Catholic Hermit: Major Discernment of the Lord's Will

Was so refreshing and blessed reading more of John of the Cross' purpose, knowledge, and symbolization.  He wanted in his life what my heart desires.  A thrill to discover our shared hopes in God and desires of our hearts, across the centuries but a thought-flash and moment right here, his friendship and mentoring with all but my seeing him in temporal vision.

I want to share more of his understanding of memory, and of his ideals and desires for his raison d'etre, but I will read more tomorrow.  For now I've been pondering much other, and texting far too lengthy of thoughts to the spiritual father.  I suspect he does not know me well enough yet, to be praying for my deeper thoughts and the discernment--I think the outcome of the confessor having me pray for a week about my vocation!

When we pray, things happen!

Dr. H. called, and also commented in amazement at my ability to text lengthy and deeply expressed messages.  I laughed and told him to just "delete", for I write rapidly, and the writing is--as he termed it, "like an out of body experience."  Well, that is his phrase; mine is more that the Lord lifts me out of my body, out of the pained body, and the thoughts flow. However, I acknowledged that people need to delete if they wish, for I consider myself rude for writing with abandon even if what I am writing might be of some help or worth--not of me, of course, but the Holy Spirit who can be inspiring if I am myself out of the way.

What is an answer to my own prayer of a desire, if God willed, of course, is that Dr. H. would understand what I was expressing in some texts today, to him, explaining why in my situation, my odd little mystic victim soul situation, that God has never suggested He would take away the pain but rather has given it to me for a purpose--His purpose--and I have in some levels and dimensions, including at times in the temporal, agreed to the suffering He's offered me and asked of me to bear in this temporal life.

We talked of many things spiritual then, on the phone this evening, and he also was grateful for the research I did on the writer who took a positive aspect of the focus of love and positive thoughts, but bastardized it essentially by commercializing it, selling, as it were, a chance to have a miracle or one's "wish" granted.  I wrote of this in a previous blog, so won't repeat.  This was validation of my long-held inner sense of Dr. H's humility, intelligence, and unconditional love of others.  He is an extraordinary clinical psychologist, adept in the supernatural, but knowing me has been a bit of a different experience, as it is turning out.  Yet he grasps what is most difficult for most people to grasp, or people who cannot absorb the other-worldly aspects of what seems natural to me, or more real than what is anything real in this realm.

So, he is still part of  my earthly, spiritual experience and a friend in deed.  And for some of his clients, what I can share of the mystical life and the life of prayer and suffering and of Christ's reality, he can utilize in whatever ways he needs to filter or re-word for the benefit of the many people he helps who are in a whole array of temporal, psychological, physical, suffering, mental, and emotional "jams."

All is well, and all shall be well.  ~ St. Julian of Norwich

As for the Consecrated Life of the Church and the trend of Catholic hermits in the Consecrated Life of the Church, while the privately professed hermits and the publicly professed hermits are included, or in the negation "set" of stating, neither are excluded.  I did some research, and have done so in the actuality of the temporal world, and that in this case means the temporal Catholic world.  The trend is definitely in the direction of hermits seeming legitimized and credible, made authentic, if they are seen as "approved."  The term "canonical approval" has been used extensively, and is noted; and of course humans, always will gravitate toward and feel secure with that which is deemed "legal" or by "canon law."

There is rarely a time in society when trends have shifted, once laws are created.  Even in the U.S. Constitution, regarding the Roe v. Wade abortion law and issue, some aspects of that law will not likely change; all that can occur is through some state law adjustments or attempts, and these are often then overturned by higher courts.  However, public education can occur, and prayers are powerful, and prayerful vigils outside abortion clinics have proven miraculously successful, with even Planned Parenthood directors or employees of abortion clinics, having conversion experiences.  The woman at the center of Roe v. Wade Supreme Court battle, later converted to Catholicism, in fact.

So I am praying for the Lord to show me what He wills of me.  Since the tides are turning and perhaps already shifted to diocese hermits becoming the "orange is the new black" of hermit profession and hermit vocation, my director and I are considering God's will.  My director texted back a question, but I cannot answer as discernment, prayer, and listening is needed until the Lord makes clear to me what He wills in the matter.

It has even come to thought that perhaps the Lord is asking of me what He asked of various hermits in history, and that is to leave the hermit vocation for something other He needs and wants, something of greater purpose in His plan that never involves just us--but involves the entire world, the universe, the other side of souls in purgatory, as well.  Always, God's plan involves the salvation of souls and to redound in His glory, all of God's creation, and of His Son, and through the Holy Spirit.

My director texted at one point the suggestion of just having the bishop approve me.  Well, that would solve the nitpicking and the frustrations of the one diocese hermit...possibly.  I suspect there would be more bullying and attacks, more contrariness and discrediting, more detraction and other negative labels the person would crown me with.  (I'm laughing, as it is likely, as some souls simply have trouble with the concept of sharing with others: air, proximity, cyberspace, kindnesses, life, Christ.  Some due to an unrecognized inner lack, have a need to feel superior, sometimes at others' detriment.

That aspect does not bother me in the least.  It would be marvelous to release what might be at least the major issue the person finds so upsetting--that of privately professed Catholic hermits not sharing in or being part of the Consecrated Life of the Church.  And that trend, I recognize, is becoming ipso facto, the way forward.  Canon law and public profession will trump and replace in time, private profession.  I must kiss the tried and true of the historical, traditional way of the hermits, good-bye.  Societal norms have always been swayed by externals, and if a hermit in our times desires the graces and spiritually beneficial aspects of being, so to speak, at the "table of blessings of the Consecrated Life", then one must go the way of the canon law 603, to remove the shell of the lobster to be able to eat the delectable flesh.

If I want to be included at the table, if I want or need lobster.  Only God knows.  Of course, as I mentioned to my spiritual father, I'd choose heaven over the Consecrated Life of the Church.  But I do not know if God is asking me to choose between the two--not yet.  But I do recognize that the way of the privately professed hermit is overruled by changing times and canon law, which one can justify that for whatever reasons, the bishops wanted more control over these persons who are called by God to the solitary religious life, to the hermit vocation.

Perhaps there were some privately professed, traditional, historical hermits who were molesting children in their cells, or hermit huts.  Perhaps there were hermits begging for alms and using it for booze or drugs.  Maybe there were hermits doing bizarre things like claiming to be the reincarnation of Elijah, or writing books filled with heresies.  It is all within the realm of possibility, as people do the darnedest things.  Consider the plight of the mentally ill to consider, who cannot help themselves, but are not necessarily going to be successful in a challenging vocation such as can be the hermit life for many if not most people.

Whatever the bishops' reasons for creating a canon law that is changing the terrain of hermit vocation, creating a legal aspect that the privately professed eremitic path did not and will not now have, we must consider the winds of change, and putting spittle on the finger and holding it up, the winds say there will be increasingly, if not at some point sooner than later, only publicly professed, CL603 Catholic hermits, and for them only a place at the table of the Consecrated Life of the Church.

One can remain on the path of the past, good as it was, but one can be a realist and a calculated risk taker, and consider the benefits of being included at that table of which many may never realize that it is not for the succulent lobster drenched in melted butter, but for the mystical, unseen, spiritual considerations of what I read has been, or used to be what the consecrated life meant for Catholic hermits who did not even think in terms of private or public profession until the canon law defined public profession.

