The center of our union with God is on a deeper level than mind or intellect. It is in the very center of existence, which could be called the will-to-God. This will is a silent faculty; it does not think, speak, remember or form images ... To know the will of God, we have only to remain silent, remain in the still center which, automatically, without a single thought, is the present acceptance of the present moment, and what we are at the moment ... The secret of the unitive life is the graced ability to live in this passive silence of our will running into God's will, a silence which is always here and now, and always one with God. The truest communication with God is absolute, total silence; there is not a single word in existence that can convey this communication.
It is hard to explain to a loving person who can only give, what the refusal to receive does to would-be givers. If our gifts come out of the substance of who we are, to refuse our gifts is a rejection of our very self. At the same time, the turning away of a gift destroys the reciprocity of love. In place of mutuality, it sets up a hierarchy of love that makes the one who always receives and whose gifts are refused feel empty, powerless, and incompetent to love well, and so unable in turn to receive from the beloved with a grateful heart.