Loneliness...
The reflection in the Magnifcat the other day (Oct. 5th) was very telling and very true. If i didn't know better, I would think that it was written in this past year but the priest who wrote it passed away in 1934, another telling sign that the heart of humanity remains essentially the same throughout time and place.
The priest wrote a reflection on Martha and Mary, how we often busy ourselves with unnecessary activities and events. How true that is. In an effort to stave off the "ache" within, the ache for eternity and God, we try to fill it with a million things, but really, as I see it in my own life, it's a futile and self-destructive attempt, perhaps kind of like drinking salt water- it appears to satiate our thirst, having the appearance of refreshment, but as we ingest it, it compounds the problem, makes us more thirsty and will eventually make us very ill.
What are we so afraid of, really? I remember in high school and college, I always had to have some noise going on. I either had to have the TV on or the stereo on or be with someone. I couldn't just "be" in the silence and in the quiet and enjoy that without feeling tremendously lonely and alone. I think there is a big difference between "loneliness" and "aloneness."
The quote that I really liked from the priest's reflection was this "this does not mean that we can show our love only by retiring out of the world to the cloister; but it does imply that only those can stand the loneliness of life who have their hearts aflame with the love of another"
and I would like to capitalize Another meaning The Other. For it is only in God that we are truly satisfied and only fully in eternity. How many people in the world are ultimately disappointed when they encounter the lie that another human and "complete them and completely fill them" is merely an illusion? and usually what happens at that point is that they blame the person they are with claiming they are no longer "in love" with that person and move on to find someone else, only to have the whole scenario play out again.
We often look for love in all the wrong places!
In this life we will have times of loneliness, some people more than others. All of us experience a loneliness because we are all made for God and for infinity. But this loneliness, this ache, is not a call to busy ourselves with empty things. This loneliness is a reminder that we are to go beyond ourselves and that we are made for eternity. When we allow Christ to come more deeply into our hearts and souls, our hearts are opened ever more and they resemble His heart little by little. Through the ache, our hearts become larger until they embrace eternity.
Let the silence speak. Be not afraid of what lies within you.
For what lies within you is greater than anything you can possibly imagine.
Jesus, come heal our souls.
The priest wrote a reflection on Martha and Mary, how we often busy ourselves with unnecessary activities and events. How true that is. In an effort to stave off the "ache" within, the ache for eternity and God, we try to fill it with a million things, but really, as I see it in my own life, it's a futile and self-destructive attempt, perhaps kind of like drinking salt water- it appears to satiate our thirst, having the appearance of refreshment, but as we ingest it, it compounds the problem, makes us more thirsty and will eventually make us very ill.
What are we so afraid of, really? I remember in high school and college, I always had to have some noise going on. I either had to have the TV on or the stereo on or be with someone. I couldn't just "be" in the silence and in the quiet and enjoy that without feeling tremendously lonely and alone. I think there is a big difference between "loneliness" and "aloneness."
The quote that I really liked from the priest's reflection was this "this does not mean that we can show our love only by retiring out of the world to the cloister; but it does imply that only those can stand the loneliness of life who have their hearts aflame with the love of another"
and I would like to capitalize Another meaning The Other. For it is only in God that we are truly satisfied and only fully in eternity. How many people in the world are ultimately disappointed when they encounter the lie that another human and "complete them and completely fill them" is merely an illusion? and usually what happens at that point is that they blame the person they are with claiming they are no longer "in love" with that person and move on to find someone else, only to have the whole scenario play out again.
We often look for love in all the wrong places!
In this life we will have times of loneliness, some people more than others. All of us experience a loneliness because we are all made for God and for infinity. But this loneliness, this ache, is not a call to busy ourselves with empty things. This loneliness is a reminder that we are to go beyond ourselves and that we are made for eternity. When we allow Christ to come more deeply into our hearts and souls, our hearts are opened ever more and they resemble His heart little by little. Through the ache, our hearts become larger until they embrace eternity.
Let the silence speak. Be not afraid of what lies within you.
For what lies within you is greater than anything you can possibly imagine.
Jesus, come heal our souls.
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