"Since union with God, precious fruit of silence, could not exist if calmness did not reign within and around us, we must, by a vigilant mortification of the tongue and of the imagination, repress without ceasing the too great love of talking as well as the curious desire of knowing everything."

-- Mother Catherine Aurelia Caouette, Foundress of the Sisters Adorers of the Most Precious Blood

It is internal silence that counts

"We are religious. We are different. So we cannot expect the world to accept silence and treasure it as we have done. We cannot expect traffic cops to throw away their whistles or bus drivers to disconnect their horns. We cannot expect merchants to haggle in low, subdued voices; or cab drivers to transport their fares beneath a cloud of deep, sepulchral quiet. We cannot expect any of these things. We do not expect them. We cannot hope that silence will subdue noise. We do not believe it is possible. But we do believe that if people said less, made less noise, they would be wiser. And with that wisdom would come the ability to cope more adequately with the complexities of living.

Noise and talk have not made us less human, but they have med us less wise. Because of it, we have sometimes crippled the growth of our culture and impeded the development of our knowledge. And the fact that some Americans have failed to adjust their mighty voices to their little worlds has turned them into some of the greatest bores on the face of the earth.

None of us should be too proud or too ashamed to admit that we have spoken too much and too often for our own good. And if some friend loves us enough to say, "shut your mouth," we should not condemn him for his insolence, but thank him for his advice. It is only too bad that God did not furnish zippers with every mouth He made. For if He had, we might more easily become intellectual giants. We might more easily become saints.

So when the five o'clock bell rings on these dark winter evenings, we go into our grand silence. We do this in an effort to achieve through external silence, the great prize, internal silence. For it is internal silence that counts; it is the internal silence that gives us the power to remain unruffled, ever calm, ever the master of our surroundings. And blessed is he who can remain unruffled before the wild antics of modern civilization."

-- Men in Sandals by Fr Richard Madden, ocd

In silence you can find rest

"After years of seasoning we would come to see the reason for it all. We would find that through silence we could begin to live in a world that would not be laid open to the penetrating wheeze of high pitched voices or the gruff cursings of the basso profundos. We would come to appreciate silence for the splendid opportunity it would give us to see all things in their true light. We would aways be grateful for the lesson it would teach us - that the less we say, the more effect and weight out words will carry when we do speak. And we would come to accept silence not as a form of capital punishment (as some would) but as a reprieve from the overpowering pressure of ordinary living. In silence we would find rest, not boredom. And what is more, we would actually come to enjoy it."

-- Men in Sandals by Fr Richard Madden, ocd

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I apologise for the posting delay. Our Internet connection has been intermittent for weeks now.

The wisdom of the closed mouth

"Most of our conversation has no more merit or effect than to stir the air around us. We could all say so very much less without any fear of the world's becoming worse. In fact, if we practice with greater fidelity the virtue of the closed mouth, the world would probably be the better for it.

Not only that, but God alone knows all the grief we have caused ourselves by the imprudence and over-indulgence of our tongues. Many were the times when we felt like kicking ourselves halfway around the block for having said something we felt as if we would have given our right arms to have some of our spoken words revoked. No doubt about it, silence is good sense for everybody. Too bad we can't love it more!

'Silence braces the sinews of the soul'; it reinforces the powers of the mind. This is why it is so widely practiced in all religious communities. But, of course, it is not always easy. There are times when, catering to the gregariousness of our natures, we like to gather in groups and solve the problems of the day with our wise verbosity. Certainly when we entered religious life like hot cakes off the sizzling griddle of the world, we didn't get this business of silence. Like many other things, it went over our heads in the beginning. All it required was a little time for us to realize the wisdom of the closed mouth. We finally took St. James at his word when he said, 'If any man sin not with his tongue, the same is a perfect man.'"

-- Men in Sandals by Fr. Richard Madden, ocd

Silence makes you think

"One rarely enters a monastery bearing with him the infused gift of silence: it, as all other monastery habits, must be acquired. All of us had to learn how and when to keep out mouths shut. But, with silence all over the house, prevailing like the wind, we had no reason for not being able to fall in step with the life around us. Training in silence was the order of the day, every day, through the months of novitiate. We were happy to have an opportunity to speak to one another each day at recreation periods, but we were also satisfied to keep the silence when we were supposed to because of the good that was bound to come of it.

