Hermit's Skeet
What is a "Hermit"?
- Why do people desire Prayer in Solitude?
- Elements of the Eremetical Life
- Suggested Readings
Hermit’s Skeet A Page of a Consecrated Hermit PERSONAL NOTE: I am a
Roman Rite Catholic hermit with a B.A. in both Philosophy and Theology
and graduate work in Ministry. I am a "real bear" for genuine Catholic
orthodoy. As a result, I am quite comfortable with Ukrainian Catholic
liturgy and theology. But, I am most uncomfortable with the syncretism
of those who, engaging in study of Hinduism, Buddhism, and other
eastern religions, confuse and intermingle concepts of these and try to
re-define Christianity in terms of them. Jesus Christ alone is the true
"Water of Life", and only through and with and in Him do we come to
true salvation in God; and so I also reject New Age syncretism. Praised
be Jesus Christ! Now and forever. WELCOME to the home page of a
consecrated Catholic Hermit. My life is lived in the Benedictine
Trappist Cistercian tradition. HERMIT’S SKEET is a place for prayer,
contemplation, study, and work. Come apart from the hectic world, its
noise and demands, and its problems and sit for a while with me in
peace and silence before the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and adore
Him.
WHAT IS A HERMIT? A hermit under Catholic Canon Law is a person who is
consecrated to God by “public vows" before the local bishop, or as a
member of a religious order, who lives a life of fasting, solitude,
silence, constant prayer and work. They may either be lay persons or
priests or religious. The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 1, says: . . .
3 Second, there are the anchorites or hermits, who have come through
the test of living in a monastery for a long time, and have passed
beyond the first fervor of monastic life.
4 Thanks to the help and guidance of many, they are
now trained to fight against the devil. The greatest of the Old
Testament Prophets, Saint Elijah
http://carmelnet.org/galleries/image_gallery.htm was a hermit who later
took on a disciple, Saint Elisha
http://carmelnet.org/galleries/Saints/Saints_2/Elisha/elisha.htm St.
Anthony the Great of Egypt once had a vision of all the temptations and
wiles and snares of the devil laid out on the ground before him. Pale
with fear and shaking, he asked: "Lord, how can anyone hope to avoid
all these?" The Lord, gently, gave him a one word answer: "HUMILITY."
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thy own. O
God, be merciful to me a sinner. “COMMUNIO” “Communio” is one of Pope
John Paul II’s favorite words. Throughout the world, people who are
knowingly (and unknowingly) members of the “one fold” of Jesus Christ,
the Mystical Body of Christ, are linked together with a powerful
Presence of the Risen Christ, in their souls by grace, in the
Sacraments, and most of all in the Blessed Sacrament. We are all one in
Christ Jesus. Sin destroys this unity, this precious sacred “communio”,
“the Communion of Saints”, among us. It shatters and fragments us as
persons, and the entirety of creation; it shatters and fragments the
Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. St. Mary Magdalene is the patron
of all contemplatives. Humbly sitting at the feet of Jesus Christ, she
LISTENED and she LOVED. She heard the WORD, and she responded with a
YES. In a world so fragmented by sin, let us first repent our own sins
with a worthy Sacramental Confession, and then allow God’s grace to
heal us, day by day, by reading His Holy WORD, praying constantly and
faithfully, and receiving the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist as often
as possible. And intercede for each other. Most of all, let us MAKE
REPARATION to God for the countless sins that mock His merciful gift of
His only-begotten Son for the life of the world. PRAYERFUL ADVICE TO
THOSE IN NEED Since I do not have time to answer each petition
personally, I will put my advice below and pray that God uses it to
touch each of you. "Make a little cell in your heart for Jesus of the
Agony; take refuge there, when you hear Him outraged by men, try to
make reparation; you, at least, love Him and keep your heart quite pure
for Him." Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, discalced Carmelite quoting St.
