Tagged: Shûsaku Endô

I just finished Shûsaku Endô’s terribly beautiful book, Silence, about two missionaries who go into 17th century Japan to find their beloved mentor, who is reported to have apostatized under unbearable persecution. It was assumed, even by Endô’s publishers, that Silence was about the silence of God. Yet, for the rest of Endô’s life as he lectured about the book, he stated, “I did not write a book about the silence of God, I wrote a book about the voice of God speaking through suffering and silence.” I did not find God silent in Endô’s book. I found Him speaking generously, tenderly to Father Rodriguez, especially in his most excruciating moments. But perhaps the problem is in our definition of the silence of God. There… Read More