Speed and activity conquer all. But cultivating a recollected heart that enters readily into prayer and contemplation of the deepest, most meaningful things is not something we can do quickly or busily. Recollection is not a process of efficiency or even a personal achievement; it is rooted more in emptiness, stillness. It is a hidden gift from God that requires patience, practice, repetition, and, ultimately, humility, the decision to make ourselves available, without an agenda, to the work of the Holy Spirit. To our distracted world, the practice of spiritual recollection might even look like a waste of time. Meekness and interiority are seen as weaknesses to be overcome, even medicated or educated out of us with assertiveness training.

- Excerpted from Jesus Approaches by Elizabeth M. Kelly