Lay Hermit Rules/ Plans of Life

[Bookcat]

chartreux.org/en/monks/carthusian-day.php

 

[Rosebud77]

s

Although there are no “rules” for lay hermits to follow since by definition they are lay, if they wish to pursue the authentic praxis of eremitic life, they will ensure the solitude that is the hallmark of hermit life. Canonical protections that the Church has for individuals who are professed under canon 603 - like insuring that people have enough financial stability to maintain solitude without a job that requires interaction with society - are there to help preserve the lifestyle of authentic solitude and not just a metaphorical concept of cell in the heart. The living tradition with its essential elements of eremitic life isn’t just up for anyone to adjust and label it “eremitic” just because they feel like it or want to be known as hermits. Rather, it is for the person to discern whether he or she “fits” with what is authentic praxis not the other way around.

Again, thanks for sense and reality. That physical apartness is the crux and essence of any authentic true eremitic vocation. Hard for many but vital not to dilute it especially by overuse of the internet.

 

[Tridentine_MT]

to clarify, we’re talking about lay hermits in this thread. let us please remain on topic.

if anyone has anything to say to me personally, please pm me. thank you.

blessings,
cloisters

So true!

 

[OraLabora]

s

Again, thanks for sense and reality. That physical apartness is the crux and essence of any authentic true eremitic vocation. Hard for many but vital not to dilute it especially by overuse of the internet.

This is true but one shouldn’t overdo it either. Even the Carthusians, one of the toughest orders in the Church, actually probably the toughest, living an eremitic lifestyle, come together for a couple of Offices a day, for the Sunday meal, and once a week on an outing (walk, hike) where they walk with each other and are allowed to speak with one another. It is essential for mental balance.

 

[Tridentine_MT]

This is true but one shouldn’t overdo it either. Even the Carthusians, one of the toughest orders in the Church, actually probably the toughest, living an eremitic lifestyle, come together for a couple of Offices a day, for the Sunday meal, and once a week on an outing (walk, hike) where they walk with each other and are allowed to speak with one another. It is essential for mental balance.

What about having a sort of cell at home?

 

[Rosebud77]

This is true but one shouldn’t overdo it either. Even the Carthusians, one of the toughest orders in the Church, actually probably the toughest, living an eremitic lifestyle, come together for a couple of Offices a day, for the Sunday meal, and once a week on an outing (walk, hike) where they walk with each other and are allowed to speak with one another. It is essential for mental balance.

Oh yes indeed; there has to be balance. Would be climbing the walls else…I am out for shopping etc only, and for works of mercy which to me are an integral part of this life. Once a week or at most twice I never use the computer after afternoon and am very careful especially with forums. Too much (name removed by moderator)ut is as damaging as too little in subtler ways. But then I have the advantage of advanced age and decades of this solitary life.

 

[Rosebud77]

What about having a sort of cell at home?

Not sure what you mean? Will reply when I am sure! But for most your home IS your cell. Where you live solitude and work and above all pray. Fine to set a room apart for prayer as long as it is not some kind of escape from family who are your first commitment. Fine to do that but not to say that this is hermithood. For me for example in age and with disability but needing no assistance , my bed is my refuge and thus my prayer space.But I am totally alone in an isolated place.

 

[Tridentine_MT]

Not sure what you mean? Will reply when I am sure! But for most your home IS your cell. Where you live solitude and work and above all pray. Fine to set a room apart for prayer as long as it is not some kind of escape from family who are your first commitment. Fine to do that but not to say that this is hermithood. For me for example in age and with disability but needing no assistance , my bed is my refuge and thus my prayer space.But I am totally alone in an isolated place.

Thanks Rosebud77. I meant to set a room apart for prayer and possibly with a bed too. Frugal with the bare essentials for meditation, prayer, reading and similar activities.

 

[Tridentine_MT]

One is reminded that there is a well-established anchoritic / eremetical tradition within Catholicism that was once very vibrant and varied and that is now quite rare, albeit slowly increasing. And the monastic orders were contemplative and cloistered to varying degrees, with some practically being associations of hermits adhering to a common rule.

IMHO, this emphasis on ecclesiastical approval is quite a new one!!

St. Paul the Hermit, St. Anthony Abbot, and St. Hilarion, all anchorites, never showed up at the footsteps of the Bishop to receive a sort of writ of vocation. I believe the same was true through the Middle Ages.

