Followup on Why God Wills Many Forms of Hermit Life in the Catholic Church

 [[Sister Laurel, you wrote that there will always be non-canonical hermits and that they would likely always outnumber canonical hermits. What makes you say that, especially about the numbers of them?]]

Thanks for following up. I say what I do in part because I know in my own diocese the number of people they get (or have gotten in the past) petitioning for admission consecrated eremitical life under c 603 is many times the number of c 603 hermits we have (a ratio of about 120 to 1). I also belong to a couple of groups of hermits online, the majority of members of which are lay or non-canonical. The membership of one of these groups is more than 300 -- though I would guess about half are just curious about hermits or maybe "wannabes". Even so, that leaves @150 lay or non-canonical hermits in the group. The second one is drawn from Catholics and I am not sure of the number of members, but several hundred -- only a handful of which are canonical. The first group mentioned above then, are from a single diocese in this country, and the second group is drawn from many dioceses from more than one country. That alone suggests to me that there are far more lay hermits out there throughout the world than there are consecrated hermits and that the numbers will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

Partly my guess in this comes from the rarity of consecrated diocesan hermit vocations. Dioceses, rightly I think, don't profess everyone who comes in the door seeking to be professed. There are many reasons for this. Most are valid while some few are not. Many of those refused admission to profession will continue to live as hermits in the non-canonical state; it is what God calls the person to be. Some of these will re-petition in several more years, after living the life and gaining the experience needed to live this vocation in the name of the Church; they may be granted admission to profession at that time; others will remain lay or non-canonical hermits for the rest of their lives --- that is, they will be hermits living this life by virtue of their baptism and standing in the baptized (lay) state, without admission to a second consecration (or to standing in the consecrated state) as the language goes today.

I also know because I hear from non-canonical hermits mainly in the US and Great Britain or, because I see the numbers of non-canonical hermits from all over contributing to publications like Raven's Bread. Some dioceses don't profess c 603 hermits, but they do allow non-canonical hermits to commit or dedicate themselves at Mass (Archdiocese of Seattle is one of these and may be a pioneer in this arrangement). Regina Kreger, whom I've written about in the past is a non-canonical hermit who writes some beautiful reflections. Joyful Hermit, with whom I have mainly disagreed over the years, is also a known dedicated lay hermit with private vows and a significant online presence. For every canonical hermit I meet or hear of, I meet or hear about several, even many, others who are non-canonical. Thus, I believe there are more lay or non-canonical hermits out there than canonical ones --- and after all, that is how it has always been, particularly since the days of the Desert Abbas and Ammas!!

Finally, because I know eremitical life to be a significant and prophetic vocation that militates against the individualism epidemic in our time and speaks in a particularly vivid way to the chronically ill, disabled, or those who are otherwise marginalized, I believe that God calls people to it in real numbers and in every state of life (except marriage). A tiny minority of these are c 603 hermits, and that is as it should be. There "must" be a greater number of lay hermits, not least because the lay state is so critical for the healthy and vibrant life of the church, but also because rare as hermits are, the vocation is radically Christian and every state needs the modeling hermits provide! It is a rare and focused vocation, but it is not meant to be an esoteric or an elitist one!! This is one reason I was very pleased to hear what the Archdiocese of Seattle is doing with lay hermits there! When I answered your original question, I remarked on the appropriateness of God calling people to be hermits in lay, consecrated, and clerical states. I definitely find that fact both inspiring and humbling! Those c 603 hermits I know personally, feel similarly.

Postscript (04 October): please note that non-canonical does not mean illegal or that one is an illegal hermit!!! No one baptized as a member of the Church is illegal!! Non-canonical is a shorthand way of saying that one is not bound by additional canon laws beyond those that come with baptism. This is especially the case when there is the possibility of canonical solitary hermits. When a person becomes a c 603 hermit, new canons (norms) apply to them that did not apply simply because they were baptized. When a person becomes a religious or priest, new canons apply to their life that did not apply to them in their baptismal state alone.  The same is true of hermits now under c 603. These persons have been granted and embraced rights and obligations a person does not have by virtue of baptism and the other Sacraments of initiation alone.

Also, please note well, being non-canonical as in a "non-canonical hermit" especially does not mean that one is not a hermit and cannot call oneself (or be!!) a Catholic. It does mean that one cannot call oneself a Catholic Hermit (i.e., a hermit living this life in the name of the Church) because the Church has not called and professed her to do this. Instead, one remains a Catholic AND (is also) a hermit. For those looking for language to describe this identity, we say one is a non-canonical or a lay hermit. This causes no difficulties in being understood by other Catholics and makes no unwarranted claims! cf Illegal or Illicit? Canon 603 is normative of solitary consecrated eremitical life in the Church, but (as the above post demonstrates) one can be a hermit in the baptized or lay state as well. Just ask the Archdiocese of Seattle!!!

