Fr. Tom Gibbons stresses the importance of seeking silence during the season. He believes that in exercising silence one becomes more available to God. And that is what Catholics should be doing, especially during Advent.
“During Advent make yourself available to God,” said Gibbons. “There are lots of reasons not to be available to God, there are lots of bells and whistles and things going on. So this is the time when we try to make ourselves available to God and are reminded of the importance of doing so.”
Gibbons delivered his message at a recent evening retreat, Advent Unplugged, to about 50 people at the Nuemann Hall at Toronto’s St. Patrick’s Church.
Too often North Americans become distracted from the true meaning of Advent — preparing for the nativity of Christ — by focusing on gifts, decorations and parties, something Gibbons admits he can fall victim to.
“It is part of the culture that we live in but we are also part of that, we give into that in our lives,” he said. “This need for speed can diminish the quality of our lives and put a negative spin on patience, discernment, depth and dialogue. It can be very easy to say ‘Oh, it is the outside world, the outside world is noisy, I can’t get quiet because of the outside world ....’ However, we also need to check ourselves at the same time and see how we are contributing to this.”
And while spending the entire Advent season in silence, or even an entire day, is likely unpractical for the average person, Gibbons did offer some tips on how we can slow down into silence on a daily basis. Taking time in the morning or evening to silently pray, resisting the urge to push the close door button in the elevator or simply standing on the escalator rather than walking up it can all offer moments of silence necessary for connecting with God, he said.
Robert Golwacz, 35, was surprised to learn that answers may reside in silence.
“In my sort of search for truth and goodness and Godliness it came with an addiction to effort or work,” he said. “It seems like answers would have always been in some kind of learned form from the outside but it is really refreshing to hear that silence is part of the process which helps you look inward.”
This drive towards productivity is often what pushes us away from silence, said Gibbons, for it is hard for a society driven on materialism and consumerism to see the value in doing nothing.
“People are so anxious to get on with whatever they have to do that they have no time for relationships and community,” said Gibbons. “A lot of times in our religious lives we think ‘I have to do this, I have to do this, I have to do this.’ (But) in taking our opportunities to become more silent in order to become more available to God we also can take comfort that God does the work too. We are not alone in this.”