Intelligent silence is the mother of prayer, freedom from bondage, custodian of zeal, a guard on our thoughts, a watch on our fears, a friend of tears, a recollection of death, a concern without judgment, a foe of license, a companion of stillness, the opponent of dogmatism, a growth of knowledge, a hand to shape contemplation, hidden progress, the secret journey toward the Light. The lover of silence draws closer to God (by whatever Names).
~ from THE LADDER OF DIVINE ASCENT by St. John Clemacius
In the center of Love's embrace is the circle of the soul and the body. For just as the Word of God penetrates all creation, so does the soul penetrate the whole body like wind flowing through a house or like a sower seeding fertile ground or like a mother soothing her crying babe. Yet all these wonder are held in the arms of Love an are linked in a delicate balance in a universe creted to be of service to humanity so men and women can work with it.
~ from SCARLET MUSIC: A Life of Hildegard of Bingen by Joan Ohanneson
