Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”

Sitting alone almost anywhere, we have probably heard some acquaintance say: “All alone? No friends?” That may be a good excuse for pointing out the distinction between alone and lonesome. Of course, they can be the same but by no means necessarily. Alone may indicate a kind of independence or a desire to reflect, pray, think over something or a weariness from too much ‘socializing’.

Further, one can be lonely in the midst of friends, in the midst of many people. When one is truly lonesome (“I’m so lonesome I could cry”) or lonely it usually is for the presence of a particular human being, someone who shares enough with us to assuage that pain. Given how different each one of us is, it’s likely that only one or two people can alter the situation. At times it may be possible to have our feeling of loneliness banished by simply being in the company of any mix of human beings.

Our loneliness can be related to the fact that our desire for that just-right intimacy is a desire that no one human can satisfy. Does this ache in our hearts point to God as in that famous line from Saint Augustine? Speaking to God he wrote: “Our hearts are restless till they rest in you.”  Some thinkers, not necessarily believers, speak of a fundamental restlessness which really defines what it is to be human.

Behind the thought of those who equate the physical state of being by oneself with loneliness may be their fear of simply being alone. May not that explain why so many of us have to have a TV or radio going all the time? Are we afraid of being alone? Is silence terrifying? Why are people afraid of silence? What happens if we are silent? Why is silence used as a punishment? What are other uses of silence?

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

Watch Daily Mass online at: SaintJohnsAbbey.org/live

Send your prayer requests to the monks