--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The dead are silent because they live…" description: "\"The dead are silent because they live, just as we chatter so loudly to try to make ourselves forget that we are dying. Their silence is really their ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/karl-rahner-22244_assurance_the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-ju_1020460.jpg" --- # The dead are silent because they live, just as we chatter… ![“The dead are silent because they live, just as we chatter so loudly to try to make ourselves forget that we are dying. Their silence is really their call to me, the assurance of their immortal love for me.” quote by Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/karl-rahner-22244_assurance_the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-ju_1020460.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/karl-rahner-22244_assurance_the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-ju_1020460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/karl-rahner-22244_assurance_the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-ju_1020460.jpg) > “The dead are silent because they live, just as we chatter so loudly to try to make ourselves forget that we are dying. Their silence is really their call to me, the assurance of their immortal love for me.” [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The dead's silence reminds us of enduring love and our own mortality, prompting reflection. **In simple terms:** Dead remind us of love and mortality. Key Takeaway Remember love, face death. Themes mortality spirituality love Mood reflective somber Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - grieving - personal growth - faith practice Key Concepts theology existentialism memory Questions to Reflect On - How does remembering the dead affect your life? - What love do you carry forward? A Different Perspective Denial of death can hinder healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) [Immortal love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immortal-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [True Silence is really endless speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramana-maharshi/true-silence-is-really-endless-speech/) [Ramana Maharshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramana-maharshi/) > [“The dead are silent, and objects, when they hold impressions, are quiet until you reach through them. But the touch of living is loud.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-dead-are-silent-and-objects-when-they-hold-impressions-are-quiet/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“They say that the hearts of the dead are never silent. They say that they live on, beat on, love on forever. But what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-m-martens/they-say-that-the-hearts-of-the-dead-are-never-silent-they-say-that/) Rachel M. Martens > [“I would rather be dead, than go back to being silent and suffocated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahereh-mafi/i-would-rather-be-dead-than-go-back-to-being-silent-and-suffocated/) [Tahereh Mafi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahereh-mafi/) > [Do dead man dream? The dead themselves are silent on the matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-dead-man-dream-the-dead-themselves-are-silent-on-the-matter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You've got pressure making any film, frankly. Whenever you're doing something in the public eye you have to silence it really, you can't read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sanders/you-ve-got-pressure-making-any-film-frankly-whenever-you-re-doing/) [Rupert Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sanders/) > [Because sometimes when someone is telling you something really important, it’s best to just let there be silence, to really think about what they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-barnholdt/because-sometimes-when-someone-is-telling-you-something-really/) [Lauren Barnholdt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-barnholdt/) > [“and only when that happens do you realise just how much silence there really is. Silence between lovers, when something really needs to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marshall-smith/and-only-when-that-happens-do-you-realise-just-how-much-silence-there/) [Michael Marshall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-marshall-smith/) > [“Silence is really one single note, just one note. It is the sound you hear when you turn off all the lights and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-martin/silence-is-really-one-single-note-just-one-note-it-is-the-sound-you/) [Ricky Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-martin/) > [Sometimes silence is a really good answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-silence-is-a-really-good-answer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He wondered if what he had taken for the richness of silence was really the poverty of never being heard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/he-wondered-if-what-he-had-taken-for-the-richness-of-silence-was/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“you soon find out how loud the silence really is. everything unsaid leads eventually to what is said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/you-soon-find-out-how-loud-the-silence-really-is-everything-unsaid/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“Listening and silence are not necessarily the same thing, but silence is a really good start.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-s-mchugh/listening-and-silence-are-not-necessarily-the-same-thing-but-silence/) [Adam S. McHugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-s-mchugh/) > [Trust yourselves, my brethren, to the immortal love and perfect work of the Divine Saviour, and by His dear might your days will advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/trust-yourselves-my-brethren-to-the-immortal-love-and-perfect-work-of/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [Heart has no wrinkles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny-dreams/heart-has-no-wrinkles/) [Destiny Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny-dreams/) ## More by Karl Rahner > [What Christ gives us is quite explicit if his own words are interpreted according to their Aramaic meaning. The expression 'This is my Body'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/what-christ-gives-us-is-quite-explicit-if-his-own-words-are/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Knowing God is more important than knowing about God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/knowing-god-is-more-important-than-knowing-about-god/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [The number one cause of atheism is