“Is a life of total silence more beneficial to the saving of one’s Soul? Not necessarily.
It has been a question in many minds, wondering if a cloistered life is more pleasing to God, especially when one feels they could not live in such a manner of total silence with obedience to another human being in charge, sometimes even under such strict conditions that when the person in charge developed a superlative attitude, it conditioned everyone in a lesser position to respond in fear.
It is true the cloistered way was and is a good way for some people to arrive at Sainthood, but such a way has to be chosen by the person who is to be in this submissive state of life, and not by others who want it for someone else.
We are products of and victims of a world of noises. Some people may call it ‘modernization’, ‘progress’. On the terms of an up-to-date thinker, these words suit the nervous world we live in.
In reality, the distraction of noises forfeits our attention on God because noises interfere with moments of solemnity, tranquility and piety. Noise is definitely a deterrent to concentration that aids a human being in devotion to God.
It is necessary for everyone to understand that most noises we live with and in are man-made noises, and it is not a case of needing these noises, but a case of our succumbing to a habit of living with noise. What can be done?
The next time you feel inclined to spend some time with God, turn off as many noises as you can, and you will find in the quiet more awareness of what you are saying in the True Presence of God.”