And again, I do realize it was for some reason--even if not felt necessary by all in the hierarchy who make such decisions--bishops, canon lawyers, and the like.  Perhaps even a contingent of hermits who desired some type of designation or regulatory safety net for the vocation.  So why not "go along to get along"?  I'm asking the Lord what He wills of me.  He will answer.  He always does, in some form or fashion.  What I was told in locution in vision in 2011--I think it was--may not be what He wants today.  How do I know that, again, He may be calling me forth as He has done in past hermits over the centuries, for some greater purpose--or at least in His Sight--preferred purpose of His Will in the Order of the Present Moment?

Regardless, my heart flutters a bit with the beauty of the following description of what it is to be consecrated, as in the Consecrated Life of the Church--which was the topic of the following excerpt.  It is not meant to be considered literally; such as, the martyrdom mentioned is not necessarily a loss of physical life, as in earthly death.  But rather, the sacrifice can be such as Catholic hermits--and if one must get with the program, so to speak, in order to be individuals are sacrificing themselves to and in Christ to be a living sign of Christ and His Church--such as hermits are to be--then together in unity in the consecrated life of the Church, perhaps more an offering and greater results for humanity and Christ, than not in unity.

Thus, if private profession is not "by law", and going "by law" is of course going to predominate compared to even the inference of "not legal" of which "illegitimate" carries yet more negative implication, then hermits practicably ought consider going with the flow and become hermits "by law."  If in future centuries, the law is negated, which I realize given secular laws' precedence, is not likely to happen, but if it were such as prohibition was repealed, then those hermits can return to the "old ways" of hermits quietly living their vocations (private profession) to an absolute ideal.

Well, read this and appreciate how desirable and delectable is the interior worth of precious consecrated life in the Church, regardless any of the outer trimmings that might appeal to some more than others who are always seeking something more.

The choice of an absolute ideal, and an offering of self to God and the service of others, is a source of meaning which humanizes and is a gift of self to humanity.  For this reason, persons consecrated to a single ideal, which does not pass away, are living signs of those transcendent values for which a person lives and even dies.  In our day there is no lack of persons who have followed Christ to the point of sacrificing their life, rendering through their martyrdom a sign which is the supreme proof of love."

Please pray for me and my spiritual father, as I know my late, dearest spiritual Da is here with me, also going to assist and advise for he sees now in the Light of Christ in Heaven.  The Lord will make clear, what He will for me in this discernment which has three major facets:  hermit, victim soul, mystic.  All three, or two, or if one and hermit, then become "by law" a hermit with the bishop.  My spiritual father suggested that as if quite a simple solution.  Just have the bishop come and receive my vows and profession of the counsels.  Yet, I need the Lord to be clear, as the reality of His previous messages of the past--perhaps pertaining to that specific bishop in that diocese, as that was the one shown to me in the vision--or perhaps that message remains firm.  Oh well!  Pray. listen, discern.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  

Catholic Hermit: Graces for a Hermit

A reader has inquired about what graces there are for a hermit.  As a privately professed, consecrated, Catholic hermit, I must admit that I have never considered that there are graces for hermits that are any different than graces for other vocations in the Consecrated Life of the Church, or for lay persons in the married or single state. 

I simply have never considered that a hermit might have graces given that others may not receive or that others may have in more abundance, or at least available to them in more abundance.  I don't even think in terms of being granted graces for it is a grace that we are allowed to be born, have souls placed in a body, can live, can strive to follow Christ, can love, will die, and may be granted eternal life.

It seems to me that all souls may conceivably receive the same amount or type of graces from God.

What I do think, and have recently considered it in greater urgency for myself, is that as a consecrated Catholic hermit, more is expected of me in responsibility to live my eremitic vocation to a better and higher degree than what I have in the past year, month, day, or even past moment.

With religious vocations of any type--holy orders, religious monk or nun, consecrated hermit, virgin, widow or widower, those in secular institutes, lay persons in married vocation or single state of life--I think we each have varying degrees and foci to be striving to live increasingly a more spiritually rich and purer life.

With religious vocations, there are certain expectations and responsibilities to be considered in the vows we profess and in the parameters as set forth by the Catholic Church as well as very much so in the Living Word of God.  I have mentioned before that I came to the understanding that the perfect rule of life is the Gospel Rule.

Besides the Gospel Rule, various vocations include other rules and laws.  Married persons have certain "rules" expected to be followed--fidelity to one another, as an example.  

Being a Christian--without even considering various vocations--much is expected of us!  Yes, as Christians we have responsibilities such as faith, hope, and love and to follow Jesus Christ in our daily lives.  We may receive graces from God, of course; and we do!  He is so generous to His children!

The Lord God gives graces, sometimes proffered through and dispensed to us by His Mother, Mary.  And I don't consider that it is God's thought for us to think about what graces any of us might receive or ought receive, or typically do receive be we hermit, monk, nun, husband, wife--lay or consecrated or religious states of life.

The motivation, of course, is not to receive or expect graces, nor to consider that God gives certain ones to some or others.  Graces are gifts, and the best are the unexpected surprises, or so it seems to me.  Or not to receive any grace in particular but simply to recognize that God is carrying us along, like the weighty crosses we can be--leaning or stretched across His Back and Shoulder.

How to Become a Catholic Hermit

Someone again has inquired within the past day as to how to become a Catholic hermit.  I have written about this process previously, but the basics may be found in The Catechism of the Catholic Church and in the institutes of the Church.

I am posting the requirements which are also, for those in the United States, on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Of course, the first and foremost way to become a Catholic hermit is to receive the vocational call from God.  

Of course, the first and foremost way to become a Catholic hermit is to receive the vocational call from God.  This call can be discerned with the help of one's spiritual director/father, one's priest, one's bishop--but mostly through much prayer and in daily trial practice in living out gradually the aspects of living the eremitic vocation as outlined in the sections 920 and 921 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church.

I also want to emphasize that contrary to but one online blogger creating terminology and labels that simply are not at all mentioned in any Church documentation nor authorized by the Vatican or any archbishop, bishop, or other Catholic Church official, there are no such designations as "lay hermit" or "dedicated hermit" in the Catholic Church.  

As anyone can read from the Church documents yourselves, all Catholic hermits are consecrated Catholic hermits whether or not privately or publicly professed (the latter under CL603, a fairly recently added proviso to the eremitic vocational tradition).   

A main requirement for all desiring to become a Catholic hermit remains professing the three evangelical counsels and striving to live the eremitic vocation as set forth in sections 920 and 921 of The Catechism.  All Catholic hermits, having either professed their vows privately or publicly, must include the three evangelical counsels.  Hermits are but one of several vocations designated as being consecrated--specifically listed in Church documents as being part of the Consecrated Life of the [Catholic] Church.

Hope this re-posted blog from March 2015 helps the inquirer with the factual Church parameters of how to become a Catholic hermit.  You may wish to search my blog for the proceeding and preceding posts written in that month and year, for I set out the facts, citing the various documents of the Church including some more arcane texts that took a bit of research but are out there. I do think that as Scripture tells us, we ought not get too caught up in semantics nor in hair-splitting.  

Especially for those of us with vocations in the Consecrated Life of the Church or in Holy Orders, we are to progress from living under the law; Jesus and the Apostles call us time and again to live by the Spirit.  Yet, for those who feel more secure or yet need the parameters of laws, we do honor and value the laws of the Church for the obvious reasons that we have secular laws, as well.

 Above all, when considering becoming a Catholic hermit, do know that the Lord gives the call for any vocation.  Pray and listen, discern with your priest or spiritual director (religious priest, bishop, etc.), and practice living the eremitic life as part of the discernment process. Go easy; avoid extremism.  Yes, the eremitic vocation is a process to be lived and discerned over our lifetime.

