Be A Little Crazy A Spiritual Exercise

If the world is sane, then Jesus is mad as a hatter and the Last Supper is the Mad Tea Party. The world says, “Mind your own business”, and Jesus says, “There is no such thing as your own business”. The world says, “Follow the wisest course and be a success”, and Jesus says, “Follow me and be crucified”. The world says, “Drive carefully – the life you save may be your own”, and Jesus says, “Whoever would save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it”. The world says, “Law and order”, and Jesus says, “Love”. The world says, “Get”, and Jesus says, “Give”. In terms of the world’s sanity, Jesus is crazy as a coot and anybody who thinks they can follow Him without being a little crazy too is laboring less under a cross than under a delusion.

Frederick Buechner "Listening to Your Life"

Pause and reflect upon what Jesus has to tell you. Which of the above sayings do you most need to hear?

Reread the Biblical accounts of Jesus’ Last Supper and Crucifixion. Then identify with those involved in the events using the phrase, “I am”. Here are some examples:

· I am frightened of change, just like the Temple priests.
· I am confused when things do not go as I expect them to, just like the Apostles.
· I am worried when my power is challenged, just like the Roman authorities.
· I am a betrayer, just like Judas.
· I am full of sorrow over the losses in my life, just like the two Marys.

Consider these aspects of Jesus’ experience:

· I know what it is like to have to say goodbye as death nears, just like Jesus does at the

Last Supper.

· I know what it is like to be different, to be misunderstood, and to feel rejected.
· I have been tempted to just give up and give in but instead I have shouldered my

responsiblities.

· I have known the different kinds of suffering Jesus goes through on the cross:

physical pain, mental anguish, and even for a moment, mental anguish.

· I aspire to have the courage and the trust in God that Jesus demonstrates during his

final days on earth.

So how does one open their heart anyway? Usually it gets broken open through some experience of their own or an empathetic identification with another’s experiences. Jesus hanging upon the cross has the ability to break your heart; he can break it wide open and shatter it. I believe no one can gaze upon that crucified, broken and bloodied body, that utterly exhausted and completely innocent little man hanging on a tree of shame without having an experience of total compassion and sorrow. Try it and see for yourself!

WHO OR WHAT ARE THE ANAWIM?

Who Are the Anawim?

By Lee Ellis

Anawim is the plural form of an Old Testament Hebrew word which is variously translated as "poor", "afflicted", "humble", or "meek". It is the Anawim, "the lost and the forgotten ones", to whom Jesus refers in his beautiful beatitudes on The Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven", and "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth". ( Mt5:3,5) What a revolutionary thought: God loves everyone!

In a wonderful foreshadowing of these blessings, the prophet Zephaniah (Zeph 2:3, 3:12-19) relays God's message that, even in the worst of times there will remain " a faithful remnant" in our midst. God's Remnant then, are the people who find their security and treasures, not in the trappings of the material world, but in God. This faithful remnant, the Anawim, guarantees the future survival of all God's people, by containing within themselves the very keys to the kingdom itself. For is it not in how we treat and welcome the Stranger at the Gate, "the least of these", which truly bring us into the very meaning and heart of The Cosmic Christ: "Love One Another".

In both The Great Commandment, and throughout Matthew 25, we are commanded by Jesus to aid our neighbors - to constantly strive to redress the grievances of those who are abandoned or alone, alienated and marginalized, to protect the dignity of the poor and to stand with the oppressed as they attempt to become free of that which oppresses them. Christ emptied himself and became poor, so that we might become rich. Jesus constantly ministered to the poor and the sick, to the outcasts of society.

Certainly to any of God's children who feel marginalized this promise holds special comfort. "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you".( Mt.5:11-12)

In some deep and profound sense, however, the Anawim actually includes all the people of God. For have we not all at times been considered empty, questioning, oppressed or lonely? Whether we are rich or poor, living in palaces or in the streets, healthy or ill, religious or not, we are all humbled in the living presence of God.

Sister Maria Buchard, of the Marionist sisters says it beautifully: "The poor show me my poverty. They symbolize for me who I am before God. They show me that all of us are the Anawim, that we are all totally dependant on the loving mercy and kindness of God."

