This year’s season of ADVENT is marked in the Christian liturgical calendar as the period from December 3rd to December 24th – a very special and joyous time for Christians as they prepare for Christmas, awaiting ( symbolically ) - with devout anticipation - the birth of Jesus Christ, the hope-filled arrival of the Messiah; a universal celebration of a momentous event which happened more than 2000 years ago.
Above : The Nativity of Jesus; oil on obsidian by Bartolomeo Esteban Murillo (1665-1670 ); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
However, this year we cannot ignore the fact that in the little town of Bethlehem, the place of Jesus’ birth there are no tourists, no pilgrims, no merriment – just quiet observances by small numbers of Christians at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Each day now for the past few months of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, we see on television screens, the horrific deaths, massive destruction and unbearable suffering of the civilian population in Gaza. For those few who are able to enter and pray in Bethlehem located on the occupied West Bank, their Nativity prayers will be accompanied by profound sadness, acknowledging so much grief and human misery.
Far Right : This year’s Nativity scene at St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City pays tribute to the Dominican monk, St. Francis of Assisi and his 800th Anniversary with life-sized terracotta figures.
Centre : Detail of the Nativity Creche
Far Left : The 25 metre Christmas Tree, adorned with edelweiss symbolising hope, all lit up at St. Peter’s Square
During Advent, the creative Nativity Creches which are installed inside Christian churches all over the world are the visible signs of our faith. In the picture above, this year’s Nativity Creche was unveiled in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican City on December 9th 2023. The square was all lit up with lights and ornaments for Christmas and will remain lit until January 7, 2024, the twelfth day of Christmas when the decorations will be taken down. When he unveiled and lit up the Nativity Scene above, in his speech, Pope Francis presented his hope for each one of us - that we try to pause to meditate in front of the Nativity Scene in our various churches all over the world and allow that the moment of reflection to “awaken in us the nostalgia for silence and prayer in our often-so-hectic daily life.”
Such apt advice. Yes, indeed. Even as we meditate on the Nativity; even as we allow ourselves to feel the tremendous joy in our hearts as we wait for the Saviour to be born, we cannot help but agree with the Pope that we also need to find space in our hectic lives for silence and prayer. In particular this Christmas, we see how necessary this silence is – with so much war and chaos, not just in Gaza but in so many places all over the world in Ukraine, Africa and elsewhere. Surely there is no better time than now to reflect on the significance and solace of SILENCE and most importantly, to find God in this silence.
SILENCE – THE FIRST LANGUAGE OF GOD
There are many kinds of silence. One of the most inspiring writings on the subject of silence is that of the medieval poet and theologian, St. John of the Cross, OCD a Spanish Catholic priest and mystic ( 1542-1591). Those who have read the stunning lyrical poems written by St. John of the Cross often wonder with some amazement how a theologian can also write such breath-taking and beautiful verse ! St. John of the Cross’ copious theological writings and spiritual poems including works such as ‘The Dark Night of the Soul’, ‘Spiritual Canticle’, ‘Ascent to Mount Carmel’ and ‘The Living Fame of Love’ have been translated into many languages and read by millions all over the world. His writings count as among the greatest works of Spanish literature; let alone Catholic theology.
Above : St. John of the Cross( 1656); oil on canvas by the master Spanish painter, Francisco de Zurburan ( 1598-1664 ); Archdiocesan Museum, Katowice, Poland. Zurburan has painted St. John of the Cross with his white mantle and dark brown tunic and scapular of his Carmelite Monk Order and today is still worn by Discalced Carmelite monks. See also the crucifix and skull that denotes St. John of the Cross as a contemplative monk.
Born in very humble circumstances as ‘Juan de Yepes y Alvarez’ who entered the Carmelite Order of Monks when he was 21 years old, Juan ( later St.John of the Cross ) set about to reform his order of monks by asking them to embrace austerity and extreme poverty. Juan and the monks of his new order preached barefoot and were known as the shoeless or ‘discalced’ monks. Faced with scepticism, opposition and even imprisonment, St. John of the Cross went ahead to reform his monks, drawing strength and encouragement from his mentor, the famous mystic saint, the Carmelite nun, St. Teresa of Avila. He lived a life of extreme austerity, spending much of his time alone with his thoughts and silence with God, writing his mystical compositions on God in his expressive and emotionally charged poems. He died relatively young at the age of 49 years. St. John of the Cross was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726 and in 1926, declared as one of the only 37 ‘doctors of the church’.
St. John of the Cross called Silence - the first language of God. About Silence, this great saint goes beyond what we know as ordinary silence. He tells us to work on the silence that truly counts. This, he says, is the silence that unites us with the great Silence of God. God is at work in this silence and there is hope in this Silence. We need this type of silence to establish a true prayerful relationship with God. Stay quiet in this silence; wait quietly in the silence and you can actually hear God. A silence born out of this spiritual union with God is powerful indeed. This is what St. John of the Cross calls contemplative silence which brings us close to God without need for the language of words. This silence is beyond words – deepest and most profound; a silence that allows us to directly connect with God; that transcends speech. We need to find space for God and this space comes only in the silence.
“Our most important task consists in remaining silent before this great God; silent with our desires as well as with our tongue. He understands only one language, that of silent love.”
