Look well, O soul, upon thyself, lest
spiritual ambition should mislead and blind thee to thy essential task: to wait in
quietness, to knock and persevere in humble faith.
~ from THE FACE OF GOD by Gilbert Shaw
At midnight the whole valley lay suspended in the mountain's spell. This was the silent center of prayer: the quiet, the poverty of darkness that made you appreciate the light. Everything bright was pure gift at midnight and praise rose to your lips for the God of the moon and stars; and if you saw a fire burning in the valley, you felt warm and somehow connected with those countless fires that burn in the hearts of people everywhere. You knew communion. And that was the great secret of prayer.