This then is the message of The Anawim: Even in our poverty and oppression, we are joyfully in the hands of our loving Father/Mother God. As a child will leap off a precipice into the awaiting arms of it's loving Parent, so do the Anawim trust in the promise of God; " I will be with you always".

The secret of The Anawim is that God lives in all His/Her people. Jesus' blessings in the beatitudes confirms this joyful news, turning the old expectations upside down, like the moneychangers' tables in the HolyTemple. Jesus extends blessings on even the lowliest outcasts of society. He tells us not to be victims. Knowing that we are already blessed allows us to turn the other cheek with grace and dignity. We stop being victims and claim our place at the table as the prophets of the Kingdom. As you do to me, so you do to The Christ. It is a joyful mission indeed to bring such good news to the world. The choice to return good actions for evil is truly the mark of those whose very lives bears witness to that ancient truth: Love One Another, for we are all, indeed, Blessed!

The Truth

A Reflection on Acts 20:17-27 and John 17:1-11a


17From Miletus Paul had the presbyters of the Church at Ephesus summoned. 18When they came to him, he addressed them, “You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia. 19I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews, 20and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes. 21I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus. 22But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, 23except that in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. 24Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace. 25“But now I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again. 26And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, 27for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.”
(Acts 20:17-27)

1Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, 2just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. 3Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. 4I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. 5Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. 6“I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, 8because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. 9I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, 10and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. 11a And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.” (John 17:1-11a)


"Never did I shrink from telling you what was for your own good.... I take the blame for no one's conscience, for I have never shrunk from announcing to you God's design in its entirety" — the words of St. Paul to his spiritual children in Ephesus as he neared the end of his life. "I have made your name known to those you gave me out of the world.... I entrusted to them the message you entrusted to me" — the words of Jesus to the Father as he neared the end of his life.

Will you be able to say the same thing at the end of your life?

To a certain degree, Terry A. Modica is correct that we live today in a very “polite society” in that we often will hide the truth from others for the sake of being “nice”. We often allow others to violate the truth for the sake of being “politically correct” or at least not to “rock the boat”. But Jesus came specifically to rock the boat. He was not always polite and He certainly was not a politically correct type of person. He gave us the Holy Spirit so that we could be His true witnesses to the Eternal Truth, not humanity’s weak version it. We, His true and faithful followers, were given the sacred task to be witnesses for the Father’s Truth to all peoples, in all places, throughout all ages sometimes by words but always through actions in the Holy way in which we live. We were charged to be bold, visible, and confident messengers

As devout followers of Jesus, we must ask ourselves whether we really want him to be our Lord and teacher. Do we really want to imitate him? Do we really want to be faithful followers of this Rabbi from Nazareth?

We teach others His Way through how we live our lives. Our conduct speaks much louder than our words and it is usually a far more reliable measure of our beliefs. Modica asks, “How many times have we noticed coworkers struggling with a problem and we've not asked if we could pray for them? When did we see a stranger in the pew next to us at Mass who seemed unhappy and we didn't reach out to show that we cared? How many times have we heard someone quote Jesus inaccurately or misrepresent His teachings and held our tongues, looked away sheepishly, afraid to confront their ignorance with the Truth because we were too shy or timid, too lazy and couldn’t be bothered, or felt it just wasn’t important enough to engage in what might well become an argument, especially if the person(s) involved are family or friends, co-workers or bosses?

Every day we encounter opportunities to evangelize; sometimes they are hostile confrontations, most often they are not. The true acolyte or follower of Jesus Christ keeps an eye out for such opportunities. Modica has a very useful suggestion to help us develop the awareness necessary to spot the opportunities because if you can’t do that successfully, everyday golden opportunities will slip on by. I personally believe natural opportunities that pop up during conversation or joint observation of an act or news story make the best teaching moments because they don’t seem nor usually sound preachy which puts a lot of people automatically on the defensive. Modica suggests that as we watch for these opportunities, count them and at the end of day, write them down in a notebook. Place a ‘plus’ by each incident in which you made an effort to give witness to Christ and a minus next to the ones you forgot or held back on. Then ask the Holy Spirit to help you improve tomorrow. With His help, you will become a better teacher, preacher, and witness to the Way of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