It’s unfortunate that in modern times the exercise of any sort of spirituality requires the authorization of episcopal authority or at least a moderate spiritual director. The Church is losing some valid people, because not everyone is meant to be a priest.

 

[SerraSemper]

One is reminded that there is a well-established anchoritic / eremetical tradition within Catholicism that was once very vibrant and varied and that is now quite rare, albeit slowly increasing. And the monastic orders were contemplative and cloistered to varying degrees, with some practically being associations of hermits adhering to a common rule.

IMHO, this emphasis on ecclesiastical approval is quite a new one!!

St. Paul the Hermit, St. Anthony Abbot, and St. Hilarion, all anchorites, never showed up at the footsteps of the Bishop to receive a sort of writ of vocation. I believe the same was true through the Middle Ages.

It’s unfortunate that in modern times the exercise of any sort of spirituality requires the authorization of episcopal authority or at least a moderate spiritual director. The Church is losing some valid people, because not everyone is meant to be a priest.

I don’t know where you’re getting the idea that the emphasis on ecclesiastical approval is a new one. Who exactly is pushing for people to become canonical hermits?

If someone is authentically called to a particular ecclesial vocation, then it is to a vocation with certain definitive elements; remove just one essential element and it’s not an ecclesial vocation. Take for example marriage. Many people take out essential elements but call it “marriage” even though their arrangement is not what the Church has discerned as the vocation of marriage. If two men or two women march down the aisle and say vows and live together, they are still not married in the eyes of God or the Church even if their country or state deems them to be married.

Lay hermits are those who follow the authentic praxis of **solitude **for the praise of God and salvation of the world. They live out their baptismal commitment to Christ in an eremitical manner. Just because someone is an individual not living in a community does not make a person a hermit in the Church tradition. The desert fathers and mothers passed on sayings for us to understand how they understood their vocation. Manual labor was a large component. So was fraternal charity when visited by another. Solitude was a big deal and some hermits moved when others came within a certain mile radius (10-15 miles?). Canon 603 and the relevant parts of the catechism are good guides as to what the Church sees as authentic eremitic life.

It’s one thing to be an authentic lay hermit and it’s another to have a hermit-like spirituality and lifestyle. One can be attracted to the eremitic life but practical realities prevent one from being an authentic hermit. There is nothing preventing one from adopting the “spirituality” of the desert and integrating it into one’s life and responsibilities as much as one can without neglecting said responsibilities.

Before one can even ponder becoming a canonical hermit, one must first learn how to be a hermit and the desert fathers say that the cell is one’s teacher. One sign that a person might be called to canonical eremitic profession is if that individual intends to continue on as a lay hermit for the rest of their live regardless of whether profession happens or not. If a person isn’t willing to live in solitude for the rest of their life if they aren’t accepted for canonical profession, it is a clear sign that they do not believe enough in a call to solitude for them to be suitable candidates.

Why remain a lay hermit? There are lots of reasons why someone would want to be a lay hermit (a baptized Catholic who lives like a hermit but isn’t a consecrated hermit). Perhaps they simply want to live the lifestyle but don’t want to make vows or other sacred bonds. Perhaps they don’t want the spiritual anointing of consecration and simply find their baptismal consecration to be sufficient and all they desire. What’s important is that to be a lay hermit, one follows the praxis of eremitic life in the Church. This vocation is not for everyone. People need to be psychologically balanced and know their Faith well and have studied the lives of various hermits so that they can grow in holiness instead of stagnating.

Again, I’m not sure what you think “ecclesiastical approval” is or isn’t. I get the feeling you’re talking about how some people run to their bishops to validate their lifestyles or want to become hermits to attain a certain “status” in the Church. This is not what canonical eremitic life is all about. The bishop is not “approving” a hermit in the sense of an endorsement to the Catholic community. Instead, the bishop is weighing and discerning whether a lay hermit is following the praxis of authentic eremitic life and whether he/she should be professed as someone called to the consecrated state with its responsibilities. Is the Holy Spirit truly calling this person to be consecrated and professed or not? This is one reason why so few are professed. They do not live the full eremitic lifestyle and consequently are not called by the Holy Spirit to consecration.

