Returning to "i am a little church" as a Source of Contemplation

 Dear Sister Laurel, many thanks for putting up e e cummings i am a little church!! I have been thinking about the imagery and how well it fits a hermit. I don't live out in the country or near mountains but as a hermit, I think I understand what e e cummings was saying --- even if he was not writing about hermits himself. For example, I love the line about the perfect patience of mountains or "winter by spring i lift my diminutive spire to/ merciful him Whose only now is forever!! They are images of eremitical life!! Does that make sense?? What are your favorite lines?

Oh yes! It makes wonderful sense! Thanks for sharing. I agree with you completely and love the entire poem. All of the lines have struck me profoundly at one time or another. Right now, because of work I am doing in direction it is, perhaps, the last line that has resonated within me most this past week  ---(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness). What I am coming to know deeply is that there is a profound rhythm to human growth and while I love God's light I am coming more and more to trust the darkness as well, because (as Bonhoeffer says) while not everything is the will of God, nothing is outside the will of God, and God does indeed bring light out of darkness and even evil can become the source of grace. And sometimes, of course, the darkness is our own, for many different reasons. We cannot know the whole plan of God in our lives, and sometimes we see light whereas other times we only see darkness. The ability to stand tall in both is surely a grace of genuine humility; for me this line encapsulates the very goal, not only of spiritual direction, but of spiritual life as a whole.

The other piece of this poem, that I think fits eremitical life very well is the following verse: around me surges a miracle of unceasing/birth and glory and death and resurrection:/over my sleeping self float flaming symbols/of hope,and i wake to a perfect patience of mountains. Because of Peter Damian's cosmology I am reminded that contemporary theologians and spiritual writers remind us we are made of "star stuff". Each hermit carries within herself that miracle of unceasing birth and death and find echoed within us the flaming symbols, the stars, that cummings envisions floating above us as we sleep (or pray). And each day is a new opportunity to share in the amazing life and dynamism of life with and in God who creates, sustains, and recreates us every single day by minute by second by nanosecond. I do not have the perfect patience of mountains, but they certainly speak to me of this call. Especially, I recognize that the rhythm of monastic and eremitical life helps situate us with the deeper rhythms of the cosmos and helps us hope in God despite the "smaller rhythms" that make us fear change. That, it seems to me, is the source of perfect patience.

Anyway, I love this poem and and the way it reflects on the mysteries of life. Almost any line speaks to me of God and eremitical life, of finding ourselves witnessing to the larger perspective of eternity and the ultimate security we share because of life in God. The verse I therefore come back to often is this one: i am a little church(far from the frantic/ world with its rapture and anguish)at peace with nature/ -i do not worry if longer nights grow longest;/i am not sorry when silence becomes singing. I found it spoke to me when I was younger and it speaks to me now in a different way when I am older. I always found silence culminating in singing, whether that was the way Office was chanted well because it grew out of silence, because of the way the rests in a line of sound create music (remember, I am a violinist), or, much more personally, because I as a person moved from a kind of muteness to becoming the very different "language event" I associate with Mary's Magnificat. 

And finally, there is the verse that captures the profound way eremitical life is a life of deep compassion and bonds to every part of God's creation in and through God!! my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;/my prayers are prayers of earth's own clumsily striving/(finding and losing and laughing and crying)children/whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness. For me, one of the greatest gifts of eremitical life has been growth in compassion -- in the ability to feel and share in the suffering of the world so that I might also be able to convey the hope of God in ways that convince with its authenticity. And like cummings, I have come to this clumsily. receiving, giving, harvesting sometimes, experiencing drought at others, in both joy and discouragement or other suffering. Cummings was always concerned with the truly human person, and when I apply what he said to hermits, it is because we are striving for the same thing cummings so esteemed! One way to define Jesus is as the compassionate One, the truly human being who suffers for and with others. I think this verse of cumming's i am a little church captures this really well!

So much more could be said about this poem and the gift it is to the person of faith!! So much more could be said about the way it echoes of the hermit life!!! But I will leave this here for now. I offered this poem as an incentive to contemplation. Thank you for taking it in that direction and for leading me back to it as well!!!

Postscript to i am a little church(no great cathedral)

Apparently, in an attempt to "truth check" me Joyful Hermit has apodictically claimed Peter Damian never called hermits "ecclesiola" (little churches).Cf., Joyful Christian Hermit (beginning around 10:24) I would ask Joyful to please be more careful in her "Truth Matters" videos. No one can read everything out there on Peter Damian's ecclesiology (at least not in a single afternoon!) but to pronounce unequivocally that he never said something based on a quick Google search while implying someone else made the matter up is both irresponsible and uncharitable. Though I have posted this before here (cf., Feast of St Peter Damian,), here is the most pertinent passage from Damian's letter # 28 (Dominus Vobiscum), section 25:

[[Just as in Greek man is called a microcosm, i.e., a little world (cosmos) because in essential physicality the human being consists of the same four elements of which the whole world is made, so also each one of the faithful [including hermits, Peter Damian's special interest in this letter] is a little Church (ecclesiola),. . . because without violating the mystery of her inner unity, each person also receives all the sacraments that God has given the universal Church. . .]] Dominus Vobiscum, Letter #28 par 23 (Belisle marks this par 23 but the CUA edition differs with par 25). Trans. Peter-Damian Belisle, OSB Cam, Camaldolese Spirituality, Essential Sources p 191 (A similar translation is also found in Fathers of the Church, Medieval Continuation, The Letters of Peter Damian 1-30, Letter #28 par 25) CUA Press, p 270 of pp 255-289.

