Quiet prayer essential
to achieving inner peace

August 21 , 2002

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Auxiliary Bishop of Denver

In the First Book of Kings, the prophet Elijah is told, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by." This Scripture reminds us that God is passing by.

God seeks us with a fatherly and merciful glance. Before the creation of the world, he chose us to be saints without blemish in his sight.

The prophet Elijah searches for God in a strong wind, in the earthquake and in the fire, and does not find him. It was in a gentle whispering that he found the Lord. It is in the quiet stillness that we find God in our lives.

We live in a noisy world. We've been raised in a culture that not only avoids silence, but also is terrified by it. Mother Teresa described silence and its relationship to God by saying, "God is the friend of silence ... we need silence to be able to touch souls." This includes our souls.

Having silent time is essential to achieving inner peace. I urge you to make time for silence in your life. Silence is one of the ways to experience the presence and closeness of God. This is how we come to know God, rather than just knowing about God.

God is in the center of our soul. He is with each one of us. We are never alone.

Along these lines, I can't help but think of the disciples caught in the storm. They were paralyzed by their fears. They saw Jesus walking across the water and thought he was a ghost.

Sometimes we feel like we are in the middle of a storm. Our personal weaknesses, lack of world peace, fear in our country, even our everyday activity can make life seem like an unending storm.

The stormy sea provides a setting in which Jesus not only shows his power over the forces of nature, but tests the faith of Peter and teaches the apostles the degree of faith necessary to weather the storms that are part of Christian life.

St. Peter was fine as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus. But when he looked away, he began to sink. Even when faith is weak in difficult times, the hand of Christ is there to catch us: "(Peter) cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him. 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'" (Matt 14:30-31). Like Peter, when we, too, start to feel as if we are sinking we should cry out, "Lord, save me!" He will hear us. He will not let us sink: "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid" (Matt 14:27).

The past few weeks have been extraordinary for the Church on the American continent because of the presence of the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in Canada, Guatemala and Mexico. I had the great blessing of accompanying the Holy Father to Canada and Mexico. It was an invigorating time of renewed faith for millions of people.

We were inspired by Pope John Paul II's example of service to God and to God's people. The Holy Father is physically weak. He can hardly walk, yet he gives himself with great generosity. His presence gives witness to hope and love of God.

Among the many moments of grace I experienced these past weeks was watching Pope John Paul II pray at the end of Juan Diego's canonization Mass. The Holy Father knelt before the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and spent time in silence, praying. It was an emotional moment for everyone and, once again, a teaching moment: Silence that facilitates prayer — an intimate conversation with God, in this case, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.

Another special moment of Pope John Paul II's trip to Mexico occurred when the Holy Father reminded people of a blessing parents in earlier times gave to their children. They used to say, "May God make you like Juan Diego." The blessing both asked God's protection for the child and challenged the child to follow the example of a saint.

May God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, bless all of us and help us to renew our desire to practice our faith and to strive for sanctity in our daily life. May God turn each one of us into a saint!