‘Ani’ of the Anawim Hermitage

Grief Becomes Joy

A Reflection on John 16:20-23

Jesus said to his disciples:
20 “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world
rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. 21When a woman
is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she
has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her
joy that a child has been born into the world. 22So you are also now in
anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice and no one
will take your joy away from you. 23On that day you will not question me
about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father
in my name he will give you." (John 16:20-23)

At the time of His Ascension, Jesus warned us that we, His followers, who are not part of the everyday world despite having to live in it, will “weep and mourn” while those who do belong to this world will rejoice in the sins that cause problems which result in human suffering. He said that life will be hard for us and yet, despite all that, our grief will turn to joy (a rather frequent image invoked throughout both Testaments). Jesus used an analogy comparing a woman’s labor pains with circumstances His followers must endure: that despite the pain of suffering in life, His believers will reap rewards both new and wonderful. How does transformation occur? Through prayer; for as Jesus promised, “I assure you, whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you”.

“Hmmm, is that so?” you may be asking. How many times have you followed this advice only to have your sufferings continue or maybe actually get worse? This is a perplexing circumstance that is not at all uncommon. It seems to me this may well be one issue which frequently turns believers into non-believers. It is a terrible dilemma, perhaps the most effective weapon in Satan’s arsenal for creating enmity between the Creator and His created. A frequent related perplexity is the ubiquitous question, “Why does God allow suffering?”, a topic all its own and which will be addressed another time.

On a personal note, I have endured a little more than two decades of incredible disappointments, heartbreaks, and gut-wrenching pain – both physical and emotional. Each and every situation was, I thought, thoroughly covered in prayer, lots and lots of prayer through my own efforts and those of prayer partners, prayer groups, and the prayers of clergy and vowed religious. None of it helped. At least none of it helped in the way I wanted the situations to be resolved. Worst of all, had God done what I had asked from the beginning, some further complications would never have occurred. A lot of the pain and suffering could have been avoided. Or could it?

All I can judge success or failure by is whatever path I had in mind and whether or not I got to travel it; I cannot be aware of all the possible other paths I could have taken at those times since I am not omniscient. Only God is and clearly, he saw another path that would actually be better for me, even though I would have to endure great suffering while walking along His way. But remember what Jesus said, the pain His servants suffer on His behalf will be rewarded and that reward will be unimaginable joy. Of course some the paths I hoped to follow I didn’t really see as having anything to do with His plan for me; I couldn’t see any reason God would be interested whether I had to teach summer school or not for instance. At the time, up close and personal, I could not see the forest for the trees. But it was part of His plan, perhaps one of the smaller parts but a part just the same which I see now that, in hindsight, I can step back and view the larger picture.

Paul’s writings remind us constantly that “the life of a servant of God is never easy and certainly not safe”, as Terry A. Modica says. Apparently, from God’s point of view, easy living for Paul was not to be for a reason known only to God. Paul’s sufferings somehow galvanized his ministry thereby insuring it would continue, no matter what. And it does, to this day. Would that have happened if God had gone easier on Paul? We’ll never know because Paul chose to have faith in God’s way and obeyed, although I’m willing to bet God knows.

The point being made is that nothing can permanently interfere with God’s plans and purposes. Just because the end to our suffering may be delayed, that is no proof Evil is triumphing over Good. Disappointed Christians frequently become disaffected Christians because of their perception that God is absent or uncaring during our times of darkness and suffering. St Therese of Lisieux spoke at length of this as did St John of the Cross. The truth is God allows Evil to exist for His own good reasons although he does use angels and demons both, good times and bad, to bring salvation to millions. This is amply demonstrated by the events of Good Friday wherein Satan thought he had defeated Jesus, as did the condemning Jewish authorities, only to be resoundingly defeated forevermore. The comforting fact for us is the realization that in the end, Good triumphs over Evil - always does, always will. So if we take away from the Good Friday events the proper lesson to be learned, we will always know with unshakeable confidence that unless we refuse the salvation offered us through Christ, no matter how dark and bleak our lives may seem, God will always have our backs; we need never worry and that is a joy beyond all joys! Unfortunately, it is easy to say yet difficult to remember in times of fear and desperation.