A Contemplative Moment: i am a little church(no great cathedral)

 

i am a little church(no great cathedral)

far from the splendor and squalor of hurrying cities

-i do not worry if briefer days grow briefest,

i am not sorry when sun and rain make april

my life is the life of the reaper and the sower;

my prayers are prayers of earth's own clumsily striving

(finding and losing and laughing and crying)children

whose any sadness or joy is my grief or my gladness

around me surges a miracle of unceasing

birth and glory and death and resurrection:

over my sleeping self float flaming symbols

of hope,and i wake to a perfect patience of mountains

i am a little church(far from the frantic

world with its rapture and anguish)at peace with nature

-i do not worry if longer nights grow longest;

i am not sorry when silence becomes singing

winter by spring,i lift my diminutive spire to

merciful Him Whose only now is forever:

standing erect in the deathless truth of His presence

(welcoming humbly His light and proudly His darkness)

by e e cummings

So often in the past weeks, my thought and prayer have returned to the public and ecclesial nature of the c 603 vocation. Even in my work with my own director or with candidates for c 603 profession, the Holy Spirit has been working to emphasize this theme. I tend to begin with St Peter Damian's thought on the hermit as ecclesiola (little church, cf., Feast of St Peter Damian) and move from there to the consecrated vocation as a gift of God entrusted to the Church; this same vocation is then entrusted by that same Church to individuals called by God to this specific vocation through ecclesial mediation in the hands of her bishops.

In all of that, Christian reflection on the ecclesial nature of the consecrated eremitical vocation includes the sense that true spirituality is always incarnational; it must be embodied and realized in space and time, not cut off from the materiality of the spatiotemporal realm, but profoundly involved in it in a way that redeems and recreates the whole of reality in Christ. This is the way God moves us towards the new heaven and new earth the Scriptures promise us as our ultimate hope. I believe that these themes are at least implied and encapsulated in e e cummings' poem, i am a little church(no great cathedral). At the same time, I hope you enjoy it on its own terms!!

On Working with a Diocese Toward the Discernment and Formation of c 603 Hermits

 [[Sister Laurel, I want to become a diocesan hermit but my diocese doesn't have the personnel to work with me. Is that common? You said you sometimes work with dioceses who are unfamiliar with c 603 or don't have the personnel to work with the candidate sufficiently to discern and help in the formation of an eremitical vocation. Would you consider doing that with me or does my diocese need to contact you first? What do I need to do to get this started? Thank you for taking the time to answer this. I am fine with you doing that on your blog except for private information of course!]]

Hi there, and thanks for your questions. In the main, though you gave permission to post this on the blog, I'll answer you privately; at the same time, there is some general information I can post here which may help others so thanks for your permission. First of all, it is not uncommon these days that dioceses don't have sufficient personnel, especially in dealing with other than priestly vocations. There are shortages of both priests and religious and vocations offices tend to be less fully staffed than was once the case. Some dioceses no longer have Vicars for Religious or Consecrated Life, The work of these offices is taken on by Vocation Directors working mainly with priestly vocations. As you can imagine, this leaves gaps re c 603 vocations. At the same time, DICLSAL has published Ponam in Deserto Viam (The Hermit's Way of Life in the Local Church) Libreria Editrice Vaticana (2022), which, among other things, encourages the use of qualified c 603 hermits to mentor or collaborate in the discernment and formation of such vocations.

To that end, yes, over the past seven or eight years or so, I have worked with people from several dioceses in the US and Great Britain. As I have noted here in recent years, there are a couple of ways c 603 can be approached to assist with discernment and formation of vocations. One is to add canonical layers to things (requisite time frames, required canonical hoops to jump through usually drawn from established approaches to religious life more generally). This tends not to work in my estimation. The second is to develop a workable and individualized process of discernment and preparation (formation) from within the canon itself with minimal extraneous requirements.

That latter is the approach I have taken with these others based on my sense of the adequacy of the canon itself and its history (especially in terms of the dozen monk-hermits who preceded c 603 in time as its forebears with Bp Remi de Roo, who was their Bishop Protector and made the initial intervention at the Second Vatican Council to see the eremitical vocation, but particularly the solitary eremitical vocation, recognized as a state of perfection). What this approach provides is a process of supervised growth in the vocation based on the requirements of the canon, especially that of writing a liveable Rule of Life, and a minimal set of formal time frames (minimum time to temporary vows, writing of a liveable Rule, readiness for perpetual vows and consecration). While every diocese can approach this differently, the candidate still needs to negotiate certain things to be truly ready for profession as a c 603 hermit. All of those things can be achieved while assisting the candidate to write a liveable Rule of Life that truly reflects his/her own experience of c 603 eremitical life and the way God works in his/her life.

Sometimes dioceses (the Vicar for Religious or Consecrated Life, or the Vocations Director) contact me directly, most often they ask the candidate to contact me and then we (all) go from there. It is the case that you (or any potential candidate really) will need to write (email) me personally AND also speak with your diocese about working with me (more about that in a moment). Before this, however, you will need to check with these persons to see if they are open to professing anyone at all who shows themselves to be a suitable candidate who is adequately prepared for profession under c 603. If they are open to implementing the canon under these conditions and will commit to that, then you (or any potential candidate) are in a position to take next steps. Unfortunately, nothing can be done if your diocese is unwilling to implement the canon at all, but if they are open to it, then there are several ways of proceeding. All of these require someone from the diocese who will meet with you regularly and (less frequently) with me as well. Meanwhile, (mainly depending on the personnel the diocese has available) you and I would meet periodically as is helpful to us both.

What is optimal is to have a couple of people from your diocesan staff (a small team from the Vicar for Religious, or vocations office and perhaps a canon lawyer) meeting with you regularly or periodically (though not particularly frequently) to assess your progress. I can serve as mentor to you and/or consultant to your diocese or diocesan team for the process. We would need to work out the best and most helpful arrangement for all concerned. The idea, however, is that based on your background, your experience with eremitical life and c 603, and your ability to write a liveable Rule, the Diocese follows you either directly or more indirectly as we discern and help form you in a c 603 vocation. (All this presupposes you have already been living as a non-canonical hermit for at least a couple of years.) Once the diocese has determined you are a suitable candidate for a mutual process of discernment and for formation (not everyone is), the ongoing project of preparing to write and writing your Rule and covering how you do and will live the elements of the Canon provides the basis for regular conversations with and assessments by your diocese.

The next step would be for you to write me and tell me your story. If your diocese is open to implementing c 603 at all, they will need the same information as well as your sacramental records, etc. From there we will see how to proceed. (The details of this include working out general arrangements between you, your diocese, and myself to make sure we are on the same page.) It will partly depend on your theological background and background with religious life (if any), eremitical life and spiritual direction, and your age and motivation; it will also depend upon your own and your diocese's openness to working together in collaboration with me (and/or another c 603 mentor) in this way.  The process to be worked out will represent a journey of several years since it is based on your (or any candidate's) ability to write a liveable Rule of Life that adequately reflects c 603 life and its quality as a public ecclesial vocation. 

