The silence of the Word in the womb of the virgin speaks to you, cries out to you, recommends the discipline of silence. For ‘in silence and in hope shall be your strength’ as Isaiah promises, who defined the pursuit of justice as silence. As the Christ-child in the womb advanced towards birth in a long, deep silence, so does the discipline of silence nourish, form and strengthen a person’s spirit, and produce growth which is the safer and more wholesome for being the more hidden.
Guerric of Igny
