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Music of Silence: A Sacred Journey Through the Hours of the Day
Music of Silence shows how to incorporate the sacred meaning of monastic living into everyday life by following the natural rhythm of the hours of the day. The book tells how mindfulness and prayer can reconnect us with the sources of joy. “An invitation to join in quiet ecstasy, to rediscover sacred rhythms.” — Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2001
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About the author
David Steindl-Rast
97 books140 followersBrother David Steindl-Rast is a Benedictine monk, author, and lecturer widely recognized for his commitment to interfaith dialogue and his emphasis on gratitude as a transformative spiritual practice. Born in Vienna in 1926, he survived the challenges of World War II before emigrating to the United States in 1952. He entered monastic life at Mount Saviour Monastery and went on to engage deeply with both Christian and Buddhist traditions, studying with notable Zen masters. His work bridges spirituality and science and has led him to collaborate with religious and cultural figures across traditions. He co-founded the Center for Spiritual Studies and A Network for Grateful Living, advocating for gratefulness as essential to human flourishing. His writings include Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer and Belonging to the Universe (with Fritjof Capra). Known for his mystical approach, he describes religion as a living flame that must be rediscovered beneath layers of doctrine, ritual, and dogma.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
February 17, 2015
This is a warm and wise little volume, beautiful and useful even to an atheist like me (though admittedly I'm the kind of atheist who has a curious notalgic fondness for Catholic ritual and a fascination with monasteries).
Using the canonical hours, also known as the Divine Office, the authors offer what is basically a framework for reflection, mindfulness, and intentional action amid the routine of an ordinary day. Frankly, if you are able to "read around" some of the more explicit Christian mythology, or just accept it as metaphor in order to distill the universal insights, it's got a rather zen feel. How can you find a rhythm in your routine that prompts you to reflect on things like gratitude, celebration, purpose, crisis, forgiveness, limitations, community? And what of silence? Well, you can look at how monks have been approaching time and prayer and communal living for centuries and modify the gist into something meaningful for your own life.
Sure, it's a self-helpy and "spiritual" book of the sort I don't normally read, but it's beautifully written and brief, and I think most people would come away with enough insight and comfort to make it worthwhile.
Using the canonical hours, also known as the Divine Office, the authors offer what is basically a framework for reflection, mindfulness, and intentional action amid the routine of an ordinary day. Frankly, if you are able to "read around" some of the more explicit Christian mythology, or just accept it as metaphor in order to distill the universal insights, it's got a rather zen feel. How can you find a rhythm in your routine that prompts you to reflect on things like gratitude, celebration, purpose, crisis, forgiveness, limitations, community? And what of silence? Well, you can look at how monks have been approaching time and prayer and communal living for centuries and modify the gist into something meaningful for your own life.
Sure, it's a self-helpy and "spiritual" book of the sort I don't normally read, but it's beautifully written and brief, and I think most people would come away with enough insight and comfort to make it worthwhile.
June 16, 2013
Read this little book in preparation for and on a Quiet Retreat. It was a helpful overview of the monastic hours of the day and the gifts each hour brings. A great book to read to help re-cover a sense of the rhythms of our days and years.
I particularly like the chapter on the hour of Prime in that it is a deliberate "assigning of the work" for each day that begs one to pause and consider what is to be done. The reminder to not begin in the middle, but to pause and start each day anew, is sage advice. Also helpful is taking the view that all of our work is common work (for the common good, that is) regardless of us being alone when we accomplish it.
The other gem in this book is the discovery of a "monastic coffee break"- Terce. The third hour, in which the focus is on being filled with and alive in the Holy Spirit comes from the apostles being accused of drunkeness at Pentecost: "We are not drunk, after all it is but the third hour!" Terce, then, allows one to pause in their work after several hours and re-focus by inviting the Holy Spirit to bring His life and strength to our hearts and work.
A lot of great insight in a small book. Certainly worth a read for those who feel like the hours of the day are their enemy.
I particularly like the chapter on the hour of Prime in that it is a deliberate "assigning of the work" for each day that begs one to pause and consider what is to be done. The reminder to not begin in the middle, but to pause and start each day anew, is sage advice. Also helpful is taking the view that all of our work is common work (for the common good, that is) regardless of us being alone when we accomplish it.
The other gem in this book is the discovery of a "monastic coffee break"- Terce. The third hour, in which the focus is on being filled with and alive in the Holy Spirit comes from the apostles being accused of drunkeness at Pentecost: "We are not drunk, after all it is but the third hour!" Terce, then, allows one to pause in their work after several hours and re-focus by inviting the Holy Spirit to bring His life and strength to our hearts and work.
A lot of great insight in a small book. Certainly worth a read for those who feel like the hours of the day are their enemy.