To do that you need lived experience of the elements of c 603, and you need to understand all of these well enough to write about them and determine how God is calling you to live them in a healthy way in a public and ecclesial vocation for the sake of God, the Church, and the salvation of others. (An ecclesial vocation is one that belongs first of all to the Church to whom God has entrusted it, and who then entrusts it to you first by admitting you to profession and then by mediating God's own consecration of you in the hands of the local bishop.) Meanwhile, by healthy I mean you will live the solitary eremitical vocation in the heart of the Church, in ways that edify and represent the eremitical tradition to and for the entire Church because this is the way God has called you to achieve human wholeness and holiness. In all this, you become a silent preaching of the Gospel of God in Christ. An adequate mutual discernment and formation process helps ensure all of that before admission to perpetual profession and consecration.

I  hope this is helpful. I'll be in touch. 

"From Trash to Triumph": The Importance of Beauty and the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra

 In our Bible class, we are reading NT Wright's Surprised by Hope.  Last week we read chapter 13 where Wright begins to speak of reshaping the Church in terms of Hope. One of the most striking pillars of creating hope in our world is the pillar of beauty along with two others Wright describes, justice and evangelism. And yet, this pillar is one not all churches pay much attention to --- either to the destructive power of ugliness or to the uplifting power of beauty. In preparing for the class I asked folks to watch the second of the following videos and to see if they could explain how it tied into the week's reading. My own sense is that in these children and the larger community, we implicitly see the power of Jesus' resurrection, the power of hope at work shaping their world through the presence of beauty. In this way, we also see human beings coming more fully alive to and with the potential with which they are created and re-created, the realization of the potential that makes them the very image of God.

The second video is a TED Talk done in Amsterdam. Here you meet the teacher who started all this and a few of the players of the Landfillharmonic, including the 19-year-old cellist from the earlier video playing the Prelude from Bach Cello Suite #1 for unaccompanied cello.

One person spoke about this video and said, "Music is a human right." Another noted that she thought Ada (13-year-old violinist) is now studying veterinary medicine (she is likely finished by now)! I read an account of the community (Cateura) that noted before the introduction of music to the children (and to the work of making musical instruments out of garbage!!) parents would come to school and take their children out to work on the landfill. Schooling was clearly not important because the horizon of the community's life was the mountain of garbage everyone sent their way; that defined their lives and it was a narrow, deadly discouraging horizon. Now, however, given the fruits of the music program, it was said that taking kids out of school to work on the landfill never happens. It is said to be "unthinkable" or "inconceivable". These folks have been given a view of a much larger world and moved by beauty of all kinds and have come more fully alive as a result. They are capable now of dreaming in ways they were never capable of before.

In Surprised by Hope, Wright makes clear that the resurrection of Jesus (and his ascension presence) empowers us with a vision of a new heaven and new earth already present to us in a proleptic way. (I have sometimes remarked that in Jesus, the crucified and risen one, we find God in the unexpected and even the unacceptable place; the recycled orchestra in Cateura certainly reminds us of this truth!) Wright reminds us that we too should come alive and build for the Kingdom. We are capable of new dreams and freed to see and act in light of the beauty present here and now among us because God has revealed himself in the crucified One as Emmanuel. The bodily resurrection and ascension of Jesus has begun the definitive interpenetration and interlocking of heaven and earth. The horizon of our own vision is no longer just our sinful "temporal" world any more than the mountain of garbage is the sole horizon of the children in Cateura, Paraguay. We have been granted a different vision of a "reality made new" in Christ and are called to live in light of that!

Who can Live Canon 603 and in what sense?

[[Sister Laurel, can someone who is not professed under c 603 live the canon?]]

Thanks for writing! Because I believe the vision embodied in c 603 is normative of eremitical life in the church, my answer is yes, they can. At least, that is, the first section of the canon can be lived by any hermit in the church, no matter their canonical state or form of eremitical life. However, a non-canonical hermit and a canonical hermit in an institute of consecrated life would not live the second section of the canon. I recently cited that second section, but let me put the text of the entire canon up for you to see what I mean.

Can. 603 §1. In addition to institutes of consecrated life, the Church recognizes the eremitic or anchoritic life by which the Christian faithful devote their life to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through a stricter withdrawal from the world, the silence of solitude, and assiduous prayer and penance. 

§2. A hermit is recognized by 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 (Rule of Life) under his direction.

Members of institutes of consecrated life including those properly termed semi-eremitic, are canonical, but they do not fall under the second section of the canon. This is because their professions, consecrations, legitimate superiors, and canonical standing are rooted in other canons and the proper law of their institutes. Non-canonical hermits can fulfill all of the terms of c 603.1 but do not have standing in law as a hermit, nor do they live a "proper program of living" in a strict sense because in c 603.2 this means an approved Rule that serves as their own proper law.

I've written this before but please note that "proper" in 603.2 is not a Britishism meaning "well or appropriately done" like when someone can make a "proper cuppa" tea for their guests. Proper in the c 603.2 sense refers to proper law and is approved, as an institute of consecrated life has approved constitutions and statutes that form their own proper law in addition to the requirements of universal or Canon law.  (The hermit's Rule is given a Bishop's Decree of Approval and becomes legally binding on the day of profession.) On the other hand, any person could certainly write a Rule that serves as a vision of and means to live their own personal way of eremitical life. It would be considered proper to them alone even though it is not an officially approved Rule; it would just not meet the conditions of c 603.2, however.

Sister Irene Gibson, First Professed Hermit in Ireland

I have posted a video of Sister Irene in the past, but I had never seen these videos before. These are from before the time she left the Vatican II Church. It seems we share a lot on the notion of what constitutes a hermit, particularly on solitude as a form of community that is antithetical to isolation. Our backgrounds are not identical (she comes from a large family, I do not) but there are similarities. I said before that Sister Irene is the real deal --- though I disagreed with her rejection of the VII Church and much of her theology from that time. In these videos, I believe that her eremitical vocation is even clearer. It was only later on that Sister Irene shifted her spirituality in significant ways. I think that is a shame, not least because it leaves her believing things like the notion that the synod on synodality is a form of Communism. I  wonder if she is also critical of the account of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles where all hold all in common, but her early approaches to eremitical life (shown here) are edifying. Enjoy.

