What do you do when you encounter silence? It can be the gap between thoughts. The unanticipated intermission between to-do lists. It is wondering what your children are actually up to. I recall when a few months ago when for the first time I didn’t need to turn on the fans for Daily Mass. I was amazed how quiet and still the church was before beginning Mass. It took a moment to adjust, but ultimately it was very peaceful. The silence was a fullness within the church and not a vacuum. Silence in the midst of a group of people has a mysterious connotation. We are quick to add in idle chit-chat, to be polite or interrupt what might be sensed as an awkward silence. But within the church, the house of the Lord, silence draws you into His abiding Presence that goes beyond our senses.

Outside of church, how do you encounter silence? Is it a welcomed friend who stopped in for an unexpected visit to converse with your heart? Or is it a stranger that should leave as quickly as he arrived? Perhaps this is a stretch of thought but as the lungs need the occasional though regular deep breathe, I sense that the ears and the all attentive and active mind needs silence in the same way. Nature abhors a vacuum, however, the most wondrous and fascinating place within nature is silent, that is the heavenly realm, the cosmos. There is no sound in space, which adds to its otherworldly majesty. No one has nor will interrupt its deep contemplation. To be immersed its created wonder literally renders the beholder speechless.

Silence is not something to be avoided but rather explored. Into its infinite possibilities of being present in the moment, the heart actually speaks louder than one might anticipate. And the heart was made for encounter, even for an encounter that can go beyond the sensible realm of persons. The heart has the capacity to engage in the imperceivable realm of Divine Persons, namely God. It is in the silence of the Baptized soul that one enters into the Temple of God, the living temple. Do we feel a stranger within our own walls, or a welcomed home of rest? God beckons us in the silence. He whom the cosmos cannot contain awaits you within the silence of your heart.

Like many of you, I was a bit saddened that I didn't get to see the Cubs in the World Series these last few weeks, but if watching the the World Series taught us anything, it probably included the lesson that a team has to play the entire game. There is no giving up, or only focusing on part of the game. The teams in the World Series had an exciting championship series because they played every moment, all 9 innings, and sometimes even 18!

How I wish it was easy to live that way! 

Part of the reason we don't often live that way is the evolutionary trait known as heuristics which are functions in our brains allowing us to make quick assumptions about large and complicated tasks. Heuristics make survival for us possible because it simplifies the complexities that we face on a daily basis. 

A quick example of a heuristic at work is asking someone, "What do the Ten Commandments teach us?" We can quickly recall that it is about living a good life. We summarize it all and recall that we should not cheat, not lie, and not steal. These seem to be the essence of the Ten Commandments. In this summary, we tend not to focus on the 10th Commandment "Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's goods." The 10th Commandment is complicated because we have to remember what "covet" means and bridge the connection in our minds as to how the strong desire of jealousy, comparing one's self to others, and avoiding gossip are really as much of a tragic offense against God as say... killing someone. The full extent of the 10th Commandment doesn't seem to fit in the heuristic short cut through which our brains function and so we skip it. 

This human trait is both a superpower and a limitation. Acknowledging this reality may help us better understand our role on the "team" we call the "Church" and why, in the past week our team leader, Pope Leo IV, spoke out about the treatment of immigrants in detention centers. His action was somewhat unusual in that it spoke directly about the internal politics of a country. Specifically, Pope Leo called for a deep reflection on the treatment of immigrants who have been detained in the United States and how their religious rights are being denied by officials refusing to allow the distribution of Holy Communion to detainees. 

In your daily life, perhaps the same issue isn't rising to the level of concern and I get that. My hunch that most of us do not gravitative as quickly to the Pope's concern about imprisoned immigrants because our brain is trained to only play 3-4 innings of baseball, even though the entire game is important to the team. 

Specifically, I'd like us to recall the Corporal Works of Mercy, which are largely based on the instructions Jesus gives us to enter the kingdom in the Gospel of Matthew 25: 31-46. 

The Corporal Works of Mercy are: 

Feed the hungry

Give drink to the thirsty

Clothe the naked

Shelter the homeless

Visit the sick

Visit the imprisoned

Bury the dead 

We tend to get the first couple because they are easier to do and easier to remember. Its also easier to see the homeless and the hungry vs. seeing the imprisoned whom we have placed in distant facilities. But included in the full set is our concern for the imprisoned. The challenge is that it takes us several more steps to understand the realities of our systems of confinement and act upon any injustice that we discover than it takes to donate money to the local homeless shelter. 

To be fair, Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that the judgement before the Son of Man in his glory will absolutely be determined by the good actions we take like donating money to a homeless shelter. We shouldn't stop doing that! But Jesus didn't say we get to pick and choose the ways we would recognize him, and if we can't act in every way, it doesn't mean we should lose site of the whole. Even if, like a pitcher in a game, we only play a few innings, we still need to have a vision that embraces the whole game. 

Perhaps you will feel a call to work on the issue of immigration detention centers (the group organizing the Catholic response have updated information that can be found at www.csplaction.org/events). Perhaps your circle of concern is to support the hungry, the homeless, unborn children, struggling mothers, or education of the unskilled. What ever you are called to do. Do that and do it well! 

But for us to bring home the win, we have to move past our default thinking and see the bigger picture. We need to do more than embrace Jesus's call when it is comfortable only to discard his teachings when they are difficult. As a team, we have to play all nine innings. 

Student Council Drive

Student Council is hosting a Food Drive to support families in need.  Please bring non-perishable food items to school from Monday, November 10, through Friday, November 14. Most requested items include canned proteins (like tuna or beans), cooking oil, and healthy, shelf-stable snacks for kids. Grocery gift cards will also be accepted and much needed (please drop those in an envelope in the front office). 

Come Tour With Us!

Join us for a tour! Tuesday, November 11th at 9am or join us for our Parent Open House/Tour on Thursday, November 13, from 6:00pm - 7:00pm. 

Discover the Difference with Saint Andrew School! 

Are you seeking a nurturing and enriching educational environment for your child? Look no further than Saint Andrew School, where Catholic Education comes to life through faith, excellence, and community. Our dedicated faculty inspires students to achieve their full potential academically, spiritually, and socially. At Saint Andrew, we blend rigorous academics with character-building values, fostering a sense of purpose and belonging. Experience our vibrant campus, where every student is known, loved, and challenged to grow. Choose Saint Andrew School today and invest in a brighter future for your child. Enroll now and join our family! We have an upcoming tour on October 14th at 9am. Sign up for a tour here: schedule a tour New student applications for the 25-26 can be found here: New Student Application