On stillness

Have you ever paid attention to the various stillnesses to be found in this world?

I have just returned from the hospital after attending a family whose loved one died early this morning.

In the presence of the family, in the presence of the body, was a terrible stillness, the stillness of death and grief. It was – and often is – a stillness that even the cries of the grieving cannot disturb. Everything is still, almost as if time itself had stopped.

Outside, in the early hours of morning before the rising of the sun, is another stillness, one that calm and almost burgeoning with the promise of the life of a new day. It is a hopeful stillness.

Inside the church is another stillness, entirely different and distinct from these other two stillnesses. This stillness – emanating forth from the Eucharistic King – is peaceful. Indeed, it is peace itself.

One of the couples in our RCIA repeatedly tell us the first time they entered a Catholic church was the first time they experienced true peace in a church, after spending years in evangelical circles. It is this peace they treasure most, the peace of God.

Dona nobis pacem!