Silence and Speaking Freely

Drawing wisdom from the biblical and monastic traditions, Sabino Chialà reflects on the role of silence as a spiritual dimension.

The monastic life that has unfolded at Monastery of Bose, Italy, is the fruit of deep engagement with the early monastic tradition while remaining in dialogue with modern time and culture. It is from this setting that two insightful texts on an integrated spirituality of communication emerged. In Silence and Speaking Freely, Br. Sabino Chialà combines the wisdom of these texts to form a complementary diptych on the dynamics of human and spiritual maturity. Together, they teach us how to listen, speak with truth, and to live—attentively, compassionately, and with integrity.

Drawing from the treasure of wisdom found in the biblical and monastic traditions of the desert fathers, Chialà reflects on the image of the silent word and the role of silence as a spiritual dimension. Silence and Speaking Freely reveals the unity of this monk’s vision of the human person to live between silence and speech—to be, like Christ himself, both listener and speaker, and receiver and giver of the Word.

Sabino Chialà is prior of the monastic community of Bose in Italy and scholar of Semitic languages. He completed his studies at the University of Turin and the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve. An author of numerous books, he has dedicated himself particularly to the study of the figure and work of Isaac of Nineveh, whose writings he published in the first complete Italian translation.