Solus Deus Hermit: A Diverging Hermit Vocation

I was asked a few days ago to write an article for a publication, I assume online magazine.  The topic was the hermit vocation and it's relevance or some such juxtaposition with the Church today.  Someone had asked me, who had contacted me several years ago for vocational discussion, remembered me, and appreciated whatever it was I'd mentioned in our email correspondence. I truly cannot recall; too much life and suffering has passed before us, over however many years.  

I was initially willing to write the article, no pay involved, to help out. Plus this latest major surgery has been a dark night of senses that turned into dark night of soul; the aftermath is more painful and far more slow a recovery than I anticipated or was prepared for physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  I felt writing the article would fire my inner engines, as I've been seeking God's will on what to write next, as I have yet to fulfill my mission, which keeps coming back to being sharing in writing or verbally, the reality of God, and His ongoing and vital providence for and interactions with we, His created people, in every present moment of our lives.  

So I figured go ahead and write the article, of which I was told I could use previous writings or write what comes.  I admitted that the article that came, seemed to me a mess of ramblings.  I altered "person" in the structure and repeat, have my typical too-long sentences, and whatever else.  I submitted the article, and the contact person then wrote wanting an additional article for the level of junior readers.  Yes, I could do that, but of course would shorten the piece, as I was given a 2,000-4,000 word limit, of which I came in at just under 4,000 words.  Typical for my writing, I admit, and more length the more pain I am in!  Then came a message that the original had parts that he'd remove, and then another message of just writing the piece for the junior magazine.  

I realized amidst the shifting of ideas and articles, and of at one point the contact person wanting to edit sections and then publish the original article, to then turning more to a junior article more basic of hermits and hermit life, I felt misgivings I had so quickly agreed to this effort.  Granted, I am exhausted and on weak from the surgery effects, and the painful recovery is going to continue for several months.  But what I wrote came to me all the more from setting forth the two paths available to Cadolic hermits today, yet I am most definitely a hermit of the long-standing path, the traditional, historic vocation. In fact, my long-time priest and spiritual advisor had not even heard of the more recent CL602 hermit path.  

Only after a couple years did I hear of this canon law hermit option, and through testing the will of God, He continued to say in defined ways, "No."  Each time I was relieved, for I had begun to grasp the pitfalls and temptations that were befalling some of the diocese (CL603) hermits. In fact, I became an object of attack by one such who evidently felt I was a threat that needed to be silenced.  And while not silenced nor the facts unchanged, I have not written on this topic for a long time because I had no reason until asked to write this article, which of course would need to discuss both hermit vocational paths in today's Roman Church.

I've decided to bow out of the voluntary written offer for the publication, but am awaiting final word as to if the person wants still to use the sections he or perhaps an editor prefers from my article, or are agreeable to find someone else, and also what they plan for the shorter article for junior readers. I'd assume they would not use my writing without permission, of course, even if reworked or sections removed.  Regardless, I wrote what flowed out, and it expresses what is deeply held within, plus the reasoning and practicalities which undergird why God prefers the vocational path He continues to choose for me--and no, I will not ever test His decision again.  

By now this traditional path has all the elements of what the writers of The Catechism of the Catholic Church gleaned from documents and hermits of history, of the hermit vocation, as well as of the Consecrated Life--so that I do not consciously think in terms of my hermit path or even the vocational elements that create the means to the growth and usefulness of my life to God and His Church.  Rather, I simply live it, secure in the traditional structure and the many lives I've read of the saintly hermits of Christian history, including John the Baptist's life and being called out of the desert for the final fulfillment of his mission and purpose. I, too, am seeking in the end run of my earthly life, God's will and my assignment of mission and purpose.  

This article which I have decided was not really meant for that publication but more something I needed to write as a reminder to self of where I have lived and grown as a hermit over the past 23 years and another 14 years prior in which my mind was being warmed following a vision and locution in 1986, telling me how God wished me to live my life--a precursor of hermit vocation at a time I was not free to do so.  But the time came, and the other responsibilities and attachments have been met and detached.  

Now I will share what was to be an article that I wrote, with you my readers.  What was a warm-up call to loosen the fingers and tongue, and to open the mind to whatever the Holy Spirit desires, what I wrote is also a means of answering God with my YES and AMEN! I am ready to put what energy and breath, thought and heart, to sharing, writing, verbalizing--whatever it is that His Real Presence desires me to express for the good of my soul and the soul-lives of others, as well as to any aid it might be to Holy Mother Church and the Body of Christ.  

                                  On Being Hermit: A Diverging Vocation 

 For those who have read of or considered hermit life either historically or in today’s Church, the thoughts may have led to further research or may have remained at nuanced levels of just what is a hermit, a Catholic hermit, or the actuality of a Catholic hermit vocation then and now. Perhaps the thoughts included an inner yearning to become a hermit for any number of reasons, over the course of daily temporal life. 

I’d like to share with you, in part, some of my personal journey on becoming and being a Catholic hermit, including the diverging aspects of the hermit vocation in today’s Church. My own call to the hermit vocation began when yet a Protestant in 1986, before my conversion to Catholicism. I later professed hermit vows in 2000, in a chapel, before altar and tabernacle, officiated by an elder priest (my spiritual director)--myself as well, before and within the love of God Almighty. The priest had prepared a sermon; we each read various Scriptures; the ceremony modeled upon a Medieval Anchorite enclosure. 

 Rather than now discussing my own hermit path, I think it best to set forth the aspects of hermit life that have become basic requisites of religious solitaries from before the time of Christ to present times. These requisites that form religious hermits, and for this article, Catholic hermits, are currently stated in The Catechism of the Catholic Church under the section titled “The Consecrated Life,” and specifically stated in the subsection on “The eremitic life." 

