There is a Receptive form of spirituality present to a degree in everyone... Here is a spirituality of listening, of waiting, where we say to our souls, "Be still," or "Rest awhile," or -- like the wise old woman --
"Sometimes ah sets and thinks, but sometimes ah jes sets."
Receptive spirituality has large moments of just "setting".
If we will only learn silence, we will learn two things: to pray and to be humble. You cannot love unless you have humility, and you cannot be humble if you do not love. From the silence of the heart God speaks.
Silence is the beautiful fruit of prayer. We must learn not only the silence of the mouth, but also the silence of the heart, of the eyes, of the ears and of the mind, which I call the five silences. Say it and memorize it on your five fingers.
It is necessary that we find God, who cannot be found in noise and unpeace. God is the friend of silence. See how Nature -- trees, flowers, and grass -- grow in stillness; how stars, moon, and sun run their course in silence. The more we receive through quiet prayer, the more we can give in the activity of our daily lives. In essence, it is not what WE say, but what GOD says to us and through us. All our words are useless if they do not come from within.