 

Mistaken Expectations Can Lead to Terrible Disappointment

 One thing more struck me about the phrase "canonical approval" today when someone who had lived as a non-canonical hermit for a number of years and who had petitioned to be admitted to canonical standing under c 603 made a chance remark. I am grateful she did! She spoke of a priest advisor who felt that after @12 weeks of waiting the person should have already been sent some sort of paper to sign to be granted approval!! This is a serious misunderstanding of what is being petitioned for or why the wait is an ordinarily long one! It underscores why we do not use the term "canonical approval" so much as we refer to "canonical standing" or "standing in (canon) law".

Recently I wrote a piece about transferring from a non-canonical hermit life to standing under c 603. I noted there that one could not simply transfer from a non-canonical hermit state to a canonical one because the canonical one involves added canonical rights and responsibilities. One enters and embraces these through a public act of profession and then, with perpetual profession, by an act of consecration by God in the hands of the diocesan bishop. One cannot simply sign some sort of piece of paper noting one has been "approved" and given canonical standing. One must be professed and eventually consecrated to acquire canonical standing!! The priest who expected this non-canonical hermit to be given some piece of paper to be signed marking "approval" is, if the statement made is accurate, completely mistaken. To the extent this hermit has believed this, she is also completely mistaken and apparently misled in a way that sets her up for significant disappointment.

Consider what c 603 itself says: §2. A hermit is recognized by [or in] 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 (Rule of Life) under his direction. [Note the importance of writing a liveable Rule of Life. Note too that the appropriate words for what the hermit does in this process are dedication and profession in the hands of her bishop.]

When one approaches a diocese to be admitted to c 603 standing in law, the approval involved is approval to be admitted to profession and consecration. This does not constitute canonical approval! Again, one is approved to take on the public canonical rights and obligations of an ecclesial state of perfection (to use an older language); one does this by giving oneself wholly in an act or acts of profession. A hermit petitioning for this opportunity needs to understand she is petitioning to be allowed to give the whole of her life publicly to and in an ecclesial vocation with significant rights and obligations, and the church must discern whether she has the vocation to allow this to occur.

I have been writing about this recently to prevent this non-canonical hermit (or anyone else, for that matter) from being hurt and disappointed by her diocese. I have wanted her to know what she has petitioned for and how serious and lengthy the process of approval for admittance to profession ordinarily is. I have wanted her to be able to tailor her expectations because there seemed to be a serious misunderstanding involved regarding "transferring" from non-canonical to canonical standing. I had no idea that a priest advisor believed the diocese would simply have her sign some piece of paper or that twelve weeks of waiting would be considered an exorbitant length of time! Simply having lived as a self-defined non-canonical hermit, does not necessarily prepare one to live a public and ecclesial vocation. It does not even necessarily indicate one is truly a hermit in the way the Church understands that vocation or will allow from c 603 hermits. All of this and more must be discerned by a diocese when they are confronted by a non-canonical (lay) hermit, and that takes time and most often, significant formation as well. When one petitions for admission to profession, one also petitions to be allowed to participate in this entire process of mutual discernment and formation.

I would seriously encourage anyone considering applying to be admitted to c 603 standing, to drop the term "canonical approval" from their vocabulary. One is only approved to move forward with a process culminating in public profession and consecration leading to canonical standing. One petitions to be admitted to this standing in law. There are many acts of approval (and perhaps some of disapproval) along the way. Think and speak instead in terms of standing in law and misunderstanding and commensurate disappointment will be minimized as one's expectations are made more realistic.

On Hiddenness and Transparency: A Little Bit of Father Seraphim

[[Sister Laurel, I wondered why you haven't commented on the lack of hiddenness for someone putting up videos of themselves while going on and on about you and others because you wear a habit? It seems to me that when christianhermit [aka joyful hermit] goes on and on about how your wearing a habit means you don't care about hermit hiddenness and don't live c 603 even while she is revealing details about her health, views of her bedroom, and on and on about [stuff] that is really meant to be private she should see that this is not eremitical hiddenness!! I wondered if you see things this way and why you don't comment on it.]]

Good questions. I think with regard to c 603 it has been far more important to clearly state what the essence of eremitical hiddenness is about. Externals are not unimportant, but at the same time, they are not the heart of the matter. I thought writing about that was more important at the time. I think so still. Moreover, I trust that people can watch something and gauge the inconsistency involved when it is as blatant as what you have pointed out. I want to take this in another direction though, and move away from the person you asked about. The question your concerns raise for me is: can hermits or monks create videos and be truly hidden at the same time? Yes, I think they can. I am thinking of the work of a monk whose videos I was introduced to by a friend just yesterday. It is Fr Seraphim Aldea of Mull Monastery in Scotland. His videos are wonderful (so far I have only seen a handful); they are genuinely shot through with the Holy Spirit and despite the fact that Seraphim reveals his heart in them, there is never a sense that he is allowing us to go beyond what is kind of a personal iconostasis or grill.

In other words, it is in his transparency that Fr Seraphim lives and maintains a very real and essential hiddenness even in a public videographic presence. Perhaps this is because whether he is reading someone else's questions or responding from the deepest depths of his own heart, there is a clear reverence, love, and gratitude to God for every word, for the setting, for the potential of the communication, for those who will hear him speaking. More, there is a real joy in Seraphim's ministry, a love for tradition and also real regard for the contemporary world and its potential. He knows both of these, but he knows the Tradition in a particularly profound way. It is what allows him to speak credibly to the contemporary world. Father Seraphim recognizes some really awful ways monastic life has been compromised in this world, but he does not believe this is a necessary outcome. He is no antiquarian. No, he is a monastic who understands that authentic monastic (and eremitical) life can be lived in this time and place as well as in the first centuries of the Church. But what is striking to me is the way he maintains an essential hiddenness while simultaneously practicing an authentic transparency.