Christians. Those who proclaim Him with their mouths and deny Him with their actions is what an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-number-one-cause-of-atheism-is-christians-those-who-proclaim-him/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Every year we celebrate the holy season of Advent, O God. Every year we pray those beautiful prayers of longing and waiting, and sing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/every-year-we-celebrate-the-holy-season-of-advent-o-god-every-year-we/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [But there is yet another form of this hidden heresy, and, paradoxically, it can affect those who are proudest of their long-standing and unimpeachable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/but-there-is-yet-another-form-of-this-hidden-heresy-and-paradoxically/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [In the midst of our lives, of our freedom and our struggles, we have to make a radical, absolute decision. And we never know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/in-the-midst-of-our-lives-of-our-freedom-and-our-struggles-we-have-to/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Emptiness is only a disguise for an intimacy of God's, that God's silence, the eerie stillness, is filled by the Word without words, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/emptiness-is-only-a-disguise-for-an-intimacy-of-god-s-that-god-s/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Learning always involves self-transcendence. Learning calls forth what is in us, helping us to move toward authenticity and wholeness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/learning-always-involves-self-transcendence-learning-calls-forth-what/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Love alone allows man to forget himself... it alone can still redeem even the darkest hours of the past since it alone finds the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/love-alone-allows-man-to-forget-himself-it-alone-can-still-redeem/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Meditating on the nature and dignity of prayer can cause saying at least one thing to God: Lord, teach us to pray!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/meditating-on-the-nature-and-dignity-of-prayer-can-cause-saying-at/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [“For a Catholic understanding of the faith there is no reason why the basic concern of Evangelical Christianity as it comes to expression in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/for-a-catholic-understanding-of-the-faith-there-is-no-reason-why-the/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Only in love can I find you, my God. In love the gates of my soul spring open, allowing me to breathe a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/only-in-love-can-i-find-you-my-god-in-love-the-gates-of-my-soul/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Childhood is not a state which only applies to the first phase of our lives in the biological sense. Rather it is a basic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/childhood-is-not-a-state-which-only-applies-to-the-first-phase-of-our/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [In the post-Christian world, all Christians will be mystics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/in-the-post-christian-world-all-christians-will-be-mystics/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) > [Grace can and does have a history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/grace-can-and-does-have-a-history/) [Karl Rahner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) [Explore all 27 Karl Rahner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/) ## More Assurance quotes > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Everybody in the real world will agree - the moment a project is behind deadline, quality assurance tends to go out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cox/everybody-in-the-real-world-will-agree-the-moment-a-project-is-behind/) Alan Cox > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [We have a commitment to serve our Lord. We have an assurance that the cause is just and worthy. But, above all, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/we-have-a-commitment-to-serve-our-lord-we-have-an-assurance-that-the/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do not rest, believer, until you have full assurance of your interest in Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/do-not-rest-believer-until-you-have-full-assurance-of-your-interest/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Confidentially, the type of male I find most enjoyable for a friend is one who has enough fire and assurance to speak up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/confidentially-the-type-of-male-i-find-most-enjoyable-for-a-friend-is/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Our assurance is anchored in the love and grace of God expressed in the glorious exchange: our sin for His righteousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/our-assurance-is-anchored-in-the-love-and-grace-of-god-expressed-in/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) [Browse all 557 Assurance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The dead are silent because they live, just as we chatter so loudly to try to make ourselves forget that we are dying. Their silence is really their call to me, the assurance of their immortal love for me.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Rahner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-just-as-we-chatter-so-loudly-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assurance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-just-as-we-chatter-so-loudly-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/karl-rahner-22244_assurance_the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-ju_1020460.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/karl-rahner-22244_assurance_the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-ju_1020460.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/karl-rahner-22244_assurance_the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-ju_1020460.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The dead are silent because they live, just as we chatter so loudly to try to make ourselves forget that we…” — Karl Rahner", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Karl Rahner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rahner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The dead are silent because they...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-just-as-we-chatter-so-loudly-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rahner/the-dead-are-silent-because-they-live-just-as-we-chatter-so-loudly-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```