A couple of weekends ago, I attended a women’s retreat with more than 80 others at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center in Detroit. I’ve been on several self-directed, silent retreats before, where, believe it or not, I did not speak for more than 40 hours from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. This retreat was different. It had an agenda which included prayer services, teaching from various speakers, and mass. We were expected to remain silent only between the planned sessions. At meal times we were free to let loose, and, man, did we ever. The cafeteria was anything but silent! Why all the silence, you ask? Silence is the language of God Most mystics and contemplatives would say that if you want to hear from God, you must shut your mouth and listen. God can and does communicate with us in many ways. We might hear God’s…