I have seen a similar paradox in a couple of Sisters I know. They are able to be entirely transparent to others, completely truthful, and yet it is in this transparency that genuine hiddenness is protected. What I see in them is that transparency does not mean that everything is allowed to hang out there for everyone to see. (We don't, for instance, hear about every ache or pain or medical appointment, etc.)  It means instead, that the genuinely holy is revealed to others reverently and with love while what is not loving (and not helpful for the other to see or know) is withheld. Especially, there is no pretense in them, and no tendency to disrespect either themselves or others in this way. I am only just beginning to examine, reflect on, and analyze this. It is not entirely new to me, but it is entirely new with someone posting videos that are sacred and profoundly revelatory of self and of God. 

Another piece of this is Seraphim's wearing of a habit. It is a simple fact that alerts one to his ecclesial identity. It essentially both stands out from and blends into the background -- whether the local forests, the monastery living room, a church where he is lecturing, or wherever he finds himself -- because, I am sure, he is entirely comfortable in his own skin.  What we mainly see is Seraphim, not someone dressed in a costume. The covering of that skin is as familiar to Seraphim as any other part of himself and it functions both to signal the presence of hiddenness and to reveal him to others. That is the way habits function for those called to wear them. That is part of the reason one begins to wear them in novitiate so the novelty and correlative self-consciousness associated with them initially have time to wear off before one is seen in public in one. One needs time to grow in and come to know oneself in one's new role as a religious before being faced with the way the habit opens one to others' approaches with their profound needs and questions. 

As an introduction to Fr Seraphim, I thought the following video was completely wonderful. Seraphim's first sentence in his response to the questions was stupendous! Unequivocal!! Compelling!!! Can we ever fall beyond the reach of God's love? See if you can see what I mean about that but also the combination of hiddenness and transparency Seraphim shows us, especially when he speaks of pretense.

On Mystical Experiences that Disrupt Liturgy and Alienate one From the Sacraments

[[Dear Sister, I would like to raise the question of what happens if someone’s “mystical experiences” alienate her from the sacraments and disrupt the liturgy, are they really of God?]]

Authentic Mystical experiences are generally associated with prayer. They should not alienate one from the sacraments or disrupt liturgy which are  at the heart of one's prayer. Ordinarily one chooses the way one will pray. What I mean by this is if one occasionally wants to allow oneself to sink into quiet prayer during a liturgy, one can do that if one is practiced at doing this at other times or feels called to do so. Mystical states are something different, however. In these states, God acts to take one beyond where they are used to going in regular practiced prayer, even quiet prayer. However, two things will remain true about these periods: 1) they should not disrupt the liturgy which calls for appropriate participation, and 2) if one doesn't wish them to happen they will not. God does not force us into mystical states if we are not open to them or if they are inappropriate for the setting. I think this is particularly true in a parish setting. 

You may be aware that recently a lay hermit has claimed she invariably has mystical states during liturgy (Eucharist) and she claims to no longer come to Mass because she becomes an occasion of sin for people there. I believe there are several serious problems with this analysis, and it is not sufficient to respond to these by saying "this is mystical and no one understands such things today". First, the states are said to be invariable, happening at the same place and in the same way at each liturgy. God is eternal and entirely faithful, but God is not invariable nor are prayer states he empowers within us. Moreover, significant prayer experiences are rich in content and they require time to process. It is unlikely that God would have prayer experience after prayer experience in an invariable way without the time and space to process and truly appreciate them. This actually makes them less important and less revealing; in other words, it trivializes them and calls attention to the subject having the experiences, rather than to the God who is supposed to be empowering them. What some have found to be true about authentic experiences is that a single significant "mystical" prayer experience can nourish one for the rest of one's life, so I personally disagree that this daily (or every Mass) pattern is of God.

Then we have the question of what is edifying to others and to the community as a whole. While I might very occasionally drop into more extended quiet prayer during a Mass (not an ecstasy!!), I can't do that without reassuring the persons seated with me ahead of time that I am okay should I choose to do this. I also recognize that I am a member of a praying community and for that reason, I am generally called to pray with them as we are each asked to pray together during liturgy. To do anything else (except very occasionally and in genuine need) seems to me to be a reason for staying home and praying in whatever way I feel called to. Otherwise, it is simply disedifying and potentially disturbing to my community. Finally, we have the problem of determining that these "states" are occasions of sin for someone else --- which, of course, we can never do. A person may react in a way one does not care for, especially if they are worried and don't know what is happening to us, but one does not know their motivation. One cannot know another person's heart except to the extent they reveal it to one. Even if one senses that the person is irritated or outright angry about something, one still does not know whether or not this is sinful. If the person having these "ecstatic" states is led to sin herself, then she must speak to her pastor, director, or confessor, and find a way that deals adequately with this; she can be aware of and speak of her own sin, but she cannot presume to know anyone else's.

The question of alienation from the sacraments is an important one. Personally, I find it impossible to believe that God would cause something that alienates the person from participation in and reception of the Sacraments in a general way. Why would he call one to become a member of Christ's body and then act in a way that disallows participation in that body as the Church (even minimally) requires?! Some accommodations can certainly be made in the case of illness or other extraordinary conditions, and I don't know a single pastor, priest, or other minister who would not seriously try to find such reasonable accommodations. I have a seizure disorder that is triggered by certain sounds (including some cell phone ringtones). My parish community, especially the daily Mass crew has always been very careful to be sure and leave phones in the car or at home or at least on vibrate once they understood the need. (Yes, sometimes there were slip-ups or someone new had not heard the caution yet, but generally speaking, people were really caring and responsive in this!) During Sunday liturgy, if seizure activity was a frequent problem I could have stayed in the sacristy to hear Mass, whether alone or with a friend, or I might simply have needed to stay home!

In the situation raised here, I believe that this alienation from the sacraments is feeding an essentially Gnostic approach to reality that divides it too absolutely into a spiritual (eternal) and temporal duality and leads toa spirituality that unduly maligns the temporal. (This (ancient) Gnostic duality or approach to reality also feeds alienation from what is being called "the temporal Church" and its sacramentality as well.) Given the centrality of the Incarnation along with the bodiliness of both the resurrection and the Ascension (and Mary's Assumption as well), along with the theology of the new heaven and earth where creation and God's space already partly and will one day wholly interpenetrate one another, I think this is particularly dangerous.

