this overwhelming sense of loving life and God's creation. It pulls me away from my schoolwork, but at the same time, it helps me to stay focused, as it reminds me to thank God continually for all life's blessings. Learning is amazing (and this includes schoolwork, even though it is at times burdensome) and I will surely continue learning for the rest of my life. I think I'll share a couple of poems by Silverstein that my sister and I just loved when we were younger.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Invention

I've done it, I've done it!

Guess what I've done!

Invented a light that plugs into the sun.

The sun is bright enough,

The bulb is strong enough,

But, oh, there's only one thing wrong...

The cord ain't long enough.

The Acrobats

I'll swing

By my ankles,

She'll cling

To your knees

As you hang

By your nose

From a high-up

Trapeze.

But just one thing, please,

As we float through the breeze-

Don't sneeze.

And here are two poems (out of quite a few) that I wrote when I was about twelve, for something different:

Shades of purple

The Artist paints,

Spiritual colour

Gentle but defined.

Last detail,

And the small

masterpiece is done.

The creation breathes

Its first breath

Puts off a sent

So glorious

And stunning.

The Creator moves on

To more important

Things but

Looks back-

Oh divine, oh lovely,

Oh sweet

Purple lilac.

--

The crest of the moon,

The shape of a c,

Shining down on Tofino

On a foggy night.

So many nocturnal

Creatures busy at work;

Scuttling, jumping,

Busy digging holes in the sand.

So few diurnal animals awake,

All mostly sleeping quietly

In their nests, burrows, and

Dense thickets.

The waves crash

Against the shore

Like a small, enjoyable

Thunderstorm.

Silently, a cougar waiting to pounce,

The sun slowly makes its way up,

Until it reaches the horizon

Giving a warm glow of satisfaction.

All of Tofino is brightened

With a new light of blue, red, and gold,

The stars quickly disappear,

And a new day has come.

Books.

I am silly. For numerous reasons. But one reason is that I am trying to read 6 things at once. If I were logical, I'd read just one thing at a time. And it's taking me months to get through these 6 things. I am not a super fast reader and I do not read very much. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love reading. I just don't always get around to it. My favourite time to read is right before bed, but my biology teacher and music history teacher both seem to think that a great time to review work is right before bed. Sigh. I don't always take their advice.

1. Agatha Christie- The Seven Dials Mystery
2. Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco (lent to me by a friend who deserves to have it back by now...I had better get cracking.)
3. My dad's paper.
4. A book on St Teresa of Avila's life.
5. The Book of Acts
6. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, for school. Yes I am what you consider a romantic, but if I chose that for bedtime reading just for fun, I think that would be going a tad bit too far.

Why?

For the fun of it. For something to do that requires thought. Okay wow, I take the latter back. I do a fair bit of thinking. At least I'm pretty sure that I do. Maybe not free form, as in what-am-I-going-to-do-today-because-I-have-so-much-free-time-type thinking. But what a Catholic grade 11 homeschooling girl thinks about. You know. Well, you probably don't know, because the answer could probably be just about anything. So, I take that back too. I do have my moments, however, where I do no think at all; where literally no thought processes are going through my head, or just a very few precious ones. I am a slight scatter brain at times and often do not use the brain God gave me. It's just a sad/humerous truth that I work on; really, I do.

Two facts about me, to start off this blog.
I am a phlegmatic melancholic.
My loyal, adorable, everyday school buddy happens to be my dog, Newton.

And a quote. "God is good. God and chocolate are better." (St Teresa of Avila)