Evaluating this Blog and Other Questions re Discernment

[[Sister Laurel, does c 603 say, "Besides private profession"? I looked and couldn't find that so I wondered if I had a bad translation. Can bishops remove canonical approval from someone when they speak out publicly? Also, does a person's bishop read their public media, their blogs, etc. One hermit I know says bishops should be doing this, and I wondered if you agree.. . .If you find another hermit disagreeing with you about something important, like the way you live solitude, or wear a habit, or things like that, what do you do?]]

Thanks for your questions. No, canon 603 does not say, "besides private profession . . ." Not only are those words not present in the canon (I am sure your translation was just fine), but what eremitical life is being contrasted with are institutes of consecrated life. This means canonical Religious Congregations and Communities. The canon reads, [[Besides institutes of consecrated life. . .]] and then goes on to state that the Church now recognizes eremitical or anchoritic life. Institutes of consecrated life do not use private vows. They are public vocations with public vows and now, with canon 603, so too is solitary eremitical life lived under the canon. Similarly, the word "profession" is not used for private vows because the act of profession is a public one that always initiates the person making such a profession into a new state of life. Using private and profession together is an oxymoron. The bottom line is that c 603 establishes c 603 hermits or anchorites in the consecrated state just as religious in communities are established that way.

Regarding speaking out publicly and what you call "removing canonical approval", as I have written before, the use of the term "canonical approval" ceases to be helpful after one is admitted to canonical standing. What is at stake once one is professed is not approval, canonical or otherwise, but standing in law. If one's bishop determines that some action one has taken is seriously contrary to one's profession and consecration, then he can take actions to dispense the hermit's vows and remove her from the consecrated state of life. But let me be clear, depending on what we are talking about, the action would have to be very serious indeed. Ordinarily, a serious transgression would require a correction and warning that one is jeopardizing one's eremitical life in this way and then too, a second transgression in spite of the correction and warning. (Usually, we are dealing with patterns of behavior that the hermit refuses to change despite significant chances for rehabilitation.) Even then, the hermit can appeal the finding that deprives her of her vows and state of life. Simply speaking out on some issue or another is unlikely to rise to this level.

 I would assume that bishops and/or delegates will know about a hermit's blog, and certainly, they will know about it if the hermit posts frequently as I do. (This will indicate it is important in her life in some way, and most superiors will know what is important to someone they are working with.) Moreover, if the blog is useful in exploring dimensions of c 603, dealing with problems in implementing it, etc., they might encourage this activity. In other words, I don't see any reason bishops should not be reading a person's blog; they might truly benefit from it.

Excursus: Most diocesan hermits begin blogs, but few continue with the exercise. I have begun to invite other diocesan hermits to contribute here occasionally if they have something regarding eremitical life, spirituality, or c 603 life and spirituality particularly --- if they would like to share. I know that this blog has been helpful to some canonists and bishops, and of course, it has been helpful to those seeking to become c 603 hermits, so it would be really excellent if we could broaden the voices available here and deal with things I may not ordinarily focus on or be strong in. (So, notice to c 603 hermits, especially if I have not met you yet, if you feel like you would like to write a piece for this blog, please let me know. There are a couple of kinds of posts here that might already prepare the way for such contributions, we can pretty much do what it takes to make it work for you.)  A couple of persons are already thinking about what they might contribute, and one canonist has already written something on lauras; please give it some thought and prayer. (If you are a non-canonical hermit and would like to contribute to this blog, please let me know what you have in mind and we'll see what we can do!!)

That apparent tangent indicates that bishops do find this blog helpful in some ways and my sense is that a number of bishops may have read this blog during the kerfuffle with Cole Matson after Pentecost and found it helpful. I don't know whether Bp Michael Barber knows about or reads this blog, but I know my delegates are aware of it because I share about my writing with them, and at least sometimes, specific pieces and issues. In the beginning, I had some decisions to make about the place of this exercise in my life, particularly things like whether to allow comments or not. (My decision on that was that it made the boundary between my hermitage and the public too porous; I disallowed comments.) And over time it has assumed a shape and importance I never really expected. That means that I am not concerned with what any given bishop actually thinks of pieces within the blog itself. It does not matter if a single bishop here or there disagrees with my keeping a blog; it has been significant for my growth and contributed to an understanding of c 603 which is beneficial to the Church and to this specifically ecclesial vocation.

But of course, this blog is not the last word on c 603!! It is a contribution to ongoing discussions, nothing more nor less. If I find someone disagreeing with me on something important, the first thing I will do is listen and pray about it. The next thing I will do alongside these other things (if I think there could be merit in the disagreement or know the knowledgeability and trustworthiness of the person commenting) is to reread my Rule and the way I spoke there about solitude (your question's example), for instance. If there are footnotes in the Rule, or newer references I should also check, I will do that. Finally, especially if I am troubled by something or otherwise uncertain, I will bring the topic to my Director and discuss it and the way I am living it with her. The person who disagreed might represent a valid challenge with God asking me for something more or something different through their observations. At the same time, staying with your example of solitude, some versions of solitude are less about eremitical solitude than they are about isolation. While I believe in reclusion (which is always profoundly rooted in and dependent upon community), I regard isolation as unhealthy and unworthy of being chosen. 

Remember that, these kinds of questions can come up again in various ways over the years and will have been discussed and discerned as they do. If changes in my Rule were needed, then they were made. Still, the bottom line in all of this, I think, is that my Rule is something I live and tend to trust. It reflects a particular vision of canon 603 that the Church has approved as representing God's will for me. I don't live someone else's vision of c 603, but the one I have come to in dialogue with God in all the ways God speaks to me. If that means rejecting someone else's way of living the terms of the canon, for instance, then I will do that. If that means changes in praxis or understanding (and the rewriting of portions of my Rule), then I will discern and accomplish those necessary shifts.

A Contemplative Moment: The Solitude of Death

 

The Solitude of Death

 excerpt from The Eremitic Life

by Cornelius Wencel, Er Cam

The solitude of the desert teaches a person to be at home in the face of death. The hermit sees everything through a child's eyes and heart. Since he is not attached to any popular views or widespread opinions, his solitude becomes a foretaste of eternity. The holy time of liturgy, the time of embracing past, present, and future things, is his time. The hermit does not meet eternity in the way gnostics are tempted to meet it. He does not reject what is temporal. He has his share of eternity by raising all earthly things up to their ultimate fullness by virtue of Christ's redemptive love. This gives him an inner peace which helps to overcome the fear of death.