August 3, 2025
Mich als Kryptokatholikin mit innerem Hang zum Mystizismus konnte das Buch ja nur abholen. Engel? ✔️. Rilke-Zitate? ✔️. QR-Codes zu Gregorianischen Gesängen? ✔️. Habe es mehr andächtig als intellektuell gelesen und kann diese Vorgehensweise empfehlen.
August 11, 2016
His work feels like poetry rather than prose.
"The economics of affluence demand that things that were special for us last year must now be taken for granted; so the containers gets bigger, and the joy of overflowing--gratefulness--is taken away from us. But if we make the vessel smaller and smaller by reducing our needs, then the overflowing comes sooner and with it the joy of gratefulness. It's the overflow that sparkles in the sun.
The less you have, the more you appreciate what you've got. With the extraneous stripped away, you begin to relaize how you are being graced by life's gifts...
... Therefore, nothing is needed more than frugality. When your needs are limited, your vessel is easily filled, and you can delight in the overflow." David Steindl-Rast Music of Silence: A sacred journey through the Hours of the Day (page26)
"The economics of affluence demand that things that were special for us last year must now be taken for granted; so the containers gets bigger, and the joy of overflowing--gratefulness--is taken away from us. But if we make the vessel smaller and smaller by reducing our needs, then the overflowing comes sooner and with it the joy of gratefulness. It's the overflow that sparkles in the sun.
The less you have, the more you appreciate what you've got. With the extraneous stripped away, you begin to relaize how you are being graced by life's gifts...
... Therefore, nothing is needed more than frugality. When your needs are limited, your vessel is easily filled, and you can delight in the overflow." David Steindl-Rast Music of Silence: A sacred journey through the Hours of the Day (page26)
February 2, 2023
Excellent audio book which I wouldn't mind owning as a written text as well, for the sake of all the wonderful quotes. This is the second time (at least) I've listened to it and it serves as a encouragement to see all work as prayer when properly, i.e., reflectively done. It also creates a desire to listen to Chant. Last time I remember going out and purchasing a bunch of CDs. This time, I just need to get them out and start listening to them again.
This book is worth returning to for refresher as needed.
This book is worth returning to for refresher as needed.
April 10, 2022
a lyrical mediation on the hours of the day read when caregiving 24/7 -- it helped me feel grace by providing goalposts for accomplishments of heart, mind and will that otherwise might seem unrecognizable or insignificant
August 8, 2025
My partner and I were just talking about how our experience of time feels so different as busy adults compared to when we were children and each day felt like an eternity. This book offers a meaningful framework for getting back some semblance of that feeling by inviting the reader to connect with the unique message of different hours of the day, shared from the perspective of a Benedictine monk using the canonical hours as a guide.
I loved the comparison of the seasons in nature to the seasons that live within each day. What are the gifts and opportunities of the morning hours? How can certain hours help us relate more purposefully and intentionally to our work? Which hours are best for reflecting on our connection with impermanence and compassion? How can we end each day well?
I found it incredibly insightful on the first read but definitely need to read it again to let the teachings really sink in. I love that the authors books are all written in a way that is approachable regardless of whether you partake in a religious tradition or not. A great companion to one of his other books, The Way of Silence.
I loved the comparison of the seasons in nature to the seasons that live within each day. What are the gifts and opportunities of the morning hours? How can certain hours help us relate more purposefully and intentionally to our work? Which hours are best for reflecting on our connection with impermanence and compassion? How can we end each day well?
I found it incredibly insightful on the first read but definitely need to read it again to let the teachings really sink in. I love that the authors books are all written in a way that is approachable regardless of whether you partake in a religious tradition or not. A great companion to one of his other books, The Way of Silence.
September 3, 2018
David Steindl- Rast, OSB, addresses the need for silence and prayer for those immersed in the secular world and meditates on praying the hours of the day. “Saturated with information but often bereft of meaning, we feel caught in a never ending swirl of duties and demands, things to finish, things to put right. Yet as we dart anxiously from one activity to the next, we sense that there is more to life than our worldly agendas.”
“Today, even in our busy city schedules, we notice the predawn, early morning, mid-morning, and high noon each have qualities all their own. Mid-afternoon, the time the shadows lengthen, has a different character from the time when it gets dark and we turn on the lights. A canonical hour thus is more a presence than a measurement. The hours that call the monks together for prayer and chant are angels we encounter at different points in the day.”
“This book is a journey through the hours of the monastic day. To hear the music of silence and to hearken to its message, we must step out of the clock time into the monastic flow of time as expressed through the hours of the day. We must forsake our usual unconscious gesture of reaction, and make the aware inner gesture of response to what is before us in each moment. With this inner attitude, we will meet the angel of each hour and come to an understanding of the seeds the angel calls us to sow, the virtue the hours calls us to develop in our own lives.”