 Let’s begin by examining these basics lived by hermits of God for centuries, and how the vocation has recently diverged into essentially two Church-allowed pathways of consecrated Catholic hermits today. Please let us consider the following excerpts from "The Catechism," bold-type emphases, mine: 

 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....[These different vocations] have come into existence...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 

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. 

From the above citations, we find that once a person has received a call from God, usually via the Holy Spirit who stirs the mind and heart, the discernment process begins. The call can be a nudging or curiosity within, or reading about some hermit of yore, a yearning for a life drawn apart for God alone, or even a direct locution in which one is told God wills the hermit life. Discernment progresses through prayer, inner listening to God, consulting with a wise and holy spiritual guide, preferably a wise, discerning, elder cleric. 

The individual ought ponder each facet written above of the hermit life and tradition. These describe the basics of what the Church asks of anyone desiring to become a Catholic hermit. In addition, the discerning person ought read as many books on the topic of hermits, and these primary sources--the writings of hermits themselves, hermit biographies by those who knew the hermits, and writings of hermits' spiritual directors, mentors, and guides. 

While the internet is convenient, the extant writings by hermits and original biographies are preferred to reading what current-day writers have extrapolated or opined on hermits, hermit life, and the hermit vocation. Locating old books online or from monastery libraries or used bookstores is an investment well-worth the time and cost; learning from the desert fathers and mothers and their writings, and any other hermit of centuries past, is invaluable in the discernment process. 

[Furthermore, stay clear basing a vocation upon current hermits' lives--myself included, other than for tips on how we came to the vocation or by sharing our efforts. We current Catholic hermits who are writers sharing our journeys, are still in situ, in process of our vocations, facing unknown trials and the temptations of the evil one; the eternal jury is still out as it pertains to our hermit lives. Some will falter and not remain, others may be called by God after a while to a different purpose, others may become enamored with being a known hermit of eager followers rather than being God's hermit known to but God and few others. Far better to read of a hermit, after a hermit's life is successfully fulfilled. Indeed the sting remains fresh from the example of the late Thomas Merton's brief hermit life a sham, later exposed in shame.] 

Returning to what The Catechism of the Catholic Church reveals of hermit basics, notice that all hermits from centuries past lived, even if not formally stated, the three evangelical counsels. Hermits avow to live chastely a celibate life, to live in poverty (of spirit but also of temporal means, reliant on no one other to exist). They live in obedience--obedience to God, to Christ, to the Holy Spirit. The obedience extends to Christ in Headship of His Church and Christ's Living Word. 

These evangelical counsels were embraced, essentially, by the Old Testament prophets, mostly eremitic (of the desert, or hermit) lives. John the Baptist is a hermit of Christ's time on earth, prior to his fulfilling his mission as precursor of Christ. Only then did he depart from a stricter separation of the world to begin preaching, baptizing, and proclaiming the Messiah, Christ among humankind. 

John the Baptist gained eternal reward through martyrdom, his mission on earth concluded. And this is a precious facet of the hermit vocation: Not all called to this vocation remain hermits for the duration of their lives. Many in history and yet today, are called by God to the hermit life for a certain time period, perhaps to learn more deeply of the interior life, or to fulfill some purpose of God's Holy will that requires being called back out into the world. Such is the case of Benedict who lived a hermit life for a time, but as so many came to the desert seeking his guidance and way of life, he instead became founder and father of the monasticism, of religious orders. Anthony of the Desert also was deluged with seekers. While he did mentor some, he remained steadfast as a hermit, removing himself repeatedly, increasingly hidden. 

Living the "silence of solitude" is a vibrant, vital gemstone of a hermit vocation. This solitude does not mean sharing an abode with another, or existing as a quasi religious order, or of hosting a retreat center, nor with harboring hopes founding an order of hermits. Solitude means alone, without others. While some had pets, domesticated or wild creatures, they are bidden by God's will and of His reasons. A fly became the pet of one hermit; it is said that when he'd doze or be called from reading his Hours, the fly would remain on the page, marking the line until the hermit continued. Generally, if a hermit had a pet, it was later on in the vocation. 

 There is no substitute for experiencing solitude, and thus, God Alone in the silence of solitude. As for hermit religious orders, Bruno the Carthusian refused to write statutes; he did not want a religious order of hermits. But following his death, another did so, and thus the Carthusian way of life became in essence another religious order. However, of hermit orders, the Carthusians live the hermit requisites rather remarkably, as much as a group could. Each Carthusian lives in separate cells, honors silence, eats in solitude other than after Sunday Mass, Christmas, and Easter; they celebrate Mass daily, but their only interchange with one another is a few hours of recreation one afternoon a week. 

This group type of hermit existence, however, comes at the cost of depending upon others, called “externs." These persons maintain the facility, prepare and deliver food to each cell, and handle all matters of temporal necessities so that the others may live their hermit lives, yet as a religious order. The prior or prioress maintain contact with the world, are administrators of the group as well as their financial responsibilities. 

What evolved into a group hermit experience, then under Guigo I, following Bruno's death, became The Order of Carthusians in the early 12th c,  The Order remains to this day although in declining vocations— a successful religious order which what was never intended to be a religious order. Bruno, a charismatic priest teaching in Cologne, Germany, simply wanted to remove himself from the temporal world,  An envious Bishop who caused him trials caused him, also, to remove himself from the temporalized aspects of the Church in his time period.  He answered a divine and profound call to draw close to God Alone. 