My own experiences over the course of the past 20 or so years prove this point amply. Looking back, I now recognize I passed through what St John of the Cross referred to as the Dark Night of Faith. To some extent I may still be experiencing the Dark Night of the Soul, a frequent companion or extension of that of Faith, although I see far more daylight now than darkness. But for a long time my world was immersed in inky darkness and the root cause for this was my lack of faith in God, believing that He had a plan for me which the Holy Spirit would guide me through with Jesus as my comforting companion. It was alright for me to be upset over the events that were taking place and to feel sad, even mad. However what I lacked was the confidence that God knew what He was doing. Had I just had that confidence and trust, which is the essence of belief, turning it all over to Him with the sure knowledge that He knew exactly what He was doing and all would turn out okay in the end, I could have saved myself so much misery. My resistance and lack of faith only served to increase my suffering a thousand fold as I asked over and over again, “Why me Lord, why this?”.

So whether you understand or not what is happening and why, believe that God is guiding your life in the direction He believes is best. Realizing this truth and that He is in fact listening and answering your prayers is your release from worry, one root of all suffering. His path may not be what you had expected nor what you had thought was best yet the sure confidence that He knows a whole lot more than you and sees a whole lot more than you, needs to be your comfort that all those labor pains will bring about something far more wonderful than you could ever imagine on your own. As you await the birth of that which is to come, you would be well advised to prepare yourself by learning all you can from this present moment, the transformative NOW I spoke of in the previous post.

Trust God and love Him with all your heart in the sure belief your Father has not abandoned you nor has he turned a deaf ear to your pleas. Be confident that your life is unfolding just as it should according to God’s unique plan for you. In other words, though it may not be rational, have faith and be comforted by it!

Carpe Diem: The Power of Now!

Reflection on James 4:13-17

13 Well now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow, we are off to this or that town; we are going to spend a year there, trading, and make some money.' 14 You never know what will happen tomorrow: you are no more than a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears. 15 Instead of this, you should say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we shall still be alive to do this or that.' (James 4:13-15)

How often do we hear this in church? We are constantly reminded that there is no time other than the “Now”. A very Buddhist concept and yet, so true regardless of one’s religious persuasion. In fact, it doesn’t even matter whether you are an atheist; the truth of it endures nonetheless. So what do we do, where do we proceed from this realization? Does this mean the past has no meaning? Of course not! If nothing else, the past has served as a proving ground of sorts for all kinds of false beliefs, attitudes, and actions. The prudent individual looks to the past for lessons learned. Life proceeds at a break-neck pace and one rarely has the opportunity to stop to reflect on events and choices we made in response to that moment. Sometimes those choices were correct; often times they were not. We only learn which they were through reflection. So it is useful, nay necessary, for us to spend some time reflecting on the past. There is a great difference however between reflecting upon the past and living in the past.

It is all well and good to look at the past and decide it was a better time in which to live. I find myself frequently coming to that conclusion myself, although the utility of the whole exercise is certainly suspect. If one is going to spend time reflecting on the past only to wind up drawing such a conclusion, the vital question that makes it all a useful exercise would be, why? The answers lie in the lessons learned as they relate to today. It is not a useless exercise to look to the past for life lessons. The danger lies in refusing to leave the past and deal with the present. A second danger is to romanticize the past and ignore the downside of life then. This is dangerous simply because the past no longer exists, it does not represent the circumstances one must contend with and confront in the daily life of the here and now. And let’s face it; our memories tend not to be unprejudiced and all inclusive. Rather they are selective, either favorably or otherwise, depending upon our emotional response to the particular time period or our experiences during that time. For some the 1960s represent a halcyon time of flower children, love and peace, sunny days of beach and surf, wide-eyed innocence and on and on: a veritable idyll. For others the memories are of a terrible war, governmental betrayal, racial unrest, young lives tragically cut short due to assassination, drugs and the crime that accompanies them, addiction and a loss of innocence. It all depends upon which events one relates to or one’s own personal experiences and emotional reactions to their memories.

