We are surrounded and immersed in a secular culture, internationally known Franciscan priest Richard Rohr says. Attempting to find meaning in this milieu, filled with raw violence, leads only to dead ends. He reviews what the Scriptures teach about the unique character and challenge of living a life of faith and finding meaning 'in exile'.

Moving through passages in Jeremiah, Ezekiel and 2 Isiaiah, Rohr explains how the Jewish people in the barrenness of Babylonian captivity found direction and relationship in God's presence. It was only after everything that they thought was essential for religion was taken away, that they discovered the Lord of the Universe.

In our own journey, our youth is focused on identity, boundaries and self-control. Our gradual maturity comes through the storms of life. It may take sorrow, disappointment and darkness, even depression, for us to surrender to the light within. 'There is no non-stop flight to Nirvana,' Rohr insists. Only a period of exile can introduce us to the world of a 'subversive' wisdom that saturates Paul's words and the life of Jesus.