After some years of praying and planning, in 1070, Bruno chose to live the eremitic life in the farthest reaches of the Alps. Some companions of like desires accompanied him on this venture, but not as a fledgling religious order. Yet that is what the Carthusians became, and to their esteem, is the only religious order in the Western Church, per Pope John Paul II's mention, that has never needed to be reformed. The contribution of St. Bruno's seeking an eremitic life, with his friends joining in, left a major imprint of hermit functionality along with the spiritual call of those who yet today desire personal intimacy with Christ in the modus of the pith of consecrated life, and all that such divine union gifts humankind as well as the Body of Christ, the Church.

Thus more so, The Catechism highlights the importance of “a stricter separation from the world” and being “hidden from the eyes of men [humankind].” A hermit will evolve in separating from the temporal world; this is a process, thus the word “stricter” provides flow and movement, of gradations of letting go and dying to self and temporal world, while increasing in the inner life, a deepening, widening, “intimacy of Christ.” Enter the significance of a hermit’s outer appearance and abode. 

 I'll share personally here.  Fairly new to the hermit vocation, I learned these aspects not without pain. I quickly realized that if I wore a garment modeled after Medieval religious orders, or even a simple, gray garment day after day, people noticed me. If the garment reminded others of a religious habit, they came to me—strangers—and would pour out their lives and souls. I was stunned to think that my outer appearance, even in the very beginnings of my hermit vocation, had people deceived to think that I held some special holiness or wisdom, or that I was qualified to counsel them, or even that my prayers held special sway with God. Fortunately, I did have over half a doctorate in clinical psychology and many hours of counseling practicum, also a doctorate in leadership and administration. I was in my 50’s with much life experience behind me, fortunately was and am a person of lifelong prayer, loved God above all things, and had read of great spiritual books, as well as I love steeping in Scripture. 

But I was horrified to.consider:  What if I had none of this background, or if I had in pride thought I should take on this role they assumed of me? Indeed, I was not hidden at all! I stuck out like a sore thumb, and that included those who had negative experiences with religious persons from their early schooling or church interactions, and seeing me in a costume from another century, was not a positive reminder for them. Thus, combined with what the Scriptures state as to how we are to comport ourselves, 

I thankfully grasped that to remain hidden so as to silently “preaching Christ” (or present myself as one who had surrendered myself to the Lord), I needed to dress in whatever those around me wore, yet not needing much variety, but enough to not be noticed nor to stand out. I made sure even the hairs of my head blended in style. My person and clothing clean and appropriate, I donned what any ordinary person of my locale, age, and even background, would wear. This included altering my apparel somewhat when I needed to change locations. 

Remaining hidden is necessary for a hermit, and that includes not taking on some different name, or using a prefix such as Sister of Brother—or tagging on initials harkening to what religious order persons affix to their names. A hermit, publicly professed per the 1983 CL603, has set some of these precedents such as signing Erem.dio after names to designate they are diocese eremites. Immediately such designation stands out to others, bringing attention to the diocese hermits who adopt this practice. Is distinction and approval a hermit's due? Consider the Scripture of the humble man who remained in the back of the temple, remonstrating to God that he is not worthy, and then the proud man who wanted to be esteemed, and loudly declared his own worthiness. 

The same goes for where today’s hermit might choose to live. I soon realized that given my serious pain disabilities and age, that living out in a wooded property in a in an old abode, bearing the elements, and me with pain sieges that required strong medications and assistance from others now and then, I’d not be safe nor practical living in other than a simple yet comfortable neighborhood, close to what few needs I have of which one is on-going medical. Considering an apartment, not only did the constant pain make it very difficult with noise, apartment life for now would be too many people around. The more people in close quarters, the more they wonder and notice someone who is alone, quiet, without social life. In my current locale, rents are higher than my mortgage by double. 

Yet my main reason for an ordinary subdivision house, for now, is that my pain and low income, both, require that I try to keep my body active and mobile, otherwise I will be more quickly paralyzed as that is part of my ailment, Arachnoiditis. Thus I discovered the value of simple, humble labor which may be done in silence and solitude, or at least done in silence. It is also how I learned that the early desert fathers wore the typical garments of those who were poor in society, but also often flaxen color due to the heat of the desert as well as the type of cloth least costly. 

I took heed that they did not go out approaching others, nor did they work in parishes or hospitals, lovely as that work may be, but they worked in what they could sell, provided for their own food as much as they could by gardening, or in our times would have chosen tasks working for others to earn the money we require in our societies to pay our way in life—be it a mortgage, groceries, medications, heat, water, power, and internet which is becoming difficult to fulfill our duties without access, although could use library computer if going there seems better. 

Hermits can find employment cleaning buildings, working in an assembly line (despite being around others, the work is the focus, often machinery loud, so can retreat within to find the silence of solitude). Or, if the hermit has a profession, many now may be fulfilled by remote work, or if artistically inclined, by cottage industries in the abode. 

I live on a small retirement income after years of low income disability, with a modest share of my late parents' hard-earned savings. This is my final house that I have tried to renovate very slowly, amidst two major and three lesser surgeries in under four years. There is much good in ora et labora: pray and work. I pray to finish, then sell to develop savings for my end of life care should I not pass suddenly. Each month I pay off more of the low-interest mortgage. 

As my health has declined sooner than I anticipated, I, like many hermits in our later years, must accept some help such as after surgeries or with errands, or in other needs. Some people question or find odd, a lifestyle such as mine. Thus, if a hermit’s lifestyle becomes a matter of genuine curiosity, the hermit may choose to explain and request privacy. This happens usually if a person is going to be closer, needed to assist with on-going health needs. The Holy Spirit gives the hermit explanations. I find a less startling explanation is to say one is a “religious solitary” or simply needs to remain more alone and quiet due to life and health circumstances. 

