What Happens During Silent Prayer

Brother Elias Marechal, OCSO is a Trappist monk of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. He is the author of a luminous book on contemplative spirituality, Tears of An Innocent God: Conversations on Silence, Kindness and Prayer. If you don’t have it, do yourself a favor and get a copy.

The book is filled with many gems of wisdom and insight. Here is one example:

At times it may feel as though nothing is happening in that vast silence. And yet so much is happening!

In the endless region of our inner landscape, bit by tiny bit, we are transformed into the likeness of Christ, as we are changed by waves and waves of Silent Mercy; so that gradually we come to speak, think, and love as Christ does: gently, without fuss, in a marvel of beauty.

If you have any experience with silent forms of prayer, you understand what Brother Elias is talking about. It’s so easy — and tempting — to conclude that sitting in silence, merely repeating a prayer word or a Bible verse or a classic prayer like “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me,” is just a…