The point is the past is done, it’s over. Oh it serves a purpose, warm fuzzy memories of times and people long gone. We can reflect back and learn from our mistakes and therefore make better choices and decisions in the future. Our past accomplishments are sand castles on the beach of life wiped out by the relentless march of the waves of time. And the future, who knows what it will bring? All of our dreams are like castles in the sky, with no sure base in reality. Much of the time we are tied to the past through wounds we feel others, or even we ourselves, have inflicted upon us and the romanticism of the glory years reflect our displeasure with our present circumstances. In either case, we need to learn forgiveness. We need to forgive those whom we believe hurt us or slighted us in some way, small or large, a hurt or hurts we carry with us as constant companions into all our todays. Our unhappiness with our present situation often revolves around feelings of regret and dissatisfaction with ourselves and therefore forgiving ourselves is often just as necessary, though at times much harder to accomplish. Ultimately, the point is that if we are not living in the now, we are living in the never – the past is gone and the future never comes.

How do we let go either of the past or the future? The answer, quite simply, is to trust in the Lord. We hear many times over, throughout the Gospels, that Jesus heals; all we have to do is to turn to Him and give our hurts and anger and disappointments over to Him and trust that He will heal us because of His infinite love for us. What about the future and all our fears and uncertainties, the anxieties and worries that bedevil us? James gives us the answer to that question: If the Lord wills it, we will live to do this or that. God controls the future, not us.

But I think the real pearl of wisdom in this short passage from James is the observation we are no more than a mist, a puff of smoke that appears for a little while and then disappears (James 4:14). Wow! If that’s not an ego-buster, I don’t know what is! No one can reflect on that and fail to be humbled by it. The gist of his statement is that the existence of any given human being is no more noteworthy than that of the tiniest ant on this earth. Therefore it follows that the present moment in any given human’s lifetime amounts to nothing more than a stepping stone between a past moment and a future one. It is important to understand that that present is not the future; it is merely one step out of a countless number of steps, each of which leads into another future step. As a consequence, it does not matter what you have done in the past, once you have taken steps to secure forgiveness for things that you did wrong. Nor does it matter what you will do in the future, as that future may never come to be. What matters is the present moment and what you do in that present moment. Are you making the most of every moment? Are you praising God, honoring God? Are you making the most of every now moment and will what you do make a difference in eternity? This single moment is the only one we have any real control over.

If we see ourselves as the puff of smoke James speaks of, then we realize just how important it is to do all God wants us, command us, to do in every now moment. Only a fool waits. I have often used the image of the Fates in Homer’s "The Odyssey" spinning a person’s future (fate) as a single, fragile thread that can so easily be cut in two with a scissors – an effortless snip! life ends – a snap of the fingers! and it’s over. Seen in this way, we realize how important it is not to waste precious moments in acts of ungodliness or unhealthy mental thoughts and attitudes. We cannot afford to wait another day to get ourselves right with God through an act of contrition and penance, participation in confession or the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or to speak with a spiritual advisor/director/friend – your anamchara of the ancient pre-Roman orthodox Celtic Church. Just as important as getting ourselves right with God, it is equally important that we reveal God’s love to others as well.

Procrastination, ‘putting off until tomorrow that which can be done today’, is numbered among the seven deadly sins as sloth, laziness, and it is one of the deadliest – literally! A mortal sin is one which destroys the soul and apathy, doing nothing when action is necessary, is a horrible weapon of the Enemy. Procrastination, sloth, apathy, laziness, fear literally paralyzes us, delays us from stepping into our vocation and most importantly, creates in us a reluctance to repent! Not only are we unwilling to admit we’ve done anything wrong; we are unwilling to change behaviors we know are contrary to God’s Law. We may claim that what we are doing or saying or believing is what everyone else does or says or believes. We may excuse ourselves with the argument that whatever we are doing isn’t all that bad. The worst however is the arrogant and totally unfounded conviction that regardless of what I do or say or think, Jesus loves me anyway. That part is certainly true but what is a total and complete lie is the implication that this means He will forgive anything I do or say or think because He is pure Love. All the responsibility is on Him and we owe Him nothing at all. None of us, as adults, would ever accept such logic as that from a child. We would agree I think that a child is responsible for their own behavior and, though we may love them it would be irresponsible for us not to punish any willful wrongdoing or rule breaking with specific consequences. Why should we expect anything less from our Father in Heaven toward us, His children? But these folks don’t and as a consequence, they refuse to assume responsibility for their own actions.

