A Quiet Place

Lately I have been reading some articles that Henri Nouwen wrote for the National Catholic Reporter in 1974. These are all stored at the Henri Nouwen Archives at the University of St Michael's College at the University of Toronto. In the articles I am currently reviewing Henri is talking about our human need to find solitude and to have periods of silence in our lives.

Obviously, with my own background as a former contemplative Carmelite nun, silence has and still is, a huge need in my life. So I certainly resonate with what Henri is saying even though the odd part is that he pretty much avoided it in his own life. But I believe that what he says is true even if he himself had real difficulty with living it.

In his book *'Out of Solitude' where some of these articles were published, Henri says, in talking about Jesus' need to go off and be silent and pray, 

In the lonely place Jesus finds the courage to follow God's will and not his own; to speak God's words and not his own; to do God's work and not his own. 

Nouwen then goes on to say something to us all, 

Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our lives are in danger. Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure. Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our actions quickly become empty gestures.

I do know that being silent for any length of time can be really difficult for many modern men and women but if we do not take time to reflect on our day, on our relationships, on the direction we are taking in life, our life will be so much less fulfilling, loving and compassionate than it is meant to be. Maybe there is a beautiful, peaceful place near you that you can find if there is not a place of quiet for you at home.
*Out of Solitude, Three meditations on the Christian Life. Ave Maria Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1974