Can a Person be a Hermit if they Cannot Attend Mass or receive the Sacraments?

[[Dear Sister Laurel, you have written that a good liturgical and sacramental life is essential to the eremitical life. What happens in the case of someone who cannot get to Mass or participate in the sacraments, but wants to live as a hermit?  I think you said that sometimes you can't get to Mass because of your health and this doesn't mean you cannot be a hermit, does it? So what happens if a situation causes a person to be unable to get to Mass or receive the sacraments? If they are already living alone, can they still be a c 603 hermit?]]

Thanks for the questions. If a person's health precludes them from getting to Mass at all (let's say they are bedridden or otherwise unable to get out of the house), there are usually workarounds. If the person is serious about being a hermit, they will need to work with their parish priest and pastoral staff to arrange for regular access to Eucharist and the other Sacraments (anointing, reconciliation). This would allow them at least a weekly reception of the Eucharist as an extension of the parish Mass, and regular reception of the other Sacraments that would be essential for someone dealing with serious illness. It would also allow for the parish to get to know them and for members of the parish acting as EEM's to serve them as a part of the parish faith community. I tend to believe this is critical for someone with aspirations to eremitical life because the hermit, while living in solitude, is also meant to be an integral part of the faith community and its sacramental life.

If a person is not bedridden, then the situation is very much easier (though perhaps such a person can still benefit from regular assistance from EEM's, etc). If one needs a ride, it is usually possible for the parish to arrange this, though once one knows other members of the parish, one can do this oneself, of course. (Also, Lyft and Uber are possibilities to get around in this way.) For other Sacraments (anointing and reconciliation) it is possible to get a priest to come to one's own place. (I have arranged this and had parishioners arrange it for themselves, so I know it is possible.) I can't think of other situations that would preclude one from being able to get to Mass at all (even watching a monastic Mass on ZOOM, when done prayerfully, can serve someone home sick in bed!), so if you have a specific situation in mind that I have not yet addressed (and apparently cannot imagine), you can get back to me with that. Still, your question was about being a canonical hermit if one is unable to get to Mass or receive the Sacraments, so let me deal with that now.

What I have written is that c 603 vocations are ecclesial vocations. This means they "belong" to the Church before they belong to an individual, and God, through the action of the Church, entrusts such vocations to the individual hermit. As ecclesial, such vocations serve the Church in significant ways, not least by proclaiming the truth of the Church's kerygma or proclamation of the Gospel of God in Christ's life, death, and resurrection. The c 603 hermit lives the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church in real, concrete ways as part of her vocation, because she lives her vocation in the very heart of the Church. Yes, accommodations are made for the hermit's solitude and assiduous prayer and penance, so, for instance, most (not all) diocesan hermits are permitted to reserve the Eucharist in their hermitages. Please note, however, this is precisely so the whole of the hermit's life is lived, in the very heart of the Church, not to make up for an inadequate liturgical or sacramental life. Such permission would be unlikely to be given if the hermit were otherwise unable to participate at all in the Church's Liturgical or sacramental life.

Generally speaking, any diocese discerning a vocation to c 603 life would be very unlikely to profess someone who could not attend Mass or receive the Sacraments at all.  This would be a limitation that undercuts the very essence of the vocation itself. First of all, the person desiring to be a hermit would be more an isolated human being than a person living in eremitical solitude. (Remember, solitude, despite its physical aloneness, is the redemption of isolation, not its epitome.) Secondly, that isolation sets the person apart from the Church itself without the accommodations and workarounds mentioned above. Participation in the Church's Sacramental life is absolutely essential for a Catholic Hermit, whether solitary (c 603) or part of an institute of consecrated life (e.g., Carthusians and Camaldolese).  Again, if you are thinking of a specific instance where someone cannot attend Mass or otherwise receive the Sacraments and you believe the details would influence my answer, please get back to me on this. At this point, I have to say that I simply cannot imagine a situation where the Church would not be able to work with someone to be sure they participate in the Church's sacramental life, particularly if this would allow them to live as a hermit in the heart of the Church, rather than an isolated individual estranged from the faith community.