There are many ways to remain hidden from curiosity, to retain the silence of solitude, to go without notice, and yet be a witness to the praise of God’s glory, to retain personal intimacy with Christ, to be silently preaching the Lord with ongoing surrender to the Crucified One Who Is a Hermit's All. As we note from familiarity with reading lives of great hermits of the Church, as well as the succinct guidance of The Catechism, a hermit’s life is to be devoted “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.” Over time, through prayer and reading, through asking the Holy Spirit for practical advice in living the hermit vocation, answers will come, as well as trials and errors. 

The hermit may go through various phases of adaptation, of advancing, regressing, doubting, increasing in faith, dark nights of senses and soul, and spiritual blessings. Through it all, at first and for a few years, it is important to seek spiritual guidance of a learned and experienced priest director, as well as of the Trinity, of the Living Word, of great spiritual guides through books, and also of praise and worship of His Real Presence. After years have passed, the need for a human spiritual director lessens. If there is need, a hermit may consult with one spiritual and advanced in life in Christ; but mostly the Trinity and the Living Word guide the hermit's temporal and spiritual lives. 

Worship and increasing intimacy with Christ as expressed in the spiritual life and value of the hermit vocation provide purposeful meaning. The hermit “manifest[s] to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Through years of living the hermit life, I came to understand that since my consecration as a Catholic hermit is by God, the Holy Spirit leads and guides, as well as Christ Who teaches and loves in and through me, God’s law of love and His love through me, of others. 

I participated in daily Mass to begin with, going and returning without much interaction unless in hospitality, someone had need of conversation. It is the hermit’s task to keep the conversation meaningful and purposeful to that person, and at times, interactive in sharing. A hermit is to be hospitable when appropriate and per the Divine Will. Over time, it became increasingly difficult for me to attend Mass. There are valuable reasons why not, but through prayer, discussion with my spiritual director--an elder priest, holy and wise--it became obvious God was hindering my being in a parish and being in a parish Mass. Once I realized that the hermits of history and tradition did not belong to parishes, nor did they attend daily Mass and rarely worshipped in group setting of Mass due to distance and if a priest happened along or was a hermit, I was able to let go of what had been my and sometimes a cleric’s lack of understanding the mysterious realities of hermit life as lived daily in past times and current times. 

The fact that the Trinity is guiding the hermit--and this is individualized guidance as the hermit vocation is an individualized calling--all matters settled into a peaceful and holy existence of truth, beauty, and goodness. I began to receive the Eucharist mystically. Once or twice it was through Jesus in a corporeal vision, on rare occasion someone from a parish would bring the Eucharist, but there were irrefutable situations as to why mystical and spiritual Communion became the norm. I had to stop thinking temporally, and grasp what God was doing that defies some of the temporal norms and suppositions. 

The Living Word sustains daily, and His Real Presence manifests in vast facets, very real as well as surreal. While daily life may seem basic and typical, one appreciates a glorious significance in the typical. There is a gentle. divine flow--despite the snares of the evil one attempting to disrupt--to try to bring the hermit to despair. All these aspects are part of the hermit's journey--and indeed, of any Christian's seeking and following Christ. The morning following my private profession of vows, my priest director suggested to me three words to strive to live in my hermit vocation: Silence, Solitude, and Slowness. The Holy Spirit added Suffering, Selflessness, Simplicity, Stillness, Stability. and Serenity. 

After nearly 23 years from my consecration by God and profession as a hermit of the Catholic Church, I yet ponder these words from time to time. But truly, the ebb and flow of the hermit vocation has fallen to the background fiber of my existence. His Real Presence has become the mind, heart, and soul of my everyday life, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I fulfill my temporal responsibilities, but my spirit and soul are in Christ to an extent of the actual hermit vocation or my “being a Catholic hermit” is not the focus. 

Rather, my soul in Christ and what I am to be and do for God—His will and purpose for my life of assiduous prayer and penance, for the salvation of all and the world—this has become the substance of my existence. I yearn for the passing from the temporal life, yet currently I am at a juncture point of which is another topic for hermits (and everyone) at some point to consider. Perhaps this is for further discussion, that of the element of family and friends in the life of a hermit--or many topics of what I consider mostly entry externals. 

At some point, when the words express without effort, much may be shared of spiritual progressions, lessons learned, sharing with the Body of Christ the spiritual benefits as well as practical, that come from living a consecrated life of which being consecrated to God is for everyone. Yet for me and some relatively few others, this life is as a consecrated Catholic hermit. 

I’d like to conclude by commenting on the two types of hermits currently available in the Roman Catholic Church to those who have a call by God, to be a hermit in the world today, a hermit of the Catholic Church. As we see from what is written in the Catechism, one may be a privately professed hermit, or one may become a publicly professed hermit, meaning has made vows by approval of a diocese Bishop, and has usually professed the vows in a public Mass, usually with a reception following, plus an article written in the diocese paper or other publications. 

Thus begins the hermit life of a newly approved diocese hermit, via the 1983 canon law 603. The hermit is known by others and usually takes on a title or new name, wears a habit of some sort designating his or her appearance as unique or similar to that of a religious sister or brother. They are seen participating in parish worship and sometimes other duties. Some are employed in a parish in some visible capacity, or as hospital chaplains. They may be approved to live together or have hopes to begin a Lara of hermits or some type of hermit religious order. Some may be installed on monastery grounds and participate in the religious order’s worship, provided housing and meals. 

Then there is yet the traditional, hermit vocational path—that of the earliest hermits and of which I have mostly shared, as this is my hermit path. There has been a growing trend by some including bishops who are only aware of or approached by persons desiring approval for the CL603 diocese hermit path. But it is important for the traditional, historic hermit path, the privately professed vocation, to not be forgotten as a valid and approved basis of the hermit vocation as it has successfully existed and contributed for centuries of Christ's Church. 

