December 21 – 4th Sunday of Advent
Some time ago, a challenge launched by an internationally renowned company made headlines: they offered a large sum of money to anyone who could remain for more than an hour in a room isolated from any outside noise.
Despite the prize, which seemed so simple to achieve, people were unable to stay long in the room, listening only to their breathing and heartbeat. After a while, they felt distressed at being left alone with their own thoughts. Today’s world has made us unaccustomed to silence…
This Sunday’s Gospel, however, wants to show us the importance of interior silence.
In St. Matthew’s account (cf. Mt 1:18-24), we contemplate two silences: that of humility and that of the heart.
First, we see Mary Most Holy who, after receiving the visit of the Archangel St. Gabriel announcing to her the highest dignity granted to a creature, that of being the Mother of God, remains silent. She does not go out into the streets drawing the attention of others to the divine mystery that was taking place in her virginal womb, nor does She seek to exalt herself for the greatness of her condition. She does not feel entitled to reveal the unspeakable miracle She carries within her, even to her most chaste spouse, perhaps thinking: “If that which is in me is the work of God, He Himself will reveal it to whom He deems necessary.” It was the silence of humility, which keeps divine gifts within oneself and does not boast of what has been received from the Creator.
On the other hand, we see St. Joseph, a righteous man, who had received her as his wife through signs from Heaven and had ratified with her the vow that both would remain virgins for the love of God. However, he perceives in Our Lady the characteristic signs of gestation…
A witness to Mary’s holiness, and an ardent devotee of hers like no other in history, at no time did the Glorious Patriarch mistrust her integrity in the slightest. On the contrary, he immediately perceived that a sublime mystery surrounded his virginal spouse, a mystery so lofty that he was unworthy of knowing it… And if this was God’s will, the most perfect attitude was to accept it and withdraw into the silence of his heart.
Both silences are the fruit of the serenity characteristic of those who desire to serve God and are always willing to renounce their own will in order to fulfil His.
The world, however, accustoms men to agitation, robbing them of their peace of mind and their ability to withdraw into themselves and accept the will of Providence. It is this constant noise that unbalances souls.
Let us learn from Mary the silence of humility, never becoming conceited about the gifts we owe to the Creator. And let us know, like St. Joseph, how to silence our anxieties or afflictions, always accepting God’s will, for this will bring the dawn of His manifestation. ◊