Catherine of Siena. “Make for God in your soul a little cell”, a guest
room, where He may come when He’s tired, beaten up, insulted, spit
upon, hurting from the world’s ingratitude and hatred. A place like the
home of Mary, Martha and Lazareth where He may be totally and
completely at home, totally and completely welcome. And there, kneel in
adoration, praise, thanksgiving and reparation, glorifying the
Ever-Blessed Triune God. Let Him come and go as he desired - like the
people who welcomed Elijah the Prophet, and his disciple Elisha. When
the world and its confusion and evil is too much for you, flee to this
place, knock, and enter quietly to sit with Saint Mary Magdalene at His
feet, and listen, enjoy, be, tell him how sorry you are for your sins
and those of others. Rest in Him, quietly, without a word. It is the
Ever Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God - the Theotokos, the
“God-bearing Virgin” - who leads us unfailingly to her infinitely Holy
Son, Jesus Christ. If you would truly be God’s son or daughter and
servant, wear the clothing of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Brown
Scapular. http://carmelnet.org/galleries/Saints/saints.htm Nothing
whatsoever in the Documents of Vatican II or its subsequent
implementation documents has ever ridiculed or forbidden this powerful
and precious gift of the Blessed Virgin Mary; rather Popes and Bishops
still praise it. Given in a vision in England to St. Simon Stock, with
its promise: "whoever dies clothed in this scapular will inhermit
eternal life", this sacramental is a powerful weapon to overcome sin in
our own lives. Faithfully pray the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary
daily. Pope John Paul II has written a marvelous Apostolic Letter on
the Rosary, an extended Gospel meditation. There is no “superstition”,
no “magic”in wearing the Brown Scapular, but rather the deliberate
choice of service of the Ever Blessed Virgin Mary who is the greatest,
most humble, most obedient of God's faithful servants, who holds Her
motherly Mantle -- her Omiphorion -- over her servants, whom she always
unfailing leads to Jesus Christ her son. The Novena to Our Lady of
Perpetual Help http://www.oloswestriver.org/novena_perpetual_help.htm
is a most powerful weapon to overcome sin in our lives. When faced with
insurmountable odds, pain, debt, needs: “Go to Joseph” - whom God
personally chose as the foster-father and protector of His Incarnate
Son and the Blessed Ever Virgin Mary, His Mother.
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/Litanies/joseph.htm
It was no accident in God's Providence that like the Patriarch Joseph,
another Jacob was the father of St. Joseph the foster father of the
Lord. In the Modern Era, the entire Church has been blessed with the
sanctity and intercession of St. Sharbel Makhlouf from a Lebanese
Maronite Monastery. The nephew of 2 Maronite hermits, this faithful
priest would become the incredible wonder-working saint and hermit.
http://www.marcharbel.com/ Student of Blessed Fr. Nimatullah Kassab
Hardini (in lay life, Joseph Kassab), http://www.hardini.org/ Saint
Sharbel lived with permission to the cold windswept heights in a small
hermitage with 2 others. Living on only 1 meal a day, delivered from
the community around sunset, with perpetual fasting, St. Sharbel
persevered in the modern day imitation of the ancient desert hermits
St. Paul http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintp24.htm , St.
Anthony http://www.coralcoast.com/emporium/Ioan.Popei/H230.html , and
St. Maroun http://www.maroun.org/ for 23 years until his death in 1898.
He was stricken with a stroke while celebrating the Divine Mysteries
and died on Christmas Eve while praying the words: "Heavenly Father,
Father of truth, behold Thy Son, who makes atoning sacrifice unto Thee.
Accept the offering; He died for me that I might have life. Behold the
offering! Accept it..." He continued repeating these words until his
death. Go, also to St. Sharbel whose baptismal name was also Joseph.