EEMs can always bring Communion to a person who cannot attend Mass for some valid reason. Some churches with cry rooms (or unused choir lofts, etc.) can allow someone to attend Mass from there if they need to. Ecstatic prayer is ordinarily very silent (in fact, it is awesomely profound in its silence!) so I am not sure that much accommodation is necessary if one sits at the back of the church and simply prays quietly. In other words, alienation from the Sacraments is unnecessary and unlikely to be of God. Neither, however, does this need to disrupt liturgy. Of course, if someone is making noises, crying out in pain or something, or proclaiming they can read a priest's heart in the middle of Mass, then this is objectively disedifying and not of God. In such cases, I can understand why folks might be upset and pastors might prefer the person to stay home. Still, accommodations can and will generally be made for such a person or situation. They still have rights and obligations rooted in their baptism and the Church will (must!) help find a way for the person to meet these.

Do Dioceses Profess c 603 Hermits Who do not Believe in c 603 Vocations?

[[Sister Laurel, do dioceses profess hermits under c 603 who don't believe in c 603? How about people who attack c 603 every chance they get and then request to become a diocesan hermit? I know you will see these are rhetorical questions. I am aware of a situation where someone who seems never to have had a good thing to say about can. 603 is requesting to be made a can. 603 hermit. How can this be?? Will her diocese profess her? I am just so outraged by the whole situation I don't even know what to ask you. I do think I know now why this "hermit" insists on remaining anonymous!!! 

She has waffled back and forth on c 603 for years I think, and how it is a distortion of the tried and true way to be a hermit, and now how it is tainted by some canonical hermit in California she doesn't care for at all (yes, that's you I think) and says the canon may not have been the will of God in the first place. The words that come to mind for me are jealous and hypocrite!! And now she is claiming because it has only been 10 weeks since she applied for canonical approval and she has heard almost nothing from her diocese, they are disrespecting her and care nothing about her vocation and she is trash-talking the "temporal Church" for their priorities (or lack thereof!!). 

I wonder if they have discovered her videos or blogs and are giving them a close look. She vlogged recently that they should be doing that with your blog. Well, if it should be done to you it should be done to her! Far from not taking her seriously, they may be taking her more seriously than she really wants! I read your post,"On Intervening in Cases of Fraud." It sounds like you have dealt with something like this before. If I knew who this person really is I would call or write her diocese myself because they need to know there are big concerns with professing her. God only knows the damage she has left in her wake in the past and then moved on from by using "anonymity" to protect her from being exposed.!! Oh, one question though I have assumed the answer: are you the canonical hermit in California joyful/christian/hermit trash-talks so routinely?]]

Thanks for your comments. Please know that I understand what you are feeling and have felt some of the same impulses myself. In general, I have only heard of a diocese professing someone who does not believe they truly have a c 603 vocation once, and no one who believes c 603 itself is some sort of mistake or ill-conceived merely human creation. How could a diocese do this without risking an invalid profession and/or consecration and a possible scandal for the faithful? Ordinarily, unless one has some ulterior motive, one petitions for admission to profession and consecration because one truly believes in one's heart of hearts that God is calling them to this vocation and one has found it to be their personal path to human wholeness and holiness!! Dioceses assume this is the reason one is petitioning and may be very surprised when they find it is not so.

Even so, given a candidate's long history of denigrating the canon, it is not a good idea to profess them simply because they claim they want to do what the bishop accepts is the normative way for hermits to go these days!! Since there are both canonical and non-canonical hermits today and since most will not be made canonical, neither does the argument about wanting "unity" carry much weight, especially when the one making this argument does not want anything to do with the "temporal Church", and does not attend church or receive the sacraments otherwise. Canon 603 is not obligatory. it is one option among several for some hermits. the basic question that should be asked is, if one cannot take on the ordinary rights and obligations of a lay Catholic, why should one be admitted to the additional rights and obligations of a canonical hermit? Many of us deal with chronic illness and disability including that from chronic pain; we still find ways to participate regularly in the Church's sacramental life.

For instance, if one wants to be a hermit and believes c 603 is not divinely inspired, one can become (or remain) a non-canonical (lay) hermit. (Apparently, the person you are writing about seems to have said recently that if the diocese decides to profess her, she will agree the canon is inspired and willed by God! Until then the question of the canon's divinely inspired character is an open question for her.) But, this kind of nonsense aside, to pursue profession under c 603 is a serious matter (the profession itself is an act of worship) and if one does not truly feel called to this, then it can become a serious act of dishonesty or fraud which then obligates others to act on their knowledge to prevent the situation from rising to the level of scandal. In the blog piece you referred to I said the following and still believe it completely: 

[[. . . I need to say that any person with genuine knowledge directly impacting the nature and quality (and this can include even the validity) of a public profession has not just the right but the obligation to share that knowledge in an appropriate way. Moreover, bishops and others involved in overseeing such vocations have the obligation to hear and seriously consider these concerns. Public professions involve ecclesial vocations which affect the entire Church. They are also public acts of worship and if there is actual deception or fraud at their heart, such an act of worship can become a serious scandal and that can rise to the level of sacrilege. It can also invalidate the profession being made -- one source of the scandal involved. When we are dealing with Canon 603 professions where the total number of solitary canonical hermits are, relatively speaking, so very few, and the vocation is both rare and even more rarely understood --- and also because dioceses are cautious in dealing with the implementation of C 603 anyway --- serious scandal can affect the credibility of the entire vocation. When this happens, genuine vocations to C 603 life are likely to be further prevented from being professed by the Church --- a kind of functional suppression of the solitary consecrated eremitical vocation.]] On Intervening in Cases of Fraud

There is an incredible irony in the situation you referred to and this is one of the things that can happen if a diocese entertains this person's petition for profession without learning enough about her attitudes toward c 603. In one instance, we have someone who has written for years and now speaks on videos about how flawed c 603 is and how little Bishops actually know about "real hermits" or hermit life. And yet she is putting herself in the hands of a diocese that may or may not profess her as a canonical hermit. If they do not realize how she feels about c 603 and take that into account, they will look foolish and underscore her complaints about dioceses not knowing the people they profess/consecrate. 

