Tonight, we read Step number 11 on “talkativeness and silence.” Fittingly, it is very brief, if not the briefest of all of the steps of The Ladder. This brevity is St. John’s way of teaching us that so much of our speech involves vainglory; putting ourselves on display. We seek through it to step out of ourselves; betraying the painful experience we have as human beings of our lack of identity. God has created us for himself. He has created us in his image and likeness precisely that we might not experience ourselves in isolation, but rather in communion. However, to enter into communion with God means to step out of our limited ways of perceiving the world around us and reality as a whole. This means allowing God, through the silence,
to draw us in faith into the experience of His life, light and love. To give ourselves over to talkativeness is to find ourselves dissipated. Our desire for God cools and the emptiness that we feel drives us to fill our lives with anything and everything so that we do not feel alone. Despite having God dwelling within us, once we lose sight of him, silence becomes an enemy. Therefore, John tells us that we must foster silence as a habit. We must allow God to show us its value, and what it makes possible for us. The first step is to create external silence. Once we have done this, we often see the unsettledness of our minds and hearts.
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Text of chat during the group:
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Eighteen Part II
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Seventeen Part II and Letter Eighteen Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixteen Part II and Letter Seventeen Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Sixteen Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Fifteen
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Fourteen Part II
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Thirteen Part III and Letter Fourteen Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Thirteen Part II
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Twelve Part III and Letter 13 Part I
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Twelve Part II
Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Twelve Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Seventy-one Part V and Homily Seventy-two Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Seventy-one Part IV
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Seventy-one Part III
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Seventy-one Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Seventy Part II and Homily Seventy-one Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-nine Part II and Homily Seventy Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-eight Part III and Homily Sixty-nine Part I
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-eight Part II
The Ascetical Homilies of Saint Isaac the Syrian - Homily Sixty-seven Part II and Homily Sixty-eight Part I
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