"True Happiness in the world is not from Pleasure but in relief from Pain! Help remove pain spread happiness."

Solitude or Loneliness Choices at Lent

Solitude

“ After he had dismissed them, he ( Jesus) went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came he was there all alone” Mathew 14:23

This is  one of the several occasions Jesus chose to be with himself.

This act of choosing to be with oneself is ordinarily called Solitude.

Jesus went out often to pray in solitude (Luke 5:16)however we find only a few instances where they are recorded.

What happens when we  retire in solitude. We usually reflect on what has gone by, Introspect our actions. Our minds and heart are calm and we are able to review what we did and what we can do.

It is a time for prayer as well, that was what Jesus did most of all to express his dependence on and communion with God.

We pray to Christ as  God but Jesus gave us an example that  Christ as man had the form of a servant who prayed to God.

Solitude as a word expresses choice. One has to choose Solitude, unlike Loneliness which is imposed.  Do we take time apart to spend with our selves. Solitude for me also means a quiet confidence in oneself in a honest manner.

After a time of prayer in solitude Jesus only enlarged his mission  and touched many more people as we see in the feeding of the Five Thousand, Walking on the Water, Healing the Syrophoenician  woman’s daughter of an evil spirit. Many more put their faith in Jesus after these events.

John Lennon and Paul McCartney  Sang  “ All the lonely people where do they all come from?  All the  lonely people where do they all belong? ( Eleanor Rigby). The melancholy of these words can only be understood by those who experience the loneliness.

People speak of the sadness of being in a crowd and knowing no one( Sir Arthur Helps)  In terms of behavior it is similar to solitude except that you don’t have a choice.

The expressions of loneliness are many like depression, anxiety, hatred, bitterness and even to the extent of taking ones life. A glance at any of the newspapers can tell us the extent of how lonely people are even in our cities and towns.

As we begin this season of Lent perhaps  we can pray for those who are lonely who may be even in our own family and social circle. Perhaps we may be able to reach out to them with our renewed strength.