And although it would hardly seem possible, when Lent came that first year, there was an even greater than ordinary silence pervading the halls of Carmel. Or seemed to be. The clicking of rosary beads was softened. Disturbing squeaks were routed from sandals. Voices were hushed. Even the telephone did not ring as stridently as usual, or the doorbell. And the cook did not seem to bang the pots and pans as loudly as was his wont. Life within the monastery had become a giant in soft shoes, aggravating its own silence, not because of any special regulations, but only because Lent at the novitiate seemed to spawn an even greater and more profound silence. That year, for the first time in our lives, we let the cloak of quiet fall about our shoulders completely. For the first time we were able to think even deeper thoughts about the Man who went by with a cross. Silence can do that.

But the virtues of this quiet are all so incomprehensible to many people. I do not think that we are far wrong in saying that, on the whole, men are not too appreciative of the virtue of silence. Living today is a chaotic struggle at high speed. The faster people go, the more noise they make; and the more noise they make, the better they feel. For they are afraid of silence. Silence makes them think, and they do not want to think, because when they do, their thought processes gradually sweep them before the unwavering eyes of a just God. they do not like that at all. It hurts; it frightens. Like little boys they whistle themselves past a cemetery pretending it is not there."

-- Men in Sandals by Fr. Richard Madden, ocd

Only in silence can the Word run out in God's infinity

"'It is better,' writes Ignatius of Antioch (died c 110 AD), 'to be one who keeps quiet and is something than one who talks and isn't something. It is a good thing to teach if those who talk also act. One is The Teacher who spoke and it happened. WHat he did in silence is worthy of the Father. Those who really have Jesus' word can also hear his silence. In this way, he becomes perfected, acts through what he says, and is recognized through silence.'

One who lives in close association with God's word can also listen to God's silence. The words lead him into an ocean of silence; God is greater than what human speech can say about him. One who reads Scripture in the spirit in which it was written, in the Holy Spirit, has a growing need of silent prayer, contemplation, worship. One there, in silence, can the Word run out into God's infinity. THere is a time when the Word (and the word) says to us as to Mary Magdalen: 'Do not hold on to me' (Jn 20:17), release your grip, drown in God's measureless sea.

In Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity's (1880-1906) known prayers, we encounter both word and silence, to listen to God's word and drown in his silence. She writes: 'O eternal Word, my God's Word, I will spend my life in listening to you. I will be an ideal ear for you so that I learn all of you.' But she also writes: 'O my all, my blessedness, endless Loneliness, the Immeasurable where I lose myself; as an exchange, I give myself over to you. Hide yourself in me, so that I become hidden in you.'

Silence is both a preparation for and a consequence of God's presence. 'Let all the earth keep silence before him! says Habakkuk (2:20). And Zephaniah: 'Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is at hand' (1:7). The silence which is a preparation for God's visit is something we should crate ourselves. But it is quite different when the silence is created by God! What he does has really another weight.

It is about this silence the Book of Revelation speaks when it describes how the Lamb in heaven opens the scroll, breaks its seal, and reveals God's secret counsel: 'When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour' (8:1).

One can read in the mystics about this silence. The silence doesn't deny  the word; it shows instead the power of the word. Like a rocket fires off a spaceship and propels it outside the earth's field of gravitation into endless space, so the word can propel people out of the human world's narrow limitations into God's endlessness."

-- Nourished by the Word: Reading the Bible Contemplatively by Fr Wilfrid Stinissen, ocd

Seek a place in your soul for Jesus

"God and always God. Not even the heart is fed up, nor the soul finds rest outside of God.

Men don't tell you anything. You don't find anything in books; only in the silence of everything and everyone..., in that silence that not even thought dares to disturb, in that silence that muses on love and hope, only there is it possible to live. Outside of that, everything is noise, turmoil. Outside of God, there is nothing; peace is only in God, and God lives in the soul of his friends, and while we do not  seek God in the silence and in prayer, while we do not remain still..., we will not find peace, nor will we find God.

Only in silence is it possible to live, but not in the silence of words and deeds..., no; it is something very difficult to explain... It is the silence of one who loves much, very much, and that does not know what to say, nor what to think, nor what to desire, nor what to do... Only God inside there, very quiet..., waiting, hoping, I don't know..., the Lord is very good.

Poor suffering soul..., are you seeking rest? You will not find it in anything or anyone... Hush a little, seek a place in your soul, very hidden, very quiet, and put there a little love for Jesus... and you will see; neither sorrows nor joys will disturb your peace, and even the waiting [period] will become sweet. Jesus in your soul!"

-- Hermano Rafael Arnáiz Barón: Obras Completas prepared by Fr M Alberico Feliz Carbajal, ocso. Translated by ocdsister.

