In The Leaving
They worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. —Luke 24:52
In the leaving,
in the letting go,
let there be this
to hold onto
at the last:
the enduring of love,
the persisting of hope,
the remembering of joy,
the offering of gratitude,
the receiving of grace,
the blessing of peace.
From “Circle of Grace”, Jan Richardson
Silence is the mother
of the Spirit.
It births in us
the cloister of the heart.
It brings us beyond the noise
of chaos and clutter
and confusion
of a spinning world
to the cool, calm centre
of the spiritual self.
Silence enables us
to rest in that centre,
to allow God
to work in us there…
In silence, we learn
to listen to others
who are also seeking God…
to hear their pain
and their wisdom,
their experiences and
the truths in them,
that bring our own wisdom
to light, to question,
to development.
It is silence that keeps us
from giving full rein
to the empty imaginings
and cruel commentaries
always too fresh at hand
in our narcissistic selves…
Silence protects us
from our noisy selves
and prepare us
for the work of God in us…
In silence,
we become able
to hear the voice of God
calling us beyond ourselves-
always to the better,
always to the more.
Joan Chittester, Monastery of the heart.