"Happier Hermit" Reflects on Freedom from "Masking"

In January of 2020 I posted an article about Regina Kreger, a lay hermit who unofficially took the name Felicity upon making private vows as a lay hermit. Fittingly, Regina/Felicity has a blog called Being a Happy Hermit, and yesterday she posted an article there entitled "Happier Hermit." It is one of the best posts I have read illustrating what hermits recognize life in a hermitage makes possible, namely, the absence of masking (no, not physical masking due to COVID!) --- where "masking" is something Felicity points out we all do at least from time to time, and especially in certain situations.

 While hermitages are not the only place or situation in which an absence of masking is made possible, their essential nature is defined in terms of this phenomenon. Even the idea of a "stricter separation from the world" is about the absence of masking or the transparency that life in a hermitage makes possible. Thomas Merton referred a number of times to the same experience in eremitical life when he wrote of the lack of pretense, or even the bone deep sanity one finds there. Some readers might remember that he wrote about the impossibility of remaining insane (and here he was speaking about all the forms of pretense and personal dishonesty life ordinarily allows or even demands) in the face of the deep sanity of the forest or desert. I more routinely use the term "transparency" or even humility (a form of loving honesty) to speak of this significant form of sanity. It is an important expression of authentic freedom, namely the freedom to be ourselves and to take the same kind of delight in our own and others' truth that God takes.

Felicity, a fine writer (and authentic hermit it seems to me), illustrates the meaning of all of these terms and descriptions in her post: Happier Hermit. She routinely posts thoughtful and profoundly insightful posts illustrating significant dimensions of eremitical life. For instance, on the occasion of the renewal of her vows this month she posted about why eremitical life is not a stopgap or fallback calling for her in: Solitude. She summarizes this by saying loudly and proudly, "I'm NOT settling!!" I recommend folks give her blog a second and third look (and a first, of course, if you haven't done that yet)!! Meanwhile, my congratulations to Felicity/Regina on the renewal of her vows and best wishes and prayer as her eremitical adventure continues, (soon to be) "somewhere" in Europe instead of Maryland, USA, or even in Spain.

Regina Kreger to Make private Vows as a Hermit

One of the things I have written about a lot here is the fact that it is entirely possible to be a privately vowed hermit within the Catholic Church as an alternative to consecrated eremitical life under canon 603 or within a canonical institute of hermits. Recently it has been suggested that this option is going away as c 603 becomes "the way of the Church". I have disagreed with that and continue to disagree. Lay hermits (hermits living their lives in the lay state but living excellent and paradigmatic eremitical lives exist and have done since the days of the Desert Abbas and Ammas who followed Christ in this. One discerns what is right for oneself and takes the steps necessary to achieving it. (If one believes they are called to consecrated eremitical life, one will discern this with the diocesan Vicar for Religious and/or Bishop.)




In the video above I was quite impressed with this hermit's clarity and ability to express the landmarks of her journey. Felicity (Regina's newly-taken hermit name*) has, like many who become hermits, had difficulties throughout her life that she has had to learn to live with and through. She speaks matter-of-factly about these from the perspective of one transcending them through the grace of God. She has clearly had the kind of redemptive experience I recognize as central to any eremitical life and frankly articulates that. For Felicity, it is private vows and a life of silence, solitude, simplicity and (because she is a Benedictine Oblate), conversatio morum, which are the way she recognizes God is calling her to live a call to holiness in the lay state. She is clear that she is not going to be a canonical consecrated hermit, but seems not to find any need to be one. Exactly!!  She strikes me as genuine, joyful, and someone I personally will learn from if I can** as she continues the tradition of eremitical life in the Church after the example of innumerable hermits from the Desert Abbas and Ammas onward.

I wish her very well in this  chapter of her journey and am grateful for the significant sharing this video represents!! Especially, I am glad to find a hermit clearly and courageously representing an edifying example of an eremitical vocation in the lay state. She especially indicates with her life how important and what a significant call to holiness life in the lay (i.e., the baptized) state is! Her witness is incredibly important to the whole church but hermits and those discerning hermit vocations especially will benefit.
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* Regina can take a new name as she might at oblation as an OSB Oblate in some monasteries. This is not truly the same as a Religious name because she is not a religious, nor (unless she changes her name legally) can she use it in civil documents, for instance. She will not style herself as Sister, but in this private (in-house) way she will mark and celebrate the life step she is taking.

** I am hoping to be able to get a way to contact her occasionally.