Now, for the post taken from this blog site, written in March 2015:

"Every now and then, the nothing Catholic hermit reviews the below-cited institutes of the Church.  This reference helps to reflect more seriously, to live more conscientiously, and to accept the great responsibility of what the Catholic Church requires and expects of those called to and in the Consecrated Life of the Church.  

"The consecrated life of the eremitic is of direct consequence, obviously, to all Catholic hermits--each of whom profess vows including the three evangelical counsels (celibacy, poverty, obedience) even though not always are the evangelical counsels professed publicly. 

"All Catholic hermits must profess the three evangelical counsels according to the institutes of the Church in The Catechism of the Catholic Church [cited below].    

From The Catechism of the Catholic Church: 

III. THE CONSECRATED LIFE

914 "The state of life which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, while not entering into the hierarchical structure of the Church, belongs undeniably to her life and holiness."⁴⁵³

Evangelical counsels, consecrated life

915 Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple. The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for those who freely follow the call to consecrated life the obligation of practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of life recognized by the Church, that characterizes the life consecrated to God.⁴⁵⁴

916 The state of consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a "more intimate" consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God.⁴⁵⁵ In the consecrated life, Christ's faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come.⁴⁵⁶

One great tree, with many branches

917 "From the God-given seed of the counsels a wonderful and wide-spreading tree has grown up in the field of the Lord, branching out into various forms of the religious life lived in solitude or in community. Different religious families have come into existence in which spiritual resources are multiplied for the progress in holiness of their members and for the good of the entire Body of Christ."⁴⁵⁷

918 From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more closely, by practicing the evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated to God, each in his own way. Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became hermits or founded religious families. These the Church, by virtue of her authority, gladly accepted and approved.⁴⁵⁸

919 Bishops will always strive to discern new gifts of consecrated life granted to the Church by the Holy Spirit; the approval of new forms of consecrated life is reserved to the Apostolic See.⁴⁵⁹

The eremitic life

920 Without always professing the three evangelical counsels publicly, hermits "devote their life to the praise of God and salvation of the world through a stricter separation from the world, the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer and penance."⁴⁶⁰

921 They manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of men, the life of the hermit is a silent preaching of the Lord, to whom he has surrendered his life simply because he is everything to him. Here is a particular call to find in the desert, in the thick of spiritual battle, the glory of the Crucified One.

[Emphases added for reflection and consideration.]

"Thus, the consecrated life of the eremitic is of direct consequence, obviously, to all Catholic hermits--each of whom profess vows including the three evangelical counsels (celibacy, poverty, obedience) even though not always are the evangelical counsels professed publicly. 

"All Catholic hermits must profess the three evangelical counsels according to the institutes of the Church in The Catechism of the Catholic Church [cited below].    

"Some Catholic hermits profess the three evangelical counsels under the added proviso of CL603. However, it seems that the semantic of "publicly" may be confusing due to the word "publicly" used per the added proviso of Canon Law 603. Perhaps the current coinage of the term "public profession" is due to CL603 stating that the evangelical counsels be professed publicly in the hands of the diocesan bishop." [See Canon Law 603, cited for review and consideration in the in my series of blog posts on this topic, posted in March 2015.] 

I close with this additional thought for the reader who wanted to know how to become a Catholic hermit.  The private and public professions of vows of consecrated Catholic hermits are simply two prongs, now, of the eremitic vocation.  

Catholic Hermit Deals with the Devil

Still trying to write with IPad, an old one at that.  Hard to make corrections, so please bear with, fill in the gaps and mishaps!  Thanks, dear readers!

The devil stops at nothing.  Since I dealt harshly but with much humor, with the devil, the more superficial obstacles ceased for the most part.  The devil then turns to more insidious and pathetic attempts.

What to do?

When dealing with the devil's tricks, these are some life-learned and studied tips.

1.  Recognize who is behind the obstacles and taunts, the hindrances.  As is spoken repeatedly in the current United States political battle, a first step is being able to identify and verbalize who is the enemy.  Then, recognize who the enemy enlists as part of his henchmen and/or naive or even well-intentioned pawns, wittingly or unwittingly doing the devil's bidding.  Be aware this can occur ultimately and most deceptively from within the ranks of Christianity.

2.  Declare aloud to the devil, that we are onto his tricks.  Call down the Precious Blood of Christ, shed on the cross for us.  Call upon the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Put on the armor of God.

3.  Enlist the advice and prayers or our spiritual fathers/directors.

4.  Requests he powerful prayers of family and friends.

5.  Be confident in His Real Presence and in the power of being one with the Body of Christ.

6.  Do all with the Sacraments of the Church, of blessed objects, of the Holy Mass.

7.  If in the Consecrated Life of the Church--in a religious order, a consecrated virgin or widow/widower, or a consecrated eremitic (privately or publicly professed), call upon fellow consecrated members to pray and support in the battle.

8.  Look to the saints and mystics as to how they handled repeated assaults by the devil.  St. John Via new, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and St. Padre Pio are excellent guides.

9.  Call upon our guardian Angels, ever at our sides.  Call upon St. Michael the Archangel.

10.  Keep a strong and courageous sense of humor.  Chuckle, smile, laugh!  Rejoice in whatever persecutions, detractions, mishaps, and even odd, extraneous phenomenon.

11.  Stick to our daily routine, horarium, prayer life, manual labor, and proceed to handle the problems devolved from whatever hindrances placed in our paths.

12.  Double, triple, quadruple down on our determination to pray and participate in the life of Holy Church, following Christ, steeped in His Living Word, subsumed in the Mass both physically and spiritually as often as possible, and live by the Spirit.

These are what seem to be the main points that have proven helpful and successful to this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit in years ongoing of navigating the temporal and spiritual realms, this far!

Praise God in all things!  Love one another as Jesus loves us!  Remain in His Love!

Catholic Hermit Answers Question on Hermit Term

I've explained and commented on this previously, but a reader has inquired about a term seen online: "lay hermit".  While the purpose and function of what I write and share is not to be a "Dear Hermit" column, I do want to clarify if someone has a genuine question.

The term "lay hermit" is one that has been created or fabricated by someone online, since that is where the person has seen it written.  There is no such category as  "lay hermit," nor does there need to be.  Why?  Hermits are to be simple, for one thing, and adding terms and conditions and categories leads in the wrong direction.

Rest assured that in the Institutes of the Catholic Church as well as in Canon Law, and in any books written of the hermit life by hermits or about hermits of the past many centuries to present, there is no such valid or utilized term as a "lay hermit".

Hermits are hermits.  Catholic hermits have always been Catholic hermits.  In recent years, in addition to the traditional and historical vocation know as hermit or eremitic vocation, the Church has kept what few guidelines and parameters for this vocation quite simple.  We can trust that Holy Church knows what is best in this case.

In the past three decades, bishops of dioceses have created a delineation of an additional type of "profession" other than the norm which is private profession of vows for a hermit.  Now there is also an option to be more involved at a diocesan level and seek formal approval and have direct supervision by a diocesan bishop.  This category of hermit is one who makes public profession of vows, with daily plan of life approved and overseen by the hermit's bishop.  Some bishops have added some additional requirements per his own diocese, and others have adopted some of them. 

