To live alone with God, he must really be able to live alone. You cannot live alone if you cannot stand loneliness. And you cannot stand loneliness if your desire for “solitude” is built on frustrated need for human affection. To put it in plain language, it is hopeless to try to live your life in a cloister if you are going to eat your heart out thinking that nobody loves you. You have to be able to disregard that whole issue, and simply love the whole world in God, embracing all your brethren in that same pure love, without seeking signs of affection from them and without caring whether or
...more
