“Usually, silence and solitude are joined together. One is not possible, or at least fruitful, without the other. For instance, if we seek both external and interior silence, we must establish an environment where this deep silence can be developed and can grow. That environment is solitude. When solitude and silence are joined together, they produce a sacred stillness that permeates every aspect of our life.”

Talbot, John Michael. The World is My Cloister: Living From the Hermit Within. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2010, page 21.