Twice in my having to change locations, I tested if the Lord wished of me to be a diocese hermit. I had felt pressure to do so by the increasing popularity of the publicly professed and vows received by the diocese bishop. Each time, the bishops in the two dioceses in which I lived, determined they found my hermit vocation as it is, to be the way to continue. In the first instance, the bishop did not know much about hermit vocations, nor did he want the responsibility of being, as the Canon Law 603 states, the one to direct and guide the hermit. 

Many bishops, busy with leading their dioceses, allow the diocese hermit to choose a spiritual guide including non-clerics, or the bishop assigns a priest to help oversee the diocese hermit. In my current situation and diocese, the bishop, to my surprise, advised me to continue in the privately professed hermit vocation to which God had called me so many years ago. I admire this bishop’s wisdom and perspective, as the traditional, historic hermit vocational path should not become divergent to a point of extinction, or of disapproval, even lacking validity. 

When we examine the now two Church-allowed hermit paths, we can see the challenges in each, but the greater challenge to me has remained that of living as a hermit unknown, unnoticed, non-acclaimed. Yet despite many trials and errors, I remain God’s beloved consecrated hermit--and a Catholic hermit. Indeed, some have stated that a privately professed hermit must not call him- or herself a “Catholic hermit” if not a diocese CL603 hermit. It does not matter, other than why cut off all the Church’s hermits who have lived and died living this more rare but special vocation, when until recent times, there was no created church law establishing other than what always had been? 

Perhaps if this discussion is to continue, there may be reasons why the diocese hermits came to be, as well as many other topics related to those who may wish to explore the hermit vocation for themselves. More importantly, out of sheer interest there's benefits and blessings in learning the realities as opposed to conjectures of a most beautiful, fascinating, and meaningful life God calls some to live of the mystery of His Church—and for others to adapt aspects of this vocation into their otherwise active life vocations. 

The beauty and depth of the spiritual life, no matter hermit or the many other vocations, the sharing that I prefer and have left off years ago describing what is a Catholic hermit and how to become one (usual questions asked while documenting my anonymous hermit spiritual journey), are the topics of the daily living in the Trinity, of navigating a temporal world of which I increasingly do not belong but of which I am placed by God to love to learn to love as God loves, to fulfill my mission, to write in my instance that of how God is so real and demonstratively yet subtly interacts in our every present moments. 

Moving beyond the relative externals of the structure of a hermit vocation, and delving into the living of life in Christ and His Church, seeking union with the Holy Trinity while also being a praise of God's Glory and living God's Law of Love. These are the sharing that intrigue and inspire us all--at least those who have come to a point of awareness that we are nothing in perspective to the reality of God Is All. 

God bless His Real Presence in us, and love in Christ's Love. 

 Solus Deus Hermitage, 8/2/2023

Catholic Hermit: Silence, Solitude--Some Books

I got up a bit ago and quickly jotted down some books I noted from my bookshelves.  Not all my books are unpacked, and various of the old books have sections in them on topics such as silence and solitude pertaining to hermits, prayer, contemplative and monastic life, and the spiritual life.  I might add to this list when I'm feeling better and have more "standing" endurance with the spinal pain, to look through the titles more carefully.  But here's a start of books which focus mainly on the two topics pertinent to hermits:  silence of solitude.  Formative reading material, all!

At One with God,  Leclerc, Jean-Louis

The Contemplative Life,  Leclerc, Jean-Louis

The Call of Silent Love,  A Carthusian

The Way of Silent Love,   A Carthusian

They Speak By Silences,  A Carthusian

Contemplative Life,  A Carthusian

Where Silence is Praise,  A Carthusian

The Prayer of Love and Silence,  A Carthusian

The Hermitage Within,  A Monk

Listening to Silence,  Lockhart, Bruce

Solitude and Communion:  Papers on the Carthusian Life,  Attchil, ed.

The Interior Life,  Tissot, J.

Thoughts in Solitude,  Merton, Thomas

Catholic Hermit: Memory; Fr. Vincent Explanation

Saw this memory of five years ago.  I had shared with Fr. Vincent the amazing and helpful occurrence with St. John the Baptist back in 1988.  I suppose throughout life, one reflects and tries to grasp the meaning of such visions and locutions--the Hand of God in our lives, the interactions of the Holy Spirit in numinous encounters.

"Fr. Vincent emailed that the miraculous occurrence 25 years ago on the Solemnity of Birth of St. John the Baptist, and other graces I've been given spiritually, that Jesus transfigures into events in our lives (consider the event on Mt. Tabor in which He transfigured before Peter, James and John) so that we will have strength and marvels to consider as the path ahead is going to be very difficult. The more graces, the more we can expect of trials that will require us to cling to the graces. There is a direct correlation, I see."

Other memories are as if it is today and relates to the intractable, chronic pain that the Lord allowed and bestowed nearly 34 years ago.  He needed me more for Himself and to keep me from leaching back out into the world.  I write about pain, I live pain.  It is my constant life companion and the means of my mission and purpose in life: suffering.  Pain is what helps unite me with Christ, my Beloved Spouse.  When I neglect to consider it as such, it becomes merely pain and not salvific nor glorious.

Another memory from five years ago--manual labor, pain [had also written about feeling as if I have the flu but knowing it is the pain causing the effect], and vision and past, simple message from Padre Pio:

"Some trees are not doing well due to my needing a load of compost, and then the strength to shovel and wheelbarrow. I need a shovel since two have been broken by my helpers here. Accidents do happen, and I have broken things sometimes without even knowing how I did. Electrical type stuff. Need to be praying more today. Silence and penance! So said Padre Pio to me many years ago in a vision, unexpectedly appearing. It was among many portents of great suffering ahead in my life."