. . .A special dimension of joy, springing from what we can call for short "the wisdom of life", permeates the hermit's solitude. Of course, the harmony and simplicity that accompany the hermit in everyday life do not shield him from experiencing pain and suffering. The very decision for the solitary life in service to God and specific people involves the danger of being deeply hurt and the possibility of experiencing various torments. To remain bravely and persistently within the limits of one's cell means to accept defeats, personal crises, and temptations of losing the chosen way of life. It means to give one's consent to all those difficult moments that can crush even the strong. But such an acceptance has nothing to do with resignation or passive approval for whatever blind fate may bring. The hermit's faith and prayer enable him to gradually transform his pains into a creative form of love. . . . 

For the hermit, these difficult periods of suffering are not only the path toward his own sanctity. But also, by touching the dark side of existence, the hermit strives for a blessing for all humanity. We have to remember that the calling to solitude is a special charism in service to the Church and the whole world. And this is another reason why the hermit's solitude does not mean loneliness, but just the opposite: the hermit knows that he is close to the whole world in joy, suffering, death, and resurrection.

Followup Questions on the DICLSAL Resources Text: Questions re One's Relationship with Bishop, Church, and World

[[Hi Sister, thanks for your last answer to my questions. When the DICLSAL resources text asks about one's relationship with the Bishop, Church and world, what are they talking about?]]

Thanks for your followup. I can only guess here based on my own experience and what I look for in myself and other c 603 hermits or candidates. Since the vocation is one lived for the praise of God and the salvation of the world, one's motivations must be those of love, both for God and for the world God created. Yes, one is seeking union with God in one's own life, but one does this so that God might be glorified (revealed) and the world might meet, embrace, and be embraced by a God whose love is truly unconditional. This element of c 603 introduces some tension into the life of the c 603 hermit, as does the public nature of the c 603 vocation. That tension exists between one's attention on the self and one's attention to the needs of others because both apparently contradictory focuses are present in the canon. 

The tension is resolved over time, however, precisely as one's motivations shift from a selfish quest for union with God to a concern with seeking this for God's own sake and for the sake of the world to whom one's life in solitude will actually witness. In other words, the resolution of this tension of eremitical life occurs within one's own heart as one grows in compassion. This growth involves a dying to self (including a blind or selfish focus on union with God!) so that one's entire life is lived for the sake of the other, first God, and then all that God holds precious. What I would guess formators look for is the presence of this tension --- and therefore, a certain amount of suffering by the candidate as, to some extent, they are pulled in one way and another until their hearts are enlarged sufficiently to experience the resolution of the tension causing the struggle; this resolution occurs in an encompassing compassion rooted in one's trust of God and the effectiveness of God's will in all of this.

There are certain attitudes, however, which will militate against the growth needed. For instance, a sense that the world is not precious to God, that it is not essentially sacramental, that it is "merely temporal" and is to be absolutely contrasted with a spiritual realm and spiritual approach to reality as well as that it will one day be entirely left behind for heaven, will not allow the hermit to progress toward the resolution already mentioned. Dualism will not work and is not called for by c 603. Instead, the hermit must trust that one day God will be all in all, and that the world, even in its distortion from truth, is to be loved into fullness or wholeness, not despised as simply antithetical to God. 

In approaching the requirements of c 603, the term "world" is used in two senses: 1) the world God has created, loves dearly, and wills to be an intimate and pervasive part of, and 2) the world as that which is resistant to Christ or that some choose to trust in for fulfillment apart from God. The hermit must be able to "balance" stricter separation from the world (sense #2) with love for the world as God's good creation (sense #1). Beginning hermits will experience and demonstrate greater tension and even some struggle in their lives in this regard while those who are more experienced will have come to a more or less paradoxical resolution of this tension embracing both senses of the term in what hermits know to be a solitude of deep relatedness and relationship. I believe DICLSAL is recognizing this fact as well as calling attention to the attitudes toward "the world" which will never lead to an appropriate resolution --or to what c 603 calls the silence of solitude. 

Regarding one's attitude toward the local bishop, again I can only guess. Certainly, one must be ready and able to make a vow of obedience to the bishop as one's legitimate superior. At the same time, one needs to be able to accept the delegated authority of those who assist the bishop to truly supervise the hermit's life and growth. These may be other bishops, priests, or religious women and men, including mentors drawn from c 603, with expertise in formation and contemplative or monastic and eremitical life. If, after profession/consecration one finds one has a (new) bishop who does not honor the c 603 vocation in the diocese, one must be able to patiently and humbly engage in living the life in ways that educate the new bishop. One may or may not succeed in this, but that is of less moment than simply and faithfully living solitary eremitical life with the grace of God and the help of Directors one has accompanying one. On the other hand, one may find that a (new or old) bishop understands contemplative life better than one does oneself. When this happens, it is a complete joy because at these times the degree of sharing is correlatively deeper and more enriching, and because the contact may spill over in a more direct benefit to the local church itself.

I suppose, then, that I am thinking the question about one's view of one's relationship with one's bishop, is meant to uncover attitudes of the heart once again. Does one accept authority well, can one balance that with the personal initiative and dependence on God alone necessary to live solitary eremitical life healthily? Is one open to contributing to the life of the Church through this relationship? If so, does one demonstrate openness to growing in one's understanding of and commitment to religious obedience in all the ways the diocese may need this to be embraced? Is one open to learning about ecclesial vocations and becoming more and more representative of such a calling or is one relatively closed to this learning? Does one have the humility necessary to embrace religious obedience healthily while rejecting a servile or obsequious devotion and dependence, or not? Can one teach effectively and humbly as well as learn from the bishop? Is one open to true discernment throughout one's ongoing formation as a hermit, particularly as one's legitimate superior (and his delegates) calls for and empowers this, and even when he does not?

Finally, regarding the Church, does the hermit or hermit candidate understand herself as embracing a vocation not just at the heart of the church, but a commitment to become a living incarnation of that heart? Is she deeply committed to the Church and her life in this world, and does she understand c 603 eremitical life as the way the Church normatively recognizes the hermit life truly lived in the heart of the Church? (By this I mean all three forms of eremitical life, non-canonical, consecrated solitary, and consecrated semi-eremitical forms of the life.) Is she deeply engaged in the Church's sacramental life and is she committed to representing the Church's perception of the eremitical life, not her own conceptions? Does she recognize the place of the Holy Spirit in sanctifying the Church here and now and does she recognize her own role in this? Does she accept the paradoxical public and hidden nature of the consecrated (canonical) eremitical vocation she is called to live in the Name of the Church while trusting in the Spirit that enlarges the heart sufficiently to comfortably embrace both sides of the paradox? In other words, does the hermit understand herself as Peter Damian did, that is, as an ecclesiola, who, in Christ, lives deeply and intimately in the very heart of the Church and as the very heart of the Church, or does she see eremitical life differently than this?

On "Second Consecration" and the Requirements for Admission to canon 603 Profession

[[Hi Sister, could you say something more about what you called "second consecration"? That's completely new to me! Also, you recently wrote a list of things someone desiring to become a canon 603 hermit [needed to have or do]. Did you [think of these] .  . . or did they come from the Church herself?. . .]]

