Based on a talk by Rev. Fr. Pachomius Ma. San Juan, OSB

To walk the spiritual path is to enter into silence. Not just an absence of noise, but a deep and sacred stillness that awakens the soul.

We often imagine spiritual growth as something we do – more effort, more prayer, more study. But the true invitation is simpler and more radical: to be still. Silence is not an accessory to solitude; it is its heart. Without silence, solitude is incomplete. Alone time becomes just another form of distraction unless it is sanctified by silence.

Why silence matters

We live in a world flooded with words. We use them to explain, justify, protect, and promote ourselves. Words are how we shape our image, how we defend our place. But in silence, we let go of all that. We stop needing to know what others think. We let go of our longing to be included, to be validated, to be approved.

Silence disciplines us. It stills the ego’s chatter and opens a space for something deeper.

Giving power to words

In this stillness, too, something else happens: words regain their power. When not overused, words become alive again – meaningful, purposeful, even healing. Silence prepares us to speak from the heart, to speak with intention, to speak less, but say more.

Closer to God

And in that quiet space, we draw near to God.

This is not the silence of absence but the silence of divine presence. A silence that is terrible, tender, and all-embracing. In this profound stillness, we encounter the voice of God. Not always in language, but in a love that floods and transforms us.

A path to discovery

This is what John Main pointed to in his teachings on meditation. He wasn’t merely offering a technique; he was showing us a doorway into the interior universe, the place where God is in charge, where we are fully met and utterly loved.

We are in urgent need of this spiritual dimension. Without it, we lose our grounding. The spiritual journey is a voyage of discovery. Not outward, but inward. And silence is the vessel.

Responding to the gift

We do not create silence. We respond to it. We are invited.

Silence is grace. It seduces gently. It is never forced. And the more we surrender to it, the more we become it. Silence begins to shape who we are. And from that center, we re-emerge into the world, anchored, whole, and ready to truly share ourselves.

So let us listen. Let us be still. Let us enter the silence, and be transformed by it.