Silence and Solitude of the Desert Fathers and Thomas Merton We
are all solitaries even if we do not realize it. It is basic and
inevitable to being human, for it fundamentally as an individual
that we meet God and it is alone that we die. To be human is to
be alone and it is only a state of inner solitude that leads to
spiritual maturity and a realization of this actuality. In years
gone by, there have been those who went out into the desert
places, literally to the demon-possessed wildernesses of To be
alone in silence and solitude is to live in poverty and to be
empty to all that is important to this world. It is to seek God
above all else and also to know one's sinfulness and finally to
be reduced to silence in the presence of the living God. It is
to come to a place where prayer and contemplation are no longer
measured or realized but life is lived when we are liberated by
the silence. The Desert Fathers have led the way and it is their
writings that inspired Thomas Merton in his own pursuit of
solitude