Pic Life

Why silence really is golden

By Moira Billinge

The hot summer days we have experienced on our UK shores so far this year will probably have done nothing to change the minds of the global warming sceptics. Despite the message of Pope Francis’s encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ (Praise be to you), which called for us to respect and value all aspects of human existence and included concerns for the environment, the debate about the effects or otherwise of the pollution of our planet by carbon gases will remain deeply polarised. Noise is one of the more immediate and obvious forms of pollution in our modern times. While sound is essential to our daily lives, noise is not and though it probably causes less harm to humans than water, air or land pollution, it is an increasing problem. Mobile phones, household gadgets, radios, road vehicles, car and house alarms, industrial noise, and the mindnumbing piped music played in shops (together with the commands bellowed out to staff over increasingly loud PA systems in supermarkets) all combine to create a clanging cacophony of sounds which continually assail our senses. ‘I can’t hear myself think’ will be a familiar adage to many of us and it says something about our constant immersion in noise that some advertising gurus have even responded by cleverly producing silent television adverts that grab our attention immediately. Silence is very important to the welfare of human beings and a lack of it can deprive us of the many opportunities to appreciate and reflect upon the beauty of the world around us. Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote: ‘We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.’ Referring to Good Friday at the beginning of August is rather out of sync with the liturgical calendar, but some years ago, before leaving the altar after the 3.00 pm celebration of the Lord's Passion, the parish priest at my local church turned to the extremely packed congregation and said: ‘As you leave this church today, please do so in silence, reflecting upon all we have seen and heard during our Good Friday service, as we accompanied Jesus during His Passion and death on the cross. ‘Carry that silence and peace with you, out of church, into the streets and into your homes. If, as you leave, you are tempted to speak to the person next to you, please don’t. Have some respect for that person and their desire for silence.’ The effect was profound. Hundreds of people processed from the church and made their way home, through to the car parks and along the pavements of the busy main road nearby, in total silence. There were so many people, but noone spoke. Little did the priest know, as he made his appeal for silence, just how generously his parishioners would honour that request; indeed, what followed was a beautiful, prayerful public witness to the sacredness of the day. On that rare occasion, the silence spoke volumes.

Worth a visit - North Wales

The past 18 months have taught us to value what we previously took for granted, and a visit to Colwyn Welsh Mountain Zoo offers the opportunity to embrace the wonders of our natural world with a fresh outlook, writes Lucy Oliver. Conservation efforts are ongoing despite the pandemic, and visitors to the zoo – which includes a children’s farm – can meet a host of endangered species: from reptiles and amphibians to big cats, such as leopards and tigers, and primates including chimpanzees and lemurs. The bird life, meanwhile, features flamingoes and ostriches as well as an Amazonian aviary; in short, a feast for the eyes in colour and birdsong. Visitors should note it is essential to book online before arrival. It is also worth calling into the Conwy Water Gardens, a 20minute drive from Colwyn Bay. Here, a nature trail has been created in the woodland valley and visitors can spot pheasants and otters as well as take up an invitation to feed the hens and ducks on the trail. Don’t leave without a visit to the Dutch Pancake House for refreshments. Admission is free and although the gardens are closed on Mondays, bank holidays are an exception. Call 01492 650063 for more information.

Praying with the Pope in August – for the Church

The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network promotes the monthly prayer intentions of Pope Francis.

‘Let us pray for the Church, that it may receive from the Holy Spirit the grace and strength to reform itself in the light of the Gospel.’ Reflection by Father David Stewart SJ

The people of God, and all people of good will, have many concerns that they want to bring to their prayer, as does Pope Francis; yet some of our prayer may be devoted to his particular intention selected for this month. Let us remember his Intention, then, in our own prayers and at Mass.

Three Proposals

We have been reviving the old tradition of the Apostleship of Prayer, now known as the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, in which three challenges based on the Pope’s intentions are offered to the people of God. Although in many parts of our hemisphere less happens in August, there can still be unity in prayer, never wasted or useless. In this spirit, recalling that this Pope’s Intention is for the Church anyway, here are three proposals for this month.

1: Think and pray over what reform ‘in the light of the Gospel’ might mean, from your own experience of the Church. Be open to questioning some of your own assumptions; ask the Holy Spirit to reveal anything that might have gone unchallenged. Let the Trinity’s gaze fall on you as you do this.

2: Think over and pray about what you mean when you talk about ‘The Church’. Is it still, for you, the name we give to the institution and the mechanism of the Church, based in Rome and in the cathedrals and diocesan offices around the world, and maybe in the sacristies of our church buildings? Or is it, as the Second Vatican Council discerned, the entire People of God, united in praise, worship and the infinite mystery of God, who continues to seek out each one of us? Look again at the Council’s documents and ponder how we are living out our vocations to be Church to and in the world.

3: The Climate Sunday initiative is calling on all local churches across Britain and Ireland to hold a climate-focused service on any Sunday before COP26 (November 2021). So far over 1,000 churches have joined in. Could your church add its voice this year? Discuss the proposal with everyone in your parish, chaplaincy or worshipping community; speak to your leaders and pastors to explore how this call could be taken up where you are. Visit www.climatesunday.org for more information and further suggestions.

The Church – all of us

We are asked to pray directly to the Holy Spirit for the Church this month. There have been and will continue to be controversies, for example over the liturgy of the Church, which could and does divide the people of God. The outrage of clericalism shows itself every now and again too, and that is also divisive, because it by its very nature separates one part of the People of God from another; a kind of clerical class or caste can be placed, or can place itself, over and above the majority. As is suggested in our Three Proposals this month, our prayer must include careful reflection on how we participate in the life and worship of the church, the body of which we are all members.

For more details visit www.praywiththepope.net or www.popesprayer.va