The “silence of solitude” is a very rich term, steeped in centuries of tradition. It is a way of expressing a reality that occurs and that is sought at the heart of the eremitic/hermit life; yet I believe it is also an invitation for each and every one of us. So many people in our world–in a way, all of us–experience a profound solitude and loneliness in the center of our life, even though we are surrounded by people. Yet God invites us to encounter him here, so that “aloneness” is transformed into a space of meeting and encounter, a place of ever deepening intimacy and communion. Then silence is a way of more deeply hearing the word, and solitude a rich and fruitful garden of joyful embrace.
Categories: PoetryReflections on the Eremitic Life
Joshua
I know that your heart yearns, little one, to create something beautiful, a testament of love, a reflection, in the dimness of this world, of the radiant beauty of my own eternal light. I know the longing within to give birth without, the desire to create, sharing in eternal creativity. I want you to know, beloved, and to feel that the greatest masterpiece which I desire for you is the unspeakable beauty which is you yourself. You, the one whom I infinitely love, are the icon, transparent to my shining glory, enfolded in my grace, a blaze of fiery light bursting through the eyes, a figure whose countenance, whose heart, whose life is a reflection of the life, the heart, the face which is my own.