This morning I awoke exhausted from pain.  Hard to fathom that type of power from pain after a night of sleep!  Yet, it is so, that pain is powerful and thus utilizable for spiritual good if one views it as such and cooperates with Christ in suffering.

Need to work on the newell posts and banister/railing for the stair install.  Man from parish is only available Thursday afternoon to so kindly help me install banister and balusters.  Must remove from saw horses the bathroom door, in process of priming, sanding, painting (two coats, both sides) and haul in the long rail and newell posts from pole barn and begin the finishing processes for these.

Praising and praying--and to simply keep going, to simply keep going.

God bless His Real Presence in us!

Catholic Hermit: More Backlash

This nothing consecrated Catholic hermit has had more backlash through the various levels or rings of my soul.  The devil tries with increasing vigor to up-end the joy and peace of victories won by the Lord, in His graces.  I'm doing many God-pivots:  All glory and honor to God!

Two people have been in contact in the past few days, both females.  Much time and energy, both writing and verbally when I received calls, trying to help with the advice they requested.  Each had to do with communication issues with spouses, some enabling going on in one case, and some fear of speaking of one's inner needs, in another--giving mixed messages, in other words, and then being upset when the spouse did not do as hoped.

I had been praying about my mission, and it is definitely in the spiritual efforts.  So I even mentioned that providing counsel, especially several times, and then some more, of same or similar temporal, relational topics, would be once or twice.  If others do not want to try out the insights or counsel, fine.  But I must focus on spiritual matters, spiritual counsel.

Yes, partly when one counsels in temporal matters, of course the spiritual aspects are flowing, for the spiritual realm is the basis for the temporal.  And I do very much always bring the spiritual into whatever I write or mention, or think within myself.  And so I did this time, especially when the two women reported back that they had tried to make the small steps toward change, on their parts, that would bring improved communication and relationship with their spouses, for in essence, they were each stepping down on the devil by doing so.

Then, with their victories reported, one wrote of terrible backlashes she was facing.  Yes, the devil gets very angry and tries to create fear, confusion, anger, chaos, division, and all things ugly and upsetting. But she was forewarned as to how not to react; and she did not react with upset.  Yes, that shift in her usual reaction to her spouse who tends to control and belittling, caused him to react with yet more than the usual anger.  

Yet still, she knew in advance this might happen and to not react, no matter what.  If anything smile at the situation, knowing who it was behind the whole trick.  But, I did not emphasize to smile inwardly.  So the outward smile caused yet more anger from her spouse; he had expected the usual, to bring her to tears and begging with apologies for really, nothing.

I should have emphasized more clearly to rejoice within, not outwardly, at the success in taking a first step toward altering the cycle of behavior and communication that had worn quite a pathway in their marriage over the years.  And above all, however, to both women, I shared my recent lesson on the God-pivot, for I have had to do that several times since I even realized this good truth and wrote about it!

They are each turning over the victories of their first steps in improving their relationships with their spouses, which will help their spouses, also, to respect them more, honor their wives--they are turning the victories over to God!  Not dwelling on the tricks of the devil nor of the backlashes that can come, nor of the effort itself: they God-pivot, just as I must in what was a backlash to me, personally.

I figure it came from my agreeing to God that I would spend the time and energy in writing and talking with the two women who had contacted me within a day of each other, wanting help and insights on each of their issues.  I kind of felt that maybe I would be spinning my wheels, and that once more, the insights or advice would not necessarily be taken.  Perhaps as a good thing, my own higher pain levels these days (a couple more lung lining nodules appeared on a later scan and the liver pain flares without much provocation), I was more blunt than my usual blunt.  Yes, maybe it is a good thing, for somehow the bluntness got through to each.

Anyway, yesterday late afternoon after a day of mostly on the mattress but still struggling to caulk the window trim and put a few things away in the kitchen cabinets--those that are installed--I noticed something not quite right about the sink base cabinet.  This is the second one ordered, causing a two-month wait with no sink in the hermitage.  Sure enough--the employee at Lowe's had mucked up again!  She had ordered the farm-style sink base this time, but it was particle board, not plywood.  No one with a modicum of sense would ever have particle board cabinets in a kitchen, let alone as the sink base.  Mercy, Lord!

So I had to call and report to the manager, as the employee was not there.  At least he did not argue or comment but cooperatively took down the information, and the proper sink base will be ordered.  Third time is the charm, right?  But I admit that I started to react.  A foul word came to mind, which is, as Jesus points out in Scripture, as bad as verbalizing or doing.  Now it will be another two months for a sink in here.  I thought about my daughter who was going to come lend a hand this month, but said she'd wait until I had a sink....  So she was going to come in August.  Now, what, when?

Of course I immediately, when I saw that particle board edge that showed, that I was being given backlash.  Just that morning I'd sent the priest a short note, thanking him and assuring him of my prayers for his mission with the parish.  (I have more to write about my positive encounter with the priest prior to Mass this Saturday evening last.  Yes, it all went well, and the Mass was glorious!)

I had prayed during the day for various persons and situations, including in the world. I had tried hard to remain positive despite the increased liver pain and the right thumb flaring up again from an old drill whip-lash from December.  I had to accept that the window trim I'd installed was so-so, for I strive to do all for God (omnia pro Deo!), and with uneven studs, not plumb walls, drywall variance, and a slightly bowed trim board on the longest window and most noticeable, the finished look is not as beautiful as I'd like to be gifting to His Real Presence!  But He knows I certainly did my very best under all circumstances, including the heat that causes my bodily tissues to swell and press all the more on damaged nerves.  PAIN!