Note: There are two main types of translators: dynamic and literal. I'm a literal translator. Thus, I have kept Br Rafael's (now Saint) writing style even though a more dynamic rendition would make for a smooth reading in English.

I'm never alone in that little inner sanctuary of my soul

"At the heart of Elizabeth's teaching is the need for stillness and silence, a silence of listening and openness to the still, small voice of the Spirit within. In an age of ever-increasing noise and activity, her teaching shines like a beacon of sanity and carries a message of hope. It is the message of God's love, of his presence in our lives, and of his invitation to intimacy. Most important of all, Elizabeth speaks out of her own experience, out of the lived reality of her own life. A young woman rich in human qualities, vibrant with the sensitivity of an artist and the courage of a soldier, she speaks words of wisdom and of common sense.

Once Elizabeth discovered, at the age of ten, that her name meant House of God, she was determined to make that house a home, where she would live as attentively as possible to the presence within. This presence became her joy. Though she lived only twenty-six years, it was enough for her to live with total intensity, both as a lay contemplative and as a Carmelite nun, the mystery of God's life that she shared through baptismo an age searching for meaning and identity, she tells of her own search and her own discovery: her thirst for the deeper reality within and the joy of finding, and surrendering to, love:  love is something infinite, she once wrote, and you can always go farther in infinity! (L 192).

Prophet of the presence of God, Elizabeth invites us to accept this gift of God and open our hearts to the reality within:

• He is always there, although you don't feel it; He is waiting for you and wants to establish a 'wonderful communion' with you. (L 249)
• Love ... dwells within us; and my only exercise is to enter within once again, to lose myself in Those who are there! (L 179)
• I am asking God to give you a taste, too, of the sweetness of His Love and His presence: that is that transforms, what illumines life, it is the secret of happiness! (L 174)
• In that little inner sanctuary [of my soul], ...I find Him at every hour of the day and night. I'm never alone: my Christ is always there praying in me, and I pray with Him. (L 123)"

-- Let Yourself be Loved: Elizabeth of the Trinity by Eugene McCaffrey, ocd

Your heart communicates directly with the Heart of Christ in the blissful adoration of simple regard

"We cannot see Christ and remain as we are. We cannot exchange a look with Christ and not be overcome with a total conversion.

This is what I would like to help you to do: to lead you to Christ so that you might, in the silence of retreat, exchange that glance with Christ; a true, living, and real contact that is not the fruit of the imagination, but rather reaches the heart of things as they are. Christ is a living being who is here, there, and everywhere. To see Christ, we must become poor. Riches drag down the soul. One has to become small in stature, that is, detached from the goods of this world, for such riches foster earthly desires. As you are well aware, Saint john of the Cross warns: ”Whether one is attached to earth by a silken thread or a old cable, the result is the same: one cannot soar to the heights.” One attachment, however small, that violates obedience, poverty, or chastity, and draws us away from God, may be nothing by worldly standards. Nonetheless, that attachment comes between God and ourselves and impedes our ascent toward sanctity.

Christ is all in all. Through him, all is made; through him all comes to us. Therefore, we must see Christ. I stress this point; we must truly see Christ. I sometimes think that we should define the term Christian as “Someone who has seen Christ.” There are only a few genuine Christians, because only a few souls have seen Christ. Countless baptized persons, including even ordained priests and professed religious, remain lukewarm in spirit. Such tepid souls do not pulsate with life nor are they enthusiastic enough to give their life for Christ. They have never seen Christ. Their knowledge of the Lord is verbal, not vital. However, we must strive to love Christ passionately and prepare to see him face to face when we die. The soul that neither misses Christ now nor longs to see him at life’s end does not honestly love him. To make such a claim would be a lie. When we love someone, we long to see that person, even at the risk of death. All the more so, given him limitless love, we want to long to see Christ face to face.

Let us now turn our attention to Saint John of the Cross. In his splendid writings, he explains how the person who loves God gradually pierces the veil that keeps us from seeing the Lord. Eventually, the moment comes, when that veil is totally sundered and the person goes forth to our beloved God.

When I speak of seeing Christ, I mean the mysterious, misty vision of faith, which is the fruit of the prayer of simple regard and not the result of any activity on our part. I mean the experience of being “swept up” by Christ himself. When we have diligently devoted ourselves to charity, obedience, service, and self-control, and when Christ has seen the constancy of our commitment, then he himself comes to us. On that day, we become enveloped in the divine being and ecstatically discover the presence of God himself. We know that the Lord is there. He speaks to us, but not in words. The human heart communicates directly with the heart of Christ in the blissful adoration of simple regard. This heartfelt vision of Christ compels the soul so to love Christ and so to make him loved that nothing else on earth can inspire greater love than the Lord. Wealth then is as nothing and poverty is prized precisely because is allows us greater intimacy with Christ. No other comfort, no other countenance and no other solace suffices. Christ alone provides satisfaction.