His best website is: marcharbel.com http://www.marcharbel.com Pray,
too, to the saintly Carmelite hermit Martyrs of Compeigne
http://www.karmel.at/ics/others/newkir.htm and
http://www.oksister.com/Saints/carmelite_martyrs_of_compiegne.htm
(whose gift of their own lives for the sake of the Church, quite
probably purchased the end of the bloody French Revolution). They
inspired and intereced for some of the holiest of modern saints: the
Saint and Doctor of the Church, St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the
Holy Face of Liesiex ("the little flower"),
http://carmelnet.org/galleries/Therese/therese.htm and her "disciple",
the marvelous Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity
http://www.oksister.com/Saints/elizabeth_of_the_trinity.htm. And the
40's, the great convert, philosopher, and martyr Saint Terese Benedicta
a'Cruce, known in the world as Dr. Edith Stein, Ph.D. followed.
http://www.carmelites.ie/Saints/edithstein.htm I have found the Rosary
of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to be
profound and necessary sources of prayer and grace daily. Mother
Angelica’s EWTN web site has a marvelous and thorough collection of
sound Catholic prayers in English
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/prayers.htm and Spanish
http://www.ewtn.com/spanish/prayers/oracion.htm. SOME FEW SUGGESTED
READINGS
Since this hermit follows the Rule of Saint Benedict in the Trappist
tradition (without being a trappist), this list will be heavy on
Benedictine Trappist sources. FOR THOSE WITH A SHORTAGE OF FUNDS, I
have tried to include links directly to downloadable copies of the
entire work below. PLEASE REMEMBER, also, to check your local Public
and University Libraries, and the wonderful INTE
RLIBRARY LOAN program.
THE GOLDEN EPISTLE" A Letter to the Brethren of Mount Dieu, by Bl.
William of St. Thierry, tranl. Theodore erkeley, ocso, Intro. y J. M.
Dechanet, osb. The HOMILIES and CHAPTERS of Abbot John Eudes Bamberger,
ocso at Trappist Abbey of the Genesee:
http://www.abbotjohneudes.org/aindex.html#aindex DAILY GOSPEL and
EPISTLE readings: http://www.dailygospel.org/ provided by the NCCBUSCC.
THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, NCCBUSCC web site
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/index.htm THE CATECHISM OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/index.htm 3
LIGHTS FROM THE EAST Y By Sister Maria Philomena, M.I.C.M.
http://www.catholicism.org/pages/Maronites.htm THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING:
http://www.ccel.org/a/anonymous2/cloud/htm/i.htm The HOMILIES found at
Our Lady of New Mellerey Trappist Cistercian Abbey, Peosta, Iowa,
"Sharing the Word": http://www.newmelleray.org/index.html THE RULE OF
ST. BENEDICT OF NURSIA: http://www.osb.org/rb/ THE SAYINGS OF THE
DESERT FATHERS (Also called the Apophthegmata Patrum):
http://www.balamandmonastery.org.lb/fathers/indexdesert.htm THE
CONFERENCES AND INSTITUTES OF ST. JOHN CASSIAN:
http://www.osb.org/lectio/cassian/conf/ All of the writings of St.
Teresa of Jesus of Avila:
http://pascal.calvin.edu/cgi-bin/htsearch?words=teresa+of+avila
Autobiography of St. Teresa of Jesus
Way of Perfection
Interior Castle
All of the writings of St. John of the Cross: Ascent of Mount Carmel
http://www.ccel.org/j/john_cross/ascent/ascent.html Hidden Flame of
Love
Dark Night of the Soul
Spiritual Canticle of the Soul
http://www.ccel.org/index/author-J.html
Hundreds of other magnificent titles may be found at CISTERCIAN
PUBLICATIONS:
http://www.spencerabbey.org/cistpub/catalogue/catframes.html CATECHICAL
INSTRUCTIONS
http://www.tcdsb.org/external/schools/chaminade/oac-philosophy/public_html/cure.htm
of Saint John Marie Baptiste Vianney ("the Cure of Ars") THOUGHTS
MATTER, by Sister Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, Continuum, New York, 1998
ISBN 0-8264-1063-4
http://www.geneseeabbey.org/Books%20-%20Spirituality.htm It is always a
little dangerous to recommend a book you haven't read yet, but I will
include these:
Title: A Way of Desert Spirituality: The Plan of Life of the Hermits of
Bethlehem Author: Eugene L. Romano, HBHJ ISBN: 0-8189-0821-1
Separate page please linked to main
___________________
PRAYER AND DEVOTIONS OF THE CHURCH Many, myself included, have found
the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
to be profound and necessary sources of prayer and grace daily. Pope
John Paul II published in 2003 a marvelous Apostolic Letter called
ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE which I highly recommend:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html
With praying the Rosary, goes the wearing of the Brown Scapular
http://www.catholic-church.org/martyrum_nostrum/carmfaq.htm#1 and
consecration of one’s life to the Blessed Virgin Mary:
http://carmelnet.org/scapular/brown/brown.htm. [St. Louis de
Montfort's, which Pope John Paul II has made, is only one of many sound
and valid forms of consecration.
