Quiet

"Silence has two functions. The first effect of exterior silence is to develop a sense of interior peace. The second value of silence is that it provides a stillness that enables the ear of the heart to hear the God who is 'not in the whirlwind.'

The constantly blaring music, the slammed door, the ceaseless, empty chatter in the hall, the constantly harsh voice all break the peace of the heart and agitate the soul. Day after day, month after month of them thickens the walls of the mind until it becomes impossible to hear the talk within us that shows us our pain and opens our minds to the truths of life and the presence of God...

We say we do not have the time to think, but what we actually lack is the quiet to think. Yet, until we are able to have at least a little silence every day, both outside and in, both inside and out, we have no hope of coming to know either God or ourselves very well." Joan Chittister, The Rule of Benedict, pp. 124-125.