Silence in mercy means more than stilling our tongues whenever we plan to speak unkindly. We must silence our judgmental thoughts as well. Each time we think of another person critically, we need to consciously isolate that thought and replace it with one that is imbued with gracious tolerance for his or her faults ... In such silence, we allow others to exist as God made them to be rather than how we would wish them to be ... Through the use of silence, we not only drive out our desire to dominate and control, but also learn to listen to one another. When we truly hear what others are saying to us in the respectful silence of our heart, we can begin to serve others with mercy, for we now know what they need from us and can respond accordingly.
You set before me the book of Nature; and I understood how all the flowers created by You are beautiful, how the splendor of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the little violet or the delightful simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all flowers wanted to be roses, Nature would lose her springtime beauty, and the fields would no longer be decked out with little wild flowers... It is the same in the world of souls, Your living garden.