Catholic Hermit: Jesus, I Trust in You, and Solus Deus

Well, this morning this hand-pained, spinal headache-ridden, spine-damaged, consecrated Catholic hermit texted my young helper's mother to end the employment arrangement.

After the call from the financial advisor yesterday, and a medical bill not covered by the co-pay I pay for monthly in order to prevent total financial ruination should something befall my body in as much as one trip to ER for stitches, I realized that it is better to save the money spent on the young lad's employment and to continue on, working slowly and very much solus Deus, alone with God.

There really is nothing that I could think of for the boy to do even for two hours on Saturday--work that he actually wanted to do and could do--well or even in average results.  He had grown weary of yard work, and weeding, especially, is what I need help with due to the painful right hand that is past-due for surgery.

It is a shame in a way, for I delight in having a good and kind young helper who wants to learn and to have his first job.  His mother was eager for him to work here, as two or three summers ago I employed his older brother in what was his first job.  But then, there were more construction type work efforts, and there were tasks that I truly did need help with such as lifting full sheets of drywall and 1/2" cement board into place.  The older brother was a year older and definitely stronger in that year's gain.

I had to make a decision based on prudence, for a change.  Prudence is not my strongest virtue, if I can even put it that way, for I can't think of any virtues that seem to be "strong" if I were to declare verdict upon myself.  However, there was not enough benefit from the outlay of funds.  Perhaps one work session of two hours out of five resulted in better work effort on the part of the lad.  Granted, not many youth nor also adults, love yard work.  

I do.  I love to weed, love to spread bark mulch, love to work, in general.  I had explained to the boy that if he can get his head wrapped around the attitude of loving weeding and learning to get out the roots, to stick with it at a steady work pace, he could name his price here.  I see people's postings frequently, begging for workers who will weed--and some say "Name your price."  Ah, if I had the time and my own property in shape, and not under the crunch to get it finished and sold, I'd love to do weeding for the many who disdain that task.

I tried all psychological means to help the lad to learn how to present himself and make himself marketable to an employee.  I also had to remind him to stand up to use the shovel, to get off the ground and use the shovel instead of his finger to dig out invasive bluebells with their bulbs down deep. I pointed out how lengthy the bathroom visits and had to dock him wages when he did not get the message after I said in the real world, there is a short break after four hours of labor.  

Regardless, the Lord will help the lad find a job of which he will excel, and another year or two of physical maturation will help him immensely.  Admittedly, not many young persons (or old!) are able to change their attitudes and decide to love to do work that for whatever reasons, they have decided to not love, or even like.  It will take a lot of prayer offerings for me to squeeze the old body into the crawlspace to finish the insulation project--and to rid out the dead rat carcasses as I come upon them, scooting on my back with such little head space that I must keep my head sideways to get under the joists.

That is, if I do not have some event occur prior to that task.  Yesterday while I was tending a fire (trying to burn out a stump in front yard) and also gathering dried weeds I'd pulled previously, while watering plants, while spraying pots and planting flower starts to brighten the porch and yard for marketing charm--I turned and tripped over one of my feet and fell!  Thankfully it was on the grass, missing the cobblestone front walkway.  Miraculously, while I landed with my right ankle and foot awry, it did not re-sprain it.  I also landed with the force going to the left wrist, and miraculously again, nothing injured!

Ever since the call from the financial advisor and his heightened concern, I'd been repeating aloud and within, "Jesus, I trust in YOU!"  I shook off the element of his questioning voice, "What are you going to DO?"  I commented that I would simply keep working, that I knew nothing other than to "do" than to just keep working.  I reminded him how marvelous has been this "death therapy" experience, that the wonder is that I am not freaking out from how scary could be my funds remaining.  A root canal would wipe it out.  I also (perhaps foolishly but isn't it true?) stated more than questioned, "What is the worst that can happen--that I'd run out out of money?"

So it is Jesus-I-trust-in-You all the more, and solus Deus time!  God is with me; God is with us all. I had to remind myself that my mission and purpose in life and my vocation as a consecrated Catholic hermit is being lived as it ought as far as the tangibles; and the prayer life, praise of God, and the penance and sacrifice that tends to heighten the prayer and praise with a very cutting-edge and real intensity and veracity, all go with the life of a Christian and especially a Christian who is an eremite in the Church, no matter what time period in which one lives.

Alone with God--solus Deus--is what we all are when the externals are stripped.  To be alone with God is also enhanced when much of our internals are stripped, as well.  John of the Cross clarifies the process with his writings of the purgation of the senses and of the purgation of the spiritual senses.  Dark night of the senses, dark night of the soul, he terms this process and reality.

To trust in Jesus and to accept living in especially this magnificent hermit vocation, solus Deus is a joy to experience.  In having the temporal necessity to cancel the young lad's employment, there is a gush of freedom in delight of being once more in this day that lays ahead, of whatever work the body can perform and in whatever prayers and praises bubble forth from my very soul.

