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On Loneliness - Mother Katherine Weston

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In this episode, Mother Katherine Weston discusses loneliness...some of the reasons for it and some of the things that can be done to address it.
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Опубликовано:

17 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 58

@ProtectingVeil 5 месяцев назад

📙 FREE eBOOK on the wisdom of modern Orthodox Christian elders: social.protectingveil.com/freebook1

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Now that we are practicing "social distancing"--physical distancing really, loneliness is a greater issue than ever before. Some of the suggestions I made in the interview and the book for overcoming loneliness don't apply in our current situation. But the spiritual ones still apply. Rather than trying to escape loneliness, we need, more than ever, to remember our Creator who is lonely for us when we are lost in the kaleidoscopic distractions of this world. May it be a time for our minds to come together, to refocus and sharpen, so that we can more easily remember the goal and purpose of our lives.

@Mark-yb1sp 4 года назад

Nun Katherine Weston Thank you Mother for opening my eyes and heart to what I’m going through.

@thestraightroad305 2 года назад

I have heard you speak a few times now…every time I have been deeply touched. it is rare for me to feel connected; I am loneliest in my marriage of 32 years since my husband became skeptical of Christianity a few years ago. It was a great shock for me. It has caused me to seek God more than ever, but I seem constantly to wonder why I do not feel His love in the way I have heard for so many years (I’ve been a committed Christian for 36 years). I have begun exploring Orthodoxy because my Protestant experience was becoming so empty. To me, Church is the loneliest place on earth. I wish I could talk to someone like you, Mother Katherine.

@nunkatherineweston 2 года назад

@@thestraightroad305 Thank you for your thoughts. Loneliness in marriage is particularly frustrating because the possibility of connection seems so very close. I wish you good strength in the struggle to not just entertain away the lonely feelings. May God guide you in your life, your marriage, and your spiritual search.

@thestraightroad305 2 года назад

@@nunkatherineweston Thank you, Mother Katherine, for your consideration and kind words. I would ask you to pray even just one prayer for us.

@johnantony797 5 лет назад

I'm a Protestant living in South India, but Mother Katherine's words are the most touching and insightful I've heard on the subject of loneliness. May God bless you richly, Mother. And thank you to the channel for making this available. My love in Christ.

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Greetings to you, John. I'm glad you found this useful. May God bless you.

@rochelle9243 2 года назад

Mother Katherine's video has produced a number of epiphanies for me. She is so understanding. She must be a blessing to her community.

@tmm4633 4 года назад

More of her please! Her mind, her gestures...just ethereal peace

@nunkatherineweston 3 года назад

TM M, I’m glad you found this peaceful and helpful. If you are interested in more of my videos, look on these channels: Fellowship of St. Moses the Black and Adam Lowell Roberts (for the Antiochian Archdiocese).

@Pasto08 5 лет назад

Chronic loneliness is a crippling and exhausting condition of many urban posmodern people. May God bless mother Katherine's work. Didn't feel lonely watching this! :)

@ProtectingVeil 5 лет назад

Yes...we need to build stronger communities, I think...

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Thank you for the good words, Basileios!

@anzhelikaosmanova3789 5 лет назад

So well said... loneliness can come from busyness.

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Thank you for writing, Anzhelika. We are often forced to be busier than we would like. But even in those busy moments, if we can come just a little closer to God ... a prayer ... a sigh ... we come closer to each other.

@mariakaragianni863 5 лет назад

Indeed loneliness is a problem of our difficult times!

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Thanks for writing, Maria. Yes, loneliness is a symptom of our time. Like a fever, it tells us something deeper is wrong.

@Heyme232 4 года назад

Mother Katerine is one of my most favorite orthodox speakers. Such a knowledgeable, nice and calm person...

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Thank you for your kind words. Pray that God will continue to inspire and to give me words of wisdom.

@Shinpleify 4 года назад

I was distraught to have experienced profound loneliness even when surrounded by friends because I always thought it was a social and physical dilemma of not having enough people near me. It is indeed an unseen suffering felt from a isolated spirit and mind through various circumstances. God be with you all.

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

C. S. The moment of realizing that your loneliness is not just circumstantial is profound. Next time that feeling comes over you, what would it be like for you to stop and pray for every one who is lonely. The feeling of isolation paradoxically links so many of us together. MK

@Shinpleify 2 года назад

Mother Katherine, I thank you for your guidance. It has helped change the pain into something beneficial.

@MaximusWolfe 5 лет назад

This channel is great.

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Herman is indeed performing a much needed service with this channel. It has blessed me, too.

@miztenacioust1758 5 лет назад

Whew! This hit home. Too much stress, too much busyness. Thank you Mother Katherine Weston. ❤

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

You're welcome, Miz Tenacious. Hope you find ways to de-stress and connect.