Any Catholic hermit who has professed the three evangelical counsels either privately or publicly and is living his or her hermit life according to the institutes of the Catholic Church as precisely and simply stated in The Catechism of the Catholic Church is living the eremitic vocation (hermit) within the Consecrated Life of the Church.

It's as simple as that, as far as terminology goes.  You may look up "Eremitic Vocation" in the index of The Catechism and read the two passages pertaining to hermit vocational requirements.  If you want to publicly profess your vows, you may read Canon Law 603 and contact your diocesan vocations department and/or your diocesan bishop for further information on being a publicly professed hermit.  Otherwise, you may live your hermit vocation as a privately professed hermit.

There is no such thing as a "lay hermit"--not that it matters.  We hermits need to be seeking harmony with His Real Presence and with the Body of Christ of which we Christians all belong and not be concerned with creating new terms, labels, classifications, and ad hoc requirements.  Involving oneself with such activities, creative and perhaps well-intentioned, can take a hermit way off course from a life of prayer, praise of God, penance, stricter separation from the world in the silence of solitude while remaining hidden from the eyes of men.  

There is no need for more classifications or distinctions in the hermit vocation other than now the two:  privately professed and publicly professed.  To do so counters simplicity as well as the Catholic Church's precisely and brilliantly written institutes on the various vocations within the Consecrated Life of the Church. One can question anyone who invents a hermit label.  Why?  Is it to try to diminish or elevate Catholic hermits one over another?  Jesus Christ warns against lording it over others; be wary of anyone trying to create unnecessary, nonsensical, false labels. 

Obviously, the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has seen no need to create additional labels for the eremitic vocation.  If at some point in future, the Vatican or the bishops of the world find it necessary to create other labels and to dissect into further categories the hermit vocation, they will vote on it; and if agreed upon will add it as Canon Law and/or rewrite the pertinent section of the Institutes of the Church.  Then we will hear about it and read about it from and in published Church documents.  Ten different categories or labels--or even one hundred--will not alter the substance and quality of living the hermit vocation in a way pleasing to His Real Presence.

Hope this more than answers your question!

God bless His Real Presence in us! 

Catholic Hermit Receives Advice, Encouragement

Fr. V. emailed some advice and encouragement.  Saturday last, the nothing consecrated Catholic hermit had come to some insights in accordance with what the spiritual father had decided regarding parish involvements.  This Catholic hermit had been praying for the Lord to please send the priest or priests of whom the Lord chose to help guide and also spiritually befriend, one with the other.

Within minutes of this prayer, the phone rang.  It was Fr. V from Nigeria on the phone!  While the call was disrupted not long into conversation, he was able to listen and also to speak.  Their internet service was not doing well in his part of the world, in his religious community.

Yesterday, however, he was able to send an email.  It is worth pondering as well as to praise God for the simple and excellent advice as well as the encouragement.

"It pains me sometimes seeing you undergoing all these [ordeals].  I want to remind you once more as I [have] before, that you are unique.  There's no way people can easily understand you.  All our lives is a mystery, but some are more mysterious than others.  Even yourself often find it hard to understand the things happening around you.  All you need do is to always remind yourself that you are special and that human judgment doesn't mean much to you.  The ordinary mind sees only the physical, but the spirit filled soul sees far ahead.
Remain in His Love."

I have never liked being considered different.  My early years and into adult hood were spent trying to fit in, trying to blend in.  I did not know otherwise and felt quite normal enough, yet not quite.  My parents protected me from much of the world-at-large, while at the same time encouraging me to explore with studies and interests, to be social and very, very Christian. We lived a pragmatic and quiet life but with lovely experiences all through.  There was deep security in our modest yet privileged lives--for my elder sisters and myself.  There was also expectation of education, achievement, and excelling in what we were called to do by God and by others, in service and responsibility.

My mother was aware of the mystical aspects inherent in my being.  If it comes through a bloodline, it was through hers.  My great-grandmother had some clairvoyance, but not as a mystic.  As for my mother and her large and loving family of siblings and a maternal grandmother with whom we were close, and relatives on my dad's side, as well--all loving family and upstanding people--when one has gifts that are not the usual and normal, those around us adapt for we have always been the way we are.  And I did not recognize much different for how would I know that it was not how my sisters' perceived, or anyone of family or friends?  We adapt to our environment and perhaps develop a sense of somewhat false security.

When in college, away from the family unit and small town life of extended family and long-time friends--loving and lovely Christians of great kindness and decency--I was first confronted by someone who said I was very different in a supernatural way.  I was revolted by this assessment--a foreboding, it seemed!

Later, I had to face it yet again in my early thirties.  What I had to "see" was that I do not perceive others and the world in the way most people do.  I have paranormal experiences and am sensitive to the supernatural of God and souls.  Those around me sometimes experience outer manifestations of such experiences, but not often, or at least not that they notice consciously.

Once, when my teen and college-age children were watching a Stephen King movie, I happened to view some of it with them.  A man had a gift of inner sight; and when he would be around people (not all) and maybe would touch a person, he could sometimes see within.  Sometimes his inner sight produced a clairvoyant effect of seeing something that was to happen with the person in the future.

The future is God's realm as is the past and the present.  All of time is God's creation and realm and not ours; God gifts us with time.  I related deeply with the man in the movie.  His life had an element of anguish and torment in some instances, for he did not usually want to see what he was shown.  And what was shown in inner sight often required some form of action depending upon the severity of a situation.  He sometimes could let things pass as he saw them evolve, but in others he had to act to try to warn or change something, to help make a situation better for the person or for many.

Today I am in civilization, providing love and service to a family member who needed some assistance.  It is proving to be a marvelous vacation of sorts, although--guess what?--today am washing, caulking, filling holes, priming, and painting woodwork!  It gives the opportunity to pray and ponder, to listen within to what His Real Presence desires of His hermit, His mystic, His earthling-soul spouse, His child who loves Him greatly and of whom He loves, as well.

Am also considering a connection of something that I've been reading about and viewing that is of success in persons of the world, of those who have true passion for what they are doing and thus succeed in ways that also are quite poignant.  When we are fulfilling God's will for us in our lives and doing so with passion and focus, with effort and joy and love--God and all creation take part in the rejoicing.  This is not to suggest that the effort is easy!

Perhaps I will write more on this another time, or perhaps not.  But I am considering where is my passion, and of course it is with His Real Presence, first and foremost.  Also I have wondered if in vocation, being a consecrated hermit, professed and avowed now nearly 15 years in the consecrated life of the Catholic Church--if being a hermit is of primary position in God's view and desire for me.  Or is it more that as a mystic in relationship to my participation in His Real Presence, in that the temporal and mystical intersect and interact within His Real Presence both in tangible and intangible ways.

We progress in what becomes obviously the passion for which God calls us and in which He graces us and empowers us as we progress through this life on earth and into the eternal life beyond this earthly, temporal existence.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children--we are--of His Real Presence!  Let us love Him and love one another!

Catholic Hermit's View: Where Hermits Reside

Of a few recent inquiries, one reader wants to know more about where hermits live.  This seems timely to this your Catholic Hermit blogger--especially since someone sent an article about a couple of hermits in a diocese who professed vows and are living together.  Where a hermit resides has a few options and facets; how a hermit lives is yet another topic of perhaps greater magnitude.

A consecrated Catholic hermit, privately professed, is free to live anywhere in this grand and beautiful world God has created. A consecrated hermit can live in/on a woods, valley, city, village, mountain, river, ocean, beach, desert, plains, and so forth.  The dwelling itself can be a hut, tent, cave, trailer, garage, apartment/flat, condominium, townhouse, house, etc.  