Yes, I'd be happy to say something more about what is sometimes called the "second consecration". Baptism is a sacrament of initiation where we are consecrated by God to be disciples of his Christ and members of his Body. The graces of this being "set apart" for holiness are not inconsiderable! Think of all the ministries and projects the Catholic laity carries out in the name of the Church by virtue of baptism and then too by virtue of the other sacraments of initiation: Eucharist and Confirmation as well as the Sacrament of Reconciliation!! Sometimes the Church adds a specific commissioning for various ministries. At the same time, some vocations require additional grace of God including preparation for these vocations. I am thinking here of marriage and also ordained ministry; these require additional Sacraments as those called to these are "configured" to love (i.e., sacrifice and give oneself) in the wholehearted ways these vocations require! With ordination there are also levels of the Sacrament of orders that are received at different points in a person's priesthood, so deacon, priest, bishop.

Consecrated life is similar to marriage and priesthood. It requires specific graces of God and also calls for the configuration of the one dedicating her/himself in ways which allow taking on obligations that are not part of the consecration associated with baptism. (Think here of religious poverty, consecrated celibacy or chastity in celibacy, and religious obedience. Think too of the ability to give one's entire self to others as a representative of the Church in our world. None of these are accomplished with the grace of baptism alone. Hence, Consecrated Life requires a second consecration beyond that of baptism which helps configure one so they may assume the rights and obligations of the consecrated state of life in a specifically ecclesial vocation. Here the person is made capable of being entrusted and IS entrusted with a vocation that belongs first of all to the Church. With this second consecration, associated with perpetual profession, the person literally enters the consecrated state of life. (There is a regular blessing during the rite of temporary profession, but this is replaced by the prayer of solemn consecration during the Rite of perpetual profession.)

Thus, there is a difference between the consecration of baptism and what the Church identifies as the Consecrated State of Life. One only enters the consecrated state of life if and when the Church entrusts such a call to the person. It is a mediated state because it is an ecclesial vocation. God has entrusted these vocations to the Church and the Church is responsible for mediating these to persons she discerns are called to and prepared for the rights and obligations associated with them. For this reason, it is never enough for an individual to say, "I know God is calling me to this vocation" or to assume the descriptor "Catholic" as in Catholic nun, Catholic hermit, Catholic consecrated Virgin, etc. There needs to be a process of mutual discernment including personal vetting, supervised formation, etc. before one is entrusted with an ecclesial vocation. (cf., Centered on Christ, A Guide to Monastic Profession, Augustine Roberts, OCSO, Cistercian Publications, 2005)

This leads us to the list of things I wrote about that are required of a candidate for profession as a diocesan or c 603 hermit. No, I didn't make these up. I listed the things dioceses routinely require. Most of these are also found in a resources document for the "Discernment of Hermit Vocations According to canon 603" put out by DICLSAL (formerly CICLSAL), the Dicastery of Institutes of Religious Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. In fact, this list of considerations for the discernment of these vocations includes several items I did not mention in that recent piece. These include the reasonableness of making temporary profession for several years prior to making a perpetual profession, a consideration of the candidate's motivations in seeking profession and consecration under c 603, the levels of psychological and spiritual maturity possessed by the candidate (this can be linked to psychological testing which I did mention, of course), availability of sacramental life (including daily Eucharist) and spiritual direction, and an examination of the hermit's view of his/her relationship with the Bishop, Church, and world.

Assorted Questions on Eremitical Life and Vocation more Generally

Hello Sr. Laurel, I hope this finds you doing well. My questions are: 1) How would you understand the difference between a person stubbornly refusing to accept a vocation the Lord is calling them to vs. long-term perseverance in a vocation viewed by one’s family as too counter-cultural to be viable?

To truly answer this question, I would need to know more about the persons involved in each situation, particularly the one resisting, but to understand what is going on it would be important to understand the motives involved in the persons, their choices and actions. So, let's suppose that the one "stubbornly refusing to accept a vocation" is doing so while knowing it is a call from God. And let's also suppose that the second person loves her family and respects their perspective on things and also loves God and his Church; in answering this call she is being faithful to herself and her love of God.

When set up this way, the difference between the two situations looks to me like that between someone who accepts a call to authentic humanity in obedience to God and someone who does not.  They do this despite the pain linked to the insecurity of the calling it apparently causes their family because, while loving their family, they trust God's wisdom in calling them to this vocation. Moreover, they might be said to believe the judgment that this vocation is "not viable" is the word of a world that values things differently than a Christian does. What is important in Christianity, you already understand, is the countercultural, but it must be chosen for the sake of the Kingdom of God, even if that means a lack of viability in the way this world might deem such matters. (Jesus' choice of integrity in the face of Roman power was countercultural, and it was countercultural for the sake of his Abba's sovereignty in this world. The picture could change completely if the motives of the individuals given, were different from the ones I have supposed. For instance, if the person insisting on responding to a call to a non-viable situation was motivated by rebellion or by a need to  stick it to her family, and wanted to do that come what may, the situation would be radically different, wouldn't it?) I hope this is at least close to what you were asking for.

2) In your experience do the most recent Church directives for contemplative nuns (9 - 12 years of formation and becoming part of federations and associations) have any implications for hermits - especially as regards writing their rule of life?]]

While these directives don't have direct application, yes, I believe they do have implications for hermits, particularly in the writing of a Rule, just as you suggest. Part of formation is becoming capable or being made capable of engaging in formation for the rest of one's life. Discernment is a huge part of this so one has to learn how to discern the will of God in a mature way as a solitary consecrated hermit so that one may continue doing so and thus, being formed in this life, over the rest of one's life. That requires significant swaths of time. Cor Orans has good sections on various stages of formation and the section on initial formation is where the 9-12 years comes from. I would say that all of the general comments on the nature of formation here (that it is integral, that growth is organic, that there is a need for consistency and coherence, and that it involves significant initiative from the individual nun) all apply to eremitical life, yes.

As regards the writing of a Rule, one must have acquired the experience and correlative expertise that allows one to write such a document. This is one of the reasons it is necessary to live religious life and/or as a non-canonical hermit for some time before petitioning to be admitted to profession under c 603. Further, ongoing spiritual direction contributes to the kind of habits of self-reflection necessary if one is to write a Rule that combines, 1) the way God has worked in one's life, 2) the central elements of canon 603 itself, and 3) the redemptive experience that is at the heart of any authentic call to solitary eremitical life. While a chancery might not want to commit a small team to work with an individual re discernment and formation as a c 603 hermit for upwards of 9-12 years, such a period associated with pre-profession formation and the formation associated with temporary profession is not inappropriate. That is especially true given the emphasis texts like Cor Orans and Vultum Dei Quarrere place on the importance of the contemplative nun taking responsibility for her own growth/formation, as well as the possibility of mentoring by other c 603 hermits assisting the diocesan team and the individual hermit.