So, we get backlash, and we must continue to train ourselves to assess it, not react or give our best try at not reacting (I said aloud a couple times in the conversation with the Lowe's manager:  Lord, give me patience to cope another two months without a sink in the place!), and then God-pivot.

Had a night of so much pain that was awakened at 2:30 a.m., had to take a med, knowing I'd run out sooner.  Could not get back to sleep but rested, and with every thought of whatever that had presented as obstacles, including temptation to discouragement, I gave all glory of the victories to God.  Repeatedly, I gave glory to God!

What good am I if I do not practice and learn the lessons given to me that I pass on to others and expect of them to at least try?  

This morning, when I called the daughter to see if they still planned on coming in August, I had to tell her about not having a sink.  Could they cope with that?  She said they can come for two days.  Of course, I was disappointed. It is not just that I can use all the help I can get, but it is that I would love to have them visit a bit longer and worry about the long drive for them, for but two days.  She also said they would sleep in a tent; she did not want to stay in a "haunted house" where some lady is screaming from upstairs....  Well, that is another story for another post.  

I did my best to comment that we must never fear such things; that I had immediately prayed for that soul who had been calling out, and that I most likely would have the hermitage blessed before they get here, regardless.  But still, they want to sleep in a tent.  I can tell that coming here is not the most fun thing on their summer to-do list!  I kind of wish they would not do it, for I never want others to risk being tired and then traveling, or with my daughter, for her arm to get more injured.  Somehow with the pain in my body for all these years, I dread for others to suffer!

Well, enough of this stream of consciousness sharing.  Suffice it to repeat that when we start putting our foot down on the devil, turn to God more and more, try to fulfill our missions as best we can--there will be increasing backlash.  We must NOT shrink back, as St. Paul wrote in Hebrews.  We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and endure!  We must step down all the more regardless of backlash, and all the more pivot all toward God, keeping our thoughts and sights on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith!

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love God above all things and love one another as Jesus loves us!  Love and Mercy!  Humbly persevere!

Catholic Hermit's Living Word Boot-Kick

Yesterday, was good to make the trip to civilization despite the usual, increased pain aftermaths.  It is delightful to interact with others such as the occasional clerk, or the man where I get the black bark mulch.  As a child and into adulthood, this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit had been socialized well by parents who valued a well-rounded personality.  I'm grateful!

I can "shoot the breeze" as readily as not and most often evoke laughter as well as sprinkle some encouragement.  At times, I can also reflect upon suffering or share some lesson spiritual lesson learned in some unexpected way.  So now and then, a short period of immersion into the well-spring of humanity is very good, indeed!  Always, I return to the hermitage with prayer concerns from interactions with mostly strangers.

When I head into civilization ever couple of weeks or longer, the body pays a painful price.  Rarely is the rest of the day or night fruitful with physical efforts.  It is enough to unload the supplies purchased.  Then down on the mattress, and most often I turn to this little window to the world of cyberspace.  Therein I gain more prayer needs from review of news videoclips and headlines, or from an email or two with specific prayer concerns mentioned.

And recently, perhaps ever since I moved to this desert of exile of which circumstances too rough to have my harp uncased, I have gravitated to listening to music on YouTube.  Years ago when studying toward a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, the movement was in full force: the healing qualities of music.  I suppose there is great truth in this (and also gardening is quite healing--soil and plants!).

The fact of the matter, deeper in, is that love is healing.  It is the love within the creativity and expression of musicians with music and the love within the creation of trees and flowers, of food crops and even grass--that has such a healing aspect.  Love heals; God heals.  God Is Love!

This morning I awoke with tough pain.  At one point, the pain became severe, pulsating through the liver area of my right back.  I wondered if I'd be able to ride through the effects or if the episode would flare into the horrific pain episode a few weekends ago, culminating in the EMS trip to ER.  Thankfully, this morning's pain dissipated some; I have been up, moving around,  and am consuming the large cup of Green Glory (fresh greens and fruits, blended for kick-start to the digestive system).

Hosea is the prophet currently in the daily Mass readings rota.  This morning's selection is excellent, but my mind returned to yesterday's.  It struck me then as now:  a boot kick to the seat of my hermit body, heart, mind and spirit!  Yes, I need this in the current juncture point of yet accepting that I am not soon to pass from this temporal realm due to cancer, that I must adapt to greater physical pain, that I am slowed from many manual labor tasks and thus hindered from finishing the hermitage or able to sell it and move on to the next place....

See here, the boot-kick portion of Hosea 10:

"Sow for yourselves justice,
reap the fruit of piety;
break up for yourselves a new field,
for it is time to seek the LORD,
till he come and rain down justice upon you."

Yes, I need this reminder.  I need it as a strong boot-kick, far more powerful than the two glasses of Green Glory with some B-12 and caffeine added.  (Oh, my, what I am blessed with in order to help in any supplemental way the bodily fatigue incumbent with intractable, chronic pain!)

Powerful more than ought else, is the Living Word of God.  More powerful than a double-edged sword, His Living Word eviscerates our thoughts, emotions, memories, interactions including all aspects of our souls within.

Break up for yourselves a new field!  Today I will do that literally and physically if the neighbor lad does remember to come for some work.  We will use a pitchfork and trenching spade to dig the area where a brick path will be laid--the narrow path that few will be on.  It leads from hermitage porch to the front drive, a little-used walkway connecting hermit to the world-at-large!

Reap the fruit of piety!  Well, there must be piety in order for there to be insemination and growth with resultant fruit. Piety: the quality of being religious or reverent; holiness, godliness, saintly.  Well, it does seem that desiring God and striving to think of God above all things, is at least a healthy seed planted, and from there we must keep love of God in Himself the raison d'etre--the cause and purpose of our existence.

