An exile is someone who is separated from the place they call home. That relationship defines them. Without that connection, they would be free from the mournful longing for a particular place, but they would then just be a wanderer. Our task is to make ourselves exiles rather than wanderers: to orient ourselves towards God and long to abide in Him rather than to wander aimlessly in separation from Him. It’s a twofold process: to cultivate a deepest desire for God; and to recognise why we are exiled, distanced from Him, to recognise what we are held captive by.
As the Church prays the O Antiphons in these last days before Christmas, reflect with the series at Thinking Faith, or pray with the Sacred Space/Pray as You Go retreat with the O Antiphons.
Image (cropped) by Einsideln under CC BY-SA 4.0.