On Misunderstandings of my Position on the Non-Canonical Eremitical Vocation

[[Dear Sister, I think your posts on lay (non-canonical) hermits and the c 603 vocation as norm or paradigm have caused a bit of a kerfluffle elsewhere on the internet! You may already be aware of it but it raises a question for me I hope you will answer. To wit, have you always believed lay hermits represent a valid form of eremitical life?]]

Well, as someone who lived eremitical life as a lay hermit for some years (It was early days in the life of c 603 then, and I had to leave my community to try what c 603 outlined), it would be a surprise to find I didn't believe the vocation was valid. What is true too, however, is that once c 603 was promulgated, I began to see that as the normative way to live solitary eremitical life in the Roman Catholic Church and I tended to believe that living as a lay hermit with private vows was valid, but also merely preparatory for assuming canonical standing under canon 603 --- now that there was such a canon which did justice to solitary eremitical life and understood it as a "state of perfection" and an ecclesial vocation. That was the view I held on the day I was professed. Within the year, however, it became clear to me that the Church was going to use c 603 sparingly for some time into the future, and also, that some were perfectly happy living eremitical lives outside canonical channels. 

Some simply wanted no part in assuming the legal and moral obligations that came with canonical standing; others simply could not do so for various reasons even if they wanted to. And most importantly, there were the exemplars of eremitical life we know as the Desert Abbas and Ammas who would never have sought canonical standing because of the prophetic nature of their eremitic vocations rooted in their disapproval of the post-martyrdom, post-Edict of Milan (or Constantinian) church. In short, though I felt called to live eremitical life under c 603, not everyone else did or could; also, the long history of the church indicated most hermits had always been (and likely always would be) non-canonical hermits. This was coupled in my mind with Vatican Council II and its emphasis on the importance and dignity of the laity. Thus, I began to write here about the importance of the lay/non-canonical eremitical vocation within months of perpetual profession.

Two of the early posts in this vein were from mid-November 2008: On the Importance of the Lay Hermit, and How Credible is My Writing on the Importance of Lay Hermits? This second article indicates I had already been writing about the importance of lay eremitical vocations for a while (and here I am using Lay in the vocational, not the hierarchical sense), so again, I was writing to support the lay (non-canonical) eremitical life within months of my consecration under c 603. Much of this writing was meant to address hermits who, it seemed, were unlikely to seek or to be admitted to c 603 for any number of reasons, and who therefore needed to be able to accept the dignity of the lay vocation if they were ever to live non-canonical eremitism well and whole-heartedly. Yes, I wrote about canon 603 as well and I did so from a very positive perspective --- after all, I was exploring this vocation from the perspective of perpetual profession and consecration; my bishop had told my parish during his homily at my consecration that that was precisely what I would be doing, so that's hardly surprising. Other Religious I respected recognized the need for this vocation to be better understood, particularly by someone living it, and with a strong theological background rather than by a canon lawyer. Even so, I tried to be evenhanded about both vocations. Whether I ultimately succeeded in that or not, by 2008 I was writing passages like the following on a regular basis:        

Still, the question is important, not only for me personally, but because it is really the question every hermit must answer in some form in discerning and embracing the call not only to eremitical life, but to lay or consecrated states as the critical context for their own charism, witness, and mission. At this point I wish to say merely that whichever choice one discerns and makes, the eremitical life they are discerning and choosing is a real and significant vocation and that we must learn to esteem not only the similarities they share with their counterpart (lay or consecrated), but especially their unique gift quality and capacity to speak variously to different segments of the church and world.

 So, I am sorry if my position in these matters has been misunderstood or if someone is upset because of what I have written about the paradigmatic notion of canonical eremitical life, whether solitary or semi-eremitical. However, I am clear about what I have been writing consistently for the past @16+ years in support of the non-canonical or lay eremitical life. That also includes what happens when it is lived badly by eccentrics, frauds, and posers. There are laughable and tragic stereotypes throughout the history of lay eremitical life that are often the first thing folks think of when the word "hermit" is heard. I believe c 603 helps to avoid those. Still, those living authentic eremitical lives, whether non-canonical or canonical should surely cringe at these proverbial "cuckoos" in the eremitical nest! I believe I have written consistently about this as well.

