The Shattering of Loneliness: On Christian Remembrance

The experience of loneliness is as universal as hunger or thirst. Because it affects us more intimately, we are less inclined to speak of it. But who has not known its gnawing ache? The fear of loneliness causes anguish. It prompts reckless deeds.

No voice is more insidious than the one that whispers in our ear: 'You are irredeemably alone, no light will pierce your darkness.' The fundamental statement of Christianity is to convict that voice of lying. The Christian condition unfolds within the certainty that ultimate reality, the source of all that is, is a personal reality of communion, no metaphysical abstraction.

Directing us towards this communion, Scripture invites us to remember who we are, where we come from, where we are going. This book examines different facets of Christian remembrance, complementing biblical exegesis with readings from literature. It aims to be an essay in theology. At the same time, it proposes a grounded reflection on what it means to be a human being.