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Alone or Lonely
“And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.”
Matthew 14:23
There is a big difference between feeling lonely and physically being alone. According to Google, solitude comes from the Latin word solitudinem, which means "loneliness," but if you have moments of solitude, that doesn't necessarily mean you are lonely. The word solitude carries the sense that you're enjoying being alone by choice, whereas loneliness is a feeling of isolation and being alone despite wanting social connections.
I like being alone in my home, having quiet time to myself for thought, prayer or just to be and potter around. I need occasional ‘me’ time. Now, I hasten to add that I would not want to be alone all the time. I thrive, as most of us do, on interaction with people, but sometimes I just want to be alone.
We read that Jesus was frequently surrounded by hundreds of people and would teach them. You would say that He was not lonely, but I feel that maybe He was. And then He would go off by Himself to be alone.
Many of us felt lonely during the COVID-19 shutdowns and the recent heat wave we experienced this summer. Some called COVID an epidemic of loneliness. Our usual routines were disrupted. Many were not able to join friends on their daily walks, visit neighbors or go out to a restaurant. We found ourselves wanting the company of others.
As we get older, our families form their circle of friends; we move to other accommodations, and we lose our friends to death. Maybe it is an illness that takes away our physical activities. We begin to feel lonely.
St. Martin’s Pastoral Care Dept. is here to help all our Parishioners. Maybe you are alone a lot and do not want to be. Maybe you feel lonely, not integrated and want to be included more. Please let us help you. The Pastoral Care Dept. has resources of Lay People who can connect with you regularly. We want to help.
It’s hard to be a Christian without community. No one at St Martin’s needs to feel alone. We know how easy it is to drift into loneliness, but we have the tools to help you find your place in our church family.
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