Questions on Types of Hermits and Use of the term Lay Hermits

[[ Hi Sister, you usually write about 3 types of hermits. I wondered if you could explain why CICLSAL says there are 4 kinds? Also, you speak of lay hermits and you wrote about the hierarchical meaning of "lay" recently. Could you cite some official church document that speaks of lay hermits? Thank you.]]

Hi there yourself! You must be asking about the DICLSAL document, The Hermit's Way of Life in the Local Church (Ponam in Deserto Viam, Is 43:19) Guidelines. The difference between the way DICLSAL divides hermits and I do points to a significant oversight on my part really. DICLSAL includes hermits who are members of fundamentally cenobitical communities whose proper law (the law proper to the congregation itself which governs as well as canon law) allows for this option. Generally, I have overlooked this type of hermit not because they are unimportant, but because they do live eremitical lives, but under the proper law of the congregation. Discernment, resources, ministry of authority, Rule, etc., all fall under the congregational Constitutions and Statutes. In my mind it's a self-enclosed world, where one is professed as a member of a community and not as a hermit; though I am sure I have mentioned this option existing, it was this that caused me to overlook it, so thanks for reminding me of what DICLSAL lists as the four forms of eremitical life. (For readers not familiar with the document noted, the four types of hermit are:

1.  Clerical/Lay members of non-eremitical (i.e., monastic or apostolic) institutes of consecrated life living as hermits because it is an option and is regulated under proper law; (please note in this and other categories, DICLSAL has lay persons as members of an institute of consecrated life when lay is used in this hierarchical sense). In this sense of the word, one can be in the consecrated state and lay at the same time. 
2. clerical/lay members belonging to eremitic or semi-eremitic institutes of consecrated life whose lives are regulated under universal and proper law, that is under both canon and proper law.
3. clerical/lay faithful who live eremitical lives without professing the evangelical counsels, (please note that Ponans specifically affirms that all the baptized are called to live the evangelical counsels according to their own state of life, ( cf. Par 33); because of this the emphasis of the italicized and emboldened phrase falls on the word professing used in its technical or proper meaning. In this sense profession/professing always refers to a public ecclesial act and not to an act of private avowal no matter who witnesses the act); this also speaks specifically then to secular clergy and lay persons living as hermits without benefit of profession since promises to one's bishop notwithstanding, secular clergy do not profess the evangelical counsels while clergy who are members of institutes of consecrated life always do. Thus, both secular priests and lay persons who do not make public profession can live as hermits. The church recognizes this as a valid form of eremitical life.
4. clerical/lay members of the faithful professing the evangelical counsels by vows or other sacred bonds, in the hands of the local bishop, (C 603 or diocesan hermits).  [The profession of other sacred bonds is what is meant when the Catechism says without always making vows publicly. By definition, profession is always a public act, and with C 603 one need not use vows but can use other sacred bonds.]

I think it is clear just from the document you yourself referred to that hermits can be either clerical or lay members of the faithful. In all cases DICLSAL is using the hierarchical notion of lay (i.e., anyone not in orders is laity). In the types noted above, members of institutes of consecrated life (i.e.,  religious women and men), whether eremitical, semi-eremitical, monastic or apostolic are either clerical or lay despite profession and consecration. While one could therefore refer to a lay hermit or a priest hermit, as I have done in the past for specific situations or persons, the better general solution is to refer to hermits in terms of their canonical status/standing, either non-canonical or canonical (or, alternately, non-canonical or consecrated. This would include those hermits mentioned above living their eremitical lives under the proper law of a congregation; they would be canonical religious (Benedictines, Carmelites, etc.) living legitimately as non-canonical hermits). This also avoids the confusing ambiguities of the term lay when the hierarchical sense contrasts with a vocational sense. If you want further evidence of the use of lay hermits (or hermits who embrace the evangelical counsels and remain in the lay state), please let me know.