@virginialopezrey6860 5 лет назад

So true that some of the loneliest people are married.

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Thanks for writing, Virginia. I think when married people are lonely, they are not inhabiting the same life stories. Couples feel connected when they both live in the story that they are a team with God as their helper.

@toufekeskaf3849 5 лет назад

Peace be with your spirit sister Katharine All you have said is right. In reality I forget that filing of loneliness since I began a relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ because His Grace is so great that He Is with me all the time. Be blessed with all our brothers and sisters in Him Amen

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Greetings in the Lord Toufik Eskaf. I am happy to hear that you are able to "practice the presence of God." That is so important.

@saneerjohn4804 3 года назад

God bless you mother amen ♥️❤️🔥

@hollywoodartchick9740 Год назад

Truth bombs blowing up in every sentence! Such a great talk, so direct and digestible. I totally relate.

@DChristina 5 лет назад

Beautifully said- thank you💕

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Thank you, D Christina. I'm glad you found it useful.

@mdb60 5 лет назад

I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon myself, and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featured like him, like him with friends possessed Shakespeare Sonnet 29 Loneliness is never alone 🙏

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Well said.

@trekerdvd88 Год назад

I wish I lived in Indiana because I'd really love to have Mother Weston as a counselor I think she'd be wonderful to guide me spiritually.

@peregrino1655 3 года назад

Excellent!

@jonnaborosky8836 3 года назад

I wonder if Mother Katherine used to be the handmaid Paraskeva, whom I knew in DC so long ago. Oddly enough, my name used to be Katherine, and I was a professional counselor. Since my tonsure, I'm called Mother Anastasia, mother superior of The Sacred Hermitage of St. Paisius. When I was a young novice in a convent some 40 years ago, our geronda told us that we can never truly be lonely in the Church, because no matter where you are or who's around you, you always have the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the Mother of God, all the Saints and all the Angelic Hosts with us. For monastics, of course this is a call to be connected to the Heavenly Ones through prayer...ceaseless prayer. If we, with God's help, accomplish this, we can never feel lonely. We might have a difficult path to follow to get there, but once there...no loneliness at all any more! That doesn't mean we should shy away from people. On the contrary, contact with others gives us the opportunity to show God's love in more ways than by prayer. In the Love of Jesus Christ, Mother Anastasia

@nunkatherineweston 2 года назад

Your blessing, Mother Anastasia. Thank you for your profound reflection. I was never called Paraskeva, nor have I lived in DC.

@Primordial_Synapse 5 лет назад

I don't disagree with anything this woman said but in all fairness, the idea of "taking time out of one's busy schedule" and "spending quiet time with the Lord" is going to fall on the deaf ears of those who have no choice but to work long, grueling hours at jobs they don't like because they have bills to pay and families to raise, with little energy or inclination to attend church on Sunday. Sadly, this is the lot in life for most people not just in the developing world but increasingly so in the United States. I like how she acknowledged the role the Industrial Revolution played in radically reshaping society but I wish she elaborated on that line of thought further, especially since the rapid development of artificial intelligence will bring forth a second (third?) industrial revolution that will displace many workers from jobs that even require advanced education. To say this will radically affect not only social relations within society's economic base but also its ideological superstructure is an understatement. I personally believe the church can contribute toward a meaningful discussion on how to reform existing social structures in light of these developments, even if it ruffles some feathers. Monasteries, for example, have successfully thrived as voluntary collective communities for centuries. Perhaps they can serve as a model that can expand to include laypeople in some capacity. With technology advancing at the pace it is, the amount of work necessary to survive will be comparatively little to what it is now (and what it was even only 20 years ago) and time will be freed up to engage in the sort of spiritual pursuits she's suggested in this video.

@tuck-brainwks-eutent-hidva1098 4 года назад

(Perspective disclosure: I am currently a catechumen in the Orthodox Church.) Your comment was interesting on several levels.... One of my initial points of connection with ancient Eastern Christian faith was the bridge between my study of biodynamics (specifically in relation to healing body work) and reading on the practice of "hesychia"/stillness. I think this ties to each of your observations.... Stillness is the call to all the faithful, not only to monastics -- the kind of inner quiet (that our ascetic practices aid us in cultivating) amid our daily lives is a challenge, but still an aim to strive for, even in the 21st century.... The AI transformation (well underway) is a disturbing prospect -- and the scope of its effects still largely unanticipated, I believe. There will certainly be many shifts -- I think one of them could and should be in the direction of intentionally equipping everyday folks with the understanding and tools to begin repatriating the fullness of our humanity -- it has ebbed at an increasing rate as we have uncritically replaced interpersonal interaction with the technological -- now, finally, everywhere.... To both of the above ends, I have been honing the focus of my near-lifelong vision for retreat space to a kind of bridge between "sturm und drang" life & a lay-life of stillness -- in some way that (on the "near" side of the Church) is analogous to the bridge formed by the monastics (on the "far" side) between the earthly life and the one beyond.... I'm curious to know if that makes sense to you, and what you think, in light of the connection with your own comments...? Peace -- 🙏

