Silence

35 How Saint Francis recommended silence 36 The Capuchin Constitutions prescribe silence 37 Its most faithful observance

(35) Although our Rule makes no mention of silence, as all the other Rules do, nonetheless the early Fathers of our Order held it in high esteem, just as the Three Companions say about Father Saint Francis. He was describing those Friars who were closest to his heart. Father Saint Francis said, “My Friars who live in deserts and in solitary and remote places should keep this rule. I do not want seculars ever to enter the hermitage where they live. Nor do I want them to work or make any loud noise in that place. The cells should be a short distance from one another. Let the Friars keep perpetual silence. They should not speak except about necessary things, and with a voice so low that no one else can hear except the one with whom he is speaking. In their oratory let them all say the Divine Office together in a moderate volume, no too loud and not too soft. Let Mass be said every morning. Then let them all withdraw to pray. After having said Prime and Terce let them persevere in prayer until Sext. At the sixth Hour let them say Sext and None. Then their mothers call them to the refectory, with the sounding of a tile. Let them go and kneel and ask their mothers for the love of God to give them to eat. Once they have eaten let them withdraw in silence. Let the mothers be on guard that when they return with alms not to bring them tales about things of the world so that they may serve God more quietly. Therefore those who live in solitary places with this rule are my true Friars of the Round Table whom God has called His secretaries with whom He communicates himself with great intimacy. I want to be with these Friars.”

One also reads that when Father Saint Francis did those fasts of his he never wanted to speak with anyone, neither with Friars nor with seculars.

(36) Because of these and similar examples those early Fathers of ours put in the Constitutions that evangelical silence be observed continuously; every idle word is to be avoided; not speak except for the honour of God and the good of one’s neighbour. The also included regular silence that, well observed, is the cause of great good. Not observed it is the cause of great harm. From silence comes quiet of the mind. From quiet comes holy contemplation. From chat come grumbling and idle words. These then produce discord, ill will and disagreements among the brothers as well as great disquiet in the mind.

(37) Those early Fathers of ours observed it so inviolably that one would never know anyone was in the friary except when the Office and Masses were said.

They edified everyone so much that when seculars entered the friaries they went silently. To them it seemed to be committing a great sin if one was heard to speak loudly because it would offend the ears of the servants of God. Often I heard them say, “Silence is the guardian of the interior spirit. More is lost in one moment of chit-chat than is gained by a month of prayer. When I want to go to confession, because I have kept silence, I don’t know what to confess. The Holy Spirit speaks a very important word through the mouth of Saint James: ‘the religion of one who cannot check his tongue is vane.’ Truly the one who does not possess the decorum of holy silence cannot be called a Religious.”

Speaking little and softly gave very good example to seculars along with that beautiful modesty of the Capuchins, which on its own made the Capuchins a mirror for everyone. When they gave sermons on silence they said, “The seculars do not see our disciplines, hair shirts, fasts and other things. However when they see us well recollected, moderate in speech and rarely in conversation, it makes them think we a good religious. However when they see us dissolute in speech, joking, with laughter and buffoonery, they know that we are little better than they.” When fast walking in the dormitory, slamming doors or other things are heard, they always acknowledged their fault in the refectory. They took this into great account. Once there was a Guardian in the friary of Saint Valentine’s in Foligno. Because they did not have a bell to ring for Matins, he got up for Matins and cried, “Up servants of God. Get up to praise the Lord God!” In the morning a Commissary, whom Father Louis had sent there on visitation, reprimanded him strongly in the refectory and had him take the discipline since he felt that the Guardian had broken the silence with those few words.