On Parishes understanding the Hermit's Vocation

[[Hi Sister Laurel, do you find your parish doesn't understand your vocation? Would you choose not to tell people you area consecrated hermit because "Catholics cannot understand this?" I read something like this recently and don't understand why Catholics would have a hard time understanding it. The blog passage I read had a priest telling the hermit not to tell people about her identity (status?) because "Catholics wouldn't understand it". Guess I already said that, but why would a parish priest say that? Couldn't he help the hermit by introducing her and talking about the vocation? Does this have something to do with the hiddenness of the vocation? How do you or your diocese make sure your diocese and parish understand your vocation?]]

Good questions and some things I will need to guess at though as I think about instances I have read about, I think they are reasonable guesses. I think in a general sense my parish recognizes that I am a contemplative woman religious. I think fewer among them really understand what being a hermit is all about, but at the same time, they are more than open to finding out about that. In the beginning of my time at the parish I gave a talk on being a hermit and I think that was helpful. In the future I would like to do another talk and combine it with a presentation on desert spirituality itself, something which could have wide appeal for anyone given its importance in developing a healthy spirituality. Most times, however, I tend to answer people's questions on a one-on-one basis-- a much more casual approach to things. I never choose not to tell people who I am because I am publicly responsible for the solitary eremitical vocation under c 603 and currently am the only diocesan hermit Oakland has or has ever known. It is who I am; I can't hide that or lie about it or pretend to something else. Most of the time I am in my hermitage so when I can be available and provide accurate information I try to do that.

Knowledgeable Parishes and parishioners:

There is no reason Catholics cannot understand having a consecrated hermit in their midst. If a priest has asked someone to refrain from telling people in the parish that they are a consecrated hermit I think it is more likely to be about them (the hermit) than it is to be about the (other) parishioners. For instance, it might well be because they are not really a consecrated hermit and the priest is attempting to protect them from the reaction of others to an announcement which would make them look foolish or delusional or something similar. Since fraud is something of a problem today with some hermits coming into parishes and presenting themselves in this way, the best way to protect the sensibilities of the parishioners and the feelings of someone misrepresenting themselves (no matter the reason for this!) is simply to say, "Oh, I wouldn't go there; don't tell people about that -- they won't get it." I suspect, therefore, it could be a face-saving device which is pastorally sensitive and protective to both the individual who is misleadingly claiming consecrated standing as well as to the members of the parish faith community who would react to this.

I just cannot imagine any other reason for such a comment by a parish priest, but especially I cannot imagine a parish priest telling a consecrated hermit, "Don't say anything; Catholics will never understand this" and meaning it literally! What many Catholics would not understand, for instance, is a person telling them someone is a consecrated hermit via private vows. Catholics may not know lots (or even anything at all) about canon 603 or eremitical life in the Church per se, but they tend to understand religious life and know that private vows do not EVER a consecrated person/religious make!  If the putative hermit has other things besides her claims to be consecrated hermit which make her seem eccentric in this way or that, the tendency to question her claims will be encouraged and magnified. The easiest way to avoid all this along with the pain and fallout which could come to the hermit and parish as a result is to ask her simply not to make her claim in the first place. "Don't tell folks you are a consecrated hermit; they won't "get" what you are claiming and you will alienate them and isolate yourself in the process!"

The Pastor's Assistance, helping the hermit fulfill her Mission:

And yes, you are exactly correct in suggesting how a parish priest or pastor would tend to proceed if they truly have a solitary consecrated hermit in their parish -- especially if that hermit will be attending Sunday and/or daily Mass at times. They would introduce the hermit (at liturgy or in the bulletin, for instance), say something about the vocation, canon 603, the place and date where the hermit was publicly professed/consecrated, and perhaps outline some of the ways the hermit will and will not participate in the life of this faith community. A pastor might well indicate the hermit would like to receive prayer requests but would prefer not to get phone calls with these, much less knocks on the hermitage door. I sometimes offer Bible study and other things so I try to indicate the best way to contact me (email) and, if a person needs to phone, hours when it is best to try and reach me or, on the other hand, to refrain from calling the hermitage.

You see, the hermit, no matter how strict her physical solitude, represents a form of ministry in the parish and the diocese; she is there for God and others, never merely for herself. This fundamental understanding of the eremitical vocation is one of the reasons hermits have always given a privileged place to hospitality should guests arrive at their hermitage. Hospitality, over the centuries, has come to mean many things but it does not cease to be a privileged reality for the hermit precisely because her vocation is lived for others; it is not individualistic or selfish. Similarly, eremitical hiddenness, as I wrote earlier, exists for the sake (and as a reflection) of other more primary values and I don't see how that would have to do with the statement you quoted anyway. (I just can't imagine a link here.) Underlying any of the central elements of canon 603 specifically or eremitical life in the Church more generally --- assiduous prayer and penance, stricter separation from the world, the silence of solitude --- is the foundational understanding that this life is lived "for the praise of God and the salvation of others (or, 'of the world')". It is up to the hermit with the aid of her bishop and parish pastor to work out how  can and will best be carried out and witnessed to in her concrete faith community while protecting and nurturing the hermit's own eremitical life in the silence of solitude.

My own diocese made sure there was a diocesan-wide newspaper article on my profession and consecration. I think that's pretty typical in dioceses around the world. Beyond this, working things out falls to me with the assistance of my Director and my pastor. Other parishes may and have asked me to do presentations on the eremitical life for them; groups within the parish or diocese may request the same. In general I am responsible for accepting or declining such invitations as I can, and I am similarly responsible for making clear when I can actually be available if I must decline. I have not found nor would I expect that my diocese plays a continuing role in educating people on my vocation beyond the publicity surrounding profession; though the diocese would be of support in this it mainly falls to me and indirectly, to my pastor.