Befriending Loneliness

When I first entered Jesuit formation, one of the earliest pieces of wisdom I learned was that loneliness is a real thing, and we can learn to befriend it. The COVID-19 pandemic, when the world shut its doors and we were forced indoors, brought this truth into sharp focus. Many of us discovered that the only way forward was to turn inward, to meet ourselves, and to draw strength from within. It was a test not only of our endurance but also of our capacity to look into the mirror of our inner life.