The Spiritual Search: Finding Yourself and Rediscovering Faith

There comes a moment in life when we feel the need to stop and ask: who am I, what am I looking for, where am I going? It may come after a loss, a disappointment, a time of weariness, or simply when everything seems to be going well yet something is missing. The spiritual search begins like this. The Christian spiritual days near Taormina are also meant for people at this point: a time of prayer, nature and friendship to find yourself again before God.

A restless heart

At the beginning of the Confessions, Saint Augustine writes to God: "you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you". That restlessness is not a flaw to be removed: it is the sign that we are made for something greater. Many try to quiet it with work, noise, screens. The Christian path proposes another way: to stop, listen to it and bring it before God.

Finding yourself in the light of God

"Do not go outside, return into yourself: truth dwells in the inner man," Augustine writes in his treatise Of True Religion. For Christian tradition, knowing yourself does not mean closing in on yourself, but discovering God's presence in the depths of the heart. The Desert Fathers said that whoever knows himself knows God, because each of us is created in His image.

This discovery does not come from techniques but from three simple things that lie at the heart of every day: silence, prayer and relationship with others.

Silence: the still small voice

The prophet Elijah, tired and discouraged, climbs Mount Horeb. The Lord is not found in the strong wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in "a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:12). God often speaks like this: softly. To hear Him we must switch something off. During the day there are times of silence, on the walk and in prayer, and anyone who needs it can be alone, read, reflect.

Prayer: standing still before God

"Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10). Shared prayer opens and closes the day: psalms, readings, silence, a song. For those who wish to go deeper, we talk about the tradition of the prayer of the heart and Christian asceticism, described on the page Christian asceticism and the prayer of the heart.

Relationship: we do not search alone

The spiritual search is not a solitary adventure. Preparing the meal together, sitting at the same table, laughing, sharing our stories, walking side by side: these simple gestures heal loneliness and open the heart. It is the spirit of the Philoxenia of Abraham, in which the guest is not a customer but a gift.

Spiritual moments for those who search

• Those who have drifted from the faith and want to come back, without feeling judged.
• Those going through a time of weariness who need to stop and breathe.
• Those who have lost a loved one and are looking for a place to pray and remember.
• Those facing a decision who want to make it calmly, in the light of God.
• Those who simply wish to live a Christian day, in company, in nature.

The days are an experience of faith and friendship, not a therapeutic programme. If you are going through a time of serious suffering, it is right to seek help from a doctor or a psychologist as well: faith and care go together.

Nature and saints: teachers of the search

Walks in the countryside, described on the page Spiritual walks in nature, help us find the right rhythm again. And the saints of Sicily were great seekers: Saint Hilarion left fame behind to seek hiddenness, Saint Elias the Younger crossed the Mediterranean as a slave, a pilgrim and a monk, Saint Lucy chose Christ above all. Their stories, told in Byzantine Sicily and the Italo-Greek saints, still speak to those who search.

How to take part

The days take place near Taormina, in Sicily. The places to visit are agreed together each time. There is no overnight stay: we share one day, and in the evening everyone returns to their own home. Hospitality has no price and does not depend on any offering: whoever comes is welcomed for who they are. Everyone contributes as they can: anyone who cannot leave anything is welcomed like everyone else, and takes part by giving a little of their time.

The days are reserved for Catholic and Orthodox Christians, because they are lived in shared prayer. To ask for a date, simply write to me on WhatsApp. The spirit of the days is told in the manifesto of hospitality.

If you would like to know what makes this mission possible, read The circle of love.

Explore the other pages

The days: Christian spiritual days in Sicily · The Philoxenia of Abraham · Day retreat, silent retreat and pilgrimage: the international names

Spiritual travel in Sicily: Spiritual tourism in Sicily: the guide · Pilgrimage walking routes in Sicily · Holy Week and Easter in Sicily · Religious festivals in Sicily: the calendar · Orthodox pilgrimage in Sicily · Spiritual Nordic walking and ski walking in Sicily

Nature and places: Spiritual Taormina · Spiritual walks in nature · Christian meditation in nature in Sicily · Places to meditate near Taormina and Messina · Places to meditate in Sicily

Prayer: Christian asceticism: the spiritual struggle · The prayer of the heart or Jesus Prayer · Hesychasm: the prayer of stillness · The Philokalia: the Neptic Fathers

The saints of Sicily: Byzantine Sicily and the Italo-Greek saints · Saint Hilarion the Great in Sicily · Saint Methodios of Syracuse · Saint Joseph the Hymnographer · Saint Elias the Younger of Enna · Saint Agatha of Catania · Saint Lucy of Syracuse · Saint Pancras of Taormina

Sources

• Saint Augustine, Confessions I.1 (New Advent)
• Wikiquote – Augustine of Hippo (Of True Religion 39.72)
• 1 Kings 19:9-13 (Bible Gateway, RSV)
• Psalms 19 and 46 (Bible Gateway, RSV)