There are valid points for all humans, including hermit humans, to not place ourselves as judges of others, and to strive in living our lives not based on disagreeing or living to expound upon others' lives.
That is, we may be influenced by others' lives, or interested in others' lives, such as I am grateful to have had the blessing of a collection of books of arcane mystics, hermits, "saints", writings of spiritual directors of saints, Scriptural commentaries, and of Catholic poets and literary talents. These topics and talented souls are intriguing! I personally am interested in the spiritual life, in the soul's progression. I want to lift my mind, heart, and soul to positivity, as a goal. The mystical and temporal have always been of interest as well as a topic of which I've written since high school days. I also wrote of man's inhumanity to man to a point that an English teacher commented on an essay that it gave her chills--the depth to which I wrote. I think it was of some theme in one of Dante's Trilogy.
I'm old and weary now, so I can't evoke chills, but I obviously cause reaction--but really only from this one person and her blog comrades. It is always negative reaction, which is a so what, but no kindly. We all have our minds and thoughts, and yet I'm not really a blog-reader myself, but a blog writer. So I'm not interested in writing based on what another blogger writes or thinks--unless that person attacks me personally, as in detraction and wrong judgment. I recognize that there are Christians from the time of Christ, including Christ, who spoke and wrote what stirred others to a full spectrum of emotions, from anger to hatred, from disagreeing to detracting, from misunderstanding to outright misconstruing, from disliking to sinful judging.
Some detractors became so incensed by what others spoke and wrote that they went from words to actions. That is how Christ was crucified and numerous persons over the centuries were run out of towns, dropped into cisterns, sold into slavery, thrown off cliffs, fed to lions, stoned to death, beheaded, burned at the stake, drawn and quartered, shot, guillotined.
When someone--another hermit--cannot seem to cope with a fellow hermit's also writing a blog, discussing the personal, spiritual, daily journey and who then detracts, stalks, and diminishes a fellow hermit in ugly and untruthful terms, there is grave sin involved. The main concerns in such an unthinkable yet ongoing situation are the obsession, the seeming envy and resentment, the anger and frustration that the detracting hermit cannot seem to keep in check, as well as the online stalking (penal code infraction in most states). A call to the hermit's diocese might remind the infracting hermit to reign in the impulsive behavior; but what if that hermit's diocese does not want anything to do with their diocese hermit? What if they deny having responsibility for the perniciously maligning hermit? Spiritual counseling might remind such a person to keep pride in check, for no one person, least of all a hermit, is the divine or otherwise appointed authority or guardian of hermits or of the hermit vocation.
Hermits are not in competition with one another. This is a simple statement that if repeated enough, along with "Thou Shalt Not Judge" might help quell judging another hermit to even such a wrong as judge and write publicly inferring that I'm not a Christian and that I'm not a Catholic. The seriousness and ungodliness of such a judgment against another cannot be emphasized enough. The very timing of a publicly written statement in itself is not of God.
The hurtfulness and the pathos of judging and of stating such ugliness does nothing but to damage and imperil the very soul of a person who persists in it. A diocese hermit who demeans, detracts, and viciously and wrongly judges another person is in grave, moral standing within the Church as well as with God. For one thing, people--another hermit-- is a person who like other people is loved by Jesus and is one who God values very much, and for whom God has chosen the hermit life.
A basic step for any individual who experiences such a painful and hurtful situation, is to offer prayer for this offending person (even if sadly a hermit perpetuating such ugliness), and pray also for any others, such as the offender's friends, who have been involved in the detraction and ill-will toward the person being attacked. Let these situations and suggestions of how to deal with them be a reminder for any one: find other topics than target another person, and above all, stop judging in such rashness and of that which there is no factual proof.
Judging and deciding who is not a Christian, a not a Catholic, and leaving enough identifying information in a public blog is going too far across the line of what Jesus teaches. Surely no member of church clergy would condone derision or libel, slander or even veiled hints of tearing down another person--hermit or otherwise--in any manner.
As for writing on the topic of legalism and increasing temporal aspects of churches (Catholic or other denominations, and of any world religions and sects in our time) Jesus was certainly well aware of these aspects in the Jewish temple of His time. He was quite frank and honest in his speaking of these realities which had those stuck in the temporal aspects of religion and even of spiritual life--to the point of losing His life for what He said and taught.
There are many canonized Catholic saints and mystics who endured terrible persecution, and worse, at the hands of such persons who were and are stuck in and attached to temporal views and opinions. These persons "stuck" did verbally and at times physically attacked those who saw through to the spiritual, the numinous, the love of God and of God's Law of Love above all things temporal. St. John Chrysostom is one who spoke and wrote of truth and beauty over the corruptions and wrongs of his time; and he was exiled and eventually killed for his words.
Let us hold forth and foremost (and this is for all hermits and humans) of all vocations, Catholic or not, that the hermit and most vocations we live: A vocation is not a competition. Furthermore, there is no hierarchy among hermits nor in most vocations--no designations such as of Royalty, There is no Queen of Hermits, no King of Hermits, no Lead Hermit, no Head hermit, no Legal or Illegal Hermit--at least not in God's purview of hermits who are mere humble followers of Jesus and adherents of the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We are Christ's, God's, and the Holy Spirit's Hermits!
Furthermore, we are all human--we hermits. We are all human no matter what vocation God has given us and of which we have accepted God's call. No vocation is more important nor more authentic than the other! We Christians are all in process, all learning to follow, to serve, to love, to obey God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
God bless His Real Presence in us! Love in His Love!
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