As Christians we are called to enter into and attempt to transform the pain of our fragile world.

This subtle transformation is beautifully expressed by Simone Weil. ‘Two prisoners whose cells adjoin communicate with each other by knocking on the wall. The wall is the thing which separates them but is also their means of communication. It is the same with us and God. Every separation is a link.’

The key to opening the doorway of this discovery-that ‘every separation is a link’-is silence. Whether we are dealing with physical pain or emotional pain, be still before this pain until you see its silent center that contains the whole universe.

‘Be still and know that I am God’ (Ps 46:10).