Steindl-Rast meditates on each of the eight canonical hours, the first being Vigils: “Vigils- also known as Matins- is the night watch hour, the time for learning to trust the darkness. Looking up to the night sky, we are reminded of the immense mystery in which we are immersed…. Vigils is an invitation to ‘trust in the night’, to trust the darkness despite the immense fear it triggers. We have to learn to meet mystery with the courage that opens itself to life. Then we discover, as the Gospel of John put it right in the prologue, ‘The light shines in the darkness.’ This doesn’t mean that light shines into the darkness, like a flashlight shining into a dark tent. No, the good news that the Gospel of John proclaims is that the light shines right in the midst of darkness. A great revelation: the very darkness shines.”
And on Lauds: “The monastic hour of Lauds takes us out of the darkness, into the light…we now celebrate light…. Lauds, then starts us off with the attitude that the day is a gift, that everything in our life is a gift- allowing us to see that the appropriate response to this given world is gratefulness.”
“If we cultivate this grateful joy, which find its voice in chant, we can be happy no matter what happens. We sometimes get this wrong. We think that people are grateful because they are happy. But is this true? Look closely, and you will find that people are happy because they are grateful.”
“Today, even in our busy city schedules, we notice the predawn, early morning, mid-morning, and high noon each have qualities all their own. Mid-afternoon, the time the shadows lengthen, has a different character from the time when it gets dark and we turn on the lights. A canonical hour thus is more a presence than a measurement. The hours that call the monks together for prayer and chant are angels we encounter at different points in the day.”
“This book is a journey through the hours of the monastic day. To hear the music of silence and to hearken to its message, we must step out of the clock time into the monastic flow of time as expressed through the hours of the day. We must forsake our usual unconscious gesture of reaction, and make the aware inner gesture of response to what is before us in each moment. With this inner attitude, we will meet the angel of each hour and come to an understanding of the seeds the angel calls us to sow, the virtue the hours calls us to develop in our own lives.”
Steindl-Rast meditates on each of the eight canonical hours, the first being Vigils: “Vigils- also known as Matins- is the night watch hour, the time for learning to trust the darkness. Looking up to the night sky, we are reminded of the immense mystery in which we are immersed…. Vigils is an invitation to ‘trust in the night’, to trust the darkness despite the immense fear it triggers. We have to learn to meet mystery with the courage that opens itself to life. Then we discover, as the Gospel of John put it right in the prologue, ‘The light shines in the darkness.’ This doesn’t mean that light shines into the darkness, like a flashlight shining into a dark tent. No, the good news that the Gospel of John proclaims is that the light shines right in the midst of darkness. A great revelation: the very darkness shines.”
And on Lauds: “The monastic hour of Lauds takes us out of the darkness, into the light…we now celebrate light…. Lauds, then starts us off with the attitude that the day is a gift, that everything in our life is a gift- allowing us to see that the appropriate response to this given world is gratefulness.”
“If we cultivate this grateful joy, which find its voice in chant, we can be happy no matter what happens. We sometimes get this wrong. We think that people are grateful because they are happy. But is this true? Look closely, and you will find that people are happy because they are grateful.”
June 14, 2022
I love these slim, insightful, profound, gam packed books where the author makes every word count, communicates every concept once, and allows the reader to interpret and understand the specifics in their own way. If you participate in a tradition that appreciate Daily Offices, or are interested in engaging one, this is a wonderful book for you. If I may, I am and Episcopalian Oblate. Our tradition loves the catholic (distinct from Roman Catholic) tradition. Women are equal to men at every level and gay people are unconditionally loved by God without having to change. Love, love, love this book. Planning on re-reading it is so good.
March 5, 2021
A serene journey through the day from the perspective of a Christian Monk, The Music of Silence encourages readers to take time throughout the day to pause, listen, and act in a reflection of the time of day. There are nuggets of wisdom that spoke to me, and I felt a beautiful peace reading this book.
March 10, 2009
This is an interesting little book about the symbolism of different angels associated with hours of the day, and it's written by a monk. But, I was hoping to learn more factual / historical information; it's a little self-helpy.
May 4, 2025
A wander through the world at the pace of chant, and in the monastic mode of presence, Music of Silence reflects on the ‘hours’ of the day in the ancient mode of prayer known as the divine office. More like seasons, these hours aren’t clock hours, dis-integrated from daylight and dusk and human rhythms. The sense of time being both purposeful and pointed, while also being comfortingly repetitious, is an unstated but ever-present theme to the book. Short but dense; restful — I don’t think one could find written words that evoke the earthy rootedness of gardening as well as the timelessness tied to chant at the same time. Fun stuff. Excellent stuff. Wonder-ful stuff.
July 21, 2021
a super poetic take on the Divine Hours and what they each represent, and also musings on what chant really is. i think i want to return to readings that balance beauty with more concrete history but also i could find other books for that
October 4, 2022
This is a small book in size, but a grand book in content. I want to buy this book, to dive back in and reflect on ways that I can use my day spent in reflection. This is not a tutorial, however, I could see a person using it as a guidebook.