Jesus, I trust in You!  Solus Deus!  Onward, forward, come what may!  Only God knows!

Catholic Hermit: An Uplifting Reminder from St. Macarius

Also and probably more accurately called "Pseudo-Macarius", this saint and monk of the late fourth century left us homilies that lift and assist our spiritual journeys.

From Homily 31:

"So make haste to please the Lord, wait for him in your heart without ceasing, seek him in your thoughts, stir up your will and your feelings to reach out towards him at every moment.  Then you will see how he comes to you and makes his home within you."

This tuckered out consecrated Catholic hermit has spent the bulk of the day (thus far) resting on the mattress, now here in the unfinished main room of this old farm house hermitage.  Jean Patrick (from Haiti but now American citizen) had some break time between his nursing education school terms.  Coming from civilization to help me with some heavier work, it seemed best he spend the night.

Thus, the hermit and hermitage hosted this young guest who is so filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit -- and uplifted the entire process as we made marvelous progress in our work efforts.  And each day the Lord provided with some generous contributions to the roadside table's offerings: strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, and bouquets of Zinnias in whatever vases and jars I had on hand.

Jean Patrick earned quite a bit of added (and much-needed) income, and this nothing hermit gained much assistance as we installed some free and lovely cabinets and countertops in the pole barn as well as framed in an additional window.  The week prior Jean Patrick and Daniel each came for a day and a half, and we installed the first two windows.  

What a blessing to have some help and also to be able to help them with their school costs in the form of payment!

And with Jean Patrick, what conversation was not focused upon our tasks, we could speak of how the Lord has worked in his life--and how good is the Lord to us!  We appreciated several miracles in the manual labor as well as I benefitted from hearing about this young man's life in Haiti and his life here in this country, of his family, and of prayer needs for all of them.

After the first day I was in so much pain and so exhausted, that I could feel the tension welling up within the body; I explained to Jean Patrick how pain can get to a point that I feel absolutely grumpy and with less patience, as well as to not remember simple measurements from one moment to the next.  And thus, I insisted we take a work break--as I said my becoming grumpy is not worth it!

Jean Patrick loves root beer floats--something he'd not had until coming here to help out a couple times this summer.  Such a simple pleasure, and how refreshing to just take time to appreciate a treat--all that the Lord provides us and the wits to take time to refresh and reflect.

Jean Patrick shared with me how he came to this country--after his mother and younger siblings left Haiti prior.  He had to remain behind, and he told his mother it was all right--that it was best that the younger children got to leave.  Yet, the Lord provided for him in miraculous ways!  When his siblings were at the airport in Haiti, readying to depart, the airport and immigration supervisors wondered at these young ones leaving.  Wasn't there someone older taking care of them?  

Yes!  There is their older brother, Jean Patrick, but he had been told only the young ones could leave, that he would need special clearance.  The airport supervisor called Jean Patrick; he did not get the message until later that night, but he was told to come quickly to the airport as he should leave, also, accompanying his young siblings of which he'd cared and provided for them for three or four years as their mother had left on her own, earlier.

There was then a series of obstacles always met by miracles in Jean Patrick's efforts to get to the airport within 24 hours, as he had been told if he did not come right away, he'd not be able to leave without much effort, time, paperwork, and costs.  A "voice", he told me, had told him a bit prior to all of this to get his passport, even though he thought there was no chance he, too, could come to this country--just the young siblings.  Even a stranger offering him a ride--a man who saw him praying as they rode in a taxi in the middle of the night--all fell into place in an otherwise dangerous journey.

It all reminded me of the apostles being released unexpectedly from prison, the angel opening the door and beckoning them to come out and follow to freedom.

Well, there are more miracles from Jean Patrick's young life.  Now just 22 years old, he survived three days in the Haiti earthquake rubble and survived a tidal wave coming to tip over his small boat  with him in it.  He had to earn money to support the young siblings and did so by burning logs down to charcoal, then bagging it, taking it in a little boat to another area where wealthy people would buy the charred wood to use for grilling.

He has dreams and locutions, and he met in me someone who definitely understood. We did discuss the need for spiritual discernment of spirits--and all this not in the terminology I'm using.  He has grasped the English language very well, but there are some terms and cultural aspects that are new even though he's been in this country for three or so years.

It is a joy to have a helper who is in touch with the numinous and who loves the Lord so very much!  We could praise the Lord and pray, and at night Jean Patrick liked to say his prayers aloud, thanking God for the day.  

By the third day, my body was so much in pain that I knew to call upon the Holy Spirit to fill me with joy and perseverance; and so it was that we made it through that day with the bulk of the heavy work requiring two of us, completed!  What remains, I will need to trust in God's providence that someone will come along who can help me lift a couple or so items.

What I found, though, in being host to even such a delightfully spiritually endowed helper, is that God has formed me to an extent thus far in my hermit and spiritual life, that I also praised Him for the return to the silence of solitude, to the stillness, the simplicity, the slowness, the serenity of being totally alone with God here.  In the night when I awoke with pain, I said aloud, "Lord, I am so thankful to just be here alone with you, and you with me!  Thank you for the help, but thank you for the life in you, Lord, alone--solus Deus!"

I suppose I thought of solus Deus  for when Jean Patrick and I were re-arranging boxes and tools and earthly possessions on the pole barn shelves, there was the large, refinished wood, antique shutter that I'd hung on my first hermitage, 17 years ago this fall.  I printed on the shutter in Old English script:  Solus Deus.  I explained to Jean Patrick that I had this sign on my front porch years ago as a reminder to me, coming and going to church and what few errands, and to anyone passing by, the value of loving God alone.

So today, my dear friends and readers, I wrote an explanation to a spiritual friend who is reading the writings of John of the Cross as am I, currently, for the friend had emailed wanting some ideas of what the saint meant in detachment from the senses and from things of this world.  Then I received a call from a family member, and I listened to what prayer needs and concerns were being expressed from their lives; and then I rested some more, and then ate hoping to build up some energy.

Finally, the body was forced up and out to pick berries for the table and later some tomatoes and figs; and to hook up some hoses to continue the watering regimen here.  Yet, I am exhausted by pain itself, from head to toe, and thus I must simply be, not do.

In all things, though, striving to relate all to God and God to all--there is a peace and contentment despite the unknowns.  Tomorrow there will be a very large Visa bill to pay in addition to all monthly expenses, and finances will be all the more reduced.

And yesterday, as Jean Patrick and I had a lunch break, he received a call from his boss at the nursing home where he works on weekends, saying he should take the medic training course in this time period between his school terms!  So my helper will unlikely return.  He was trying to figure if there was some way he could come back, as he loves anything he does, including helping me transform this place to something better for the next person/s.  But the priority is his schooling, and I told him so.

God will provide, and He probably wants me to continue doing the work on my own, and for the few things that I definitely will need help doing, somehow someone will be provided to help.  My thoughts of finishing sooner than later, though, are now altered with the reminder of the unexpected surprises that come when we exist in the Order of the Present Moment.  From one moment of thinking of what we would accomplish the next time he could come next week, to the moment of the phone call--all things of the temporal plans were altered!

Amazing!

Seek the Lord in all things; stir up in ourselves the feelings and will to desire Him in every moment, wait patiently for Him to come in our hearts, seek after Him in our thoughts.  Then see how He comes and makes His home with us.  

I do know He is here.  He was here in the night when I told Him how much I love being with Him alone, and He was here in the day prior--in me and in Jean Patrick--and He is here making His home and being quite at home, right now as I write and reflect and share...and rest on this mattress.

Catholic Hermit Exclaims: Lord, Have Mercy!

These words have been in my thoughts and at times uttered aloud.  Lord, have mercy!  

I do not intend the words or meaning to be a supplication of needs to be met, for the Lord has been meeting my temporal needs in marvelous ways.  I am so very grateful, and another exclamation I've been making lately is:  God provides!  Praise the Lord!

My helper, Daniel the Nazarene, came two days this past week.  As I write now, he is on his way driving to second semester of Bible college--a 16-hour drive.  I'm praying his vehicle hold up; he is concerned, and this young man's concerns are now my concerns.

The Lord, have mercy! exclamation is one of surprise and gratitude while at the same time marveling at how far this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit's body has been pushed in the manual labor this past three weeks or so since Daniel has been able to come help me with renovation and construction efforts.  He has come one day a week other than this past with two days (and maybe the week after Christmas two days).  

So in about six days' time of 6-7 hours including lunch and snack breaks, my helper and I were able to get tongue-in-groove ceilings installed upstairs and down the slanted ceiling wall in two bedrooms.  We put ceiling boards in a 24x14' living room, installed drywall up high in a stairwell, framed a stairwell wall, framed a pocket door, installed drywall on that wall and finished framing a closet door opening.  We finished hanging drywall in a couple high-up places downstairs, and we got the washer and dryer moved back into the laundry area (on other-and-underside of stairwell).

We've carried up the ladder several sheets of drywall, with Daniel taking the brunt of the lifting, thankfully so.  We nailed in 8 sheets of plywood beadboard into the attic gable "garret room".  We've had to empty out that attic space of boxes and bags of belongings stored these nearly four years so that we had space to work.

On days Daniel was not here--the bulk of days--this painful-bodied hermit hustled and pushed beyond what is truly feasible, or so it surely seems to me.  God provides!  Praise the Lord!  Others have mentioned they could never do it.  I respond, "Yes, you could and would if your existence depended upon it.   God would see you through, as He is seeing me through, at least to this very present moment."  

We never know the day or the hour.  But I am quite hopeful that I will be able to finish the hermitage in a few months, for the finances will totally be dried up and finished in a few months.  The generous assistance by Daniel the Nazarene and his willingness to drive from civilization to help an old hermit who paid an hourly wage that he appreciated and can use for college but also was not an unreasonable pay, has made all the difference.

