By Tom Thomas –
Solitude, in our Christian context, we define this as the deliberate withdrawal from activities and people in order to spend time alone with the Lord of my life and to hear His voice. Mostly solitude can be found in a quiet and serene atmosphere. Spending time in solitude for an extended period of time brings forward marvellous results. Many enlightened souls that have taken this path have proved to be marvellous personalities over the centuries. We see that these souls could make a significant difference to the World after their periods of Solitude.
A few of them are listed here:
- St Bruno, founder of the Carthusian Order.
- St Francis of Assisi, Founder of the Franciscan Order
- St Benedict, Founder of the Benedictine Congregation
- St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits.
- Moses, Elijah, the Lord Jesus and indeed many more.
We know that solitude was best experienced by the Hermits of past and present who have found it in the Cloistered Convents and Monasteries. Their hidden way of life is so powerful that we find a mention in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) about the hermetical life as follows:
920 Without always professing the three evangelical counsels publicly, hermits “devote their life to the praise of God and salvation of the world through a stricter separation from the world, the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer and penance.
921 They manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of men, the life of the hermit is a silent preaching of the Lord, to whom he has surrendered his life simply because he is everything to him. Here is a particular call to find in the desert, in the thick of spiritual battle, the glory of the Crucified One.
The joys of the hermetical or monastic life are brought to our notice by the writings of Thomas Merton and Patrick Leigh Fermor, who have experienced the comfort of solitude in monasteries offering us a glimpse of the joys of the fruit of solitude.
Fermor writes: “In the seclusion of a cell—an existence whose quietness is only varied by the silent meals, the solemnity of ritual, and long solitary walks in the woods—the troubled waters of the mind grow still and clear, and much that is hidden away and all that clouds it floats to the surface and can be skimmed away; and after a time one reaches a state of peace that is unthought of in the ordinary world.”
Similarly, Thomas Merton says: “It is not speaking that breaks our silence, but the anxiety to be heard. The words of the proud man impose silence on all others, so that he alone may be heard. The humble man speaks only in order to be spoken to.”
Particularly in the case of our Lord Jesus Christ, without His being able to draw strength from the Almighty during the many moment of Solitude that we can see mentioned in the Gospels (Mk 1:35, Lk 5:16, Mk 3:7 are some references), He would not have been able to undergo the terrible trials and tribulations so aptly captured in the Stations of the Cross, if it weren’t for the moments of solitude and silence. Unless He was so committed to His Mission, he would have given up. Let us also be similarly strengthened as we spend our moments in Solitude to discern and find out the strength to carry out the unique Mission in life that He has entrusted us with. Many of the great Catholic Saints mentioned earlier in this article similarly drew strength from moments of Solitude with the Lord.
For these reasons, it would be beneficial to seek regular moments of solitude in our lives. We may not be able to retreat to a cloistered convent or monastery as we have to live our lives according to our vocations in the world, but we can certainly carve out moments of solitude in our day when we communicate in silence with the Lord. Maybe spending a few moments in a quiet church on the way back from work, or by driving without using the radio, reducing the usage of screen time and electronic gadgets unless absolutely essential, exercising without music, are some of the ways we can be in solitude during the day.
I was inspired to put down these thoughts on solitude, as when I was struggling with finding an answer to a complex problem recently, a kindly Franciscan Friar and a spiritual guide, advised me to spend some time in solitude with the Lord every day. As I take this advice, I find this really does help me know Him and also help me find the answer to the problem.
I would like to end this article with this quote by a Discalced Carmelite Order religious and monastic writer:
“I have within me a solitude where He dwells, and nothing can take that away from me.”
St. Elizabeth of the Trinity.
One of the Desert Fathers says, “Just as it is impossible to see your face in troubled water, so also the soul, unless it is clear of alien thoughts, is not able to pray to God in contemplation.”