Solitary Life for God, III

When I decided to start writing about solitary life in the blog, I wasn't convinced there'd be much to say beyond one or two posts. I was wrong. The more I pray about it, and read about it, the deeper solitary life gets. I'm not talking about some lame reading scheme to simulate it either, I'm talking about realizing that what looked like a confining and narrow life is in reality more open and deep than an abyss.

There is a Rule for Hermits written by Padre Fray Alberto Justo, OP. In it he states

Let go. Venture forth along the paths to Eternity lying before you now. They are not only long but are also, in this very moment, wide open before you. Perhaps you were thinking that you could achieve a better life by moving about or escaping time. None of that. Here you will find a little path that will take you through both time and space. You will pass through them to the other side. Then further.

What strikes me in this passage is the "paths leading to eternity." He seems to be saying: not only are the paths explicitly there, they are open to you in particular "in this very moment, wide open before you."

Then the paragraph gets personal, focusing on the scattered nature of day to day life, where the third sentence of the quote negates all movement, all preconceived notions and ideas about God; about this abundant and amazing reality where God stares at us through others and all of nature--God's own creation. The third sentence says something important to anyone who has ever believed, but never dared to fully trust, that you can be with God in a very special way, in this life, this moment.

Here you will find a little path that will take you through both time and space. You will pass through them to the other side. Then further.

The first real association is between the 'little path' of the quote, and the Little Way of St. Therese of Lisieux. The rest of the quote then becomes a little bit Star Wars, yet is still true. This little path might be best described as an astronomical wormhole through the vast reaches of confused and fallen reality.

Right away a new sense of sin begins to develop. It's imperative now to see that sin is dragging God in the present moment into the slime, with you. Your full sense of God in the moment of right-now is dragged through your sin. Take God everywhere with you and soon you will start to fear sin because it's a slap in God's face. It would be like taking your wife or husband to the scene your adultery. The only reason for doing such a thing would be to humiliate them, and it's horrible to consider that that is precisely how we treat God.