The Silence Speaks

Thomas Merton

"The true contemplative is not the one who prepares his mind for a particular message that he wants or expects to hear, but rather is the one who remains empty because he knows that he can never expect or anticipate the word that will transform his darkness into light.  He does not even anticipate a special kind of transformation.  He does not demand light instead of darkness.  

"He waits on the Word of God in silence, and when he is "answered," it is not so much by a word that bursts into his silence.  It is by his silence itself suddenly, inexplicably revealing itself to him as a word of great power, full of the voice of God."

New Seeds of Contemplation

(From Patricia: Some of the quotes this week are offered as Christmas gifts, pictures of beauty and splendor and peace, in words.)