Loneliness

One of the great problems of modern life is loneliness. We can be surrounded by thousands of people and feel alone. Despite living in the age of communication, genuine human communication is in crisis.

My wife and I visited a couple who are friends of ours abroad. After years without seeing each other, it was moving to meet again and see that, although we live far apart and do not see each other often, our relationship remains alive and strong. Yet they said their greatest problem was loneliness. “We don’t know a single person in the neighborhood,” they said sadly. They never see anyone when they enter or leave their house. They have made no new friends. The sad thing is that they have lived in the same house for almost nine years.

More and more, we fall prey to individualism and the pursuit of personal satisfaction that are characteristic of Western culture. We know many people who are alone, or feel alone, even though they are surrounded by family and neighbors, because everyone has their own activities and interests. Are any of you reading this meditation suffering from loneliness?

Feeling alone often depends on us and on how we relate to others. The characteristics of contemporary life—its mobility, its uncertainties, and its changeability—also contribute to it. We must make an effort to maintain warm, steady relationships with those around us and not give in to the temptation to isolate ourselves or shut ourselves away. That last response only makes us more likely to feel increasingly lonely.

There is a companion always available whom I would like to tell those reading these meditations about. Besides making an effort to have good relationships with family and neighbors, our greatest need is to have a good relationship with God.

Jesus Christ said to his disciples: Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). Yet sometimes we neglect to keep our spiritual relationship with the Creator alive, though he is an inexhaustible source of love and strength. Why spurn the company of someone who truly wants to be constantly at our side? So if you feel lonely, seeking God is a remedy that is quick and close at hand.

As Jesus’ arrest and death drew near, he knew that at some point his disciples would leave him alone. Yet he made sure they knew this: I am not alone, because the Father is with me. It is a great comfort to know that God’s companionship will never fail us. Others may leave us and betray us, but God never will. In my pastoral life, I have met very many people who, forced by life’s circumstances to live alone, have always assured me that they feel God’s presence so vividly that they never feel lonely.

It is beautiful and comforting to know that God is always there, just a prayer away.

God bless you all!