Sr. Marie Milena of Jesus OCD
Sister Marie Milena lived in Carmel in Paris and died reputedly in holiness. One day, a fellow sister walked by her cell on her way to community recreation and saw her as if in a trance. When Sister Milena came to recreation, she asked her, "What were you just doing?" She replied, "I was listening to silence." "And what did silence tell you?" In response, she wrote this down.
It is a gradual calming, tranquility, and pacification of the whole person. The word "silence" is unusual to us today. Instead of silence, we might simply say "peace." It is the peace that the Holy Spirit gives. Without it, a person's inner self is full of confusion and noise. "The wicked have no peace" (Isaiah 48:12).
Peace was brought into the world by Jesus Christ. This is what the angels sang at his birth, and this was his greeting at his resurrection: "Peace be with you." In the first stanza of the poem by St. John of the Cross, the soul sings of its happiness: "When my house was already resting in sleep."
In Lourdes, there used to be a lot of noise near the cave, loud praying, and singing in various languages, with everyone shouting over one another. Now, nearby the cave, there are signs: "Silence." There is a special quiet atmosphere of prayer. The Virgin Mary loves peace. "Gentle, quiet Mother." Silence prepared her for the Annunciation.
One of the main signs of our time is the loss of silence.
It can be said that the inner life rests primarily on this single word: Silence!
Silence makes saints. It begins them, leads them further, and completes them.
Eternal God uttered a single word, which is the Word. Thus, all our words should contain Jesus. How beautiful this word silence!
1. Speak little to creatures and much to God.
This is the first, but essential step on the lonely paths of silence. It is the school of fundamental insights that prepare for union with God. Here the soul studies and deepens this virtue, in the spirit of the Gospel, in the spirit of the rule which it has received, in reverence for sacred places, for people, and especially for that language on which the Word of the Father often rests, the Word which became flesh! Silence towards the world, silence towards novelties, silence even with the most righteous souls: Mary was startled by the voice of the angel...
2. Silence in work, in movements.
Silence in walking; silence of the eyes, ears, voice; silence of the whole outer being, which prepares the soul for passing into God. The soul deserves, if it is up to her, through these first efforts to hear the voice of the Lord. How greatly rewarded this first step is! He calls her to the desert, and thus in this second position, she avoids everything that might distract her. She distances herself from the noise, fleeing alone to the one who is alone. There she tastes the first fruits of union with God and experiences the jealousy of her God. That is silence of recollection, or recollection in silence.
3. Silence of the imagination.
This ability gently knocks first on the closed doors of the Bridegroom’s garden, along with strange feelings, vague impressions, and sorrows. But in this remote place, the soul presents to the Beloved evidence of her love. She presents to this power, which cannot be destroyed, the beauties of heaven, the charms of her Lord, the scenes of Calvary, the perfection of her God. There she too will remain in silence, a silent servant of divine love.
4. Silence of memory.
Silence concerning the past… forgetting. It is necessary to satisfy this ability with the memory of all God’s mercies… It is gratitude in silence, it is silence of thanks.
5. Silence towards creatures.
What a misery is our present state! A soul attentive to herself often catches herself speaking inwardly to creatures, answering in their name. Oh, that humility over which the saints lamented! There let the soul withdraw into the innermost depths of that hidden place, where inaccessible Majesty dwells in the sanctuary, and where Jesus, her Comforter and her God reveals to her his secrets and lets her taste future bliss. There He gives her aversion toward everything that is not Him, and everything earthly gradually ceases to distract her.
6. Silence of the heart.
If the tongue is mute, if the senses are calm, if the imagination, memory, and creatures are silent, and create solitude, if not around, then at least within this betrothed soul, the heart will make very little noise. Silence of affections (feelings), antipathies, silence of desires in what is too fiery, silence of zeal in what is unreasonable, silence of enthusiasm in what is exaggerated, silence even to sighs!… Silence of love in its burning, not in that burning whose author is God, but in that which is mixed with nature! Silence of love is love in silence… It is silence before God, beauty, goodness, perfection!… Silence that has nothing oppressive, forced about it. This silence unduly damages tenderness, the strength of love, just as the confession of faults harms the silence of humility, just like the beating of angelic wings, of which the prophet speaks, harms the silence of their obedience, as fiat harmed the silence in Gethsemane, as eternal Sanctus harms the silence of the seraphs!…
A silent heart is a heart of a virgin, it is a melody for the heart of God! A lamp burns quietly before the tabernacle and incense rises in silence to the throne of the Savior: such is the silence of love. In the previous stages, silence was still the lament of the earth; at this stage, the soul, due to its purity, begins to learn the first note of the sacred hymn, which is the song of heaven.
