Why does modernity disdain quietness?

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My parish has a sister parish in rural Tanzania. I am part of a team that goes there regularly.

On occasion, the bishop of that diocese has come to our parish.

On a recent visit back to TZ, I stayed at the bishop’s residence. He mentioned how much he loves the liturgy at our parish, which is very traditional, with chant and perpetual Adoration.

I mentioned that his response surprised me, as the liturgies in his diocese were very vibrant, very different from the quiet of my parish.

He mentioned that, in Africa, there is much quiet in the homes, in the lives of the people. There is no electricity outside the main town, so there are no radios, TVs etc… in the majority of the homes. What the people seek in the liturgy is the JOY of Heaven, as there often little in their lives.

In the US, we live in a culture of noise and busy-ness. Everything is ‘go-go-go’. Therefore we ( at least our parish) seeks the PEACEFULLNESS of Heaven. Seeking to find God in the passing whisper.

A lot of people in Western cultures don’t necessary seek Peacefullness nor tranquility.
 
I remember the first time I went on a silent retreat. I thought, “I’m a pretty introverted, silent person. This is right up my alley!” Boy was I in for a surprise. While I’m normally silent personally, there’s a ton of noise around me that I didn’t realize kept me just distracted enough to not think about things. I really learned and faced some stuff about myself on a simple 4 day silent retreat to the point of breaking down in tears during Eucharistic Adoration. It was very healing for the soul.

Now I voluntarily go to week long silent retreats multiple times a year.
 
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