3) What are your thoughts about some more recent spiritual families such as the Monastic Family of Jerusalem, the spiritual communities inspired by the life of Charles de Foucauld, and the Carmelite Secular Institute of Notre Dame de Vie (Our Lady of Life)? Are there viable eremitic or semi-eremitic elements in their lifestyle?

I am sorry, but I am not especially familiar with these groups. I know there are almost two dozen individual groups now associated with the Charles de Foucauld "Family", but apart from several of the names I just don't know enough about them to answer your questions regarding viable eremitic or semi-eremitic elements. Regarding the Carmelite Secular Institute of Notre Dame de Vie, what I do know of it is that its members work full-time and devote 2 hours a day to private prayer. While that is certainly commendable it doesn't rise to the level of eremitical life, not only in terms of prayer, but also given the degree of work built into a day and week. For that reason, my answer to this portion of your question would need to be no, I don't see viable eremitic elements. By the way, when I use the term semi-eremitic, I do not mean half-hermit, but rather eremitical life lived within a communal context that is meant to foster the life of the hermit. The Carthusians are semi-eremitical in this sense.

4) What happens when a laura or association of hermits dies out, or at least the founder/foundresses die and/or the laura/association disbands? Is continuity a valid concern for hermits?

If the laura is formed of hermits who were professed and consecrated under c 603, the dissolution or suppression of the laura would not affect the canonical standing of the remaining hermits. With regard to c 603 hermits, lauras are allowed for the sake of the solitary hermits' spiritual and physical (or perhaps material) support. They are not to rise to the level of a juridical community (common purse, common superior, common Rule, etc.), however, and are not houses of formation. The individual hermits who come together in this way are already professed as solitary hermits with their own Rule and all of the obligations and rights associated with c 603 standing in law; for this reason, the dissolution of the laura does not constitute a material change in the context or content of the vows themselves. (Vows are made as solitary hermits, not as members of a laura.) Yes, continuity is very important for a hermit. I would argue that c 603 itself, especially in its requirement that one write a liveable Rule of Life and the vocation's diocesan focus as well as the basic fact of its public nature**,  provides the continuity necessary for a solitary hermit whether they live this life in a laura or outside of it; it provides an ecclesial identity and a stable state of life within which one may seek and achieve genuine sanctity and/or fullness of humanity.

5) Is there still a place in the Church for extremely small groups of 3-5 people living eremitic or semi-eremitic life? 

I should think so! Most of the time c 603 hermits live alone and come together via ZOOM, for instance, in what might come to constitute virtual lauras. However, I know of one 3-member group of hermits in the mid-west and another (unfortunately now down to just one Sister) in Idaho which seems to indicate they are still open to receiving new members. I recently worked with a priest who was temporary professed under c 603 and who was from another laura of perhaps 5 or six members (though he eventually moved on to the Monte Corona Camaldolese to try his vocation there). So yes, it is possible and still happening. One mistake I have seen bishops make with such arrangements, however, is to require one join the laura if one wants to be professed under c 603. This, it seems to me, has the cart before the horse -- as I described briefly above. But yes, there is no reason 3-5 individuals could not come together to live eremitical life so long as the property and living arrangements allowed for and supported significant silence and solitude for all involved.

** Remember that "public nature" here means "a vocation with a commitment involving public rights and obligations." It does not mean public in the sense of notoriety or being seen by or accessible to everyone. Even complete recluses may have public vocations and provide public witness simply by being known as a recluse.

Feast of the Transfiguration (Partial reprise)

Have you ever been walking along a well-known road and suddenly had a bed of flowers take on a vividness which takes your breath away? Similarly, have you ever been walking along or sitting quietly outside when a breeze rustles some leaves above your head and you were struck by an image of the Spirit moving through the world? How about suddenly being struck by the tremendous compassion of someone you know well, or seeing their smile in a new way and coming to see them in a whole new light because of this? I have had all of these happen, and, in the face of God's constant presence, what is in some ways more striking is how infrequent such peak or revelatory moments are.

Scientists tell us we see only a fraction of what goes on all around us. It depends upon our expectations.  In an experiment with six volunteers divided into two teams in either white or black shirts, observers were asked to concentrate on the number of passes of a basketball that occurred as players wove in and out around one another. In the midst of this activity a woman in a gorilla suit strolls through, stands there for a moment, thumps her chest, and moves on. At the end of the experiment observers were asked two questions: 1) how many passes were there, and 2) did  you see the gorilla? Fewer than 50% saw the gorilla.  Expectations drive perception and can produce blindness. Even more shocking, these scientists tell us that even when we are confronted with the truth we are more likely to insist on our own "knowledge" and justify decisions we have made on the basis of blindness and ignorance. We routinely overestimate our own knowledge and fail to see how much we really do NOT know.

For the past two weeks we have been reading the central chapter of Matthew's Gospel --- the chapter that stands right smack in the middle of his version of the Good News. It is Matt's collection of Jesus' parables --- the stories Jesus tells to help break us open and free us from the common expectations, perspectives, and wisdom we hang onto so securely so that we might commit to the Kingdom of God and the vision of reality it involves. Throughout this collection of parables, Jesus takes the common, too-well-known, often underestimated and unappreciated bits of reality which are right at the heart of his hearers' lives. He uses them to reveal the extraordinary God who is also right there in front of his hearers. Stories of tiny seeds, apparently completely invisible once they have been tossed about by a prodigal sower, clay made into works of great artistry and function, weeds and wheat which reveal a discerning love and judgment which involves the careful and sensitive harvesting of the true and genuine --- all of these and more have given us the space and time to suspend our usual ways of seeing and empower us to adopt the new eyes and hearts of those who dwell within the Kingdom of God.

It was the recognition of the unique authority with which Jesus taught, the power of his parables in particular, which shifted the focus from the stories to the storyteller in the Gospel passage we heard last Friday. Jesus' family and neighbors did not miss the unique nature of Jesus' parables; these parables differ in kind from anything in Jewish literature and had a singular power which went beyond the usual significant power of narrative. They saw this clearly. But they also refused to believe the God who revealed himself in the commonplace reality they saw right in front of them. Despite the authority they could not deny they chose to see only the one they expected to see; they decided they saw only  the son of Mary, the son of Joseph and "took offense at him." Their minds and hearts were closed to who Jesus really was and the God he revealed.  Similarly, Jesus' disciples too could not really accept an anointed one who would have to suffer and die. Peter especially refuses to accept this.