All of this procrastination shuts us off from what God wants us to do NOW. In this way, we allow the Enemy to keep us from experiencing and enjoying God’s love, friendship, and the joy of accomplishing whatever purpose(s) He has set for us. St. James said quite clearly, “When one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin” (Js 4:17). What’s not to understand? Sin cannot be redeemed any other way than by the sinner ceasing the action or thought that causes it NOW and by seeking reconciliation with God through genuine sorrow, regret, and a sincere promise NOW to never commit it again. When we have offended Jesus, we owe Him a heartfelt apology and we must have the confidence of faith to believe He will forgive so we can once more move forward to our next moment together. The question for you is this: What is He asking of you right now?

The Diocesan Hermit

Not all religious hermits are associated with religious communities. It is possible for an individual to take vows and be a consecrated diocesan hermit, something I will talk about from time to time as I ponder over whether this is the path I am meant to follow. To start us off, I found this brief but highly informative article by Therese Ivers:

The Consecrated Diocesan Hermit

by Therese Ivers

A consecrated hermit is an individual who has made public vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the hands of his bishop and lives them according to a rule of life approved by that bishop. The “diocesan hermit” and “consecrated hermit” lives a seclusive lifestyle and vocations to this form of consecrated life are rare. In this article, a hermit is male. However, most of what is written of male hermits applies equally to female hermitesses.

Life of Solitude

Each hermit lives in solitude. Social interaction is strictly limited because a hermit finds his vocation in the contemplation of divine things away from the tumult of the world. Consecrated hermits who are not ordained often attend Mass in the local parish. They may also be seen grocery shopping and running necessary errands. The degree of solitude and the manner of observing it is spelled out in their own rule of life, which may differ from hermit to hermit. Hermits may also live in “community” in hermitages built on the same property. They meet for common exercises such as Holy Mass.

Public Vows and Rule of Life

To become a diocesan hermit, an individual must normally live for some time under a rule of life. The hermit normally submits this rule to his bishop for approval. If the bishop discerns that a hermit who has been steadily living a balanced rule of life and observing the evangelical counsels should be admitted as a diocesan hermit, the hermit enters the consecrated state by making his profession at the hands of this bishop.

Desert Fathers

The desert fathers were the first known hermits. They lived in solitude either in “cells” or “hermitages” spread out far and few between or in clusters. Eventually many of the hermit clusters evolved into monastic groups. Some orders today preserve their eremetic roots. Carthusians, Camaldelese, Carmelites, and others were heavily influenced by the ermetic lifestyle. While over the centuries members of religious institutes could sometimes receive permission to become hermits, those who are not members of religious institutes are able under canon 603 to become diocesan hermits.

Vocational Discernment

If you are discerning a vocation to become a consecrated hermit, your first step should be to consult your spiritual director. You may also want to consult your diocesan office for vocations and perhaps the bishop himself.

Hermits and the Worldly

The typical image of the hermit is of a half-crazed old wo-man sitting in a cave in some lonely, desolate mountain range or desert totally isolated from all human life. Those of us who actually pursue the eremetical life know better than that of course. But how attached (or detached) ought we be from the world?

My question really is: Do you, as hermits, take it upon yourselves in quiet ways, whether through print or internet, to learn about particular suffering and particular realities around the world? What I mean by “take it upon yourself” is whether you truly take up His Cross upon your shoulders, making a given suffering your suffering. Imagine for instance places such as Darfur, Burma (Myanmar), China, Tibet, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, or issues surrounding refugees, hunger, dispossession, war, famine, abuse. Holding these realities in one’s heart and in one’s prayer becomes not only solidarity with those who are suffering, but represents a sort of noble suffering in itself – to carry about such hurting sorrows as though they are your own.

After all, no one requires prayerful recluses who are living in holy separation from the world to learn about or even be aware of the horrors of our everyday world. And yet what greater purpose could religious hermits serve? Yes, of course their prayers are the major line of defense against the evils of hell but could their efforts not be more effective if specifically targeted to an issue or a place of exceptional evil? I wonder. There is a carmel in Indianapolis in which the sisters do just that, they pray the headlines. Visit them at http://www.praythenews.com/.