Isolation

The world sometimes seems an increasingly hostile place for people who take their Christian faith seriously and feel ever more isolated: governments try to force people to do or pay for things that are immoral, movies tell vicious lies about Christ and Christians, and enticements to hedonism surge higher and higher around us.

Sometimes we even feel isolated from our brothers and sisters in the Lord. In our parishes and in cyberspace we too often tend to scatter to our own home (to borrow a phrase from today's Gospel – John 16:29-33): staying within the liturgical, theological, and devotional niche we have situated ourselves.

Our Lord's subtle reproach to his fleeing followers should remind us on the need for us not to let ourselves be scattered, but to unite as closely as possible to strengthen each other and to accomplish great things in the name of Jesus amid a darkening world.

Our Lord also gives us words of comfort: words that pierce the gloom of even the deepest isolation or most intimidating environments:

But I am not alone,
because the Father is with me.

I have told you this
so that you might have peace in me.

In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage,
I have conquered the world.