Taciturnitas

Neither taciturnity nor simply silence.

But rather, the disposition to keep silence, the habit and the love of silence, the spirit of
silence.

St. Hildergard has condemned absolute silence.

Speech has been given to us at the normal method of our intercourse with our kind; and
when men are grouped together in community it seems natural that they should use it. No
one has ventured to perpetual silence, for all rules make it lawful to speak to ones superior
and to praise God with the lips.
Considered as exceptions

Columbia Steward, OSB:

Language is a gift that can be used thoughtfully or thoughtlessly, humbly or proudly.
Someone constantly aware of the presence of God will know how when to speak.

Delatte, McCann:
While its purpose is to repress temptation, such method is strained, exasperated and
because the regime of signs and symbols if replacing speech presents the same dangers.
Jealousy and misunderstanding exists.
True silence of the soul may be obtained in another manner.

Silverstream Priory:
Saint Benedict, first of all, presents silence as a means of avoiding sins of the tongue. Does
not Saint James say, If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man (James
3:2)? And the same Apostle says, The tongue is indeed a little member, and boasteth great
things. Behold how small a fire kindleth a great wood. And the tongue is a fire, a world of
iniquity (James 3:56).

In a nutshell:
The Rule provides for good and useful conversation; it orders silence more or less strict
according to time and place; it proclaims it sometimes more insistently, sometimes more
gently; it requires us to abstain at all times from scurrility, and in Lent to have fewer and more
serious conversations.

The intention of the Chapter is more of to remind that every real monastic life should be a life
of recollection.
Talking distracts the soul, while silence joined to action produces recollection and gives the
spirit marvellous strength

Stanza 1 (Slide 3):

Principle of the whole chapter is only the development.

Psalm 38 - silence of the just man under oppression.

St. Benedict gives them a general application, he sees in them the line of conduct suggested
to all monks by prudence, wisdom and humility.

Since there is a danger of sinning with the tongue and retarding our supernatural growth, we
shall be attentive to all that passes our lips and guard them severely, we shall know how to
be silent, even when good words are concerned.

Simply, it means that while recommending to abstain at times from good discourses in the
spirit of recollection, St. Benedict assuredly means that we must at once suppress evil in
every word.
Uncontrolled speech is dangerous, even good words are risky.

Columbia Steward, OSB (Ways of Prayer and Mindfulness):

If it is occasionally right to refrain from saying good things because one values silence,
 there is more reason to refrain from saying bad things because sin will be punished.

Delatte, McCann:
The spirit of the world, made up of pride, levity and disregard of the supernatural, easily
takes root in the mind of the talkative monk.

Stanza 2 (Slide 5):

St. Benedict, admits of the principle of spiritual conversations, but on the condition that
they are not multiplied, and that, under the pretext of mutual assistance, the law of silence is
not evaded.

Delatte, McCann:
Since we must avoid the faults of the tongue and their punishment, some reserve is imposed
on us, even in the matter of good, pious and edifying conversations, for not even these are
without danger.

(10:19) General principle; where there is much talking, it is hard to avoid sin.

(18:21) There is nothing better than the tongue and nothing worse.

Delatte, McCann:
Citing St. James; good conversations, then are only good if they are authorized, short and
rare.

Is, then, all spiritual conversations at times of recreation banned?

No. God forbid that we should be ashamed to pronounce his Holy Name.

Not forbidding to speak of study in recreation time or to broach a serious subject, provided
that a dogmatic tone, interminable discussions, and allusions that tend to cause dissension
is avoided.
Apart from times of recreation, a monk should be sparing of his words. (5 mins for exchange
of useful information, Dellate, McCann, referring to a Constitution)

Abbot Patrick Barry, OSB (Abbey of Ampleforth):

His plea is for moderation and self-control. Monks accept his point and monasteries have
become rare and precious places where it is possible to rediscover our true self, hidden
beneath the chattering surface, through quiet and silence and the inner cleanliness it brings.

Stanza 3 and 4 (Slide 7):

St. Benedict follows the Master in requiring that all speech be offered humbly (i.e. directly
and simply)

Delatte and McCann:

The idea is certainly not to require the disciple to lessen his intercourse with his superiors; he
does not recommend him to be so restrained and formal as to weigh and prepare and count
his words; but he knows that questions and obligations are often put in a spirit of vainglory.

Gospel of Matthew 6:7-8:

The Gospel even urges us not to be great talkers.And when you pray, do not keep on
babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not
be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Stanza 4 (Slide 9)
Abbot Philip Lawrance, OSB (Monastery of Christ in the Desert)
We need to become persons who are aware of the power of words. Words shape us and
form us. Words direct our attention and our energies. Words can build up and they can tear
down. Even a word of truth can be destructive when it is not uttered in charity and true love.

Saint Benedict is terribly strong in condeming gossip and murmuring in the monastery. We
need to be deeply aware of the why he condemns gossip and murmuring: they kill and
destroy. Not only do they kill and destroy another person, they attack the very heart of
community: charity for one another

SILVERSTREAM PRIORY (vultuschristi.org)

Abbot HunterBlair translates the title of this chapter of the Holy Rule, De Taciturnite, as Of
the Practice of Silence. It might also be translated, Of the Habit of Keeping Silence. Saint
Benedict, first of all, presents silence as a means of avoiding sins of the tongue. Does not
Saint James say, If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man (James 3:2)?
And the same Apostle says, The tongue is indeed a little member, and boasteth great
things. Behold how small a fire kindleth a great wood. And the tongue is a fire, a world of
iniquity (James 3:56).

Saint Benedict also presents silence as an expression of the humility that befits one who is a
disciple, that is, a learner in the school of the service of the Lord. This is the silence of the
man concerning whom Wisdom says, Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that
watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors (Proverbs 8:34). It is the
silence of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who kept all these words, pondering them in her heart
(Luke 2:19). It is the silence of Mary of Bethany, who sitting also at the Lords feet, heard his
word. (Luke 10:39). It is even the silence of the Gerasene demoniac who, after his
deliverance, was found sitting at the feet of Jesus. (Luke 8:35)

The humble man knows that he has come to the monastery to learn. He silences his inward
and outward conversations, not in order to stop thinking, but in order to open himself to the
splendour of the truth. Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, although not a Benedictine, expresses
something of this understanding of Benedictine silence in her famous prayer:

O Eternal Word, utterance of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, to become
totally teachable so that I might learn all from you.

For the son of Saint Benedict, listening to the Word means listening to the teaching of the
abbot. This is, as Saint John Paul II puts it, the listening that changes life (Orientale Lumen,
article 10). It becometh the master to speak and to teach, but it beseemeth the disciple to be
silent and to listen (Chapter VI). Abbot Herwegen suggests that Saint Benedict is, in this
chapter, concerned with reserving the right to teach to the abbot alone, lest selfappointed
teachers attract disciples to themselves and so divide the community into multiple schools
and factions. Even monasteries are not preserved from the division caused by men who
arrogate to themselves the role of teaching:

The time will surely come, when men will grow tired of sound doctrine, always itching to hear
something fresh; and so they will provide themselves with a continuous succession of new
teachers, as the whim takes them. (2 Timothy 4:34)

The proud man, ever full of himself, has an opinion about everything, and his opinion, so he
thinks, must prevail. Even if his tongue is not wagging, his mind is full of the noise of
wrangling. Without saying a word, he criticises others. Mentally, he interrupts their speech,
rehearses arguments against what they are saying, and challenges their discourse. Without
speaking a word, such a man is full of noise. He is no lover of silence.

Saint Benedict never intended that his monks should forego all speech. He allows for
speaking and, in fact, assumes that his monks will talk. There is evidence of this throughout
the Holy Rule. Saint Benedict says that: Monks should love silence at all times, but
especially during the hours of the night (Chapter XLII). At the same time, he allows his
monks, when they rise for the Work of God, gently to encourage one another, because of
the excuses of the drowsy. (Chapter XXII). In treating of reading in the refectory, Saint
Benedict says, Let no one presume to put any questions there, either about the reading or
about anything else, lest it should give occasion for talking (Chapter XXXVIII). This suggests
that elsewhere and at other times certain exchanges were permitted, but within certain limits.
And let not one brother associate with another at unseasonable hours (Chapter XLVIII).

With regard to the Oratory of the monastery, Saint Benedict says, When the Work of God is
ended, let all go out with the utmost silence, paying due reverence to God, so that a brother,
who perchance wishes to pray by himself, may not be hindered by anothers misconduct
(Chapter LII). Here, silence is the expression of the profound reverence that characterises
the whole ethos of the Rule. It is the silence of humble adoration.

Our Constitutions invite us to consider the silence of the Sacred Host. In the Most Holy
Sacrament of the Altar, the Word abides in perfect stillness. The monk who remains silent in
the great silence of the Host will, over time, enter into the prayer of the Son and, with the
Son, pass into the rest of God. Let us hasten therefore to enter into that rest (Hebrews
4:11).

58. The silence of the Sacred Host must reign, then, not only over the hearts, minds, and lips
of the monks, but over the entire monastery and its land, so as to foster an atmosphere of
order and of peace conducive to the prayer of the heart in a spirit of ceaseless adoration.

59. By practicing silence at all times, the monks will avoid innumerable sins of the tongue,
and foster, both within themselves and within the monastery, an atmosphere that offers
optimal resonance to the Word of God.

60. By assiduous contemplation and adoration of the Sacred Host, the monks will come to
love the observance of silence by which it is given them to imitate the sacramental state of
the Incarnate Word, who, now in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, as once in His hidden
life and bitter Passion, remains silent and still.