I haven't written here much about Ponans, though folks have asked me several times about whether I had plans to do so or not. I am grateful for your questions; perhaps they will get me started doing some reflections on these important guidelines.

Please note: CICLSAL is now a Dicastery rather than a Congregation, thus the initials DICLSAL rather than CICLSAL.

Normative vs non-Normative Vocations: Canonical vs Non-Canonical Hermits and the Misuse of Terms Like Illegal or Illicit

[[ Dear Sister Laurel, what is an "illegal" or "illicit" hermit? In your post on April 12, 2023 you wrote about non-canonical vocation to eremitical life as ancient and of continuing value. I wondered about someone who believes his own eremitical vocation was rendered illicit or illegal because it is not a c 603 vocation. You may not understand why he would say this but it seems like he feels what was the traditional form of hermit life was made illegal when c 603 came into existence. That seems to be what he is saying.]]

Thanks for the question, but I don't know what that is. Seems to me someone asked something similar several years ago. I will need to look through some older posts to see if I can find that. If I can't locate it I will need to get more information from you. The truth, however, regarding the language of canonicity is pretty simple in the Catholic Church. A canon is a norm and when something is made canonical it means that thing, whether a collection of Scriptures, a form of life, a particular office, a set of requirements, etc., is normative according to the church's understanding of something; on the other hand, non-canonical means not normative according to the church's understanding of the thing. By virtue of baptism alone one can live an eremitical life in any way they believe is appropriate for them and feel called to do. However, one is not a Catholic Hermit because what one lives is a private matter and one doesn't live this life, nor is one called to do so, according to all of the norms (standards) governing canonical eremitical life. One does it instead by virtue of one's lay state and the freedom one has in Christ. 

In this case, one dedicates him/herself to serve God in the eremitical life. S/he may make private vows of some sort, but they will not rise to the level of religious profession, nor will they be public or canonical. Because these kinds of commitments (public, canonical) are absent, and because the canonical rights and obligations (along with the expectations granted to the faithful generally in regard to this vocation) are similarly absent, we call this kind of eremitical life non-canonical. It does NOT mean illicit or illegal nor do I know anyone who considers this to be the case. Again, it is simply not normative of ecclesial eremitical life (i.e., it is not canonical) --- though it may well represent an excellent instance of eremitical life and one any hermit can learn from. 

There are two other forms of eremitical life in the church and both involve public (canonical) profession and consecration by God mediated by the Church and are lived in the name of the Church. These are normative forms of eremitical life in the Church. Thus too, both are marked by legal or normative (canonical) rights and obligations that do not obtain in the first form of this life. Another way of saying this is to note that they are both canonical because they are forms of life marked by canonical rights and obligations beyond those that come with baptism. The first is solitary eremitical life (members of which could become a lavra on a temporary basis) and the other is semi-eremitical (a canonical community or institute of hermits), where one's profession is made within the context of the institute. In both of these one makes a profession which, by the way, means more than the making of vows (an act of dedication, by the way). Sandra Schneiders, IHM, makes it clear that profession is a broader act than the simple making of vows. First it is a public act in which the individual takes on the kinds of rights and obligations mentioned above and does so as an expression and realization of a gift of God which has been entrusted to the Church and can only be mediated to one by the Church.

Secondly, then, an act of profession is an ecclesial act where the church extends to the individual the right to make such a profession, affirms them as called to live this in the name of the church, and establishes with various structures and offices a context meant to assure the gift is well-lived and continues the tradition into which the individual has been professed as a living, fruitful stream of the Holy Spirit. This differs from a private avowal which ordinarily involves no one but the individual(s) making the vows. Someone may witness such vows, but no one receives them on behalf of the church, no additional public rights nor obligations are entrusted nor taken on, no change of state occurs (there is no additional consecration by God** so one remains in the baptized state alone), and so forth. With private or non-canonical eremitical vocations vows or other forms of dedication don't even need to be made (though foregoing these might be unwise). Still, the dedication may be informal or formal (though still entirely private) --- depending on what suits the individual hermit. 