@Primordial_Synapse 4 года назад

@@tuck-brainwks-eutent-hidva1098 Hi, Tracy. Thank you for your reply. :) My post had less to do with personal spiritual development through ascetic practices and hesychasm and more to do with how the way society produces and distributes its economic resources and how we relate to each other through this mechanism (i.e. mode of production) gives rise to its overarching ideology/narrative and how this shapes human personality. In other words, the socioeconomic circumstances into which one is born, even though they are beyond human control - will play a key role in how he/she views the world and interact with others. Included in this is how he/she views religion. My hope is that the church draws from its traditions and interacts with these phenomena in a way that is meaningful and constructive. Hope this helps.

@tuck-brainwks-eutent-hidva1098 4 года назад

@@Primordial_Synapse Interesting -- pondering. Thank you....

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

Thank you, Nathaniel. I was able to unpack the topic more in my 2014 book Loneliness or Fruitful Longing. You raise some interesting aspects, though, regarding AI and reforming social structures. My suggestions focus on what individuals can do.

@Primordial_Synapse 4 года назад

@@nunkatherineweston Thank you for responding to my post, Mother Weston. I confess that I wrote my original comment out of mild frustration (not at you). One gets discouraged reading the news and learning about how much pointless suffering there is in the world - how people struggle to make ends meet just because they're born to parents who don't love them, have the wrong skin color, or grow up on the wrong side of town. Merely reforming existing social structures, such as the introduction of public healthcare, the expansion of public transportation and education and mass construction of low-cost public housing would greatly alleviate their suffering and provide some form of material hope for the future. The fundamental contradictions of society would remain but life, while far from perfect, would at least be more bearable. In saying all of this, however, I must remember that addressing these problems falls under the purview of civil society and the state, not the church. It is not, nor has it ever been, the church's responsibility to "fix" society. Of course, we are to care for widows and orphans, as it says in James' epistle, but we are pilgrims, in this world but not of it. We have been tasked with preserving Sacred Tradition and witnessing for Christ, calling people to theosis under constantly changing, evolving social and cultural circumstances.

@AG-wb3db 4 года назад

I have a question. I am a normal orthodox married woman. But I love wearing the veil. Is it OK to cover myself? I don't want to mistaken for a muslim.

@nunkatherineweston 4 года назад

A Geurse Greetings-the answer depends on where in the world you live and on the design of the veil you are wearing. Modesty is a virtue little appreciated by the world. Perhaps your head covering could spark questions and give you the opportunity to testify to your beliefs.

@AG-wb3db 4 года назад

@@nunkatherineweston True. I live in Holland. Most people are atheists and mock Jewish,Muslim or Christian women who wish to dress modestly. I prayed about it and decided to cover my hair. In the same way you wear your veil. With long sleeved t shirts and skirts. I wear a cross around my neck . This way people will know I am a Christian. Thank you sweetheart. :) Modesty might be hard sometimes but the best things are not always the easiest and comes with trials and tribulations. God bless you!

@AG-wb3db 4 года назад

@Kyril J I am.orthodox as well. I decided to wear the veil. :)

@bezagebremedhine5102 2 года назад

Why not beloved child of Christ. Our Eternal Mother The Ever Virgin Mary was always veiled so that othet Holy Saints. Just try to veil yourself bit differently than the muslims.

@deanaburnham9571 Год назад

Yes. Sometimes as a religious the emptying out I realize comes from not leaning into the Cross consciously. When pain becomes imagined as unbearable---well it truly isn't. It is a love that one--that I am in the moment not willing to receive! If I review in the thoughts of my heart the vows I made and Our Blessrd Lord perfectly exemplified/s faithfully then I recognize better that pain in all it's forms is as one author wrote THE HOLY LONGING. And it is our longing for God, for the Divine Union. It is God Others and then self. One person said, God's other self. Reminds me of the longing for Theosis. And must not neglect in any way our prayers for and service to the world. Lord May I gladly recognize my pain as Your perfect love for me. And may my inner lonely chambers be for You Alone. Forgive my disorientation and my delusions that any family member is equipped to do what you do yourself, and what you do through each of them and through the members of our Holy Benedictine Order. Forgive me Merciful and Loving Lord. Help me Lord to experience your joy in my weakness and share it completely with those whom you've given me so that they may experience You not me---and see that you can do all things especially in a broken vessel. I ask this in your Name Most Holy and through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and Saints both living and dead. Please bless those who participated in this edifying video many times over Lord and for their prayers and love of you and for those who've reached out. Thank you Most blessed Lord Christ . Amen.