A consecrated Catholic hermit, publicly professed, can live within its diocese and in whatever type of dwelling situation (examples given in previous paragraph) its diocesan bishop approves for said hermit.

So this is where consecrated Catholic hermits live or may reside, dependent upon if they are privately professed or publicly professed.  In case the reader inquiring as to where a hermit lives, also is asking how a hermit is to live, such as under what circumstances or within what parameters, here are further thoughts.  After all, how a hermit lives is a principled structure for a hermit's spiritual life.

An explicit detail in the Church's issuance on the eremitic vocation, as part of Consecrated Life of the Church (and in the US, the Bishop's Conference's adoption of same as quoted from The Catechism of the Catholic Church; see USCCB website) sets some parameters.   Particular to where or how a hermit lives, the section for eremitic life states, in part "a stricter separation from the world in the silence of solitude...."

Thus, when this consecrated Catholic hermit (privately professed now over 14 years which is not long in the full spectrum of life but well enough along to be into the nitty gritty of the vocation) heard of a the two older women (initial vows publicly professed) who are living together, as well as that of a very young woman living in her childhood home with her mother and father, it seemed to miss the point of that very basic parameter: solitude.

There are other considerations, of course.  One might ask, "What about the religious orders of hermits, such as the Carthusians or the Camaldolese?  The fact is, according to the Church institutes, these are religious orders foremost, and their charism, mission, lifestyle is that as hermits.  The distinction is that they are firstly religious brothers and sisters within the Consecrated Life of the Church.  Hermits are individual eremites with their vocation as such, within the Consecrated Life of the Church.  Can we see the nuanced but defined difference?

So, religious monks who are in a religious order of which the mission and charism is eremitic in nature, would live together or in proximity yet their monastery and cells would provide for the solitude implicit in the Church parameters on eremitic life, but also for them, defined within those set forth re. religious orders.

Hermits who are privately or publicly professed and living in accordance with the institutes of the Church pertaining to Consecrated Life, under the sub-section Eremitic Life, would live alone, in solitude.  To live with ones parents or with one another in a typical house would rather, it seems to this hermit, confuse the point of solitude.  Yes, one could stay within ones bedroom, but a house shared with others is not arranged to provide for the privacy of solitude such as one finds in a Carthusian Charterhouse.

However, this is yet one example again, of how bishops vary in attitude and norm for those they canonically approve or receive what they might call "first vows" (first or second or third or final vows are not actually required nor documented in the Church institutes on eremitic life).  What to one bishop seems to mean "solitude" is, in fact, to another bishop "not solitude".

It seems to this hermit and its spiritual directors past and present (including priest of 68 years in priesthood, a bishop, a monsignor of advanced years, and a religious order priest), solitude for a consecrated Catholic hermit means to live alone.  And, additionally, they have insisted that a privately or publicly professed hermit ought to have some life experience with relationships and suffering, be more advanced in years, and be well along in spiritual and prayer life.

The simple part of the inquiry of a blog reader is that of where hermits reside.  The more challenging aspect is not just how hermits live within their residence (solitude seems fairly obvious as meaning alone) but how hermits live out their vows and what is explicitly written in the institutes of the Catholic Church to be professed as a consecrated Catholic hermit.

The following is that most crucial piece of writing which should guide, form, and define each and every consecrated Catholic hermit, as cited in the pertinent Church document on the subject, as well as what the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has adopted, also, for hermits/eremites avowed and professed in the Consecrated Life of the Church.  (Perhaps, if a hermit finds its bishop or spiritual director strays from any aspect of what is accepted and adopted as to how a consecrated Catholic hermit ought live, it may be prudent to seek another superior/director who is in line with the Church's Institutes on eremitic life.)

III. THE CONSECRATED LIFE

914 "The state of life which is constituted by the profession of the evangelical counsels, while not entering into the hierarchical structure of the Church, belongs undeniably to her life and holiness."⁴⁵³

Evangelical counsels, consecrated life

915 Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great variety, to every disciple. The perfection of charity, to which all the faithful are called, entails for those who freely follow the call to consecrated life the obligation of practicing chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of life recognized by the Church, that characterizes the life consecrated to God.⁴⁵⁴

916 The state of consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a "more intimate" consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God.⁴⁵⁵ In the consecrated life, Christ's faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come.⁴⁵⁶

One great tree, with many branches

917 "From the God-given seed of the counsels a wonderful and wide-spreading tree has grown up in the field of the Lord, branching out into various forms of the religious life lived in solitude or in community. Different religious families have come into existence in which spiritual resources are multiplied for the progress in holiness of their members and for the good of the entire Body of Christ."⁴⁵⁷

918 From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more closely, by practicing the evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated to God, each in his own way. Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became hermits or founded religious families. These the Church, by virtue of her authority, gladly accepted and approved.⁴⁵⁸

919 Bishops will always strive to discern new gifts of consecrated life granted to the Church by the Holy Spirit; the approval of new forms of consecrated life is reserved to the Apostolic See.⁴⁵⁹

The eremitic life

920 Without always professing the three evangelical counsels publicly, hermits "devote their life to the praise of God and salvation of the world through a stricter separation from the world, the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer and penance."⁴⁶⁰

921 They manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of men, the life of the hermit is a silent preaching of the Lord, to whom he has surrendered his life simply because he is everything to him. Here is a particular call to find in the desert, in the thick of spiritual battle, the glory of the Crucified One.

[Note: Bold emphasis added for the specific paragraphs pertinent to hermits:  "The eremitic life."]

Catholic Hermits: A Flapping of Wings

This nothing--who happens to be a consecrated Catholic hermit in this life--is alerted through various means when there is a great flapping of wings going on elsewhere on the internet, stirred by the nothing's writings.  Thankfully, this nothing Catholic hermit is spared from reading the flapping.

While the nothing Catholic hermit strives to give benefit of the doubt, it is notified that some others have perhaps tried whatever means to come up with some way or other that might deem this Catholic hermit not validly part of the Consecrated Life of the Church.  

The flap by the flappers has flappered down to now, am told, the professed evangelical counsels of some years past and the plan of life lived with diligence and sincerity, albeit humanly imperfect, are somehow invalid due to the nothing Catholic hermit's divorce close to 30 years ago, a decade prior to even becoming a Catholic.  (Not that being married outside the Church would be grounds for nullity if both parties are baptized as Christians when married.)

But another situation has its own humor.  The nothing consecrated Catholic hermit had started the annulment process twice.  One intake secretary for a diocese listed out several of the impediments provided for in canon law that fit the Catholic hermit's situation, and an annulment would be granted. The hermit at that time did not proceed, as it was told by the diocese chancellor, vicar general, and bishop's right-hand man, that an annulment was not necessary in order to be a Catholic hermit, noting the profession of the counsels and living the life.

However, a couple years later, the hermit was rather naive.  It was approached in an email by a hermit who said she was either already or in process of being a canonically approved hermit.  She had left one location to move to another, at quite a distance, in order to have a bishop who was open to the CL603 process for such.  This person encouraged this hermit to contact a certain hermit who was just about to profess as a CL603 hermit in her diocese.  The nothing Catholic hermit was told this person desired for this hermit to email, as she would like to encourage and assist in the hermit life.

Ah, it sounded so lovely and positive.  However, soon enough, this nothing Catholic hermit realized it had fallen into a snare with someone and that person's small group of comrades, who seemed easily threatened by others who do not go along with that one's agenda.  Even so, this nothing Catholic hermit looks to the good and tries to give benefit to the doubt.

