Sometimes there is so much noise and so much talking around us that we wonder if we can hear even a single voice of another person, let alone the voice of our Lord. So much of the focus of today's readings is about listening and speaking. We must listen for the word of God, to the voice of the Lord. We must speak about what God has done and what God is doing in our world and in us. Silence must be valued today as a place of listening.
Silence is also the place of speaking.
If there is immense noise, if thousands of people are talking at the same time, then it is utterly impossible to speak or listen well. There are times to mingle in the crowds and be part of a huge group-but those are not generally times to listen to someone else. In front of the Vatican when the Pope celebrates Mass, people are often very attentive, even in groups as large as 100,000 people. The silence can be astounding in such a large group. Anyone who has been part of a large protest movement also knows that groups can be dangerous.