Liturgy Lesson for the First Sunday in Lent: Silencio
February 10, 2008
In this season of penitence and examen, we frequently search for devotional focus. Such is the ancient practice of Silencio—liturgical silence—designed to evoke in worshippers a sense of awe and reverence of God’s Presence and attention, while recalling St. Paul’s description of times the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us—when words fail us. When practiced in the company of worshippers who have prepared themselves in quiet, Spirit-led devotion, this sense of the Presence is amplified, not only underscoring Immanuel—“God with us,” but also giving us humility and abjection, befitting the creation in the Presence of the Creator. As in the ancient Church, this is most powerfully experienced in the Holy Eucharist, when, just before invoking the Real Presence into the bread and wine, we pause to remember those who are on our lips or in our hearts in the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ’s Church. In these intermissions, we can use Silencio’s sense of awe before our God to provide opportunity for the Spirit to speak to our hearts, as He prompts names for us to speak aloud before the Great Throne in Common Prayer. The Lord is in His Holy Temple—let all the Earth keep silence before Him. His temple is inside us!
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