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| View from the hermitage, Chester, New Jersey |
The first type of “alone” is solitude. Solitude is union with God. It is attained through prayer and ascetical practice and made possible with grace. The genuine solitary lives in community with others in the love of God.
The second type of “alone” is isolation. Isolation is separation from God—it is a condition of the heart that develops when someone acts contrary to the law of God and alienates themselves from human society.
The ultimate isolation is hell, in which the soul is forever separated from God, unable to love anyone, themselves included. The damned are tormented by self-hatred, remorse, and despair.
Hell begins on earth whenever the soul fails to turn towards God in repentance.
Always the
opposite is possible—conversio mores,
turning towards God in grace.
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