Great Souls

"'Stephan Daddah,' he replied, 'you are a Great Soul and in the presence of a Great Soul, words are not necessary.'" -- The City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre


 Great Souls. I wonder what constitutes a Great Soul. It's an interesting thing to ponder.

The book I'm currently reading, City of Joy, is a book that is based on the stories of people who lived in Calcutta, India in the 1960's and 1970's. It is a heart breaking book, cataloging the lives of poor village people who moved to Calcutta, the most densely populated and poorest city in India, in the hope of finding work and creating a better life for themselves and their families. The Great Soul referenced is that of a Polish Priest who moved into the slum called Anand Nagar, the City of Joy. He gave up everything to live in the middle of a slum among the least of these, to serve those dying from leprosy and cholera and tuberculosis, forming relationships with Muslims and Hindus and Christians alike.

"'In the West,' Kolvalski was to note, 'people's gazes barely brush over you. That man's eyes revealed his entire soul.'"

How many Great Souls have I met in my life, even in the last eight weeks, but have brushed over in my Western haste? How many souls have I been given the option of seeing into, but haven't taken the time to merely look? And how many times has the Great Soul, my Lord and Savior, tried to tell me things but I haven't taken the time to look at what He has shown me?

The thought of so many missed Great Souls is sobering for me.

Hopefully the souls I have met and realized are Great are cherished. In a world like ours, Great Souls are needed. They are out there, we just need to look for them. And look for them in places we don't expect them to be.

I think if we're honest to ourselves as Christians, the church is sometimes the last place we'll find some of the truly Great Souls. Of course, there are wonderful people in the church, Great Souls. I think the souls we're meant to find are the souls we're meant to connect with, to love on, and perhaps share our God with. Having a Great Soul is not confined to just Christians.

I believe we all have the capacity to have a Great Soul. Maybe then it is just necessary for someone to realize our Great Souls. I don't think we can realize our own. I'm not sure if someone sat in a room with me in silence that my soul would be considered a Great Soul in which no words were necessary. Maybe someday. Right now I think it's too numb, to dead to the world.

These are all very new thoughts in my head, so I'm still pondering and mulling them over. I think sometimes those are the best thoughts to have. Sometimes we look for the simplest answers. The truly great questions probably don't have answers.

Until next time, take the time to look for Great Souls.