No drugs, no foul language, a godly young man, responsible, on time, tolerant of working with an old person who is quite capable of making errors in figuring how to do carpentry work and forgetful when pain is high--God provided quite a gift in Daniel the Nazarene.

Each Sunday morning as the couple from the parish so kindly brings Communion to this hermit, they remark on the progress in this hermitage--an old farmhouse that probably could have been a tear-down to some prospective buyers who might have had a more honest and realistic realtor than had I.  The couple is seeing what a little bit of help--paid help--can do, what a little bit of charity can provide in results.  And the work is good work, for this dwelling will never be for others as it was for me.  Others will never have to undergo the hardships of living in rugged, rotten, rat-ridden, cold and nasty circumstances.

Now, that is good and holy!  And Daniel the Nazarene and next, a couple of his friends who are willing to come a day a month to help continue what help I need that I cannot do with God alone--these young people are stepping up in charity and kindness; and I am paying them more than they'd make and are so very grateful for their pay.  Loving kindness is a win-win.  When and if I live the next few months and God provides energy and strength to continue my God-alone work efforts in here, I hope to sell and gift these young people all the more with monetary assistance that I cannot give them right now.

It hopefully will all be a witness to the Catholic parishioners who could not so much as take five minutes to lift a microwave up on its metal holding strip, or those who could not let their son come for 10-15 minutes to help me lift up six sheets of drywall--with payment to them, of course.  It hopefully will be a witness to the Catholic parishioners who a priest said there were no men who could help me the first summer carry in six sheets of 1/2" plywood.  

Hopefully it can be a witness to the Catholic realtor and the parish St. Vincent de Paul Society who the realtor mentioned could help me that first cold winter when the roof was leaking like a sieve and I had no one to help with the most minor of tasks but requiring another set of hands now and then.  That Catholic realtor will not be selling the house, but she will surely be aware when another has the listing and will see that God provided through other Christians, such as Daniel the Nazarene and his friends, the little bit of help that made it feasible for this old and pained hermit to be able to progress toward completion.

Lord, have mercy!  As I read more of St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Sermons on the Song of Songs, in the introduction we are reminded of the ultimate goal and need to be united in God's love--to love God in Himself and to realize deeply that He loves us and it is His love by which we are able to love Him.  And, the saint reminds that once we love God in Himself and have union in His love, it is then that we are able to truly love others.  It is then that we are called to drop our love embrace in contemplation and to be charitable to the temporal needs of others.  

I hope to write more about what St. Bernard explains of God and His Love.  But for now, before more storms roll through, I must drop my desire to write of what Bernard shares and get the very pained and sore body off the mattress, dressed, and utilizing the compound miter saw set up outside on the deck.  I have more ceiling areas (shorter boards so can nail with God's help) to cut and install and some 2x4's to nail in here and there in various parts of the stairwell and attic garret so that there will be adequate surfaces to which to hang drywall.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Lord, have mercy!  God provides!  Praise the Lord!

Catholic Hermit: Making the Most of Hermit Helper

By the grace of God and a contact my adult daughter had in their previous church, I've had a hermit helper about one day a week.  This past week Daniel could come two days.  Next week he thinks he can come two days, so Friday I had to push this pained body a bit more and get to the lumber yard in civilization to load up on tongue and groove pine boards for continuing putting in ceilings.

Craig at the lumberyard talked it over, how to pattern the lengths of 8', 10' and 12' lengths, staggered, in the downstairs room that is about twice as long as wide.  We also discussed construction of stairwell bannister and spindles and framing in beneath the eventual stairs.  (I like to get ideas and instruction in advance, and let the thoughts and images hang out in my mind so that the Holy Spirit and my angel can work it through in a way that I will be able to construct when that phase comes.  It will be a good while.)

So Stan in the yard, checked and loaded a whole lot of 4-board bundles of tongue and groove.  Precious Blood (my dark red used pick-up) was back-end weighted, for sure.  Took about an hour to sort through the wood to try to avoid chipped edges, warps, and bowed pieces of lumber.

Got back to Te Deum Hermitage and had to rest the back a bit on the mattress. Then, instinctively I knew to push the body to start unloading all that lumber into the old house--after clearing what space I could find to stack it.  I made the unloading process a prayer for persons with specific needs.  When I wanted to stop the process, I'd tell myself to not ruin the prayer and would consider the families and victims of the airport mass shooting.

This morning, perhaps the weather shift or the heavy, repeated lifting and carrying of all that lumber, my back was done in.  I kept thinking of trying to get up and dress and get to work sanding and priming those  130 or more boards, but the body rarely left the mattress.  Eight 10-footers are sanded and primed; that's it for today.

In authenticity and honesty, this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit cannot report that I spent the day in solemn prayer.  I did not.  I thought about people, of course, and would now and then formally offer a prayer for whoever came to mind.  