 

[Rosebud77]

Thanks Rosebud77. I meant to set a room apart for prayer and possibly with a bed too. Frugal with the bare essentials for meditation, prayer, reading and similar activities.

Yes I though that was your meaning so thank you. IF you have family then I would be careful here. I have no one living within reach, A bed why? And why not make your whole life frugal? Prayer space is grand yes.

 

[Tridentine_MT]

Yes I though that was your meaning so thank you. IF you have family then I would be careful here. I have no one living within reach, A bed why? And why not make your whole life frugal? Prayer space is grand yes.

This is my idea, so to speak. huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/katskhi-pillar-monk-georgia-maxime-qavtaradze_n_3950192.html Not as a stylite but, like this monk, being able to maintain contact with other people. The idea of having a bed in the same room is to have something ready for guests should they arrive and want to stay.

 

[Tridentine_MT]

I don’t know where you’re getting the idea that the emphasis on ecclesiastical approval is a new one. Who exactly is pushing for people to become canonical hermits?

If someone is authentically called to a particular ecclesial vocation, then it is to a vocation with certain definitive elements; remove just one essential element and it’s not an ecclesial vocation. Take for example marriage. Many people take out essential elements but call it “marriage” even though their arrangement is not what the Church has discerned as the vocation of marriage. If two men or two women march down the aisle and say vows and live together, they are still not married in the eyes of God or the Church even if their country or state deems them to be married.

Lay hermits are those who follow the authentic praxis of **solitude **for the praise of God and salvation of the world. They live out their baptismal commitment to Christ in an eremitical manner. Just because someone is an individual not living in a community does not make a person a hermit in the Church tradition. The desert fathers and mothers passed on sayings for us to understand how they understood their vocation. Manual labor was a large component. So was fraternal charity when visited by another. Solitude was a big deal and some hermits moved when others came within a certain mile radius (10-15 miles?). Canon 603 and the relevant parts of the catechism are good guides as to what the Church sees as authentic eremitic life.

It’s one thing to be an authentic lay hermit and it’s another to have a hermit-like spirituality and lifestyle. One can be attracted to the eremitic life but practical realities prevent one from being an authentic hermit. There is nothing preventing one from adopting the “spirituality” of the desert and integrating it into one’s life and responsibilities as much as one can without neglecting said responsibilities.

Before one can even ponder becoming a canonical hermit, one must first learn how to be a hermit and the desert fathers say that the cell is one’s teacher. One sign that a person might be called to canonical eremitic profession is if that individual intends to continue on as a lay hermit for the rest of their live regardless of whether profession happens or not. If a person isn’t willing to live in solitude for the rest of their life if they aren’t accepted for canonical profession, it is a clear sign that they do not believe enough in a call to solitude for them to be suitable candidates.

Why remain a lay hermit? There are lots of reasons why someone would want to be a lay hermit (a baptized Catholic who lives like a hermit but isn’t a consecrated hermit). Perhaps they simply want to live the lifestyle but don’t want to make vows or other sacred bonds. Perhaps they don’t want the spiritual anointing of consecration and simply find their baptismal consecration to be sufficient and all they desire. What’s important is that to be a lay hermit, one follows the praxis of eremitic life in the Church. This vocation is not for everyone. People need to be psychologically balanced and know their Faith well and have studied the lives of various hermits so that they can grow in holiness instead of stagnating.

Again, I’m not sure what you think “ecclesiastical approval” is or isn’t. I get the feeling you’re talking about how some people run to their bishops to validate their lifestyles or want to become hermits to attain a certain “status” in the Church. This is not what canonical eremitic life is all about. The bishop is not “approving” a hermit in the sense of an endorsement to the Catholic community. Instead, the bishop is weighing and discerning whether a lay hermit is following the praxis of authentic eremitic life and whether he/she should be professed as someone called to the consecrated state with its responsibilities. Is the Holy Spirit truly calling this person to be consecrated and professed or not? This is one reason why so few are professed. They do not live the full eremitic lifestyle and consequently are not called by the Holy Spirit to consecration.

Dear SerraSemper, thank you so much for the lengthy explanation. More or less, I agree with you. In the previous post to Rosebud77 I explained what I envisage. So, yes, I understand the reasons behind a bishop’s “approval” or not. It’s clearer now, thanks to you.