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Gustavo Gutierrez Once Again Speaks from My Soul

Gustavo Gutierrez, We Drink from Our Own Wells: "The experience of the solitude of the desert is a profound aspect of the encounter with God. Passage through this desert is a journey of pure faith, with the support and guidance of God only. In solitude the Lord speaks to us tenderly (Hos. 2:14), calls us to fidelity, and consoles us."

Truly this is where I stand. I am, quite literally, in the desert. I am also, metaphorically, in the desert. This is the dark night of my soul. This is my journey of pure faith. I am left out here in the wilderness in order that I might cling to the only one who can save me. And here is where that one calls to me and fashions me in such a way that I become a woman of great integrity and fidelity. And it is here that my wounds are healed and here that healing is recognized and affirmed. The tender moments of my life come to me here in the desert. (And the tender moments wash away all the violence of previous moments.) The words and deeds that heal me come to me in this lonely and desolate place. I wrote in my journal a couple weeks ago that somehow, in the midst of this desert, I was being restored. Gutierrez well expresses what I could not. He expresses the deep significance of the desert. I have known that significance in some way, but he gives me the words with which to understand fully. He speaks what I now experience.

It is a lonely place, this desert. But it restores me. The wilderness is a struggle and a gift. I praise God for bringing me to the desert. It is in this place that I am "becoming" (deep concept that, for me, arose from reading Gilson and Heidegger) and in this place I become whole.

I shall have to remember to thank Gustavo for this moment when I meet him. (Sweet, sweet theological dreams, indeed.) His work has touched my life once again. It is no wonder that I am so drawn to the theology that Gutierrez has written about. This theology reaches me in ways that no other has.

posted by CT @ 1:03 AM