And I praised God for a cousin's daughter who happened to send a gift card that I used toward the huge lumber bill on my credit card.  I praised God for my adult children who had chipped in before Thanksgiving to help pay Daniel for the three days he came then to help, even if we did not get that much done then as plumbing and framing a pocket door took longer, plus we were getting used to working together.  I did not have my projects as organized as am trying to do now.

Thus, the need to get the wood sanded and primed, at least enough to finish the upstairs slanted ceilings when the helper comes Monday, or so he thinks he will that day.  I praised God today for Daniel's help, as without a helper at this time--like I told him when he was last here--I'd still be on this mattress in the cold downstairs, unable to make progress.  Was at a point of needing another person on the other end of boards or to hold up top plates to nail into the ceiling for framing, or help getting drywall up the ladder.  Yes, the stairwell is all drywalled now! Victory!

But other than praying for persons and praising God for persons, and pondering how love is essential for Christ's peace to control our hearts, I distracted myself from physical pain today by watching some humorous clips from life on YouTube.  Now, is that the serious work of a prayerful, penitential, and praising hermit?

No.  Yet it was quite effective in pain management, as humor, even in silence, enters the brain and helps build endorphins (body's natural pain killers).  Somehow this evening, though, I am sick of the humorous personalities I watched, even if quite clever writers of scripts and talented actors are appreciated for creativity and artistry.

So perhaps yes, in a sense of appreciating the gift of humor and creativity, linking all to God's love for us and creating laughter and intellectual intrigue off-set by some mindlessness, perhaps it can be a form of prayerful praise of life, of the world, of our human foibles of which we can laugh at ourselves.  We are foibled folks.

About the time I got the body up and off the mattress to remove four boards from saw horses and lean them against a wall that is open to the landing above (will pull the boards up from the landing, hopefully tomorrow, and lay them flat in the rooms where needed to finish slanted ceilings), I thought of the Angel of Portugal appearing to the three children of Fatima fame.  They were playing a game one day, and the angel appeared and spoke sternly, asking, "What are you doing?  Pray! Pray! Pray!"

So with that little remembrance of a true occurrence in the year 1917 or 1918, known as the miracles of Fatima in which the Virgin Mary and the angel appeared monthly over a period of six months with dire warnings for a flailing world filled with foibled people, I turned my mind to praying for more serious intentions.  The news is full of the world's problems.  I noticed a headline that Christians are by far the most persecuted persons in the past year, worldwide.

And, there are always family and friends for whom to pray with their specific needs.  There are people encountered in the brief errands yesterday, and there are always souls to pray for--the numerous who pass through the mind once we settle into the reality that prayer is a quite powerful presence of God in us, communicating, listening, enacting.

Where ever there is love and desire for the well-being of souls either in this world or in the other--the mystical realms of eternity to which we are all destined some day--then there is the power of communicating with God Is Love.  When there is God's love in our desirous prayers, our affectionate prayers, praising and petitioning solicitation prayers, there is the peace of Christ controlling our hearts.

I suppose while making the most of a hermit's helper takes pre-organizing and readying of supplies and having a plan of what is the greatest need of tasks that I cannot do on my own, praying can be similar in that one must organize and ready the mind and heart and spirit for praying and praising.  While at one point after thinking of the angel appearing to little Francisco, Lucia, and Jacinta about a hundred or so years ago in Fatima to remind them to pray, I thought I'd wasted time today with the humorous viewing distraction.  

Am not sure, other than I am weary of the humorous distraction; but the pain is manageable now, and otherwise pained time would have passed with upset rather than humor.  Humor did lift me out of what may likely have been discouragement.  May I, Lord, in retrospect, offer prayers for anything in real life that the actors and actresses reminded me--persons, situations, conflicts, peace, love?

Well, I am offering it all, regardless, and tonight will praise and pray and what suffering of body continues (as the back is yet done in but not pushed farther, at least) will be offered as prayer, as well.  Much love to God in Himself, for Jesus Christ His Son, for the Holy Spirit--and for all souls living on earth and living beyond the veil of temporal space and time.  Will pray to make the most of praying!

God Surprises Catholic Hermit

Yes, indeed.  This morning I shoveled and spread part of a load of black bark mulch that my neighbor lad had helped me offload into piles, nearly two weeks ago.  I was just ready to rise from the mattress again, having taken a couple hours to rest the very painful back, legs, and feet (lots of nerve pain today, plus headache, and liver area pain dicey!), when I heard a knock at the door.

It was the neighbor lad and his younger sister.  They'd brought a bag of Transparent Apples, and the boy quickly added before leaving, that he would be able to work toward the end of the week and listed the days.  Then he began telling his future schedule of when he had camps or other events, such as morning summer practices for athletics.

As I loaded his and his sister's arms with produce that no one had taken from the roadside table, I mused within about the turn around in this work-prospect.  Not a half hour ago a friend from afar had emailed that she was convinced that I was to leave here and that I simply had to keep at it, bit by bit.  I had returned a message reminding that without help, it is unlikely, even with a family member coming to visit next month for three or four days to help with the tasks I cannot do with God alone.

