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Fr. Basil Nortz – Holy Silence, Part 1 on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor
Fr. Basil Nortz discusses his book Holy Silence: A Practical Guide to Recollection in God, showing how silence is an active and positive disposition that opens the soul to God. Inspired by a 19th-century Carthusian nun’s list of 12 types of silence, he developed this framework over years of retreats and pastoral work. True silence is not merely an absence of noise but a means of deepening one’s attentiveness to God’s voice. Drawing from the wisdom of the saints, he explores different forms of silence, such as those of speech, body, senses, imagination, and memory. Each serves to protect interior peace and foster recollection in a world filled with constant distractions. Cultivating holy silence helps believers grow spiritually, recognize God’s will, and resist the unnecessary noise that can drown out divine guidance.
Fr. Nortz also discusses the role of angels in guiding the soul and the need for discipline in speech and media consumption. He warns against the dangers of defamation, excessive communication, and sensory overload while encouraging engagement with sacred art, quality literature, and uplifting music. Monastic wisdom, such as reciting the Sanctus before activities, provides practical ways to maintain awareness of God’s presence. By practicing silence properly, believers create an inner sanctuary where God dwells, leading to a deeper life of contemplation and union with Him.
To listen to part 2 of our conversation visit here: Fr. Basil North – Holy Silence, Part 2 on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor
Discerning Hearts Reflection Questions
- The Role of Silence in Spiritual Growth: How can embracing silence in daily life help deepen your relationship with God and strengthen your interior peace?
- Forms of Silence and Their Purpose: Which types of silence—speech, body, senses, imagination, or memory—present the greatest challenge in your spiritual journey, and how can you cultivate them more intentionally?
- Avoiding Noise and Distractions: What practical steps can you take to limit unnecessary noise, whether from media, conversations, or technology, to create space for recollection and prayer?
- Speaking with Charity and Restraint: How can greater discipline in speech, including avoiding gossip, detraction, and idle talk, reflect a deeper commitment to holiness and love for others?
- The Influence of the Imagination and Memory: How do the images, stories, and memories you engage with shape your spiritual life, and what changes might help purify your imagination and recollection?
- The Guardian Angel’s Role in Spiritual Discernment: In what ways can a stronger awareness of your guardian angel’s presence help you recognize God’s guidance and resist spiritual distractions?
- Sacred Art and Beauty as Paths to God: How can surrounding yourself with sacred art, quality literature, and uplifting music draw your mind and heart closer to God’s presence?
- Monastic Wisdom for Everyday Life: What lessons from the Desert Fathers, Benedictines, and other spiritual traditions can be applied to modern life to foster a greater sense of recollection and devotion?
- Trusting in Divine Providence: How does cultivating silence help you recognize God’s providence in the details of your life, rather than seeing events as random or dictated by fate?
- Silence as a Path to Deeper Prayer: What adjustments in your prayer life can help incorporate silence as an essential means of listening to God and growing in intimacy with Him?
You can find the book here.
From the book description:
“Fr. Basil Nortz masterfully builds upon the classic reflections of Sr. Marie-Aimée de Jésus, a nineteenth-century spiritual mystic and Carmelite nun, on the twelve degrees of silence. By cultivating these types of silence, you will find out how you can — even amid your busy days filled with chatter, commotion, and noise — listen to the voice of God.
In these profound pages you will find ways to overcome your fear of silence and discover:
- Keys to obeying God’s will
- Kinds of silence that are holy and kinds that are unholy
- Ten tips on what to do — and what to avoid — to bridle your senses
- Seven ways to guard your imagination and foster recollection
- How to direct your emotions with reason and foster silence of the heart
- Effective ways of responding to injustice
You will learn the one sinful attitude that cuts us off from the merciful forgiveness of God and will acquire ways to stop passing judgment against others. Additionally, you will learn the most important attitude that disposes us to God’s plans and allows us to enter into His love and converse with Him affectionately throughout the day. Moreover, you will find practical techniques for overcoming distractions in prayer and advice from the saints on methods of meditation to develop silence of the spirit.
Above all, you will glean how to maintain peace of soul and live free from anxiety and despair, regardless of temptations or life’s battles. By relying totally on God, you will fearlessly rise after falls and begin again. You will begin to see the loving hand of God in all things, contemplate the light of His presence, and “be still” in the silence of His love.
“Holy silence is what helps the soul acquire the strength necessary to bear the presence of the all-pure God, who is ipsum esse subsistens (subsistent being itself),” explains Fr. Nortz. “The intensity of that fullness, far from inspiring languid inaction, produces a vibrant joyfulness that St. John expresses in the book of Revelation in terms of the saints singing with full voice.” “
About the Author: Reverend Basil Nortz, O.R.C., is a priest in the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross. He graduated from Christendom College in 1986 with a B.A. in theology. His seminary studies were at the Insitutum Sapientiae in Anapolis, Brazil.