Regardless, the nothing Catholic hermit decided to proceed with the annulment process, at the time being told by a parish employee it was an act of charity for the ex-spouse who had remarried, and thus in the eyes of the Church would be living in mortal sin.  This time, the tribunal intake secretary was recent on the job.  Turns out she had a personal bugaboo with the hermit, so decided the several credible causes that the other intake secretary had listed, were not now, after all, going to substantiate the grounds for nullity. 

Another obstacle was that there were no longer living witnesses who knew the hermit nor the spouse, both, prior to their marriage.  The diocesan authority who was directing the hermit at the time, said it was not necessary to have the annulment to be a Catholic hermit in the Church--and that the Lord would handle the ex-spouse's situation:  Just pray.

Now, with being notified of the current flapping of hermit wings and this other hermit and the incubus of supporters--it seems to be over the reality of what are the institutes of the Church.  The flap seemingly extends into what are the pertinent clauses and paragraphs and sections and parts of the Church documents, laws, and traditions pertaining to the Consecrated Life of the Church.  

This nothing consecrated Catholic hermit is told that there are imbedded suggestions that--one does not like to think they are targeting anyone--this Catholic hermit's divorce is not nullified by the Church. Has it been eight or nine years since that second intake secretary came to totally opposite conclusions as those of the first intake secretary?

And this brings us to the point of humor--and the very human element in the temporal Catholic Church:  employees, clerics, hermits, religious, bishops, lay single and married. Maybe we simply see matters one way or another, just as St. Jerome and St. Augustine (wasn't it?) who disagreed on some temporal Catholic world points and involving theology.  Or how about St. Peter and St. Paul who had quite the disagreement over status of the Gentiles.  That, thankfully, God resolved in a dream vision, and St. Peter had his eyes opened to the truth of the matter, according to God.

Even among bishops in such a matter as their voting in the United States, as a group, to agree to require crucifixes in every church sanctuary in the country--not all of the bishops have done this.  It may be hard for us Catholics to understand why some bishops still object to having a crucified corpus of Jesus on a cross in a church sanctuary; but perhaps it has to do with that human element in many people--that is, the need for personal control over a situation.  Evidently some bishops have quietly rebelled, have not wanted to be accede to the results of the bishops' vote at their USCCB meeting only a few years ago.  

(Dear readers living in the United States--do all the Catholic Church sanctuaries in your dioceses have crucifixes prominently placed?  In three or four different dioceses the nothing Catholic hermit has been in since the bishops' vote, there have not been--one a cathedral too!--not so much as on the processional cross.  Some say that rules are made to be broken?)

Finally, back to the issue of this consecrated Catholic hermit's nullity of marriage.  As it has unfolded over the years since the rather now-humorous interjection of personal issue in one Tribunal intake secretary in one diocese, causing her to totally ignore the several grounds for nullity of this hermit's marriage, it has all been resolved by a totally different Ecclesial means.  Ah, the Providence of God!

Perhaps it is best for all of us, and maybe especially us consecrated Catholic hermits, to not get too caught up in the ins-and-outs of the temporal Catholic rules and laws and the raft of interpretations of those rules and laws.  His Real Presence tends to work it all out, in truth and justice, over time, according to His will--and not without His sense of humor.  Even though the nothing consecrated Catholic hermit has a dull-as-nulled marriage that occurred over four decades ago, it is all rather ironic.  

Perhaps the irony is more so now after such silliness and flapping of hermit wings--the seeming scrutiny over this hermit's blog posts. Who is what and who is this and who is that and who is valid and who is not and who is in the consecrated life of the church and who is not, and why and what is truth and what is not, and who is wrong and who is right, and who can read canon law and who cannot, and who understands what is read and who does not?

[And yes, this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit knows the definition of and usage of words.  It excelled in linguistics and has learned foreign languages--not that it is fluent in the latter, for it is not!  But more so, it seems His Real Presence's Third Person or its angel, often times gifts the nothing with just the right word!  It is surprising, and when the definition and roots, the synonyms and usages are sought in dictionaries, the words are amazingly apropos!  Love you, His Real Presence and Angel Beth...!]  

[And yes, this nothing also is capable of comprehending what it reads.  Furthermore, it is capable of applying what it reads and on up the scale of Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning.  Big deal and so what, other than any gifts God gives us are appreciated.  But as to blog-flaps,  who cares other than a handful of hermit flappers?  Such foolishness in flappery is demeaning to the very vocation of hermits of any plaids, paisleys, checks, or stripes--the world over.]

No matter the flapping of hermit wings, this very-much-so consecrated Catholic hermit is still not at all interested in nor called by God to add on the stipulations of CL603.  His Real Presence has not willed it for the nothing Catholic hermit, and has given it specific reasons as to why not.  However, this is not necessarily His will for others any more than His will for others is His will for this hermit. 

Thus, this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit encourages others to discern if the CL603 option is God's will for them, and to do His will if it is.  There is surely good in the CL603 inclusion to canon law, regardless of the variety of bishops' interpretations and desires in their particular dioceses, for how they want their hermits to live their individual proper plans of life.  After all, variety is the spice of life, as is said.

And, as also is said that while laws may change, God is changeless.

Am deep into reading the marvelously mystical and Scripturally imbued writings of Pseudo-Dionysius now, plus sprinkling in daily readings from Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ.  So much more pertinent to the spiritual life and to uplifting one in the Faith is this reading, for a professed Catholic hermit who is living in the state of consecrated life of the Church. 

[And this nothing hermit keeps repeating the truth of this designation to make sure that it takes seriously its consecrated life and lives its vows of the evangelical counsels. The repetition hopefully ensures that we also realize that truth is very important, and that sticking with actual facts is necessary.  Yet another Truth to which we we look is to that which is above:  Jesus Christ--the Way, the Truth, the Life! His Real Presence is One-in-Threeness!]

Once more, this nothing hermit encourages and emboldens all discerning aspirants to the hermit life, as well as those already consecrated hermits whether publicly professed the evangelical counsels or not--to take a bit of God's time to read for yourselves the Church documents pertinent to our state in consecrated life, including the sections of Canon Law.  

Something so critical in one's life as professing the three evangelical counsels should not rely or hinge upon what others (even consecrated Catholic hermits) write or think, or how others interpret a vocation and/or the written Church documents.  

There is no great mystique or difficulty in reading Canon Law--any more than it is only for licensed plumbers to read the Universal Plumbing Code.  You can do it--read either, of course!  The Code of Canon Law is not difficult to understand.  Pray and ponder, and with confidence that God gives, read it for yourselves.

Time and again this nothing Catholic hermit has seen others on forums read what someone else (surely with good intentions) has determined and interpreted, or has presented online as authoritative Catholic hermit standards or even as "law".  

Follow no one.  Follow not those hermits who say they are this or that in the church, with whatever approval and degrees--and don't follow this nothing Catholic hermit, either.  Read for yourself, pray and think for yourself, be obedient to His Real Presence, and ask of and listen to your spiritual director, your priest, and bishop (providing they are well-studied in the pertinent documents and laws, themselves, as well as in the spiritual life).

But the best thing is to choose the better part.  As Jesus said of Martha's flapping of wings over her sister Mary's placing herself contemplatively at the feet of Jesus:  Mary has chosen the better part.

Dear readers, even if the above flap is not at all of concern to you--whether or not you a consecrated Catholic hermit--don't take your fellow man's word for it.  Take Jesus' Word: Choose the better part!