So God surprises.  I suppose the sting of the boy turning and seeing me mulching in front that day he was riding off with a friend, maybe somehow got him to thinking.  (Today he also mentioned his grandparents and what they had been doing or such. My mind was more dealing with physical pain and also the surprise God had provided with the visitors at the hermitage door, so I did not catch the details other than to muse that he wanted to express that his grandparents were indeed visiting, even if not 24/7.)

Regardless, I am praising God for the prospects are looking positive of another set of hands and a far better back than mine.  I do need help with tasks that--unless my angel were to materialize as a human and lend me an extra set of physical hands, or provide a miracle of work completed as I rest or sleep--will not be accomplished.

Wonders never cease.  I am guardedly encouraged, not that I do not have full faith in the Lord's surprise this afternoon.  It is just that I think He wants me to remain very much in the Order of the Present Moment, even to the detail of a lad being more available to work now, seeming to want to work, and presenting a positive, organized, thoughtful plan of when he can help out the old hermit.

Maybe it is when I have totally accepted that I will be content existing in a rather unlivable dwelling, that the Lord decided to land a surprise.  The Transparent Apples will be well-utilized, for sure.  Whatever greens, beets, Snow Peas and strawberries that remained at the roadside table will be utilized by the neighbors.  They declined the kale...to be expected.  I blend it as part of my Green Glory breakfast drink.

So, back out to Precious Blood (name of my used pick-up) and to start off-loading the black bark mulch that has been there for ten days now.  The body can only do so much with the higher level of pain, and the needs of the gardens took time and effort.  Whenever, which is rare, that I make the long journey to civilization, I try to be efficient, and a load of mulch is part of the errand list.

Well, praise be to God for the Fourth of July surprise!  Must have been my own thoughts, not God's Mind, that the neighbors wanted no involvement and the lad did not want to work; or else he had a change of mind or circumstance, or both, for the hourly wage is a dream come true for most laborers.  This hermit is not stingy; but there must be justice in the work that is accomplished.  We must not let others take advantage for that is allowing them to damage their souls.  No, we must not let others do that to themselves.

God bless His Real Presence in us, little children.  Let us love God above all things and love His surprises, too.  Let us love one another as Jesus loves us.

Catholic Hermit on Finances

A reader was interested in how a hermit deals with financial issues, something along those lines.

Well, this consecrated Catholic hermit, as most hermits (one assumes), survives on a small disability/retirement dole.  It did have an inheritance--not huge but a blessed gift and adequate--until the hermit got itself a bit hoodwinked by a realtor, house inspector, and contractor.  Now the hermit is what financial advisors and bankers term "house rich and cash poor."  

The problem here is that the house is yet very poor, indeed.  Still not at all salable, but the hermit is making progress with the manual labor, thanks to the good Lord answering prayers for a young helper who comes 3 hours per morning other than on mornings the hermit's physical pain precludes working.  This happens a couple times or more a week.

Last weekend, the good Lord provided quite the gift and surprise.  The hermit's daughter mentioned the hermit's son was going to be visiting her briefly as his career brought him to her area for some undercover work.  He decided he'd help out for a day.  So the "fam" arrived on Saturday.  We got part of the bathroom floor leveled and under-bracing nailed in.  The hermit and son worked on finishing plumbing the hot and cold water lines into the tub/shower manifold valve, and set the tub faucet and shower head from drop-ear pipe fittings.  Then the son-in-law and son set the tub on a mud base, requiring the hermit to do some chiseling out of some studs (old place is not plumb nor square)--an enlightened solution thought of by the daughter so that the tub could be slid into place.

The grandson sold the vegetables and berries God has blessed the hermit with in abundance in the gardens, at the end of the drive by the road.  We decided to simply ask for donations.  That is a good way for a hermit to approach all aspects of potential income and help.  The child ended up selling $80 worth, and the hermit was thankful to have the gardens harvested for the present moment.  Much had already been gifted to the helper's mom, a neighbor family, and another couple of people.  The grandson had hoped for 25% cut of proceeds; the hermit rewarded him with 33%, pointing out he had not tried to be "usurious" or "greedy" so was getting a bonus.  Good lesson (and good word--usurious--for him to learn).

Ah, the hermit's take on the veggie sale will help pay for a morning of the helper.  As for life style, the hermit lives very frugally and simply.  Rarely does it drive the truck, as there is really no place it needs to go other than an occasional drive to civilization for supplies.  And the need for supplies are dwindling, the farther along the renovations progress.   The helper's mother brings Holy Communion weekly now, which is a blessing for sure!  Praise His Real Presence!

