Hope in Solitude

In his Theology of the Body, Karol Wojtyła, also known as Pope Saint John Paul II talks about the original solitude of Adam. He meditates on the fact that, despite never having encountered another human being, and despite having countless animal companions, Adam knew he was alone. Pope John Paul also knew what it meant to feel solitude. In 1941, at the age of 20 the young Wojtyła lost his father, the last surviving member of his immediate family. Wojtyła was alone in Nazi-occupied Poland. He would later say, “at twenty, I had already lost all the people I loved.” But he did not give in to despair.

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Young Karol Wojtyła with his father of the same name

When Adam felt his solitude, God gave him a companion. God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) God tells us, from the very beginning, that He made us for relationship. We feel this intuitively, and we feel distress when we lack in companionship. But God shows us in Genesis that he will not leave us alone. God gives Adam his wife, Eve, as the companion he needed. He did not create Eve immediately though. First, God has Adam name all the animals in search of a companion. God obviously knew that none of these animals would work as a companion for Adam, but Adam trusted God’s process of opening his heart to prepare the way for his beloved.

Likewise, Karol Wojtyła trusted God in his solitude, and looked forward with hope to the redemption of his suffering. In a situation like his, many people would likely have given themselves over to vice or despair. But not Wojtyła. Instead, he entered seminary. He threw himself at the foot of the cross and sought to serve God. He understood that God would not leave him alone. In return, God made him Pope John Paul II. He lost one family, but in giving of himself, Pope John Paul II became the ecclesiastical father of God’s family, the Church. But even more than his new family, God gave him the greatest gift of all.

Both Adam and Pope John Paul II received a gift greater than companionship, they received God through their companions. The gift of others is the gift of God himself. When God puts people into our lives, He does so out of love for us, and love for that person. Pope John Paul’s example shows us that we can always turn to God, especially when we think we have nobody else. He may not relieve our solitude in the way we think, but He will never leave us alone.

When we feel the pains of solitude closing in on us, let us try to remember Pope John Paul’s example, and seek for ways to give the gift of self.

The Elder Karol Wojtyła with his wife, Emilia, and their firstborn son, Edmund

Chris Tarantino is the Communications Director for TOBET. He studied History at The University at Texas A&M and has written for the Tennessee Register and Nashville Catholic.