S A CANTOR AT MY local parish for twenty years, this video from my friend and colleague—which has caught fire on social media with close to a million views so far—really resonated with my heart. “I was intruding in that silence,” she says.
My journey was quite similar to Corrinne’s, so her reflection immediately reminded me of the following quotes about clapping:
In Calvary there were those applauding Christ’s death: soldiers and demons. – Padre Pio
Silence is important. I am struck by a verse from the Book of Wisdom that was read with Christmas in mind, which says: “While gentle silence enveloped all things, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven.” The moment of most silence God manifested himself. It is important to think about silence in this age in which it does not seem to have much value. – Pope Francis
Video Summary • In last Friday’s Eucharistic Conference, Corrinne May underscored that Silence is an integral and essential part in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. She candidly shared that as a Church pianist for 12 years back in Los Angeles, she unknowingly encroached into the palpable silence with light instrumentals during Holy Mass. Inspired subsequently by these works, “The Spirit of the Liturgy”, of both Servant of God Father Romano Guardini and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, she understood the profound Gift and Beauty of Silence as the indispensable doorway to the Divine, drawing one’s soul into divine intimacy with Our Eucharistic Lord. Cardinal Ratzinger notes on Silence in the Sacred Liturgy, “We are realising more and more clearly that silence is part of the liturgy. We respond, by singing and praying, to the God who addresses us, but the greater mystery, surpassing all words, summons us to silence. It must, of course, be a silence with content, not just the absence of speech and action. We should expect the liturgy to give us a positive stillness that will restore us.” Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum comments on the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) #45: “The specific periods of silence recommended in the GIRM encourage a general atmosphere of interior and exterior silence for all the participants at Mass. This silence should be sought while listening to the readings, the homily, or the proclamation of the Eucharistic and other priestly prayers. This helps quiet our imagination, our worries and our toils so as to join our hearts to the prayers and be fully attentive to whatever the Holy Spirit should inspire in us. Thus silence at Mass is an active, not a passive disposition.” Ms. Corrinne May hopes for Catholic Christians to recognise the Beauty of Silence in Holy Mass, and to beseech the grace to love Our Eucharistic Lord with the heart of Our Blessed Mother, the model par excellence of Silence.
SOURCE: Totus Tuus Apostolate Facebook
