It is clear that what matters is faithfulness to the discipline. In the beginning, solitude seems so contrary to our desires that we are constantly tempted to run away from it. One way of running away is daydreaming or simply falling asleep. But when we stick to our discipline, in the conviction that God is with us even when we do not yet hear him, we slowly discover that we do not want to miss our time alone with God. Although we do not experience much satisfaction in our solitude, we realise that a day without solitude is less “spiritual” than a day with it.

Reflection question:

Nouwen is speaking here of the significance of forming habits through the discipline of repeated actions (faithfulness).  What ‘holy habits’ do you already have in place in your discipleship? Which ones would you be seeking to develop in 2017?