Consecrated Life of the Catholic Church: Married and Divorced, and Other

[See Code of Canon Law information pertinent to the various institutes of the Church who are part of the Consecrated Life of the Church, as well as  that of the Religious Institutes having different stipulations than do the Secular Institutes, secular Apostolic Life, hermits, virgins/widows.  Cited for convenience in previous post.]

• Divorce and the Consecrated Life of the Church:  Hermits who are divorced may enter the Consecrated Life of the Church, by Code of Canon Law.  [Am currently consulting with canon lawyers to locate specific law, if there is one that stipulates that those consecrated Catholic hermits who profess the evangelical counsels per the optional and additional stipulations of CL603 (beyond what is stipulated for all consecrated Catholic hermits per the institutes of consecrated life) are required to have nullity of marriage, if divorced.]

• There is no such restriction for consecrated Catholic hermits who profess the three evangelical counsels but do not do so publicly, per CL603, and thus are not recognized by church law yet are very much part of the Consecrated Life of the Church.  [See previous post for the full section of canon laws regarding Consecrated Life in the Church.]

• The marriage of a Catholic who is divorced may be nullified by and for several reasons [See Canon Law on Impediments to and Nullification of Marriage] as determined by the diocesan tribunal, or sometimes an archdiocese determination, or by the jurisprudence of the Vatican (Papal Authority).  The marriage may also be nullified if one or the other spouses was at the time of marriage not a baptized Christian [The Pauline Privilege involving Papal Authority].  A marriage may be nullified, as well, if not yet consummated.  

• Nullification by Solemn Profession is another mode.   Briefly, as such, a divorced Catholic enters a religious institute.  (This is not common, or was not; but in the past two decades the larger religious orders are increasingly open to accepting divorced Catholics, particularly who were not the guilty party in the divorce.) The marriage is not nullified by initial vows (or the simple vows) but only at the time of profession of solemn vows. Later, if there is a discerned call to the eremitic life, and determined in accord with the religious superior, the consecrated religious may embrace the hermit life.  Of course, intent of the aspirant is important so as not to use or abuse the process.  (Nullification by solemn vows also involves Papal Authority in current times.)  

•  A limited divorce  may be granted in the case of adultery, if the innocent party desires to enter the consecrated religious life) and he or she relinquishes the marital rights, professes the evangelical counsels, which include a life of chastity (intent is celibacy other than in the secular institutes or secular apostolic life of which married couples may enter the consecrated life, living chaste lives within their marriage vows).  

• A dispensation of various impediments in the case of a divorced Catholic may be requested of and received by the Holy See.  [Research has not found impediments, de jure, to a divorced Catholic being allowed to enter the consecrated state--the consecrated life of the Church as an eremitic. 

•  The death of either spouse, obviously, nullifies the marriage and removes all impediments of divorce.

• In some dioceses in the United States, the local ordinary (bishop) or in some instances may be the bishop's vocation director,  have set precedent that a Catholic who is divorced must have a nullity of marriage prior to profession of the evangelical counsels, specifically per CL603 proviso.  However, canon law nor The Catechism of the Catholic Church substantiate this practice. However, a bishop would have the authority to make that a condition in his own diocese since the CL603 provisions require the hermit publicly profess the evangelical counsels into the hands of the diocesan bishop, thus recognized by [church] law, as well as the bishop required to direct the hermit's proper program of life.  

• There have been cases in which a married couple has fulfilled their marriage vows, are mature in years, past procreation, and each desire to enter the religious life or some category of the Consecrated Life of the Church, or even for the man, Holy Orders.  In such instances, there may be two theologians and two church authorities in agreement, and the marriage may be dispensed for the purpose of both parties entering the consecrated life or the holy orders.  This is an historical practice, but currently per situation, the determinations are made among the person/s, spiritual director, priest, and/or bishop.

• Married persons may enter the consecrated life of the church when such secular institutes or institutes of apostolic life have charisms and acceptance of married persons, singly or as couples.  This, of course, varies according to each institute.

• There are currently no laws in place regarding those with psychosexual disorders entering the institutes of the Catholic Church as consecrated hermits, virgins/widows, secular institutes, apostolic life, or religious life.  There is an impediment and grounds for nullity in divorce, however, for either or both of the spouses who have personality or psychological disorders, or severe mental illness.  It is presumed that spiritual directors, vocation directors, and for those (such as hermits) entering the consecrated life of the church, even per CL603 (thus, involving the bishop), that there would be sufficient knowledge of the person prior to the profession of the counsels and of adopting the hermit life. 

Catholic Hermit: How to Become a Catholic Hermit, Pt. 6

~ Some Considerations, Conclusion

• There is no mention of the hermit having a "Superior" in either The Catechism of the Catholic Church or in Canon Law 603.  The latter does state that the hermit who publicly professes the three evangelical counsels into the hands of the diocesan bishop, is to live his or her proper program of living under the diocesan bishop's direction. Thus, the hermit's director is by [church] law to be his or her bishop.

• The three evangelical counsels include the avowal of obedience.  It is presumed that all Catholic hermits would be obedient to their spiritual directors, their bishops, their religious order superiors (of hermits belonging to a religious community or order), the pope, Scripture, and God.  Traditionally and in prudence, one is not to indiscriminately obey--such as errant spiritual direction.

• No reference is made either in the institutes of the Consecrated Life of the Church: The Eremitic Life, nor in canon law as to a hermit adopting the title of  "Sister" or "Brother."  A publicly professed hermit's bishop may approve such for his hermit.  The consecrated Catholic hermit may have been given that title if currently affiliated with a religious order.  If a person has been in a religious community that is no longer existing or has not been approved by the Holy See, it may be questionable to retain their usage.  

• If a consecrated Catholic hermit who has publicly professed the evangelical counsels into the hands of the diocese bishop and is recognized by [church] law [per CL603] commits a crime such as slander, libel, sexual or other offense punishable by the criminal justice system or involves litigation, is the bishop and the diocese liable as well as the individual hermit?  It is unknown if there current cases being litigated. 

• What action or resolution occurs in the case of a Catholic hermit who professes the evangelical counsels publicly into the hands of the diocesan bishop  and whose proper plan of life is directed by the diocesan bishop, does not fulfill the proper plan of life as directed by the bishop?  If the hermit does not remediate, is the consecrated hermit stripped of his or her consecration, and is this then made a matter of public record?

• A consecrated Catholic hermit who professes the evangelical counsels and lives the eremitic life in accordance with the institutes of the Catholic Church (but not with the proviso of CL603) commits  a crime such as slander, libel, sexual or other offense punishable by the criminal justice system or involves litigation, he or she would be solely liable.

• What action or resolution occurs in the case of a consecrated Catholic hermit who professes the evangelical counsels and lives the eremitic life in accordance with the institutes of the Catholic Church (but not with the proviso of CL603) does not fulfill the hermit life as set forth in the institutes?  Does the hermit's spiritual director, superior, or bishop intervene?  If the hermit does not remediate, is the hermit somehow stripped of his or her consecration since it was not publicly professed nor recognized by [church] law?

• Perhaps, in the above mentioned situation, such cases are part of, if not the primary reason, for the addition and inclusion of CL603 into the canons of the Catholic Church in the 20th century.   Perhaps there was a concern for those consecrated Catholic hermits who may not have lived their eremitic life in a proper or conscientiously responsible manner (and who also may or may not be in an approved religious community or order) ?  It would conceivably be more difficult for bishops to monitor or reprove such hermits--either on their own, with spiritual director, or even in a religious community or order. 

