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I don’t think there is anyone here who does not know the meaning of loneliness. I don’t mean the dictionary definition of loneliness, but the experience of it.
We all have experienced loneliness. Some people believe that priests are lonelier than married people. On this feast of the Sacred Heart, it’s good to ask the question, “Was the heart of Christ ever lonely?”
We know what loneliness means. It is lonely to hear a phone ringing, expecting a phone call from a friend, and then to hear a different voice on the line. It is lonely to look at the mailbox and not receive the mail that you have been expecting for so long. It is lonely to leave the garage, knowing that your friend, your wife, or your husband will be away for a long time. We all know the experience of loneliness. And Christ—being truly human—knew what loneliness meant as well.
But the cure to loneliness is not more friendship; the cure to loneliness is not marriage. And let me assure you, celibate people are not more lonely than married ones. We all go through loneliness. Loneliness is not a dead end that we must avoid. Loneliness is a road that everyone has to travel, because at the end of the road called loneliness, there is only new life. And only people who are willing to face the troubles and pains of loneliness will be able to discover the beauty and power of life.
Yes, loneliness is painful, but it is a beautiful pain because it is a pain that leads to life. Christ was lonely as well. In the Garden of Gethsemane, he said, “Father, I am afraid. Let this cup pass from me.” And on the cross, he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
On the feast of the Sacred Heart, let us remember that that heart was also lonely. But that heart did not escape or run away from loneliness. That heart faced loneliness with great courage; and because of that, you and I now have life.
LONELINESS
Mt 26:39
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