“Time for the rosary!” I holler. Real reverent, huh?
Chaos ensues as kids run up the steps or fly down them as fast as they can to snatch up their favorite rosary and claim the best spot on the couch.
There is usually a tug-of-war over the coziest blanket and drama over someone taking someone else’s “spot.” Our sectional is a mile long… it’s quite ridiculous to fight over where to sit!
As the big kids are settling into their places, the little kids are zooming around the house, turning off all of the lights, but only AFTER they flip on our battery-operated, flameless candles. Why flameless? Read here to find out! Coming Home Series; Flaming Turkey and the Importance of the Family Meal
As the darkness of our house increases, the volume of the room decreases.
And so, we begin our family rosary.
We started a candlelit rosary recently because the baby thinks that the middle of the living room is his personal stage and that we couch-dwellers are his audience. He wows us with his best tricks during this time, which gets the older kids laughing, and I would be lying if I said that I could keep a straight face myself!
One-year-old Johnny aside, we are all a lot calmer and less distracted in the cover of the soft (artificial) candlelight. The darkness hides the clutter of the toys, boots, and papers cluttering our home, taunting us with the evidence of tomorrow's to-do list. In the “silence” of the darkness, we can draw closer to Our Lord, who speaks in silence.
“Every home is called to become a ‘Domestic Church’ in which family life is completely centered on the lordship of Christ and the love of husband and wife mirrors the mystery of Christ’s love for the Church, His bride.”
-Pope Benedict XVI
How often do I remember that my home is a sanctuary from the noise of this world? My home can be just as “loud” as the exterior world at times! When I am overwhelmed with all of the stresses of life, the LAST thing I want to do is be silent! I “NEED” the distraction of social media, a new Amazon Prime series to obsess over, a fun project I don’t have time for but do to avoid more important things in life.
Sitting in silence is the HARDEST thing in the world for me! But isn’t silence one of the more notable characteristics of a Catholic Church? That is God’s own house. Outside of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the chief music inside of a church is Eternal Silence.
In his brilliant book, “The Power of Silence; Against the Dictatorship of Noise,” Cardinal Robert Sarah writes,
“Mankind must join a sort of resistance movement. What will become of our world if it does not look for intervals of silence? Interior rest and harmony can flow only from silence. Without it, life does not exist. The greatest mysteries of the world are born and unfold in silence. How does nature develop? In the greatest silence. A tree grows in silence, and springs of water flow at first in the silence of the ground. The sun that rises over the earth, its splendor and grandeur warms us in silence. What is extraordinary is always silent.”
In three short days, we celebrate the birth of Our Lord. The Incarnation of God-made-Man. One of the most beautiful quotes on this holy Mystery is from the Introit of the Mass during one of the days of the Octave of Christmas. “While all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, Thine Almighty Word, O Lord, came down from Heaven, out of Thy royal throne.”
The word that really stands out to me is “night.” I keep reflecting on it because it is such an important part of home life.
Our days are spent going to work, and even as a stay-at-home mom myself, I often make the joke about how little time I get to spend there! There are groceries to buy, braces to adjust, glasses to check on, practices to drive to, meetings to attend, and the list goes on and on.
While there are heroes of the night who are the exception, most of us look forward to going home at the end of our busy days. It is where we find rest. So for most of us, our nights are spent in our homes. It is for this reason that we have to try extra hard to make it a true sanctuary and protect it from the noise of the outside world.
Again, quoting Cardinal Sarah, “In this hell of noise, man disintegrates and is lost; he is broken up into countless worries, fantasies, and fears. In order to get out of the depressing tunnels, he desperately awaits noise so that it will bring him a few consolations. Noise is a deceptive, addictive, and false tranquilizer. The tragedy of our world is never better summed up than in the fury of senseless noise that stubbornly hates silence. This age detests the things that silence brings us to: encounter, wonder and kneeling before God.”
My dear friends, we need to fight hard against the dictatorship of noise and allow our homes to be a sanctuary of rest. How timely that we are about to experience the joy that comes from a very special Silent Night.
St. Joseph, patron saint of the home, family and of silence, pray for us, and teach us how to rest in holy silence.
Have a very Merry Christmas, Catholic Country Chronicles Family!
Until next time, your sister in Christ,
Leah
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