Looking at Today's Gospel:

It is in the face of these situations that we hear today's Gospel of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a mountain apart. He takes them away from the world they know (or believe they know) so well, away from peers, away from their ordinary perspective,  and he invites them to see who he really is. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus' is at prayer --- attending to the most fundamental relationship of his life --- when the Transfiguration occurs. Matthew does not structure his account in the same way. Instead he shows Jesus as the one whose life is a profound dialogue with God's law and prophets, who is in fact the culmination and fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the culmination of the Divine-Human dialogue we call covenant. He is God-with-us in the unexpected and even unacceptable place. This is what the disciples see --- not so much a foretelling of Jesus' future glory as the reality which stands right in front of them --- if only they had the eyes to see.

For most of us, such an event would freeze us in our tracks with awe. But not Peter! He outlines a project to reprise the Feast of Tabernacles right here and now. In this story Peter reminds me some of those folks (myself included!) who want so desperately to hang onto amazing prayer experiences --- but in doing so, fail to appreciate them fully or live from them! He is, in some ways, a kind of lovable but misguided buffoon ready to build booths for Moses, Elijah and Jesus, consistent with his tradition while neglecting the newness and personal challenge of what has been revealed. In some way Matt does not spell out explicitly, Peter has still missed the point. And in the midst of Peter's well-meaning activism comes God's voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!" In my reflection on this reading this last weekend, I heard something more: "Peter! Sit down! Shut up! This is my beloved Son! Look closely!! Listen to him!!!"

The Lesson for Us Today:

The lesson could not be clearer, I think, and yet, how hard it is for us to see what is right in front of us! Recently I wrote about a view that sees the Church as "too temporal." This perspective is not merely concerned with the Church buying into models of power more appropriate to princes and potentates. It sees the entire Church, insofar as it is committed to this world, as having given itself over to something that is "not spiritual." But this perspective forgets it is speaking of a Church that lives in this world and mediates the Spirit to that world, a Church who mediates Christ's presence for those with eyes to see. It is not an either/or way of seeing, but a both/and way: both ordinary and extraordinary, both material and spiritual, both temporal and eternal. Central to this Church is the notion of Sacraments; in fact, the Church herself is a primordial sacrament, a sign where ordinary reality is allowed to shine forth the power and presence of God. They take the ordinary matter of our world and in them, see this transformed into the very power and presence of God. And yet, it requires the eyes of faith to perceive and appreciate this transformation. The either/or perspective I referenced above tends to see reality in a particularly Gnostic or neo-Platonic way. What it cannot see, and what remains scandalous to it is an incarnational God who is fully present in the ordinary matter of our world, divinizing it with God's presence. How very different is the Sacramental way of seeing reality!!

Here I am reminded of a story I once told of a video of a man who was given Enchroma glasses --- a form of sunglasses that allows colorblind persons to see color, often for the first time in their lives. By screening out certain wavelengths of light, someone who has seen the world in shades of brown their whole lives are finally able to see things they have never seen before; browns are transformed into yellows and reds and purples and suddenly trees look truly green and three-dimensional or the colorful fruit of these trees no longer simply blend into the same-color background. The man was overwhelmed and overcome by what he had been missing; he could not speak, did not really know what to do with his hands, was "reduced" to tears and eventually expressed it all as he hugged his wife in love and gratitude. Meanwhile, family members were struck with just how much they themselves may have taken for granted as everyday they moved through their own world of "ordinary" color and texture. The entire situation involved a Transfiguration almost as momentous as the one the disciples experienced in today's Gospel.

Like Peter, like the Gnostic or neo-Platonist who divvies reality up into the temporal and the spiritual. and like the colorblind man who needed wear the glasses consistently enough to allow his brain to really begin to process colors in a new way, we must take the time to see what is right in front of us. We must learn to see the sacred which is present and incarnated in ordinary reality. We must listen to the One who comes to us in the Scriptures and Sacraments, the One who speaks to us through every believer and the whole of creation. We must really be the People of God, the "hearers of the Word" who know how to listen and are obedient in the way God summons us to be. This is true whether we are God's lowliest hermit or one of the Vicars of Christ who govern our dioceses and college of Bishops. Genuine authority coupled with true obedience empowers new life, new vision, new perspectives and reverence for the ordinary reality God makes sacramental. 

There is a humility involved in all of this. It is the humility of the truly wise, the truly knowing person. We must be able to recognize how very little we see, how unwilling or unable we often are to be converted to the perspective of the Kingdom, how easily we justify our blindness and deafness with our supposed knowledge, and how even our well-intentioned activism can prevent us from seeing and hearing the unexpected, sometimes scandalous God standing there right in the middle of our reality.

Canon 603 as Normative of All Solitary Eremitical Vocations in the Church

[[Sister Laurel, if canon 603 is normative of all eremitical vocations, then does this mean all hermits HAVE to be canon 603. How can it be normative and at the same time allow for a non-canonical eremitical life.]]

Remember that the Canon has two sections, the first defining the main characteristics of the vocation (and, I argue, of any solitary eremitical vocation), and then a second part regarding what is required for one to live this life in the name of the Church, that is, canonically or "in law". The Canon reads: 

Can. 603 §1. In addition to institutes of consecrated life, the Church recognizes the eremitic or anchoritic life by which the Christian faithful devote their life to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through a stricter withdrawal from the world, the silence of solitude, and assiduous prayer and penance. 

§2. A hermit is recognized by law as one dedicated to God in consecrated life if he or she publicly professes in the hands of the diocesan bishop the three evangelical counsels, confirmed by vow or other sacred bond, and observes a proper program of living (Rule of Life) under his direction.

If one lives the first section of the canon, this makes them a hermit --- as the Church understand this term. One can do this as a clerical, lay, or consecrated person, that is, whether one is a lay person, a priest, or a consecrated person in the eyes of the Church, one will live these elements if one is truly a hermit even though the canon does not "deal with" non-canonical vocations per se**. It is the second section that defines the requirements for being canonical and, so too, for being a consecrated hermit as the Church defines this state of life. While a consecrated solitary hermit will live both parts of the canon, any genuine hermit will find him/herself treating Canon 603.1 as normative if they wish to live the life as the church understands it. Most importantly, one's life will need to be lived for the sake of others and the glorification of God; all the elements of the vocation will serve these goals; they are not ends in themselves.

Throughout the long history of the Church, all kinds of solitary ways of living passed for "eremitical," (mainly as the term hermit was commonly or self-applied) but not all of these were edifying. You can imagine ways of living alone that were simply selfish, sometimes motivated by woundedness, failure, fear, or even bitterness and hatred. Misanthropy, what Charlie Brown once identified as "loving humanity but hating people," was an issue, and so was radical individualism, which today has become something of an epidemic. Neither of these would qualify as eremitism today and the way the Church defines such a vocation in c 603 is part of the reason. Openness, self-sacrifice, and generosity are central to canon 603, where they are not typical of many of the lives in the Western Church that tried through the centuries to validate themselves as eremitical. Canon 603 served to correct the common misunderstanding of a hermit as one who is escaping society, despising the rest of God's good creation, or who simply cannot live with others or meet the demands of sociability and community. In doing so it drew on a radically incarnational theology where, paradoxically, God's deepest, eternal will is to be with us, and through us in Christ (Emmanuel), to bring about a new creation where heaven and earth thoroughly interpenetrate one another and God is all in all.

