A quote of a hermit to his pastor.

 

After our last meeting, while reflecting on the fruitfulness of a hermit priest, I remembered that I have a few friends who are involved with the Carthusians [as I am] or are Carthusians. They do not take a vow of silence but use silence to support one another and as a tool for opening their hearts to God, and they write very little. I am honored that I do have some contact with them, and occasionally I receive some good reflections from them in our exchanges. Here are a few thoughts I have received and reflected on:

• How efficacious for the world is the Eucharist when celebrated by a Carthusian Father alone in his chapel! « Separated from all, we are united to all for it is in the name of all that we present ourselves to the living God. » (Statutes 34.2) Commentary: The Carthusian did not choose solitude for its own sake, but because he saw in it an excellent means for him to attain a deeper union with God and all mankind. It is upon entering the recesses of his heart that the Carthusian solitaries become, in Christ, present to all men. He becomes a solitary to attain solidarity. Contemplatives are at the heart of the Church. They fulfill an essential function in the ecclesiastical community: the glorification of God. Carthusians withdraw to the desert first and foremost to worship God, to praise him [the Eucharist and liturgy of hours], to admire him, to be seduced by him, to give themselves to him, in the name of all of mankind. It is in the name of all that they are mandated by the Church to be a permanent prayer.

• Intercession: commentary: Since the very beginning the Church recognized that monks tied to contemplation act as intercessors. Representing all of creation, on a daily basis, at all the liturgical offices and during the Eucharistic celebration, they pray for the living and the dead.

• Witness: from their Statutes: « Turned, by our profession, solely toward Him who is, we are witness in face of a world engrossed in the earthly realities that outside of Him there is no God. Our life shows that the good from heaven is already to be found on earth; it is a precursor of the resurrection and like an anticipation of a renewed world. » Statutes 34.3 Commentary:  For the solitaries, being such a witness is not realized by speech, nor by personal contact. By his mere presence, the monk is a witness that God lives and can take over the hearts of men.

• From Vita Consecrata, #30: In the priest, in fact, the vocation to the priesthood and the vocation to the consecrated life converge in a profound and dynamic unity. Also of immeasurable value is the contribution made to the Church's life by religious priests completely devoted to contemplation. Especially in the celebration of the Eucharist they carry out an act of the Church and for the Church, to which they join the offering of themselves, in communion with Christ who offers himself to the Father for the salvation of the whole world.

QUIET DAY AT THE HERMITAGE.

 

Hermit Deacon, June 27th, 2020

AN UPDATE

From my Director:

I want to share a few thoughts with you this morning, the date after the night before.

Yesterday, at my request, you made a special step forward, simple but meaningful, a step of commitment, a step of entering more clearly in the journey of yours on the way to the Ordination to the diaconate and the ministerial priesthood. You express your desire of giving yourself in Christ, you also express the willingness to respond to the grace of God. You enter into the Will of God as officially recognized by the Church or the Pastor of the local Church. The engagement and the direction are more officially acknowledged; you enter ‘officially’ on the way to the Ordination. Your vocation as a hermit was already sanctioned officially over five years ago. Your vocation takes a more definite direction to enter more deeply in the Mystery of Christ giving his life out of love for the salvation of the world and for the greatest glory of God. Congratulation and may the good Lord continue His Work in you; and continue to keep your heart open to His grace.

I think it is also meaningful that you should become a candidate to the ordained priesthood in the midst of the crisis or pandemic that we are going through, a time when all the Masses celebrated for the public or in public are now cancelled. BUT it is highly recommended that the priests would continue to pray and to celebrate the Eucharist privately for the people entrusted to their care in particular. I think, for you, this would be a very special sign that celebrating Mass ‘in private’, alone, is still very meaningful and important. It seems that it tells us that the celebration of the Mass is important on its own and not necessarily as a means of bring the faithful people together and to celebrate their communion in Christ. Encouraging the priests to celebrate also reminds us that the celebration of the Mass is indeed the representation and commemoration (and shall we say: the actualisation) of the salvific work of Christ for the world, out of love for his Father and for the good of all people. I think this is a confirmation of what you are preparing yourself for, namely the offering of your life in Christ for the glory of God and the salvation of the world, bringing the ultimate answer and victory in Christ to all ills and evil that may happen to us in our confused world.

Let us not be overcome by the fear and anxiety that the pandemic may ignite in the heart of people, but may we stand firm in Faith and Hope relying on the One who is our salvation and LIFE.  

Have a blessed day, in the Lord,

My ordination to the diaconate will probably go ahead (April 15th) as there will be few people involved. b.<><