In his Rule St. Benedict directs us to cultivate silence at all times. It is in silence that the Father speaks to us – Fr. Jay offers us these thoughts as we seek grow in silence. Click here to download a printable pdf of this page.

1. Silence prepares the heart to listen to God in the midst of a noisy world. Silence also prepares us to enter into His heart, for He loves in silence.

2. Silence can be loud, magnifying the activity of the Lord’s presence within us and magnifying everything in our hearts, helping us to sift the wheat and the weeds.

3. Silence is not quietism; it is rather resting in Him. For what effect could the storm around us have, if we rest beside Him asleep in the boat?

4. There is a mortal silence, the silence of the tomb, in which the earth quakes and Christ descends to the dark depths of the human heart, to love us and to raise us up with Him. Love always resurrects.

5. St. Joseph gives us the example of heroic silence, bowing before the Majesty and doing His will without complaint.