( St. John of the Cross in a letter to a Carmelite nun)
Here below, are some spell-binding verses ( Verse II and III ) written by St. John of the Cross in his poem, ‘The Spiritual Canticle of the Soul’ where he describes how he, as a ‘bride’ loves God. St. John uses analogy in his poems where Jesus Christ is the bridegroom and each one of us, the bride.
“ O shepherds, you who go
Through the sheep cots up the hill,
If you shall see Him
Whom I love the most,
Tell Him I languish, suffer, and die.”
“In search of my Love
I will go over mountains and strands;
I will gather no flowers,
I will fear no wild beasts;
And pass by the mighty and the frontiers.”
( St. John of the Cross – ‘The Spiritual Canticle of the Soul’ )
So even as we await Christmas and the birth of the baby Jesus with joy, let us use this season of Advent to reinforce our faith - with silence. We can learn – just like Jesus Christ – how to be a lamb, who when faced by false accusations, is silent. Silent as a lamb...the Lamb of God. With Jesus as our shepherd and we as his sheep. We need silence to do this.
SILENCE OF THE LAMB
When we speak of the silence of the lamb, we move away from the happy Advent season and the birth of Jesus Christ to the sadness of his passion and death 33 years after his birth. Christians call the period of 40 days when we meditate on the passion and death of Jesus Christ, Lent. The Lenten period is grey and sad as Christians focus their thoughts on how Jesus is led like a lamb to slaughter .
Right : The Ghent Altarpiece – The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, a 15th-century polyptych attributed to Hubert and Jan van Eyck, the Flemish sibling painters in 1432. Originally consisting of 12 panels, this enormous altarpiece features a top and bottom central panel and two wings of four panels each, painted on both sides.
Left : This magnificent artwork is housed at the St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent, Belgium and has been meticulously restored over the many years since the 16th century.
Right : The incredible bottom central panel of the Ghent Altarpiece showing the stunning ‘Adoration of the Mystic Lamb’ . This panel features the Lamb of God with a human-like face standing on an altar in a green meadow surrounded by angels, martyrs, saints, and prophets - all congregating around the altar.
Left : Detail of the Lamb of God – see the human eyes in the lamb. Incredible painting !
At the passion of Jesus Christ, when Jesus was brought by the Jews to be sentenced to death by the Romans, Jesus maintained his silence in front of the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, fulfilling the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah:
"But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet he opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth"
(Isaiah 53:5-7).
For the salvation of the world; Jesus who was totally innocent of the false charges against him kept his silence and took the cross to die at Golgotha. The silence of Jesus, the Lamb of God ‘spoke’ volumes of his love for humanity; he was silent because he was the lamb who would be killed and then through his death and resurrection, take away the sins of the world and set mankind free.
SHEPHERDS AND SHEEP
And, when we speak of Shepherds and sheep, we happily return once again to the joyful time - the Nativity in Bethlehem 2000 years ago when the first persons to be given the good news of the birth of Jesus Christ were not kings and queens but lowly shepherds tending their sheep.
Above : The Adoration of the Shepherds by Bartolomeo Esteban Murillo ( 1617-1682 ); The Wallace Collection, London, UK. See the baby Jesus in his manger and the awe-struck shepherds surrounding the baby, his mother Mary and Joseph.
Above : Jesus the good shepherd; oil on canvas by Flemish baroque painter, Jean Baptiste de Champaigne ( 1631-1681); Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, France
The followers of Jesus Christ who hear his voice and follow him are referred to in the Gospels as ‘sheep’.
“My sheep hear my voice: and I know them, and they follow me.”
(John 10:27)
When St. Peter the Apostle realised that he was getting closer to the time of his martyrdom, Peter wrote to his followers and his disciples in the First Letter of St. Peter ( 1 Peter 5 ) encouraging them to “shepherd the flock of God”. Just as we have Jesus Christ as our good shepherd guiding us to salvation, the Apostle Peter tells his followers that a shepherd has responsibility for the flock of sheep under his care. He protects them from danger; leads them to food and water; tends to any wounds or illness and rescues those who have gone astray.
STILLNESS AND PRAYER
To close, let’s return to Silence. Stillness and God is the point of silence. When you are able to find a personal relationship with God and communicate with Him through Silence, you will find that this adds an indescribable depth of meaning to all your prayers. We do this best when we sit alone and pray to God; when we clear our minds; when we do nothing and when we say nothing. We are surely in the presence of God.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
( Psalm 46:10 )
“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”
( John 14:14 )
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
( Mark 11:24 )
So, during this blessed Season of Advent, we await and reflect in this beautiful Silence of our hearts -to clearly hear His voice; to let God speak to us. God hears us, his lost sheep. He hears our problems, our despair and also our thanks.
And as the good shepherd, He will provide for us – profusely and abundantly !
WISHING A BLESSED ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY READERS !
___________________________________________________________________________
Editor’s Note :
Dear Reader, thank you for reading this edition of SMITTEN BY FAITH. We publish every fortnightly on a Saturday. ALL articles in every issue are now FREE so you can simply click and subscribe as a FREE Subscriber to continuously receive the articles automatically by email.
To our paid subscribers for the past two years since we launched Smitten By Faith, on behalf of the Regina Apostolorum Foundation, I send you much appreciation and thanks for your support of Catholic higher education. Paid Subscribers do not need to renew their paid subscriptions for 2024 as from now on, you will continue to receive each issue for free.