Catholic Hermit: Advent, a New Year

Blessed New Year to all!  Today is the first day of Advent, the first day of the new liturgical year.  I love to consider that in all matters liturgical and spiritual, we celebrate the beginning of the new year in Christ, on this first Sunday of Advent.

I so need a fresh start, a surge of reassurance from the Lord, the loving embrace of Christ and all in His Body, as we await the celebration of His first coming.  And this is the topic of a commentary of some Advent sermons by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, written some 800 years ago.  St. Bernard describes the first coming of Christ, His birth and years on earth, and His death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension.  

Christ's first coming was to save us from our sins, to teach us the path of righteousness, to love, to repent and forgiveness of sins.  His final coming will be to take us with Him.  Then St. Bernard mentions an additional coming, a coming between the first and last; this coming is one in which He is not seen, as He was first seen and lived on earth and as He will be seen when He returns for us.

As St. Bernard explains further, of Christ's coming a third time, between His life on earth and His final return for us:

"But the one that comes between them is secret; it is that in which the elect alone see the Savior within themselves and their souls find salvation.

"In his first coming, Christ came in our flesh and in our weakness; in his coming in the midst of time, he comes in Spirit and power; in his final coming, he will come in his glory and majesty.  But it is by the strength of the virtues that we attain to glory, as it is written:  'That I may see your power and your glory' (Ps 63[62]:3).  And so the second coming is like a road leading from the first to the last.  In the first, Christ has been our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in his coming between, he is our rest and our consolation."

That Jesus is our rest and consolation, right now, means ever so much to me!  The struggle with greater suffering, consistently, than ever, continues to be an immense challenge.  The worst time is upon waking, as I did yet again early morning, after five hours of sleep.  The body is stripped of pain aid; it takes an hour or more for oral medication to help reduce what seems too much for me to bear.

It is in that hour or more, that my intellect and will must wage battle against despairing thoughts from the memory, images/imagination, emotions, and physical senses.  I get up to retrieve a cup of hot beverage--usually coffee--as hot liquid helps the medication get into the system; yet it still takes ever a long time when pain is involved.  I read the Mass Scriptures for today, and I will myself to pray for various others while waiting.

This morning, again, I thought of the documentary I watched of the hermit monks and priests on Mt. Athos.  They are there now, these hermits and religious monks.  One of them commented in the documentary--living along in his hermit hut and carving wood religious objects--that a hermit must keep custody over thoughts in order to endure and avoid depression.

Living in silence of solitude is not easy no matter how old the hermit or how long one has lived the hermit vocation. Situations arise that make the spiritual life more challenging for anyone; and suffering pain and illness certainly make solitary life difficult.  There is not the extent of manual labor that can help distract or provide relief.  Pain fatigues; pain makes functioning difficult; pain vies for space in the mind, and reading becomes a chore in comprehension.

Yet always the Lord reaches in at the moment we seem to need Him most.  I had an unexpected text message in the early morning from one of the adult children, answering a comment, not even a question, I'd spontaneously texted yesterday.  Then came another text from another of the adult children, giving me a couple better ideas for gifts for grandchild.  All seemed so silly, now simplified; I realized not having the nausea added to the pain, thus far today, makes such matters light and even laughable.

Then with the medication finally taking effect, sleep mercifully gave another four hours of rest and a dream also reminding me of some other concern and putting that concern in gentle, even light-hearted loving, dispensation.

Snow sifts from the white-gray sky; the tiny pond's surface frozen and blanketed.  Reading the commentary, a conjoining of thoughts from two of his Advent sermons, soothes while awaiting, again, some pain relief from second dose of medication of this First Sunday of Advent.  I especially love the reality of Christ's third coming--or in between coming--in which we find Him always with us, unseen but present:  His Real Presence in our hearts as we also abide in His Heart.

Today, December 1, is also the commemoration of Bl. Charles de Foucald of Jesus, hermit and martyr.  He was shot on this day in his hermitage in the Sahara by Muslim insurgents who thought he was somehow trafficking guns for the French soldiers fighting in the Saharan desert, 1916, during World War I.  On this day, 103 years ago, Bl. Charles of Jesus had been forewarned of his death by the Holy Spirit of His Real Presence, in the silence of solitude.  

Christ was always present in Bl. Charles, and Charles knew the Lord in hidden reality, abiding within day and night.  I know this reality, as well, even if the level of pain and suffering can cause distraction of a depleting form; despair can threaten faith as well as strength of will and intellect with which we are to keep custody over dark thoughts.

The Second Reading of Mass, this First Sunday of Advent, in this first day of a new Church year, attests to the armor of God and of the light of Christ's coming, of His Real Presence with us, in us.  "Throw off the works of darkness, put on the armor of light" (Rm 13: 13).  "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rm 13: 14a).  

And in the Gospel of St, Matthew, 27:44, Christ's Living Word (always present for us in our earthly lives) exhorts us. " So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." 

I shall get up and dress, then light a candle of whatever color of candles unpacked, if purple or lavender so much the more delightful.  I will see how the lumbar pain manages, if the arachnoiditis not provoking nausea, and then use up some pumpkin puree in whatever baked effort.  Then, at some point today, will also strive to make the cauliflower chickpea soup, of which an adult child member so thoughtfully sent the recipe; I have all the ingredients on hand.  

This consecrated Catholic hermit must keep going, simply keep going.  Praise God for all the many blessings, the warm hermitage Solus Deus, the solemnly serene, snow-silent view out the back, provisions to create simple yet healthy food for the next few days, perhaps a bundling up and going out for a walk if sidewalks not slick.  Otherwise, up and down the stairs for exercise, and using the stretch bands for upper back muscles.