April 11, 2024
I started reading Brother David Steindl-Rast's work after watching his TED talk on Gratitude. This book is a peaceful read about a monk's journey through the hours of a day. This is a short read with plenty of takeaways on meditation, spirituality, and life.
May 19, 2018
A little book with big wisdom.
July 1, 2020
I enjoyed this book and the lessons that are presented from the Monks and throughout the hours of the day. I purchased this book because of Sharon Lebell and was not disappointed by the content.
April 4, 2021
Br. David Steindl-Rast walks you through the monastic day in his usual wonderful style. A great primer to understand how to use the Hours in daily life.
May 12, 2015
How does one live in touch with eternity from day to day? How can we enter into Kairos even as we go about our work and busyness in our daily lives? In this lovely little book, Brother David Steindl-Rast O.S.B. breaks open the day into its "seasons", each with its own message, grace, contemplation, and action. He explains how the Liturgy of the Hours (or the 'angel' announcing each hour) invites each of us to a contemplative living out of each day.
From centering ourselves in the silence before daybreak, to a conscious welcoming of the light, to making an intentional, mindful start to the day instead of just mindlessly rushing along, to finding quiet joy in the labours of the day even when the hours grow long, to a peaceful letting go of the day in the evening and a restful entering into the silence of night... this book describes how every person can live with the contemplative wisdom of the Benedictine monks even in the secular world. If we learn to heed the angel of each "hour", we would be able to live in the present always with eternity in mind.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
From centering ourselves in the silence before daybreak, to a conscious welcoming of the light, to making an intentional, mindful start to the day instead of just mindlessly rushing along, to finding quiet joy in the labours of the day even when the hours grow long, to a peaceful letting go of the day in the evening and a restful entering into the silence of night... this book describes how every person can live with the contemplative wisdom of the Benedictine monks even in the secular world. If we learn to heed the angel of each "hour", we would be able to live in the present always with eternity in mind.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough!
February 18, 2014
Excellent Book. I had always thought that all of the monastic services were essentially just so many prayer services during the day. Even though much of my own practice comes out of the monastic tradition I just figured that there was no way for me to do that many prayer times each day so I did not pay attention to what they were about. Steindl-Rast took me on "a sacred journey through the hours of the day" and in the process I learned that each of those "hours" had a special focus, and they worked together to help us incarnate the spiritual principles into our active lives. I still will not be able to practice each of those "hours", but I will refer to this book often to discover new ways to live those principles.
June 15, 2010
I actually own the 1st ed; didn't realize there was a 2nd. Which means I'll probably have to acquire the latter to see what the differences are!
A beautiful, accessible little book for laymen/women about the monastic hours, what each means, and suggestions for incorporating at least the awareness of them into our lives and the rhythm of our days. Steindl-Rast urges the importance of living in the present moment instead of staying stuck in constantly reliving the past or anticipating the future, so that our lives are actually lived.
A beautiful, accessible little book for laymen/women about the monastic hours, what each means, and suggestions for incorporating at least the awareness of them into our lives and the rhythm of our days. Steindl-Rast urges the importance of living in the present moment instead of staying stuck in constantly reliving the past or anticipating the future, so that our lives are actually lived.
July 22, 2014
This book was used in a Religion course at the university where I worked. I've had it for several years without reading it. In a fit of sudden inspiration, I took it up. It is was quite good and led me to find out more about Brother David's work. He can be found at Gratefulness.org, a wonderful website full of inspiration, including meditations for each of the hours he speaks of in his book.
July 14, 2016
The "Music of Silence" by David Steindl-Rast and Sharon Lebell is a modern spiritual masterpiece! It shows how to introduce the secret meanig of monastic life into our everyday lives. Ideas such as gratefulness, present moment awareness, aliveness and more, are introduced in a way that is both profound and simple. To be read and re-read many times.
November 9, 2012
Lovely tour through the hours of the day from a contemplative, monastic perspective. I felt like I would have appreciated a bit more guidelines of what to do with it all, but it was nice, regardless.
August 23, 2007
about incorporating a monastic life in your daily life... the rhythms of the day and the angels that beckon us then..
March 21, 2011
This is a wonderful book, which I recommend to everyone who wants or needs to think about the way he leads his daily life. A book to reread every other year when old (bad) habits return.
May 9, 2013
Lovely and luminous, Steindl-Rast guides readers through the monastic hours and encourages attention to them in every day life.
June 29, 2013
I love it. It allows you to be mindful of the present. Perfect reading when you feel busy.
September 10, 2015
I have been re-reading this book for decades and it still inspires, quietens and deepens; new and remembered gems of wisdom with each reading. Beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews