Solitude: A Deeper Revelation

Fr. Jeremiah Shryock, CFR, gives a homily to the nuns of the monastery of Bethlehem in Livingston Manor, New York, where he serves as chaplain.

Here he offers insight into the vast difference between solitude and isolation.

The deepest revelations of God, Father Jeremiah points out, take place in solitude, “a place of intimacy and self-giving.”

“Every single person, to some degree, has a call to solitude, whether it is for a few moments each day, whether it is a vocation, or whether it is a time of solitary retreat for prayer,” he says, reminding us to fight the temptation to run away from solitude because of what it demands of us: the abandonment of the independent, agenda-driven self so that we can enter into God’s self-revelation and self-giving.

Image courtesy Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.

From the Friars · Solitude. A Deeper Revelation

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Fr. Jeremiah Shryock CFR

Fr. Jeremiah Myriam Shryock CFR, is from Barto, PA. He graduated from Kutztown University in Kutztown, PA in 2002 where he studied Philosophy and professional writing. In September of 2002 he entered the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFR) and was ordained a priest in 2011 by Cardinal Timothy Dolan in St. Patricks’ Cathedral in New York City. In 2014 he completed studies in spiritual direction at Our Lady of Divine Providence School of spiritual direction in Clearwater, FL. Throughout his time as a Franciscan, he has participated in his community’s charism of hands-on work with the poor and preaching. He lived for three years as a hermit at the Monastery of Bethlehem in Livingston Manor, NY and now currently lives in San Juan Diego Friary in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he preaches retreats, is a spiritual director and conducts parish missions on either the spiritual life or Mary.
He is author of Amid Passing Things: Life, Prayer, and Relationship with God, Mary and the Interior Life, and Let Him Lead: An Invitation to Let Jesus Guide Your Heart and Your Life (2025). For more information, visit his website at: fatherjeremiah.com and follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/father_jeremiah/</a.