I cannot give up until the Lord makes it clear in His Real Presence in life situation, to relinquish physical efforts necessary to simply keep going physically and spiritually.  With Christ in us, we are assured that nothing must hinder our spiritual efforts.  Simply keep going.  God is always with us, and we can always be in Him in the silence and unseen faith of His Real Presence, until He comes and is visible to us, taking us with Him at the end of our earthly sojourn.

God bless His Real Presence in us!

Catholic Hermit Been Under Assault

Sorry I've not written consistently, for awhile.  Loads of stuff occurring here in the hermitage, and not fun stuff, either.  Trying to keep with prayer and hanging on through some severe physical suffering.  On a mission, of sorts, and will write hopefully in a few days.

For now, though, I noticed this and found it excellent:

Catholic Hermit in Spiritual Warfare

The more I pray on the final injustice over these ridiculous kitchen cabinets, countertops, sink, appliances--the more the clarity of spiritual warfare comes to the fore.

This is a major purpose of my existence not just as a Christian, not just as a Catholic and consecrated hermit, but also as a mystic.  My work is for that of souls--not tangibles.  Yet it is in the daily life and encounters that the souls come forth.  It is nothing new.

And my work is to pray for the souls who have chosen lies, ugliness, injustice, immorality, unethical practices.  

I have put on the armor of God.  Times past have come to mind in which I was called upon to do battle for some souls in deep trouble.  Sometimes it concluded with conversions; other times some have been plucked out of situations and also in a vivid instance, from this temporal world.

I'd rather pray for the conversions of souls, as that seems to us a victory more than the plucking out.  However, in God's view, being plucked out can be loving mercy for some souls who otherwise would damn themselves.  Better time spent in purgatory than eternity in hell.

So, tomorrow I will go into that Lowe's and pray with the power of the Holy Spirit, and beg the Lord to cast the evil from the place.  I will do this silently, of course. I will have my blessed crucifix which was a miraculous gift from the Lord in marvelous circumstances, 13 years ago.  I will have the cross burned and now a scar on my chest, and the crucifix Jesus Himself placed in my heart, back in September of 1999, early one morning as I lay in bed.

May the Lord bring about justice, yes, and vindicate me.  But of course, far more important is my plea that these souls who have chosen wrong-doing, be converted and saved.  That is what matters.  That is my work here on earth, and that is the reason I had the "chance" of walking into that store over three years ago, and met the cabinet employee who from that point on, as well as his successor, caused such unbelievable hassle and ordeal.

I have suffered much from such ridiculous encounters and ordeals over simply and ludicrously: cabinets from Lowe's!  As for the temporal aspects, we are just about at the end of the race.  One good manager has corrected the bulk; just two more errors to be corrected.  Still, I may end up having to figure out how to pay for them myself, at least in the short run, depending upon what transpires with the final person to whom I can appeal before going to corporate.

However, yes, the whole point of all this struggle is to implore the Lord, to suffer, to desire with all my heart, the conversion of the very few employees--really just four out of a store full--whose souls are in need of cleansing with God's grace, mercy, and love.

I can do this, yes.  I will try my very best in spiritual warfare, fighting for the two employees and the manager and the assistant manager who lied to me three times and tried to cheat me of $900.  The good manager will be back, and even if he somehow errs in this, none of it matters but souls.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  We fight evil with the power of God's love and mercy!

And the Violent Bear It Away

This Scripture from Matthew 11 was selected by the late author Flannery O'Conner as the title to her only novel.  (She is known for her profound short stories, mostly.)

Reviewing and pondering what Jesus meant in His words, brings up the aspect of extremism.

Knowing Jesus Christ, following Jesus Christ, and being united in Jesus Christ are extreme measures in living and existing, without and within.

Yet, in this Advent season, we are reminded of the extremism of Jesus, the extremism of the conditions of His coming to earth, the extremism of how Mary conceived and bore a Child Who would be a contradiction to the "world" and yet be its Savior.

In our world today, and in so many souls, there is the extremism of secularism, of paganism, of anti-Christianity--not just atheism and agnosticism.  There is what is dubbed the "War on Christmas", and when we take a look at the world-at-large and the people in it, even those within Christian churches, we find a ebbing of passion, a weakening and lessening of those who, like John the Baptist, are willing to do anything at all for Jesus Christ, even to admit we are Christians or to show it by our love.

The violent (or violence) will bear it away.  Those with extreme love and devotion, with extreme passion for Jesus Christ, will be, as have always been, the ones to live and die for love of Christ.  It takes a willingness to desire all in His Real Presence that will bear away the darkness, that will confound the evil, that will raise up Jesus's merciful love over those whose love has been distorted in and by the darkness of secularism.

Extreme love for Jesus Christ means violating our fears of what others think, or of losing our temporal securities.  It means to love beyond all measure, His Real Presence, and to bear all in our lives in faith in God's goodness and supremacy over evil.  It means that we in whatever small ways daily and nightly, embrace the extreme and passionate efforts within ourselves, to conquer whatever hinders us from overcoming our hesitations, our resistances to His mercy and love.

Let us not fear the extremism of what it means to violently bear Christianity and conquer sin, beginning within our own beings.  Extreme love knows no bounds and yet can bear away darkness soundlessly and invisibly in addition to being seen and known, depending upon the conflict.  Yet at times we may be called upon to take more visible action, to let the Light shine, to be expressly fearless in Christ.

Put on the armor of Christmas!  Let the reality of God with us, God in us, and us in God, is extreme love, violent--passionate--faith, hope, and love that overcomes all opposition from sins outer and inner.  Let Christ in us and us in Him, live love and light over darkness and death.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, love one another, just as He loves us, extremely, birthing and bearing love in order to conquer darkness and death.