Are you ever lonely?

Are you ever lonely?

Yes, and that's where you need good friends. You need a good prayer guide who will help you, especially those times when you feel vulnerable, when you feel weak, when you're not sure, who will support you and walk with you. Every priest, every religious person, even every Christian should have a prayer guide - a spiritual guide, really - who they can talk to about their dificulties as well as their joys. And it's vital, especially for priests, for those who are decided to consecrate their lives in a very particular way. So, loneliness is there, and I think we all have to face it. I think it's in married life also. I don't think that it's not there. And, it's an opportunity when we do face it to encounter God, and I think that God is truly present to us when we've come face to face with our loneliness. And, I think a lot of images in Scripture talk of God leading the people into the desert. When you think about it, it's the most loneliest of places - desolate places - and yet God is encountered. It's when we become vulnerable that God really makes Himself known to us.