MOTHER THERESA - SILENCE OF THE HEART

excerpt from NO GREATER LOVE, MOTHER THERESA, forward by Thomas Moore

Born in 1910 in Skopji, Albania, recipient of Nobel Peace Prize, US Medal of Freedom, UN Albert Schwetzer Prize. She went to Loreto Abbey, Rathfarnham, Dublin, Ireland in 1928 and from there to India where she began her novitiate.  She taught geography in St. Mary's High School in Calcutta from 1929 to 1948.  Then in 1950, she started her own order, the Missionaries of Charity, to minister exclusively to the poorest of the poor.

"To be alone with Him, not with our books, thoughts, and memories but completely stripped of everything, to dwell lovingly in His presence - silent, empty, expectant, and motionless....

"We cannot find God in noise or agitation.
Nature: trees, flowers, and grass gow in silence.  The stars, the moon, and the sun move in silence.  What is essential is not what we say but what God tells us and what He tells others through us.  In silence He listens to us, in silence He speaks to our souls.  In silence we are granted the privilege of listening to His voice.
Silence of our eyes.
Silence of our ears.
Silence of our mouths.
Silence of our minds.
...in the silence of the heart God will speak.

"Silence of the heart is necessary so you can hear God everywhere - in the closing of the door, in the person who needs you, in the birds that sing, in the flowers, in the animals.."

Excerpt from MOTHER THERESA, MEDITATIONS FROM A SIMPLE PATH:

"The fruit of silence is Prayer.
The fruit of prayer is FAITH.
The fruit of faith is LOVE.
The fruit of love is SERVICE.
The fruit of service is PEACE."