For canonical hermits profession is made in two ways, first, for solitary hermits, under c 603. When this canon is used, the profession is made to God in the hands of the local ordinary. Because we are speaking about the public assumption and entrustment of the hermit with ecclesial rights and obligations, the rite of profession (involving both profession and commissioning) is mediated by the church. The second way is to admit an individual to membership in an institute of consecrated life living eremitical life. This is familiar to us as admission into religious life and all that constitutes that. Individuals make their professions to God in the hands of the Prior(ess), Abbot (Abbess), of the order, that is in the hands of the general superior. (In both of these forms or eremitical life, perpetual or solemn profession God's consecration of the hermit is also mediated with a solemn blessing of consecration given by the bishop. Similarly, visible symbols of the new state, rights, and obligations, dedication and commission) This mediation continues throughout the entirety of the hermit's life. Hence, it involves canonical structures, an approved Rule, legitimate superiors, ecclesial requirements, etc., to allow the church to ensure this gift of consecrated life contributes to the holiness of the church.

All of this is recognized by the church in her (still relatively) new Canon 603. Here she extends to the solitary hermit who petitions and is accepted by her diocese for profession and then consecration, the standing that had been extended to religious institutes throughout the centuries. Individual dioceses had done some similar things in the late middle ages, usually in order to introduce some structure, obligations,  and responsibilities (i.e., norms) into the ranks of hermits traveling throughout the countryside, when bishops established statutes hermits had to commit to be allowed to represent themselves as hermits/anchorites or to preach and beg. But canon 603 goes further than these statutes for what c 603 does is establish the hermit in what was once called a state of perfection (now, the consecrated state) and allows a solitary hermit to be regarded as a religious despite not belonging to an institute of consecrated life. the Church did this not only to recognize the significance of the eremitical vocation, but to protect it and authentic vocations to it. 

Despite what sometimes seemed like hoards of solitary hermits (for instance, in Italy at the time of Romuald) and the number of institutes of hermits established over the centuries, very few of such institutes lived into the 20th Century and individual hermits became a rarity. Most well-known are the Camaldolese and the Carthusians, but there were also Carmelites, and some hermits within other institutes like the Trappists and Trappistines. Still, eremitical life was a rare and poorly understood vocation. After all, in the Western church, the eremitical life had almost died out. And of course, it was not so easy in the contemporary world to go off into the boonies and establish oneself as a hermit in the ways that were once possible. Moreover, our contemporary world often mistakes various other forms of life for the genuinely eremitical, including individualism, cocooning, misanthropy, agoraphobia, etc. 

Within the church herself,  contemplative life became rarer, genuine silence and solitude much harder to find, shifts in spirituality that themselves were healthy and the necessary emphasis on ministerial life threw shade on eremitical life. But monks and nuns continued to discover calls to greater solitude and silence than their life in community really allowed for. Eventually, in response, the church carved out a space for solitary hermits with c 603. The canonical requirements helped replace the institutes necessary for the Camaldolese and Carthusians, for instance. At the same time, no pre-existing forms of eremitical life were replaced by c 603. Instead, it created a new form of consecrated life. Those baptized and in the lay state could live eremitism in their lay state before c 603 and they still can! The same is true of clerics with their bishop's permission. Thus, no eremitical form of life, especially that made known by the desert Abbas and Ammas who embraced desert spirituality as laity, has been rendered illegal!!! To speak so is misleading and I consider it disedifying given the significance of non-canonical hermit vocations through the centuries. 

** Baptism represents a consecration of the baptized. When one is perpetually professed as a religious or c 603 hermit, a second consecration in the form of a solemn prayer of consecration is extended to the person making their profession. (In temporary vows, the solemn prayer of consecration is not found; instead there is a prayer of blessing.) We call this being initiated into the consecrated state of life. In this act God consecrates the person, the person does not consecrate herself to God. Instead, no matter the commonality of this language of consecrating oneself, the one making profession dedicates herself to God. Only God can consecrate, for God alone is holy and makes holy. Vatican II was very careful always to maintain the distinction between these two verbs, dedicare and consecrare (as well as similar terms).