Perhaps this is one reason she is doing this --- because whether she is accepted for profession or dismissed as unsuitable, she can then claim she is a victim of others not understanding her and once again "proving" how very little bishops and dioceses know about or respect "real" eremitical life. (At the same time, she also claims real hermits don't need or want to be respected so complaining now that the diocese is not giving her vocation the regard it deserves is a bit rich and ironic all by itself! If a miniscule 10 weeks of waiting has her feeling disrespected (after all, she is already a hermit living what she believes is her vocation!) one would think she would be reveling in it, given her claims about authentic hermits being completely unseen and treated as "nothing".) In any case, she sets things up so she can also pull out of the process of discernment herself while claiming the canon is problematical and merely a human invention that God disapproves of. Whether the diocese accepts or rejects her petition, it is apt to be a win-win situation for her that leaves chaos in her wake. 

Your own Course of Action:

I want to encourage you to pay attention to your own sense of what you need to do in this situation. At the same time, I would strongly encourage you not to act in anger and generally to follow the other steps I provided in that post. Concerns may be significant or more trivial, so be clear about what these are for you, and that you can articulate them in a cogent way for those who truly need to hear them. Meanwhile, should you decide you need to take action, the person's diocese is readily identifiable from videos she has posted in the last couple of months. It can be verified for you.

Meanwhile, while you must act as you believe is right, I will also consider whether there is any need for me to contact the diocese in this matter. Currently, I don't believe there is; I believe the Diocese will not accept this person for admission to profession, much less to consecration as a c 603 hermit because of a canonical impediment due to a prior marriage. Obviously, there are other reasons as well (including past blogs, the videos, and the inconsistencies these produce regarding this person's vision of eremitical life and attitude toward the canon), but this one impediment is the least complicated most straightforward reason to refuse admission to profession. I also suspect that the decision has already been made, but I don't know this. Thus, I too will continue to pray about the matter and do what I believe is best for the c 603 vocation.

Postscript: Yes, I am the hermit from California this person writes and videos about, though I can rarely recognize myself from what she claims. While California is a big state, so far as I know, it only has two c 603 hermits and only one with a blog.

Many forms of Hermit Life Means all are similarly Valuable

[[Hi Sister Laurel, As you write about many forms of hermit life are you also saying that c 603 hermits are not better than non-canonical hermits? Are canonical hermits not better than non-canonical hermits? Is an ecclesial vocation not better than a non-ecclesial vocation? Why would God want some people to be canonical and others non-canonical? It seems to me that the Church regards ecclesial vocations more than non-canonical one, isn't that so? I also wondered if you regret that the process of discernment and formation as a hermit takes such a long time (I mean it took a long time for you and I have heard for others as well) -- was that a problem for you? My last question is are c 603 hermits considered religious? I heard someone say you are not.]]

Many thanks for these questions! Yes, that is exactly what I am saying. I am saying that every vocation to eremitical life is valuable and valued (esteemed, regarded as precious) by God. They are a gift of God to the Church and world. The Scriptures tell us this about every person and their call by God. We are part of a single body and every member is empowered and embued with the Holy Spirit and is valuable to the whole Peoples' being and doing what the whole is supposed to be and do. Is any one part or role better than another? No, but they are different at the same time. Every hermit needs to discern not just the call to eremitical solitude, but the way in which God is calling them to live it out. It could be in an institute of consecrated life of hermits, in a small laura of c 603 hermits, or as a solitary consecrated hermit under c 603; it could also be as non-consecrated in the lay state. Again, all are valued, all are important, but they do differ in the way they witness --- both in what way they witness and to whom!

Why does God call People to different forms of Eremitical Life?

I could never say why God chooses one calling for one thing and another for someone else, but I can see why God called me to this vocation and what, in particular, I bring to this vocation, to the Church to whom this vocation belongs first of all, and therefore to the People of God and others. From the time I discovered c 603 and the fact that eremitical life was still a vital and vibrant life, I lived some years as a religious and hermit, some years as a lay hermit, and then years as a consecrated solitary hermit under c 603. When I first petitioned for consecration under the canon I met with the Vicar for Religious and over the next 5 years she and I continued to meet (she came to my place). There was no indication I would not be approved for profession and consecration, but at this point the current bishop decided he was not going to profess anyone under the canon for the forseeable future. I continued living as a hermit and exploring both c 603 specifically and the eremitical life more generally. 

At some point, before this bishop retired, I came to realize I had something specific and even somewhat unique to offer the Church in my eremitical life both because of disability and because of my theological background, my developing spiritual direction ministry, as well as my understanding and appreciation of the canon. (Those things have grown into this blog as well as into a process to assist dioceses and inquirers with discernment and formation of c 603 candidates based on the requirements of the canon itself and will include a written guide to this process generally available to the Church.) Additionally, though I could not have foreseen this, it permitted a deep inner journey toward human wholeness and holiness, and in some ways, I am more grateful for that than for anything else. As a result, I reactivated my petition under Bp John Cummins. Perpetual profession and consecration occurred several years later under the new bishop (Allen H Vigneron) once he had met me and completed what had been a long discernment process. (Remember until final profession and consecration, one is still discerning the vocation, as is the Church herself. While if due care is taken this is unlikely, one can be temporarily professed and subsequently not admitted to perpetual profession and consecration several years later.) 

Do I have Regrets re the Length of Time. . .?

I sometimes regret that the entire process took 23 years, yes, but generally speaking, I learned a lot about both non-canonical and canonical eremitical life. I also had time to discover what I was bringing to the vocation, though I suppose that in time I would have discovered that anyway had I been canonically professed under c 603 sooner. So, my regrets are passing and most of the time I am simply grateful to be who and where I am in this vocation. I lived as a hermit during these 23 years anyway, and grew in the life, so I cannot necessarily say that I lost anything during the time of waiting for admission to profession and consecration. However, I recognize I also gained a lot during these years, so again, any regrets I have are occasional and passing. Certainly my vocation is stronger because of all of this. 