Sow for yourselves justice.  This is not so easily attained, we might think.  Justice is that of establishing fairness based on truth and goodness.  But it is not that we are to experience justice in this life.  No, but we are to sow for ourselves, justice.  We are to plant the seeds of justice; we are to prepare a soil rich to promote and inspire justice to grow and thrive in our lives and hopefully in the lives of others.  We are to do the sowing and not expect it to come from others, although it is always a blessing when it does.  What we can control of justice, is the sowing of it in and of ourselves.  That is a gift we are given that we can then share with those around us.  Sowing justice glorifies God.

It is time to seek the LORD!  I need this boot-kick perhaps more than the other aspects, at this moment of the present order of matters.  I need to seek Him right now, and to then get up and break up a new field--field of thought, of feelings, of spirit, of understanding, of love.

The Living Word of God is always His Thoughts, coming from His Mind.  The more we plow up that field, the more our thoughts will be replaced by His.  Perhaps this is the boot-kick needed most, today, and the reassurance of His justice coming in the form of His Wisdom, raining down on and within us.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love one another while break up a new field within us--plowing and sowing His love in our daily lives!

Hermit's Lent Never Dull: Sharp & Painful!

Merciful Heavens!  Allowing God to have full reign in all plans for Lent brings forth the unexpected each day, each hour, each moment.

It has become scorchingly painful for this Nothing Consecrated, Catholic Hermit!  [Am capitalizing each of the previous four words because each has emphasis and totality of meaning, thought, truth that can stand alone.]

It has been so painful that I have not written for awhile.  I have not been able to call the handful of contacts; emotions have been excoriating.  Physical pain has been burning and exhausting.

"The Lord gives, the Lord takes away.  Blessed be the Name of the Lord!"  These words attributed to the prophet Job, with their obvious meaning, I have uttered aloud repeatedly in the silence of solitude in Te Deum Hermitage. And there have been times of great grieving, of sobbing, of calling out to His Real Presence the sorrows of leave-taking and the (faithless) pressure of total unknowns going forward.

He is pruning my branches in ways I had considered in advance; but the pain of adapting and adjusting to the immediate, effective pruning has leveled me as much as physical pain can also reduce.

The son-in-law got a job elsewhere.  He, his wife, their young son will be leaving in two weeks.  The details of the job offer are such that it is more than obvious the Lord has blessed them mightily; and the son-in-law did need a job after four months of his being let go from previous employment.  In that I am praising God for the good fortune and His making clear the path for their move.

However, before this hermit agreed three years ago to move to live closer to them, the conversation took place: What happens if he gets another job?  With giving up so much from whence I came, going to a place where I knew no one and would have increased risks, I felt I needed an answer.  With my health as it is I said I could not follow them around the country; but my vulnerability, also, health-wise, makes it best that I have some contact, some support system. (Or thus, at the time, we agreed.)

The daughter assured they would remain in this area, would apply for jobs in this area.  They had lived here a year and loved it...then.  But things change, and what the Psalmist advises is so very, very true even if our hearts and minds want to think that those closest to us will not renege on promises made. 

 "Trust not in princes, trust not in men; trust only in the Lord Thy God." 

So it has come to pass that they wanted to leave the area after nearly four years, and the bulk of job applications were elsewhere.  When a finger-count of interviews were in this area, the complaint arose from the daughter, "Why is he even applying here when we want to move away?"

Regardless of all the tangibles and temporal aspects, there is NO way that I cannot view the timing, their house selling and closing, the generous conditions of the job offer--as anything less than the blessing of Divine Will.

And that leaves this Nothing Consecrated Catholic Hermit more stripped than ever in its life.  Ever.  And, in the mail came three enveloping disappointments of financial, further demise.  It nearly is too much to bear.  Nearly.

I have no idea how I will fare.  I have been trying to continue on with working on this hermitage, hoping to get it salable before I totally run out of funds or the body gives out.  There is no one I can turn to in the human race.  The bodily pain levels preclude outside employment.  I'm fortunate to be able to do an hour or two or three here and there--but not when the weather shifts, causing worse pain.

I turn to His Living Word.  This morning's first Mass reading from Isaiah offers these truths--impactful, powerful, hopeful, intriguing:

"Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not,
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"

I turn to His Real Presence, the Virgin Mary, my angel Beth, those who love me from the other side.  There is no one else, no place, no remedy of the temporal or tangible, that I know of.  

This afternoon while trying to drywall mud a slanted ceiling, a sloppy glop of mud fell into an opened right eye.  The blinding PAIN!  The painful BURNING!  Tears helped some. By the grace of God I remembered a bottle of water within reach, for the only other water source was down the ladder and into the kitchen (no stairs, yet).   The eye will heal, the effects of drywall mud will wash out over time.  Already I can see a blurry view from it, thankfully so.

It reminds me of Jesus our Lord mixing His spittle with dirt and dabbing it onto the blind man's eyes.  Is He doing likewise with me?  Will I henceforth see more clearly the path ahead, the outer and inner, my soul and the souls of others, His Divine Will, God's Face?

The electrical power here was out for several hours.  But thanks be to God, it has returned before darkness and night's dropping temps.  This is a hermit's desert life: the silence of solitude, the sacrifice of praise amidst a plenitude of penance.  

Lent is progressing for this hermit who definitely did not need to write out any self-conjured plans ahead of time.  There is more than enough present moment penance.  God procures the best and perfect shake-down and take-down, dust to dust, ashes to ashes!

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love God above all things and one another as our selves. God bless Lent!

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!