The Importance of Silence

Its no easy thing to bear sufferings joyfully, especially those which are unmerited. Fallen nature rebels, and although the intellect and will are above suffering, because they are able to do good to those who inflict suffering on them, nevertheless emotions raise a lot of noise and, like restless spirits, attack the intellect and will. But when they see that they can not do anything by themselves, they quiet down and submit to the intellect and will. Like some kind of hideousness, they rush in and stir up a row, bent on making one obey them alone so long as they are not curbed by the intellect and will.- Saint Faustina, Divine Mercy In My Soul, Notebook 3 #1152

"As long as a single passion reigns in our hearts, though all the others should have been overcome, the soul will never enjoy peace."- St. Joseph Calasanctius

"In detachment, the spirit finds quiet and repose for coveting nothing. Nothing wearies it by elation, and nothing oppresses it by dejection, because it stands in the center of its own humility."- St. John of the Cross

"A man who governs his passions is master of the world. We must either command them, or be enslaved by them.  It is better to be a hammer than an anvil."- St. Dominic

 The best way to quiet the emotions is to observe interior silence.

"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

"Truly, I have set my soul in silence and peace. As a little child rests in its Mother's arms, even so my soul."- Psalm 131:2

"Silence gives us a new outlook on everything. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say but what God says to us and through us. Jesus is waiting for us in silence. In that silence, he will listen to us, there he will speak to our soul, and there we will hear his voice." - Mother Teresa

Audio talk on silence by Mother Angelica: Silence of Heart and Mind