Blogs, Books and Miscellaneous Questions re Lay Hermits

[[Dear Sr Laurel, I have enjoyed your posts which speak so positively of lay eremitical life. I've looked all over on the internet for blogs by lay hermits but I can't seem to find any. Oh, you  know, there are eccentrics living lives of solitude and some of them are really impressive, but they don't seem to be religious hermits. So I was really pleased to see the video of Regina (Felicity) and her decision to make private vows as a hermit in the Benedictine tradition. It's ironical to find it on your blog since you are a consecrated hermit. Do you have any blogs you could recommend by lay hermits who are "loud" and "proud" about their vocations? (I guess hermits don't get loud or proud but you get what I mean, I think,) How about books by hermits, are there any by lay hermits you could recommend? Why is it so hard for lay hermits to accept their state of life, anyway? You said something about Vatican II, so  maybe you can say more about that? Thanks.]]

Great mail and questions, thanks! I know what you mean about finding it difficult to locate really paradigmatic lay hermits on the web. I have known a couple of blogs or websites by lay hermits but their owners both had trouble themselves accepting they lived this life in the lay state. One of these moved from blog to blog as things changed in her life and it became harder for her to write about eremitical life itself or her own state of life. The other had a similar problem and dressed in a religious habit and styled himself "Brother" despite never having been given the right to either by an appropriate authority. The shame in this was that his writing and photography were both stunning; the dishonesty was unnecessary and more importantly, neither of these persons were able to witness openly or appropriately to the way God was actually working through them to the church and especially to other lay people who might also be called to eremitical life in the lay state. There are a couple of women living as solitaries who are wonderful examples of eremitical life in the lay state but I will need to locate their blogs; I haven't kept up my blog links.

Books might be a tad easier. I read one last week I really enjoyed. It was called One Man's Wilderness,  and was taken from the amazing journals of a hermit (Richard Proenneke) who lived in Alaska, built his own cabin with hand tools, created his own utensils, bowls, etc. He was an amazing craftsman, careful, meticulous, and someone who showed amazing focus and forethought. I would say he was a contemplative -- though not a man of prayer exactly -- because he was attentive, patient, and a man of peace seeking to live in real harmony with creation. Dick was in profound touch with the rhythms of creation and he honored nature at every turn. He was not antisocial and certainly not misanthropic. A friend flew provisions in for him pretty regularly and brought and picked up mail at the same time. Proenneke kept in touch with family in this way, took and shared photographs and got presents (warm clothing, knitted socks, home-made curtains, etc.), for his incredible handmade log cabin.
 Also, Richard was incredibly articulate, a bit of a poet, and  taught me any number of new words! (These tended to be geographical terms or those having to do with woodworking and woodworking tools, for instance.)

Reading about the way he lived from season to season was amazing. (The first Winter the temp dropped to nearly 50 degrees below zero and with each journal entry he would end by noting the temperature and marking how deep the lake ice was -- the ice is at 36 inches thick; the ice is 42 inches think today, etc! I got cold just reading this. He did the same as Spring neared and came with the number slowly moving in the opposite direction and I could feel the sunlight gradually strengthening from its wintry state); similarly, to read how he planned and built his very carefully- constructed cabin, was  inspiring. When he later added a fireplace and chimney constructed from rocks he gradually and very methodically gathered during fishing and other trips it was even more impressive. The story was sometimes harrowing, tragic, or otherwise poignant, and often humorous. The book was interesting because the man and the way he approached life was interesting. Dick was himself interested in and curious about everything he saw and he saw everything; consequently, I got caught up in that and was pulled along as he showed his awareness and shared how he thought and felt about it all. Significantly, the story was not at all narcissistic. I have a couple more books on hand (bios or autobios of hermits like Richard Kropf) but haven't read enough of them to recommend. Now that I  know of your interest though, I will post on this occasionally.

On another tack, why does it seem to be so hard for lay hermits to accept the state of life in which they live their lives? It is not just hermits of course, but the lack of understanding of what constitutes a consecrated solitary hermit along with the relative newness of c 603 does add to the situation and may make it easier for folks  to set themselves up as consecrated. One piece of all of this seems to be the prevalent misuse of "consecrate" for something human beings do to themselves rather than something only God can do. At the same time it seems to be a leftover from pre-Vatican II times when religious life and priesthood were seen as the "real" vocations.

To even speak of "having a vocation" meant moving from what was often (mis)treated as "entry-level" Catholic life (the baptized state) to religious life  and priesthood. It takes time for changes to take hold, for conciliar teaching to be received and made real in everyday life. The universal call to holiness and the significance of the lay vocation (or the many vocations that exist in the lay state) are taken more seriously by some (especially by religious women) but the entire Church still has a long way to go to implement the teaching of Vatican II in this regard. For instance, it seems that there should be a way of celebrating various significant vocational pathways in the lay state. To allow someone to be recognized specifically as a lay hermit in their parish and to do that in a way which does not confuse folks re the state of life might be a way of allowing people to imagine possibilities and understand that the Church truly values lay vocations.

I do think it is a mistake to simply allow someone to live a lie because doing that really hurts them in the long run as well as their relationship with God and everyone else. In the eremitical life there have been so many eccentrics, stereotypes and straight-out nutcases, that a person misrepresenting himself as a consecrated hermit, for instance, is unlikely ever to get much of a hearing in a parish or diocesan chancery. Instead, they may be rejected because misrepresentation is such a huge obstacle to allowing oneself or one's vocation to be known. Of course one can't force a person to accept the truth  of their vocational state if they think it is second class or insignificant. Even so, we all have to work to make it clear how truly valuable vocations in the lay state are just as we must honor the calls of our brothers and sisters. To do this  is to honor the God who calls them.

Meanwhile, back to websites and books, I'll keep my eyes open and either email you or add them to the list of blogs in the lower right column or create a post. Do check out the book I described: not an openly religious hermit but very much a contemplative nonetheless. It's available and inexpensive on kindle. Good reading!