In other words, canon 603 serves as a norm for what is and what is not solitary eremitical life. Yes, the second part says [[If you want to live this life in the name of the Church, then take on these additional requirements and petition to be allowed to live this vocation as a living embodiment of the canon!]] Anyone seriously desiring this, can live the first part of the canon with the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the right intentions; they can do this with or without private vows, nor do they need anyone's permission for any of this precisely because their vocations are private ones. 

However, to accept the public rights and obligations of the entire canon, especially c 603.2, requires that one be canonically free to do so. If married and divorced, an annulment i.e., declaration of nullity) will generally be required. Also necessary is a mutual discernment process, additional formation (particularly in the area of the vows if one has no background in religious life, but also in terms of what it means to live an ecclesial vocation), time lived under relatively close supervision by chancery personnel, and a history of regular and ongoing spiritual direction along with regular participation in the Church's sacramental life. (Remember that the candidate for profession (i.e., public commitment to or embrace of the public rights and obligations of c 603) will need letters of recommendation from those who know her well, and this will include her spiritual director, her pastor, and others who have worked with her through the years. The diocese may also require psychological and medical evaluations, depending on what the chancery personnel suggest is appropriate, usually after meeting and interviewing the person.) 

Once approval for admission to profession looks likely, most dioceses will ask a candidate for canon 603 profession and consecration, to select a delegate who will help supervise ("Direct") the vocation on the bishop's behalf. None of these additional requirements in 603.2 need be met by non-canonical hermits desiring to remain such -- though such a hermit could benefit from and might well try their hand at writing a Rule of Life to assist them to grow in this life. They will definitely benefit from regular spiritual direction and might turn to others for mentoring as well. Still, these things are not required. I think you see the difference between those who meet the qualifications of 603.1 and are not "under the canon," and those who live those qualifications while also accepting the requirements associated with c 603.2. At the same time, despite the implicit distinction built into the canon, I hope you can see how it remains normative of (i.e., the standard by which the Church or individual hermits measure) the authenticity of solitary eremitical life, both canonical and non-canonical.

** From the Resource Material for the Discernment of Hermit Vocations According to canon 603 (Congregation of Institutes on Religious Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, now DICLSAL): [[Likewise, the canon does not deal with individuals who privately undertake a solitary way of life, but who do not seek this recognition by the Church.]]

Once Again, On Whether Bishop Stowe Believes Cole Matson Has a Vocation

[[Sister Laurel, why would you say that Bishop Stowe seemed not to believe Cole Matson/Brother Christian had any real vocation at all? He professed him as a diocesan hermit! Doesn't that indicate a belief in a vocation?]] 

Thanks for your question. I had hoped this was clear from several different posts, but let me try and explain it a bit better. God calls each of us to do something unique, something only we can do because only we will meet the needs of the situation with the self we are. (God may call many individuals to do a larger work, but in every case, the vocation a person answers is their own individual and unique vocation.) Moreover, God calls each of us to a vocation where we ourselves will be fulfilled in the way God wills for us and in the way the Church and world really need.  This unique call is our vocation.

When Cole Matson convinced himself he was called to public vows rather than to the vocation he had described to me in terms clearly empowered by the Holy Spirit, and when he determined to use c 603 as a means to public profession despite the fact that the Church does not recognize any such vocation, Cole let go of his God-given vocation and substituted something else, and something far less worthy in its place. Tragically, Bishop Stowe colluded in this, and by affirming Cole in a vocation he claimed not to be called to, Bp Stowe seemed to indicate he really didn't care that Cole's true vocation was going unanswered. He may even have demonstrated he believed there was no such true vocation. Of course, Bp Stowe also indicated not only an ignorance of the nature of c 603 vocations, despite having been written about this to some extent by a diocesan hermit,  but he indicated he may not care about these vocations themselves.

When bishop Stowe described why he decided to (attempt to) profess Cole Matson it was a particularly anemic statement in terms of vocation. If you recall, he spoke mostly about what the vocation did not involve (ordination, sacramental ministry). He said, [My willingness to be open to him is because it’s [note the objectifying lack of personal pronoun] a sincere person seeking a way to serve the church,’ Stowe said of Matson. ‘Hermits are a rarely used form of religious life … but they can be either male or female. Because there’s no pursuit of priesthood or engagement in sacramental ministry, and because the hermit is a relatively quiet and secluded type of vocation, I didn’t see any harm in letting him live this vocation.’ . . .]] In other words, [[Whom could it hurt? It's not like s/he was asking to be made a priest! Hermits are tucked away from anything really central in the church, so what difference could it possibly make?]]

While technically true in several ways, all of this manages to misunderstand the nature and significance of the solitary eremitical vocation, the reasons discernment and formation of such vocations require real diligence, knowledge, and focused care, and it misunderstands especially the place they serve in the life of the Church. The idea of professing someone who does not honestly claim to feel called by God to this specific vocation, and who in fact, claims to feel truly called to another vocation entirely, does a disservice to the vocation and the person involved. Especially, eremitical life is not meant as a way of preparing one for the ministry apostolic religious are mainly involved in. For instance, eremitical solitude, in particular, is not about relaxing in one's hermitage or recharging one's spiritual batteries so one may minister elsewhere, like the theatre, where Cole Matson's main energies go for the majority of the day and evening.

The solitude of the hermit is the context of her main work, namely prayer. Moreover, it is an intensely demanding reality, not least because human beings are social creatures and are not ordinarily meant to come to human wholeness in solitude, but also because when this is the nature of one's solitude, it will be about meeting oneself and becoming more and more profoundly truthful with oneself about who one is and is called to be. One will deal with past woundedness, personal sin, frailties, limitations of all sorts, and the way one colludes with untruth and death even in a vocation given over to life and the very Source of Life we call Abba. Sister Jeremy Hall (Silence, Solitude, Simplicity: A Hermit's Love Affair with a Noisy, Crowded, and Complicated World) spoke of the desert as the place of encounter; above all, that means living towards, for, and from one's maturing encounter with God, but at the same time, it means living in light of a continuing encounter with oneself, a coming to terms with all of that, and, an integration of one's whole life in terms of these continuing forms of encounter. It is this integration that we call holiness while growth in this is what we call sanctification (but also humanization and divinization).

