Quotes on Silence

“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- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
--Blessed Mother Teresa


Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent.
--St. John of the Cross


The tongue is a small member, but it does big things. A religious who does not keep silence will never attain holiness; that is, she will never become a saint. Let her not delude herself - unless it is the Spirit of God who is speaking through her, for then she must not keep silent. But, in order to hear the voice of God, one has to have silence in one's soul and to keep silence; not a gloomy silence but an interior silence; that is to say, recollection in God. (118) --St. Faustina


What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love.
--St John of the Cross, OCD


No man is safe in speaking unless he loves to be silent. No man rules safely unless he is willing to be ruled.
--Imitation of Christ


In silence and quiet the devout soul advances in virtue and learns the hidden truths of Scripture.
--Imitation of Christ


Wisdom enters through love, silence, and mortification. It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others.
--St John of the Cross, OCD


“In some causes silence is dangerous.”
--Saint Ambrose
A judicious silence is always better than truth spoken without charity.
--St. Francis De Sales


It is better to remain silent than to speak the truth ill-humoredly, and spoil an excellent dish by covering it with bad sauce.
--St. Francis De Sales

To be silent when we are impelled to utter words injurious to God or to our neighbour, is an act of virtue; but, to be silent in confessing our sins, is the ruin of the soul.
--St. Alphonsus De Liguori


A talkative soul lacks both the essential virtues and intimacy with God. A deeper interior life, one of gentle peace and of that silence where the Lord dwells, is quite out of the question. A soul that has never tasted
the sweetness of inner silence is a restless spirit which disturbs the silence of others.
--St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul


It is best to learn to silence the faculties and to cause them to be still, so that God may speak.
--St John of the Cross