For meals, the hermit tends to go out to the gardens and eats while praising God for fresh food for the picking.  Can just pick some berries, eat some raw green beans, eat a cucumber, pop some cherry tomatoes, eat some greens--and lately can bring in a fresh ear of corn to cook and enjoy.  For winter food supply, the hermit has started to freeze the vegetables and fruits.  Soon the Fava beans will be ready to harvest; they can be dried or frozen after blanching.  There will be much winter squash soon, and pie pumpkins galore.  Time to do a planting for fall harvest of beets and greens.  Brussel sprouts are ready to harvest.

The hermit spends very little on food items.  It supplements with some dairy products and stocks up from the least costly venue possible, when it makes the long trip out of the desert solitude.  The main costs are mortgage, insurance, used truck payment, Lowe's loan (supplies and kitchen appliances), least costly phone plan (old flip-top phone), least costly internet plan, low water cost, and with insulation in the hermitage, the electric bill is minimal.  Every other month there are prescription costs, and on occasion a tank of gas.  

For now, tithing is done in praying for the Church and in gifting people with vegetables, fruits, and religious items the hermit can share.  A bishop in the past said to not give money to the church until the amount of the two shoulder surgeries are essentially exchanged in amount. (He said to let that be my tithe as he felt the Church should have helped pay--long story, in the past, not going to explain or go into the parish or bishop's role in liability of injury).  This factored that the hermit would not tithe with hard cash for about another 11 years.  However, as soon as the hermit can get out from under the financial drain of this fixer upper, it will return to its tithing which was at 20% of monthly income.

This hermit lives lean.  A hermit--at least this consecrated Catholic hermit--does not spend much money.  It sells what it can such as doors or windows or other items removed from the hermitage that can be sold, used.  On occasion it sells, such as the vegetables, small items.  For awhile it did some woodwork painting for the daughter who paid for the work done--until it became critical to just keep working on the hermitage since the finances are not balancing out each month.  There is an end-date for remaining.

The hermit has had to learn utter trust in the Lord to provide.  It has not been easy, financially.  Friends and family have chipped in with work efforts as well as with a loan in one case and a gift in another, as well as small helps of financial benefit, now and then.  When the hermit is able--God willing--to finish the fixer upper and be out from under, the hermit will gift back people who have contributed, or if they do not want, will "pay it forward" to others who find themselves in tough stead.  Should the hermit die suddenly, there will be enough equity to pay off loans.  Fair is fair.

That's a bit about this hermit's finances.  In having this current, unexpected experience in financial plight (which has pretty much been the situation for the bulk of the hermit's adult life due to the pain situation and loss of career, inability to be consistently employed and now in later years), faith and trust have grown, along with humility and prudence and frugality.  The hermit is pleased to go without, frankly.  Recently the daughter gave the hermit a couple pairs of used pedal pushers--great for gardening and manual labor with lots of pockets for nails, screws, tape measure, carpenter pencil, box cutter, and small plumbing parts.

All in all, this simple, frugal life has become a serious JOY!

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love one another as we are through, with, and in Him--all together!  Let us praise God from Whom all blessings flow! 

Catholic Hermit Considers Jesus' Request: "Learn from Me"

It is so simple yet profound.  Think of it!  Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me."

There is so much to learn from Jesus!  Today's thoughts will center around all and anything Jesus chooses to teach this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit.  The very thought itself--the truth of it--excites this hermit!  Just consider the unfathomable and limitless lessons Jesus will teach! Some might be difficult, painful; some might be review of previous teachings; all will be a joy to learn.

Now, for some incredibly uplifting news for this hermit, personally.  The hermit's helper returns this morning for three hours of manual labor and the bits of discussion while hopefully finishing the porch.  (Porches are a marvelous "place"--which could be a topic with many spiritual insights in the thinking and writing.  What aspect of a porch coincides with a soul's relationship with God?)

The incredibly uplifting news is that the helper's mother happens to be an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister, and she has asked the priest if she can bring this hermit His Real Presence in Holy Communion, and he willingly agreed.  So today, when she picks up the hermit's helper (her son), this desirous consecrated Catholic hermit will receive the Body and Blood, soul and divinity, of our Lord, Jesus Christ, present and living in the sacred Host!

Glory be to God!

The hermit will send off a letter to its spiritual director this afternoon, sharing the marvelous news, plus an email to Fr. Vincent who will be overjoyed.  These holy priests have been praying for the hermit for a long time; they will receive thanks and assurance that their prayers are being answered.

All is a matter of God's will, His allowance, His bequeathing, and His timing--even though God is outside and beyond and within "time", all at once.

On another note, the hermit has noticed an influx of readers interested in the Catholic hermit's blog post of March 9, on CL 603.  It never ceases to cause consideration as to why some readers tend to prefer reading about temporal Catholic Church laws more than the spiritual insights of saintly writers who climbed the spiritual ladder and left illumination and helps for the spiritual life, along with greater understanding of the Trinity:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  

This hermit (and surely do many of you readers) thrives on the Living Word of God and the writings of the likes of the saints, and such as those of the early centuries of the Church when the distractions were few and the timeline proximity to Jesus' days on earth much closer than the many centuries since. Yes, there are some readers who prefer the spiritual writings over the laws.  Both types of writings are part of our Christian lives, in our times.  Perhaps it comes down to priority of what we desire most to pass through our eyes and into our souls.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love one another for love is of God.