How glorious is this intimacy with Christ!"

-- Listen to the Silence: A Retreat with Père Jaques edited by Francis J Murphy

Let us seek to realize that we truly can be in contact with God

"Only with deepest humility can we recognize how far we are from our goal. Only those souls who have attained a lofty level of holiness can truly acknowledge how far they still are from their total fulfillment. For example, the Curé of Ars considered himself more wretched than the notorious sinners to whom he ministered. He realized that many of these fallen souls, had they received the same graces that he had received, would perhaps surpass him in holiness. Only with humility can we recognize the torpor of our love.

Prayer is our primary duty. Prayer is the reason why God has placed us on earth. We learn truly to prayer, when we are in the presence and company of Christ. Therefore, we must contemplate Christ for long periods of a time and seek him out persistently. Consider those closest to Christ. Saint John the Apostle grasped what was indispensable for a clear understanding of his master. John never tired of probing and querying Christ. We can see how John thus gained richer insights and fuller explanations, precisely because he went to the bother of approaching and asking Christ to clarify each day's lesson. I picture John, walking close behind Christ, as he made his way about the Holy Land. Thus, John came to gain a wealth of intimate knowledge, which the other apostles did not acquire. Herein lies the explanation for the special character of the fourth Gospel. While the other apostles traveled across the then known world on their missionary journeys, John's unique apostolate was to remain close to the Virgin Mary, whom Christ had entrusted to him. Thus were these two great souls conjoined in love and prayer!

In silent solitude, let us seek to realize that we truly can be in contact with God. It is God whom we should aim to encounter in prayer. It is God who is both the breath and the fulfillment of our life." -- Ven Jacques of Jesus, ocd

-- Listen to the Silence: A Retreat with Père Jacques translated and edited by Francis J Murphy

Carmel is the desert

"The Spirit within us yearns to return to its source, our Father. Many people are confused by these inner longings and try to escape through constant noise and activity. In today's world, suicide has even become a frequent means of escape. People often do not realize that their anguish is in the spirit, and that the death of the body will not eliminate their suffering, because the spirit, like God, is infinite.

Carmel teaches us not to run from these stirrings, but rather to go into the 'desert' and face them. A desert place is where we leave all nonessentials behind and spend time in silence and solitude with our divine friend within. Through daily meditation, our friendship with Christ develops into love. All love relationships, if they are to grow, need time devoted entirely to each other.

We then strive to carry the spirit of the desert, the interior silence and solitude, the sense of the presence of God, throughout our busy days. Carmel does not emphasize one apostolate, but embraces all apostolates, God's love now influencing all of our activities. 'When the active works rise from this interior root, they become lovely and fragrant flowers for they proceed from this tree of God's love and are done for Him alone, without any self-interest. The fragrance from these flowers spreads to the benefit of many.' (St Teresa, Meditation on the Song of Songs, 7.3)

Carmel is a way of life that fosters an ever-increasing awareness of being united with God in the depths of our being while leading ordinary lives in the world. The Holy Family of Nazareth is the perfect model. Carmel is a way of spirituality that is possible for people of every walk of life."

Welcome to Carmel edited Fr Michael D Griffin, ocd

Solitude and Silence

"To practise this life of prayer more efficaciously, the Carmelite seeks solitude and keeps himself in silence. The Carmelite Order originated in solitude. The first Carmelites were hermits. The Order has retained this eremitical character. The Rule and the Constitution want Carmelite convents and monasteries to be outside the cities, so that the religious can live in retirement in their cloisters and cells. St Teresa wanted this eremitical spirit to be maintained. She said expressly; 'The end we pursue is not only to live as religious, but as hermits.'

This spirit is characterized by a profound silence. The Rule puts great emphasis upon silence, and declares expressly that to speak when there is no sufficient reason for doing so distracts, dissipates, and defiles the soul. Silence, on the contrary, enables the soul to keep itself pure, fortifies it, and concentrates its power in God. Besides, the soul which seeks God avoids all conversation which has no relation to Him, knowing that he Is not to be found in idle talk and noise, and that it is only in silence and by keeping oneself alert that one perceives the divine Word and receives His light."

-- The Spirit and Prayer of Carmel by Fr François Jamart, ocd