"Silence is not native to my world. Silence, more than likely, is a stranger to your world, too. If you and I ever have silence in our noisy hearts, we are going to have to grow it … You can nurture silence in your noisy heart if you value it, cherish it, and are eager to nourish it."

"Our worlds are filled with the noise of endless music, chatter, and busy schedules. In most homes there is a stereo in almost every room, in every car, in each office, in the elevator. When I dial a friend at his office I am offered music over the phone until he comes to answer my call. There are cell phones with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony theme for a ring, Walkmans with mega-bass, and MP3s, all invading the mind with noise. Pretty noise, most of the time. But nevertheless noise. With the intrusion of so much noise, when can we withdraw and monitor the still, small voice of God? We are so accustomed to noise that we grow restless without it. Worshipers in a congregation find it difficult to sit in quietness for more than a minute or two; we assume that something has gone wrong and someone has forgotten his assignment. Most of us would find it difficult to go even an hour without saying anything or hearing a word from someone."

"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature-trees, flowers, grass-grow in silence; see the stars, the moon and sun, how they move in silence … the more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us. All our words will be useless unless they come from within-words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness."