Entering Eternity

'It is truly the Christian's birthright to remain silent and recollected, like Mary of Bethany, in the Presence of the Father. This Presence is not, however, something outside one or separate from one, as when we see or imagine someone in front of us. It is rather a matter of entering inwardly within that unique Presence which fills time and eternity, the Presence of the Father to the Son and of the Son to the Father.

At the very heart of that glory and joy we hear the Thou which God in his love addresses to us from all eternity, and we no longer have the right to utter our own 'I' except within the Father's eternal I, where Being awakes to Itself.'

from The Fire of Silence and Stillness: An Anthology of Quotations for the Spiritual Journey. Edited by Paul Harris. Templegate Publishers, Illinois. 1995.