It is true that now that the canon is known and understood better, the process of discernment and formation should NOT take this long for anyone. However, I believe an adequate period of discernment and formation does need to take from five** to 12 years, particularly if one has no history of religious life! What I mean here is that it ordinarily takes at least five years to be admitted to temporary profession even if one has already lived as a religious (some bishops won't consider taking such an important step for at least this long) and up to another seven years to be admitted to perpetual profession and consecration. For those with a history of religious life and who left because they felt called to greater solitude, admittance to temporary profession still takes from 3-4 years. (There is a great deal to set up, significant transitions to make (including grief over loss of one's community), and differences in the way the vows are lived.) Admittance to perpetual profession and consecration usually occurs within another three years. Longer periods of discernment and formation naturally take place for those with no history of religious life, and those who left community for reasons other than feeling called to greater solitude. 

A Few Less-Common Reasons Discernment Can be Lengthy:

One major reason for this is that it takes significant time for a candidate to write a liveable Rule of life that demonstrates genuine understanding and experience of living the terms of the canon. Another is that there are many forms of and reasons for solitude. Most are not eremitical solitude, for instance, cocooning is not the same as living as a Hermit. Reclusion does not mean isolation from the Community of faith.  Discerning the healthiness of an eremitical vocation in the presence of options such as these can be more difficult and take longer. Other situations with specific candidates also complicate initial discernment, and can cause delays because the diocese must determine how to handle matters charitably when the candidate is not suitable for c 603.

Are c 603 Hermits Considered Religious?

[[I have answered this question on the blog before so you might look for it in other places here, but the answer to your question is yes, c 603 hermits are considered religious. In the Handbook on Canons 573-746  and in the section on “Norms Common to Institutes of Consecrated Life” looking at canon 603 specifically, canonist Ellen O’Hara, CSJ writes, [[The term “religious” now applies to individuals with no obligation to common or community life and no relationship to an institute.]]

** Archbishop Cordileone said in a conversation with me while he was Bishop of the Diocese of Oakland, that he would not even entertain a petition for profession until the person had lived as a hermit for at least 5 years. I agreed with him then and still do. 12 years is the outer limit provided by canon law for religious formation in community (novitiate and juniorate). It works as well for solitary hermits, though what tends to be more important is to gauge the degree of growth that has occurred and is still occurring. Still, though not carved in stone, these are the typical limits recognized by dioceses. 

Abide in this Canon and it will Teach You Everything

[[Dear Sister, are you ever concerned your interest in c 603 takes you away from attending to God? I realize you are a theologian, but first of all you are a contemplative, true? How can you spend time on canon 603 rather than in prayer and God?]]

Interesting questions. I suspect I know where you first heard these concerns, but never mind. That is of no moment. I would also have liked to hear a little more about your concerns, but I suspect my answer would be the same, namely, no, I am not concerned at all about my interest in c 603 and in finding ways to assist dioceses and candidates use it effectively for the discernment and formation of solitary eremitical vocations. Remember that this is the canon by which I live my consecrated life. It's constitutive elements are also the constitutive elements of my eremitical life and I am vowed to be both faithful and obedient (meaning attentive and responsive) to them. 

When I speak of these as doorways to Mystery I mean they open up to God and union with God. In this regard, I am not studying c 603 like a scholar studies a text. I am paying attention to what the canon makes possible from within it, on its own terms, and exploring what living the canon with fidelity and perseverance means. That means a life of prayer and faithfulness, in poverty, chastity, and obedience in the silence of solitude and stricter separation from that which is resistant to Christ under the direction of my diocesan delegate. I don't see any of this as either/or (either God or the canon). I see it as both/and --- both God and c 603. Remember that I live my own Rule of Life under c 603. This does not generally require direct scholarly attention to either the Rule or the canon. It is more like doing lectio divina with these texts. Over time, they have been written on my heart just as Scriptural texts are written there during lectio. My attention is on God as God speaks to me in and through whatever I am reading, writing, or doing.

You see, one thing I have been concerned with is canonists whose approach to c 603 is merely legal and who treat the canon merely as a legislative text. It is that, but it is also far more than this. Hermits explore life with God and this means they explore those pathways to union with God (the silence of solitude, stricter separation from the world (i.e., that which is resistant to Christ), persevering prayer and penance, and the Evangelical Counsels), and they do so with and for God. I have also been approaching this canon as a gift of God to the Church which should be treated as any gift, namely, as something that is honored and contemplated. 

What I am really reflecting on then is a journey, a journey I am professed, consecrated, and commissioned to make by the Church. I do this for the sake of my own wholeness, for others who seek to make the same journey or to assist those called to do so. At the heart of this journey is love, love for God, the love OF God, love for one's brothers and sisters who may be hermits or need the witness of hermits, love for oneself as precious to God, and even love for this unique little canon that was inspired by God, composed by human beings, and sings with the power and beauty of the Holy Spirit.

Canonists tend to believe a lot must be added to this canon to complete it. I believe that if one enters into it prayerfully and makes the journey I have described above, they will discover the canon needs no such additions. In some ways, this is a version of the old desert saying, abide in your cell and your cell will teach you everything. Except in this case, we are saying, that the canon itself functions something like a hermit's cell; as hermits, we abide, to some extent, in this canon and the God who inspires it. The journey we make together will teach us everything.

Postscript: Please know the title of this post is a bit tongue-in-cheek!

A Contemplative Moment: Courage (Reprise)

 

Courage

 

is a word that tempts us to think outwardly, to run bravely against opposing fire, to do something under besieging circumstances. . .

 

Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another, with a community, a work, a future. To be courageous is not necessarily to go anywhere or do anything except to make conscious those things we already feel deeply and then to live through the unending vulnerabilities of those consequences.

 

To be courageous is to seat our feelings deeply in the body and in the world: to live up to and into the necessities of relationships that often already exist, with things we find we already care deeply about: with a person, a future, a possibility in society, or with an unknown that begs us on and always has begged us on. To be courageous is to stay close to the way we are made.

 

The French philosopher Camus used to tell himself quietly to live to the point of tears, not as a call for maudlin sentimentality, but as an invitation to the deep privilege of belonging and the way belonging affects us, shapes us and breaks our heart at a fundamental level. It is a fundamental dynamic of human incarnation to be moved by what we feel, as if surprised by the actuality and privilege of love and affection and its possible loss. Courage is what love looks like when tested by the simple everyday necessities of being alive. . ..

 

by David Whyte in

Consolations, The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words