Most people have regular avenues of escape or at least significant relief from this kind of intensity of encounter. But not the hermit. Even her recreation serves the quality of her commitment to this paradoxical vocation of encounter. Witness to this encounter, an encounter that is meant to be at the heart of every Christian vocation, is the actual mission of the hermit. Yet, in Bishop Stowe's approach to and description of c 603 life, one would never imagine such an intense process lay at the heart of the vocation. The approval Stowe gave Matson to spend more than two-thirds of his day in the theatre underscores both parties' ignorance of this foundational dynamic of eremitical life; for Bp Stowe, this ignorance points to a failure to perceive Cole Matson as having been called to it as well. (If you don't understand it exists, how can you recognize someone is called to it? More, how can you affirm them in this vocation?) The tragedy of all of this, however, lies not only in the misrepresentation of this vocation (though I admit that tragedy is significant, indeed), but also in the failure involved by not finding (or creating) a more appropriate avenue for Cole to respond to his true vocation, which itself argues that perhaps Bp Stowe doesn't truly believe in Cole Matson's true vocation.

On Canon 603 Vocations and Living the Gospel Rule

[[Sister Laurel, I wondered if you live the Gospel Rule of Life or a different one. I was told you and other CL603 hermits write your own Rules, so I was wondering what you do about the Gospel Rule of Life.]]

Hi, and thanks for your questions. I have the impression that you believe if a c 603 hermit writes her own Rule, as the canon requires we do, it might not comport with the Gospel. Let me assure you that every diocesan hermit I know of lives Gospel values and has the God of Jesus Christ and union with Christ at the center of her life. There is perhaps no greater indication of this than the vows we make and the way these stand at the heart of our Rules. Remember these are vows of the Evangelical Counsels, literally --- vows to live these significant Gospel Counsels of Jesus. 

Even more, we live these values with Christ as our model, and beyond this, as our Beloved. It is Christ whose intimate friendship we know and hope to know ever more intimately, and whose relationships with Father and Spirit we also seek to know in complete dependence on the will of God. In this way, we recognize that in our professions and consecrations, we have been called to continue in our own lives the Incarnation of God's Son.

Each diocesan hermit's Rule of Life will capture 1) something of the hermit's experience of God as God has been at work in her life over the years, 2) her understanding of and commitment to the foundational elements of c 603, and 3) especially her experience of and faithfulness to redemption in Christ known and celebrated in the Gospel. These three are then contextualized within a public and ecclesial vocation lived for the sake of God, his Church, and all that is precious to God. Together these constitute a personally integrated program of solitary eremitical living as a disciple, and too, as a spouse of Christ who truly is the hermit's Beloved.  In other words, every facet of the c 603 hermit's Rule is transparent to and reflects the Gospel of God in Christ and is lived in the name of the Church.

I should point out that this is not surprising. The Gospel is understood to be the true Rule from several perspectives and spiritualities. St Francis summed up the Rule of his followers as the Gospel in @1209. St Francis de Sales wrote his Rule from his focus on Scripture. Vatican II counseled that the Gospel was the heart of any Rule of Life, and John Paul II in Vita Consecrata (1996) begins the document with a reference to the example and teaching of Jesus: [[The Consecrated Life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit. By the profession of the evangelical counsels, the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor, and obedient one — are made constantly "visible" in the midst of the world, and the eyes of the faithful are directed towards the mystery of the Kingdom of God already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realization in heaven.]] After a beginning like that, it should not surprise anyone that the whole of consecrated life is meant to reflect what you have called, "the Gospel Rule."

I sincerely hope this is helpful. I wonder if you could let me know what you think the Gospel Rule is? I gave my understanding of it, but perhaps that is not what you think the phrase means. Let me know how you use this term! Thanks.

Second Consecration, Ecclesial Vocations, and C 603 Hermits Making a Return to the Church

 [[ Sister Laurel, you referred recently to a second consecration besides the consecration of baptism. When another hermit [name withheld] calls herself a consecrated Catholic hermit but has not received this second consecration, is that the source of her misunderstanding in identifying herself in the way she does? In a similar vein, if someone claims that God consecrates but men do not  --- wondering why she is not [considered to be] consecrated, is she misunderstanding the mediation needed to enter the consecrated state of life in the Catholic Church? I have not been reading your blog for long -- only since the Cole Matson case in Lexington exploded at Pentecost, so you may already have talked about this, but what principle do you think is most important for understanding the significance of c 603 and the whole notion of 2nd consecration or admittance to a second consecration?]]

Thanks for writing, and especially for your questions.  At this point, I am open to suggestions on making matters clear. Still, I have written many times on this blog about the distinction between dedication and consecration and the way that distinction was carefully maintained at Vatican II and in works on monastic commitments. I have also referred to the consecration associated with baptism and its distinction from the "second consecration" that initiates one into the consecrated state of life. This distinction holds despite the confusing translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in Par 920-921 which has sometimes been misread as allowing private vows to be used for a hermit's initiation into the consecrated state because of course, Par 920-921 must be read in light of other paragraphs of the CCC, the revised Code of Canon Law, and the Church's theology of consecrated life, not otherwise. 

Finally, I am pretty sure I have spoken many times about the importance of mediation in the church's life, particularly concerning sacraments and ecclesial vocations. I have explained that God is always the one doing the consecrating, but that this occurs through the diocesan bishop's authority because it is a gift of God to the Church which the Church must take serious responsibility for and extend on God's behalf to individual hermits. Partly I have tried to clarify these issues because of misunderstandings and questions, but even more I have tried to do it as I explored the meaning of the term "ecclesial vocations" like that of c 603. It is probably the notion of ecclesial vocations that is the most important one for understanding the distinction between non-canonical and canonical vocations, including all of the discussions just mentioned -- particularly in considering the significance of c 603 and the meaning of 2nd consecration. Because they are part of understanding the difference between an ecclesial vocation and one that is not, some of these issues will continue to need to be emphasized for those beginning their journey as hermits --- some of whom will eventually do this as canonical hermits under c 603 or as part of a canonical community of hermits.

Catholic and Hermit vs Catholic Hermit

It should go without saying that one represents the church when one is a c 603 hermit and, moreover, that the church herself has chosen this person to represent the church, not simply as a Catholic (one is commissioned to be and do that through baptism), but as someone whom God has called through the church's mediation to represent her consecrated eremitical tradition. Contrary to what some argue, not every person through history who decided to call themselves a hermit led an edifying desert life witnessing to the God or Gospel of Jesus Christ. "Just going off alone" is not enough to be a hermit in the way the church uses the term. Contemporary life calls some forms of self-chosen solitude "cocooning". This conveys the isolation and individualism of this way of life. But the Church's eremitical life, and especially her consecrated solitary eremitical life, is not this; instead, a Catholic hermit lives the church's eremitical life according to the norms this same church has established. More, the Church herself entrusts the Catholic hermit with this Divine vocation and calls her to live it in the Church's name.