• While there have been past interpretation and initiation of various facets other than church law or the in the church's institutes as to what constitutes a proper plan of eremitic life, a bulk of the interpretation derived from a guidebook for hermits, written in the 1990's by a religious sister employed by a diocese in the United States.  Many of these suggestions came from rules and historical writings and traditions extant from the early desert abbas and ammas, as well as from hermits and anchorites of the Middle Ages.  These practices and traditions, as well as what was written in that particular diocese's guidebook are not mandated nor required by the universal Catholic Church.  [In fact, a phone conversation in 1999 with the vocations director of that diocese verified that the religious sister was no longer in their employ, and the diocese had withdrawn the guidebook indefinitely until further investigation into the content.  The diocese was no longer publishing nor taking responsibility for its contents.]

• Married hermits:  Both parties need to agree to their marriage rights being dissolved and with the choice to enter consecrated life and to choose celibacy.  This may occur if they are older and the high calling and purpose of the married state of life is fulfilled so that the required Evangelical Counsels (poverty, obedience, celibacy) of the consecrated state of life could be met.  [St. Nicholas of Flue is an example of a married man who became a hermit.  Briefly:  His wife agreed to his call to hermit life, regardless the recent birth of their tenth child. Although some family and neighbors criticized the decision, he left the family home to live the eremitic life in a hut in the Swiss Alps.  He became prominent as a contemplative and also prophetically helpful to Switzerland and is now a patron saint of that country.]

• Not all bishops agree to receive the vows of hermits, divorced with or without nullification of marriage.  Some bishops do not agree to receive vows of hermits for a variety of reasons.  At this time, Catholics professing vows and entering the consecrated life of the Church as hermits yet not by the CL603 proviso, are not restricted by bishop approval or disapproval; but also they are not recognized by church law as a diocese hermit.  Of course, it is a good idea for consecrated Catholic hermits under any form of valid profession, to communicate with his or her bishop as to his or her eremitic profession and life.]

• Age of hermits:  Nothing is written the institutes of the Church or additionally in CL603, regarding the age in which a Catholic could profess the evangelical counsels and be consecrated in the eremitic life.  The traditional and historical precedents are that hermits ought to have lived long enough to have suffered much, advanced in prayer, and have enough life experience in to fully engage in and endure the rigors of solitary life as a consecrated Catholic eremitic. 

• Rule of Life:  Again, adopting an individual rule of life is not stipulated per se in the institutes of the Catholic Church or CL603 per the consecrated eremitic life. However, history and tradition of eremites who successfully and heroically lived a holy hermit life, as well as prudence and wisdom, suggest that determining and being true to a rule of life is a positive inclusion.

• Profession of  Hermit Vows:  This actually should be clarified as "Profess the Evangelical Counsels" (poverty, celibacy, obedience).  There is no mention in the church's institutes of Consecrated Life, sp. the Eremitic Life, of "vows" as distinctive of or from avowing to live the three evangelical counsels.  In CL603, there is the stipulation that the professing of the evangelical counsels is to be confirmed by vow or other sacred bond.  It is assumed that "vow" means by definition:  a promise, a solemn commitment, etc.  "Sacred bond" is not specified but probably extends from the vows and rites of the anchoritic traditions, rule of life, and avowal ceremony of the Middle Ages.  In such instances, the hermit or anchorite would take as a tangible sign of their professing the evangelical counsels and avowing--promising--to live the eremitic life, such items as a crucifix, a tunic, a Bible, and/or ring, for women a veil, or for men to have hair tonsured and for women to have hair shorn.

• Future of Consecrated Catholic Hermits:  It remains to be seen in what ways the proviso of Canon Law 603, over time, will shape or shift the historical and traditional path of hermits in the Church.  CL603 contains a notable addition to the stipulations for consecrated Catholic hermits as stated in the institutes of the Church per the Consecrated Life: Eremitics.  CL603 states that the hermit is "recognized by [Church] law as one dedicated to God in consecrated life if he or she publicly professes in the hands of the diocesan bishop the three evangelical counsels, confirmed by vow or other sacred bond and observes a proper program of living under his direction."  It would seem, a hermit who is recognized by church law, ipso facto bears a certain status, or legal credibility, that the traditional and historical hermits do not bear.  In today's Church, this is no small matter, and it seems that bishops and future hermits will desire this proviso.  In time, it may become the norm for consecrated Catholic hermit profession.  Would, then, the historical and traditional hermits, or those who do not profess the evangelical counsels per the added stipulations of CL603, need to be "grandfathered in"--as in some provision proclaimed by the Church hierarchy in order to not to jeopardize or negate their avowed professions and lived eremitic lives--as hermits in the Consecrated Life of the Church?  Such considerations will be dealt with, no doubt, as time passes, precedents set (as they tend to be set no matter if advised), and possible new church laws or additions to existing laws, are set (as laws, also, tend to be set in increasing numbers, in the secular world as well as the Church).

Note:  In these blog posts that attempt to clarify the truth and facts of what is officially church-documented and/or law of the contemporary, consecrated Catholic hermit profession and life, this consecrated Catholic hermit has slipped at times in referring to the professing of the evangelical counsels as professing "vows" as if the vows include other promises.  

Per CL603, as is specifically stated, as well as in the institutes of the Church per stated, the avowal refers to the three evangelical counsels. However, the stipulations of the consecrated eremitic state of life in the Catholic Church as well as the additional stipulations of CL603, do not include detailed specifics or definitions, thus the tendency for what can become interpretations, inventions, inclusions, variations, and eventually precedents.  

Precedents set may over time be welcome and positive; or they may negatively impact or alter the basic truths and facts of the eremitic consecrated life. Thus it seems critically important to know the truth and facts of whatever Church documents, but particularly, for hermits, the state of Consecrated Life in the Catholic Church.

Now to attempt a summation of this and the previous five blog posts.  For those discerning a call to the eremitic life in the Catholic Church or who have already professed the evangelical counsels as a consecrated Catholic hermit and are striving to live the life as Church documents stipulate--what seems advisable is to prayerfully and carefully read and ponder each stipulation, path, and provision.  If already a consecrated Catholic hermit, renew in the heart the professions no matter the form of avowed profession.  

Be clear on the three evangelical counsels and the specific stipulations in The Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Consecrated Life: The Eremitic Life.  If one has been approved by the diocesan bishop to take the Canon Law 603 option, be clear on the additional stipulations.

Reflect upon one's progress and short-comings in living out the life of stricter separation from the world, in the praise, prayer, and penance of the hermit vocation.  Learn by reading the writings and lives of Catholic hermits from early centuries onward.  Follow a daily horarium [term meaning "the hours" used nearly exclusively by the Catholic Church for the daily schedule of those in the consecrated life] that is filled with lectio divina (Divine reading) and prayer. Be obedient to one's spiritual director, regardless of his or her position and title.  

Above all, love, support, and respect other consecrated hermits who strive daily to fulfill their profession of the evangelical counsels and eremitic plan of life, for the hermit life is considered as one of the most challenging of the states of consecrated life in the Catholic Church.  

Remain faithful to Christ and His Church in all matters, as well as to one's consecrated profession. Take seriously the eremitic vocation and what it entails.  To be a consecrated Catholic hermit, whether by private or public profession, is a serious matter, a challenging spiritual path, a humble life, but also a great honor.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love one another, for God Is Love!  Remain in His Love!