I’m a chronic overthinker. From replaying conversations with my wife to second-guessing decisions at the office, I analyze and reanalyze everything forwards and backwards.
I know from experience that this busy-mindedness often makes it hard to focus at work and home. But I’d never stopped to consider how much this mental noise was affecting my spiritual life until I came across this Our Lady of Silence icon.
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Not long after Pope Francis passed away, I stumbled on an article that talked about the late pope's devotion to Mary under the title “Our Lady of Silence. As I learned, Fr. Emiliano Antenucci commissioned the Benedictine nuns of San Giulio d’Orta to create an icon depicting this title in 2010. Then, when Pope Francis saw the image some years later, he loved it so much that he had a copy of it placed near the elevators in the Vatican as a reminder to all passersby to be careful with their words. I can certainly appreciate the icon as a reminder not to gossip. But for me this image of the Blessed Mother with her finger pressed to her lips made me realize how much I needed to quiet the noise in my own head during prayer too. I had to learn how to embrace interior silence if I wanted to hear the voice of God. |
This realization inspired me to share this icon with the rest of our team to see if we could create something to help others cultivate silence too. Overthinking aside, today’s media-driven world is louder and more distracting than ever—and I knew I couldn’t be the only Catholic struggling with it day in and day out.
The result is the new Our Lady of Silence Rosary. It features the same rich color palette as the icon and is paired with a prayer card featuring the original image. Using them together, even for just a few minutes of prayer a day, can help you develop the virtue of interior silence so you can rest in God’s voice amidst the noise of everyday life.
We hope praying with this rosary and meditating with this Marian icon brings peace and calm into your days—Our Lady of Silence, pray for us!