Ecclesial Vocations:

One of the most difficult things I had to get through my own head and heart during novitiate (and later!) was the whole idea of mutual discernment. It was very difficult to understand how one's own sense that one was called to a vocation might be mistaken or insufficient. I don't think I learned the term "ecclesial vocation" until much later --- something that was crucial for my understanding! Once I had that term and appreciated that the vocations described this way first of all belonged to the Church herself and only then were entrusted to the person who also discerned such a vocation, I began to understand not just the reason for mutual discernment, but also why the church celebrates such vocations establishing and indicating them with liturgical rites, unique titles, and so forth. None of this was or is about the individual, much less some supposed desire for power, prestige, status, authority, etc. It is about God and the way God has gifted his church with this vocation. It is about the church in turn entrusting persons with this gift in ways that ensure they are empowered to live it and glorify God as fully as possible.

When we think of c 603 consecrated life as countercultural, one of the most significant ways this is true is in the vocation's rejection of individualism. Yes, within clear limits, c 603 is incredibly flexible and diocesan hermits live eremitism in individual (not individualistic!) ways. So, for instance, I live a 24-hour day very differently than Sister Rachel Denton in the Diocese of Hallam (UK), or Sister Anunziata Grace in the Diocese of Knoxville, or any number of others throughout the world. Yes, there are commonalities in terms of the silence of solitude, assiduous prayer, etc., but at the same time, each day is marked by the dynamic constituting the hermit's life in, with, and through Christ and the Holy Spirit. In our faithfulness to the Holy Spirit, unity is not uniformity, particularly in solitary eremitical life. 

At the same time, when we get together to catch up or talk about living the vocation using books like The Eremitic Life by Cornelius Wencel, Er Cam, or Solitude and Communion, ed Allchin, to guide our sharing, what we recognize are all the elements of this vocation we share -- the struggles, the joys, our own constant surprise at finding again and again that, despite our own weaknesses and incapacity, God has called and continues to call us to this vocation. We share the same Spirit, often the same hearts (generally speaking), even, sometimes, similar forms of woundedness and certainly the same essential wholeness in Christ, and we have been entrusted with this Divine calling by the Church who was herself entrusted with it by God. We recognize this because we know our lives are called to glorify God in this specific way and are not ashamed to have answered this call and represent it publicly -- even within our hiddenness! We are part of a long and sacred stream of eremitic tradition in the church; her recognition of this vocation, now raised to the consecrated state with a "second consecration," is a source of personal and ecclesial life and holiness.

C603 Vocations Assisting one Another and Making a Return to the Church:

One of the things this means is that we c 603 hermits each recognize we are called to assist the Church in understanding this gift more deeply and implementing it prudently and effectively --- as only someone living it faithfully from within the vocation may truly do. Thus, it was really gratifying to hear CICLSAL (now DICLSAL) write about the importance of mentorship of c 603 vocations by other c 603 hermits (cf. Ponam in Deserto Viam). Additionally, we are slowly beginning to come together regularly to read and discuss with one another so our own eremitical vocations may be deepened and more fully realized. At the same time, we are working with our own and other dioceses to assist in the discernment and formation of c 603 vocations. A part of this means educating those who really don't understand the vocation all that well, including some canonists, vocation personnel, and bishops!!  Additionally, within the limits of c 603, but also because of the profoundly ecclesial nature of our vocations, we contribute to the growth of community in our regions. Again, central to all of this is the recognition that we are solitary Catholic hermits called to live this vocation in the Church's name because the Church herself has entrusted us with this ecclesial vocation and commission.

In light of all of this and other things that gradually are growing or being realized with regard to c 603 life, this takes more of my time and interest than trying to clarify terms for those who seem intransigent. Also, canon 603 is better known today and so is the history of eremitical life in the church. Thus, I was reassured to see that one of the persons who commented on your referent's videos correctly affirmed the flexibility of the eremitical vocation and the very real possibility of living non-canonical eremitism today right alongside c 603 hermits. At the same time, she insisted on the importance of maintaining the distinction between being a Catholic and a hermit (i.e., being a non-canonical hermit) and being a Catholic Hermit (i.e., a solitary canonical or consecrated hermit living the life in the Church's name). Surprisingly, the comment was allowed to stand. Some misunderstandings and outright fraud will continue to occur, but some (like the recent case in Lexington) will be much more important to address directly. Meanwhile, I believe c 603 will function to encourage others to live as hermits even if they choose or otherwise must do so in the lay or clerical states of life without the benefit of second consecration. 

It cannot be said often enough (for the present) that Canon 603 is normative of solitary eremitical life and that is also true for non-canonical hermits even though they are not bound juridically by the canon. (I continue to believe these non-canonical hermits will remain the most numerous in the church despite the growing use of c 603 and the profession of consecrated solitary hermits.) The bottom line here is that the Western Church has finally embraced solitary eremitical life as a Divine gift particularly when lived according to this norm. While there have been less universal norms and statutes throughout the centuries, and while local bishops have tried to provide for edifying hermit life throughout the Church's history, c 603 symbolizes this embrace by the universal church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, published a dozen years later than c 603, provides a vision of eremitical life which is helpful for teaching and intriguing in its descriptions, but without being normative in the same way as c 603. 

Is there a learning curve involved concerning all of this? As I have noted before, yes, absolutely! Will mistakes and indiscretions occur like those associated with the Archdiocese of Boston, the dioceses of Denver and Lexington, and others? Sadly, yes. But the bottom line remains the same and is inspiring!! Canon 603 provides the means to a God-given, Church-mediated ecclesial vocation for those publicly professed and consecrated accordingly. The same canon is normative for all solitary eremitical life in the church, including the non-canonical hermit. For this, I give thanks to God.

Sister Briege O'Hare, OSC: The Transformation of the Heart

 

My co-Director (Susan Blomstad, OSF) sent this on to me this morning. She really likes Sister Briege and, through her sharing over some years, so so I. This particular talk is wonderful. It resonates with so much of the theology I have shared here and in other places, and in the formative work I do with Marietta Fahey, SHF. This includes much that I have shared here on the nature of the human heart, the true self, the divinization of creation and incarnation of God in each of us, and the way Jesus' passion on the Cross is not the will of God but the inevitability of a life lived for others; a life lived with this kind of integrity is the work and will of God and allows God to bring good out of what is evil and inhuman. 

Sister Briege begins with two very different views of the heart (true and false hearts) and then moves on to explore what the transformation of the human heart is and how this comes about. At the same time, she shares why contemplative prayer is necessary and an integral part of our own giving birth to Christ within creation --- much as midwives help bring babies to birth. If we can understand the why, the how of contemplative prayer will largely take care of itself. One thing that is especially good about Sister Briege's presentation is the rich collection of quotations she provides on the topics involved.

I sincerely hope you will carve out some time to listen to Sister Briege O'Hare, OSC on the transformation of the heart.