Sollitude

St. Matthew 14:1-13 (7/29) Gospel for Tuesday of the SeventhWeek after Pentecost Solitude: St. Matthew 14:1-13, especially vs. 13:"When Jesus heard it, Hedeparted from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself...." In theseverses from St. Matthew he records the grisly story of the macabre executionof St. John the Forerunner, the devotion of St. John's disciples who buriedhim, and of how, afterwards, they reported to the Lord Jesus all that hadhappened. One part of our Lord's response to the tragic news was to go intosolitude, apart to a lonely place. Throughout the four Gospels, the Evangelists record that the Lord Jesusoften left the crowds that followed Him to be by Himself. In solitude Hesought to be with His Father. Note: if the Lord as both Man and God, neededto withdraw from the world to have times of intimacy with the Father, howmuch more do we, as mere human beings, need to follow His example! St. Antony, the founder of monasticism, exemplifies one who discovered theblessings of solitude. When he was about 18, he heard these words from theGospel: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to thepoor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Mt.19:21). St. Antony understood these words to apply to him. Immediately, hebegan living as a poor laborer at the edge of his village. In time, hewithdrew deeper into the desert to live in complete solitude for twentyyears. Note what happened to him. During his solitude, the great desert hermit underwent painful spiritual andphysical trials. His superficial self cracked, and God revealed to him theabyss of his sinfulness - all because St. Antony surrendered unconditionallyto the Lord Jesus Christ. After surrender and the years of solitude, hereturned again to contacts with other people. They immediately recognizedin him a man whole in mind, body and soul; and they flocked to him forhealing and direction. Christ calls to every one: "Follow Me!" St. Anthony's experience revealsthe meaning of "following" - to go apart for times of solitude. Each onemust deliberately cast himself into the furnace with God alone to be melteddown in the Lord Jesus' transforming presence, to be recast according to Hiswill and likeness; for He burns away our impurities. But how can we find solitude in the mad rush of this secular, godlesssociety that offers no spiritual room for pursuing the disciplines of HolySolitude? Ah, but, wait! A modern contemplative, Thomas Merton, reminds usthat the Christians in St. Antony's day faced a similar situation:"Society...was regarded...as a shipwreck from which each single individualman had to swim for his life....These were men who believed that to letoneself drift along, passively accepting the tenets and values of what theyknew as society, was purely and simply a disaster!" Not all are called to monasticism. Most of us are engaged with family andsociety. Although more are turning to the monastic way to struggle forunion with Christ, yet, whatever lifestyle is chosen, each one must strugglefor salvation; and, the primary place for regaining the desire for a full,rich life in Christ remains to be found in times and places of solitude. Hence, those "in the world" must develop "little deserts" for withdrawingeach day into the firm, renewing, and healing presence of God. Without suchtimes and places, Christian, you and I will lose our souls. Two steps areobvious: 1) We must find a Spiritual Father. We must search for one beforewhom we may bare our inmost thoughts. St. John of the Ladder says, " Ashepherd is pre-eminently he that is able to seek out and set aright hislost, rational sheep by means of guilelessness, zeal, and prayer." 2) Wemust deliberately set apart time and place each and every day to be with Godand with Him alone - no solitude, no renewal, no life! O Thou, Who in the desert gavest water to Thy People, guide us into solitudewith Thee that we may come and drink of the streams of living water flowingforth from Thee. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]