Speak to Me Sunday: The Pregnant Pause

Caesura: a pause in a line of poetry or music which is used for a dramatic effect, often used to introduce, or highlight, something that is to follow.

There is a caesura dividing the two stanzas of the Hail Mary. The first stanza ends with the words "blessed is the fruit of your womb" (hence, Mary is with child). In the silence of the caesura separating the first stanza from the second stanza (which begins with the words "Holy Mary, Mother of God"), Mary has given birth and is now a mother.

A lot happens in the silence of that pause.

I once gave a presentation in which I pointed out one of my favorite illustrations of a caesura in art in Andrea della Robbia's masterpiece, "The Annunciation". This familiar scene has been reduced to the essentials in which everyone is waiting for Mary's reply. The angel, God, the cherubs, and even the wings of the dove are waiting in suspense for the free will decision of Mary. Her face is thoughtful; one hand rests on the passage from Isaiah (Behold, a virgin shall conceive ...) while her other hand rests on her heart, searching for God's will.

This example of a caesura demonstrates the moment - the silent moment - just before Mary gives her fiat. And her words, not yet uttered, are inscribed on the base: You see before you the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me as you say.

The Annunciation, Andrea della Robbia

La Verna, Italy

There are so many ways to use a caesura, that deliberate pause: before speaking, before an important decision, in prayer to hear what God has to say, as a way to begin, or end, the day.

Yes, there are lessons to be learned in a simple pause ... a silence which speaks volumes.