Chapter 6: Cherishing silence in the monastery
We should remember that speaking and instructing belong to the teacher; the disciple's role is to be silent and listen.
(From para. 1 of Ch. 6 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
Practicing the silence of meditation, I learn, little by little, the language of silence. This is the language of the human consciousness of Jesus in my heart.
I can drown every good intention and love itself in a "flood of words" when distracted by the ego's desire for "righteousness" and moralizing. The right time and the right word, if needed, are discerned after patient and prolonged listening in the heart.
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