The call of holiness is a call into the cloud of unknowing. The call to be holy is a call into the inner-most depths, to the inward center -- the stillpoint. Holiness calls us to be humble before God ... There is a saint, a holiness in each of us and the greatest journey is to discover that saint, that holiness within ... The prophet, the holy person, is the one who experiences within him or herself a presence that is so rich and meaningful that they are compelled to share it with others. The holy person, who receives the gift of him or herself, becomes almost intoxicated with the truth that everyone carries that hidden mystery ... The call of our day is to a higher consciousness, to respond to the work of God's love in us, not only in prayer, but in the kind of presence that we offer to our world and to our time, to the second creation that is always going on in us ...
Solitude and loneliness are not the same thing. Loneliness is the sign that something is lacking. The purpose of solitude is to bring us home to the center of ourselves with such serenity that we could lose everything and, in the end, lose nothing of the fullness of life at all. When you are alone, are you lonely or are in solitude? If loneliness is what it's about, what you may need most is the cultivation of the richness of solitude.