Hermit and Helper Fixing the Porch

The hermit and helper are in process of fixing and finishing the front porch.  This morning we worked patiently at shimming up the side porch to coincide with the front porch, already completed by Raphael and his workers, last summer.  The side porch had to be put "on hold" so that the hermit could frame in five more windows.

So we tediously used cedar shims and got it all level one direction on the floor joists, and width-wise level, as well.  Tomorrow morning, God willing and bodies able, we will set some posts as the porch is being widened to make it more utilizable.

And utilizable is just what this consecrated Catholic hermit, in its nothingness before God, so desires to be.  Utilized by His Real Presence:  this is the hope, offered in faith and much love.

The details matter, and this hermit is trying to pay attention to the details of its soul and life.  It is striving to listen to His Real Presence and to observe and "read" the details of messages that come to us in our everyday lives as well as in the night.  (Even at night, my heart consults me," sings the Psalmist.)

So yesterday when at the bank (which is quite a trek for the hermit who rarely leaves the hermitage) it asked the kindly teller to please call Raphael's phone number.  This would assure that Raphael would return the call.  And he did, and this time he was yet more ashamed for not returning the hermit's previous calls a couple months ago.

Raphael stopped by a bit ago.  He started to get into the reason he had fallen off his otherwise wonderful character and goodness as a man and a Catholic, at that.  He felt very bad about his worker who did not do the job the hermit needed doing, accurately.  (Pride can get to us more than much else.) 

Stairs must be measured carefully; steps cannot be off an eighth of an inch.  That eighth of an inch grows then, so that by the top step, the stairs' "run" is two or three inches too long, and the treads and risers just keep getting more and more "off".  The mind instinctively sets itself to the rise and tread of a step, and it is quite dangerous to not have them all the same.  That's what can cause falls. That is why there are strict codes on stair treads and risers, as well as distance from doors.

It is like our spiritual lives, our souls, our thoughts, our actions.  Just a little off, and the next "step" in life is thrown off, as well.  In not too long a space of time, we find ourselves stumbling or outright falling.

Anyway, the hermit emphasized to Raphael that the past is over, and that the hermit paid the worker.  This hermit's goal is present moment and making progress, but also doing things as best possible.  So it bought more lumber and measured accurately, and cut, and the stringer boards are all set to be hung properly, with metal brackets that are code.  No hard feelings, and the work done by the worker has nothing to do with his being a good person or wonderful man.  Stairs are very tricky.  Craig and others at the lumberyard assures that seasoned contractors come back for more wood when building stairs!

And that was the lesson for the helper and hermit this morning, while shimming the porch floor joists.  At first we laid out the shims carefully, leveling as we went, on top of the larger 2x2" boards that were running the length of the joists. (There was a lot to raise up on this side of the porch.)  Then we realized it would be better to have the small shims underneath the 2x2" pieces.  

So we removed the 2x2's, and we put the smaller shims on top of the floor joists; then we put the 2x2's on top of them, sandwich style.  Then we used exterior, thin deck screws to secure the "sandwich" down to the porch floor joists.  The porch floor boards will then be screwed down, across the shimmed joists.  Victory!

Yes, taking the extra time to remove the small shims from the top and placing them in the middle of the "shim sandwich" cost our patience and the hermit a bit of hourly wages.  But it commented to the helper that if we make a mistake or think of a better way to do something, it is best to take the time to correct and re-do.  He agreed.  He is a quiet lad, a spiritual lad, and we grasp the spiritual good despite 50 years' difference in age and life experience.

Raphael asked the hermit if it was going to be getting up on the porch roof to install the rest of the siding.  Well, yes.  Who else?  And it has it's young helper, of course.  But Raphael somehow decided he'd like to do that for the hermit and at a very moderate price.  And the hermit, if it had it's 'druthers, would 'druther Raphael finish the siding.  They had sided all but this last bit of porch section and above porch roof, and they had done it beautifully.

So next week Raphael and men are coming to finish the siding and will put in two roof vents that the hermit was not at all eager to attempt, particularly on the one roof angle that is steep as any roof can be.

Yes, the helper and the hermit will not have siding experience in our construction resume, and we could do it, for sure, but some fun things we just have to share with others (and admit that they have oodles of experience at their craft).  The hermit and helper have many other tasks to do.  This little bit is not going to cut into the helper's earnings or learnings.

God bless His Real Presence in us, and God bless Raphael for moving beyond the hard feelings when the hermit let him know way back a few months, the one worker was not working out.  We all have to just keep the focus and swallow our lumps, put the past behind, and get the job done.  

And this goes especially if not most importantly, in our soul lives.