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News > World

Pope Francis Exalts the Virtues of 'Quietness,' 'Slowing Down'

  • Pope Francis sprinkles ashes on a cardinal's head during the Ash Wednesday.

    Pope Francis sprinkles ashes on a cardinal's head during the Ash Wednesday. | Photo: Reuters

Published 15 February 2018
Opinion

Pope Francis said, “Refrain from the deafening noise that weakens and confuses our hearing, that makes us forget the... creative power of silence.”

Leading Catholic devotees during this year's Lent, Pope Francis encouraged people to slow down their pace of life amid globs of noise and desires for immediate gratification within a high-tech world. In doing so, he said we should rediscover the power of silence.

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"Pause a little, leave behind the unrest and commotion that fill the soul with bitter feelings which never get us anywhere," he said in his homily, according to Reuters. "Pause from this compulsion to a fast-paced life that scatters, divides and ultimately destroys time with family, with friends, with children, with grandparents, and time as a gift...time with God."

He went on to exalt the virtue of speechlessness and quietness, saying that we should, “Pause for a little while, refrain from the deafening noise that weakens and confuses our hearing, that makes us forget the fruitful and creative power of silence.”

The Pontiff's words were pronounced during congregation at a Mass in the Basilica of Santa Sabina on Rome's Aventine Hill as a cardinal, and the Pope's forehead exchanged turns rubbing ash on each others forehead.

Francis has extended an invitation to Roman Catholics, as well as adherents to all other religions, to convene on Sunday, Feb. 23, to observe a day of prayer, fasting, and initiatives aimed at bringing more peace in the world. He reiterated his invite to non-Catholics and non-Christians, urging them to join this moment of grace in any way they saw appropriate, “but all together.”

Beware of the “emptiness of everything that is instantaneous, momentary and fleeting,” Francis concluded.

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