"What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love." (St. John of the Cross) This is a beautiful description of contemplation. Prayer is a form of communication between us and God. As St. John said, it is the unspoken words of silent love. It is hard for many of us just to sit in silence before God, not speaking with words, not being distracted with preoccupations, but to gaze on the face of the One who loves us and just enjoy being with Him. This love prayer is spoken not with words but with silence. The prophet tells us: "Be still and know that I am God." As we prepare for Christmas, let us enter into and embrace this silence in the heart. Come, Lord Jesus, come!