Do Hermits Watch the News?

[[Hi Sister Laurel, I wondered if hermits watch the news and if they don't, is this because they are turning away from the world? If they do watch the news, then why do they do this? Aren't they supposed to be separated from the world?]]

Interesting questions, thank you.  I can't speak for hermits generally in this, so let me answer in terms of my own life. I don't watch the news usually because I don't have cable, but I do catch up with things on my computer. I tend to listen to or watch several programs regularly, including Rachel Maddow, along with the writing and videos of Heather Cox Richardson. Prof. Richardson does a daily letter and a video of what's going on in the same way. This last January, watching the news in any way whatsoever became really difficult for me, and because it is important for a hermit to know what is really going on, I decided I could not forego watching. Instead, I prayed before "the news," and I prayed and read Scripture afterwards.

So, why is watching the news (or catching this in some other way) so important that I had to add prayer periods to make it possible? It is critical, I believe, to have a strong sense of the suffering of the larger world, not in some general or abstract way, but through one's compassionate attention to real people and contemporary stories. More, it is critical to the hermit's vocation to be aware of the profound questions people struggle with and are, so that one may be an interceding or intercessory presence in the Church and larger world. At the same time, the hermit represents these questions; she poses her own and comes to embody the answer that is God in Christ. Beyond intercessory prayer, the hermit takes on a role as intercessor in Christ, and in all of this, she becomes more compassionate and loving in and of the suffering world. 

It is critical that the hermit participates in the ongoing suffering of the world and in the life of God at the same time. Ponam in Deserto Viam sees the hermit's intercession not only as valuable in itself, but as a substantive preventative of self-centeredness that can come from a solitary life merely seeking personal holiness. Like any Christian, the hermit grows as she learns to love both God and mankind together. Ponam quotes Pope Francis: "prayer will be all the more pleasing to God and more effective for our growth in holiness if, through intercession . . . it is an expression of our fraternal concern for others. Of those who commit themselves generously to intercessory prayer prayer we can apply the words of Scripture: "This is a man who loves the brethren and prays much for the people." (2 Mac 15:14) in Gaudete et Exsultate, 154.

The world from which hermits maintain a stricter separation is that reality which is resistant to Christ, not the larger world of God's good creation. Yes, these overlap and living the stricter separation appropriate to the hermit takes discernment and care; still, intercession is also a matter of witnessing to the larger world. Turning away from everything outside the hermitage to pursue personal holiness alone is misguided and a betrayal of the eremitic vocation. Ponam in Deserto Viam points out that, "By interceding, the hermit brings into this world the image of the world to come, in which God will wipe away every tear (Rev 21:4) and the communion of saints will be fulfilled."