7. Silence of nature, self-love.
Silence in observing one’s own corruption, one’s own incapacity. Silence of the soul, which takes delight in her humility. Silence in praise, in honor. Silence before contempt, being preferred, complaining, it is silence of kindness and humility. Silence of nature before joys or delights. A flower blooms in silence and its fragrance silently praises the Creator: the inner soul must likewise do. Silence of nature in tribulation or adversity. Silence in fasting, vigils, weariness, in cold and in heat! Silence in health, in sickness when deprived of all: this is an eloquent silence of true poverty and penance, a sweet silence of dying to all created and human. It is the silence of the human self passing into what God wants. The tremors of nature cannot disrupt this silence, for it is above nature.
8. Silence of the spirit.
To silence useless, pleasant, natural thoughts. Only those harm the silence of the spirit, and not the thought itself, which cannot cease to exist. Our spirit wants the truth and we give it lies! The essential truth is God! God suffices his divine reason and does not suffice the wretched human reason! As far as God’s perception, continuous, immediate is not possible in the weakness of the body, but from the pure gift of his goodness. Silence in the actions of the spirit, regarding faith, is to be satisfied with its dark light. Silence to subtle reflection, which weakens the will and dries up love. Silence in intention: purity, simplicity. Silence in seeking self. In meditation, silence of curiosity. In prayer, silence of one’s own actions, which only obstruct divine action. Silence of pride, which seeks itself in everything, everywhere, and always, wanting the beautiful, the good, and the noble; this is silence of holy simplicity, complete detachment, straightforwardness. A spirit that fights against these enemies resembles those angels who constantly behold God’s face. Such a mind, in constant silence, the Lord raises to himself.
9. Silence of judgment.
Silence regarding persons, silence regarding things. Not to judge, not to express one’s opinion. Sometimes to have none, when it is not against reason or love. This is the silence of blessed and holy childhood, it is the silence of the perfect, it is the silence of angels and archangels when they follow God’s commands. It is the silence of the Incarnate Word.
10. Silence of the will.
Silence to commandments, silence to the holy prescriptions of the rule is, so to speak, mere outer silence of one’s own will. The Lord wants to teach us something deeper and harder, silence of a servant under the blows of his master. But happy is the servant, for the master is God! This silence is the silence of the victim on the altar, it is the silence of the lamb, who is stripped of its fleece, it is the silence in the darkness that hinders demanding light, at least comforting.
This is silence in the anxieties of the heart, in the pains of the soul. Silence of the soul, which sees itself in God’s favor and now feels cast aside and speaks not a word: why? how long? It is silence in surrender, silence under the strict gaze of God, under the weight of his divine hand, silence without any complaint but a complaint of love. It is the silence of crucifixion, it is more than the silence of martyrs, it is the silence of the mortal anguish of Jesus Christ. Yes, this silence is his divine silence and nothing can compare to his voice, nothing can resist his plea, nothing is more worthy of God than such praise in pain, than this fiat under the press, than this silence in the mortal struggle! Meanwhile, as this humble and free will, the true burnt offering of love, is broken and destroyed for the glory of God’s name, He transforms it into his divine will. Well then, what does it still lack for perfection? What is still needed for union? What is needed for the completion of Christ in this soul? Two things: the first is the last breath of a human being; the second is only a tender attention to the dear one, whose divine kiss is an unspeakable reward.
11. Silence with oneself.
Not to speak to oneself inwardly, not to listen to oneself, not to complain, nor to console oneself. In one word, to be silent with oneself, to forget oneself, to remain completely alone with God; to escape from oneself, to detach oneself from oneself. Behold, this is the most difficult silence, yet so essential for such a perfect union with God, which a poor creature is capable of, who with the help of grace often reaches this point, but stops at this stage because it does not understand it, and even less practices it. This is the silence of nothingness. It is more courageous than the silence of death.
12. Silence with God.
In the beginning, God said to the soul: "Speak little to creatures and much with me." Here He says: "Speak no more to me." Silence with God means to cling to God, to stand before God, to surrender, to offer oneself to Him, to annihilate oneself before Him, to worship Him, to love Him, to listen to Him, to understand Him, to rest in Him. It is the silence of eternity, it is the union of the soul with God.
A fellow sister saw Sister Marie Milena as if in a trance. Then she asked her what she was doing at that moment. She replied, "I was listening to silence."
Translated and compiled by P. Metoděj Minařík, O.Carm.