http://www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/fatima/montfort.html Whatever the
daily schedule (horarium) of the individual hermit, the LITURGY OF THE
HOURS is essential: http://www.xmission.com/~hta/lithours.htm. Daily
LECTIO DIVINA http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html is requried by the
Rule of Saint Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/ . Daily MASS, if
possible, and frequent serious study of the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH http://198.62.75.1/www1/CDHN/ccc.html and other sound orthodox
Catholic doctrinal sources are essential. The writings and lives of the
great Saints and Doctors of the Catholic Church provide the hermit with
a sound and tested trustworthy group of sources from which to draw on.
Be patient. Each day read some, pray some, work some, study some -- let
the Holy Spirit work within you as He wills. PRAYER is like water
hitting the ground, and slowly percolating down through layers of soil
until it collects purified, and pure in the aquafers
http://www.paccd.cc.ca.us/drdave/Lectures/ground.ppt deep beneath the
earth's crust. Daily prayer and meditation on Scripture and on
commentaries written by holy and saintly men and women on them is
essential to the hermit. Slowly it permeates and purifies the person,
"divinizing" them, remaking them in the Image and Likeness of God and
of His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Word Made Flesh Who dwelt
among us.
To here 5 EUCHARISTIC ADORATION before the Tabernacle or in the
Monstrance provides the hermit with the love-dialog with the Risen
Jesus, truly Present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, necessary to
persevere in silence and solitude "in love with God the Bridegroom".
SPECIAL CHARITABLE REQUEST
Hermit’s Skeet A Page of a Consecrated Hermit Praised be Jesus Christ!
Now and forever.
WELCOME to the home page of a consecrated Catholic Hermit. My life is
lived in the Benedictine Trappist Cistercian tradition. HERMIT’S SKEET
is a place for prayer, contemplation, study, and work. Come apart from
the hectic world, its noise and demands, and its problems and sit for a
while with me in peace and silence before the Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament and adore Him. Ask the Ever Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Mother,
the New Eve, to wrap you gently in her mantle and to hold you close,
taking away all fear, all hurt, and to help you to adore Jesus her Son,
God and Man, our Saviour and Lord.
WHAT IS A HERMIT? A hermit under Catholic Canon Law is a person who is
consecrated to God by “public vows" before the local bishop, or as a
member of a religious order, who lives a life of fasting, solitude,
silence, constant prayer and work. They may either be lay persons or
priests or religious. The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 1, says: . . .
3 Second, there are the anchorites or hermits, who
have come through the test of living in a monastery for
a long time, and have passed beyond the first fervor of
monastic life.
4 Thanks to the help and guidance of many, they are
now trained to fight against the devil. The greatest of the Old
Testament Prophets, Saint Elijah
http://carmelnet.org/galleries/image_gallery.htm was a hermit who later
took on a disciple, Saint Elisha
http://carmelnet.org/galleries/Saints/Saints_2/Elisha/elisha.htm
St. Anthony the Great of Egypt, the “Father of Hermits”, once had a
vision of all the temptations and wiles and snares of the devil laid
out on the ground before him. Pale with fear and shaking, he asked:
"Lord, how can anyone hope to avoid all these?" The Lord, gently, gave
him a one word answer: "HUMILITY." Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
make our hearts like unto Thy own. O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
“COMMUNIO” “Communio” is one of Pope John Paul II’s favorite words.
Throughout the world, people who are knowingly (and unknowingly)
members of the “one fold” of Jesus Christ, the Mystical Body of Christ,
are linked together with a powerful Presence of the Risen Christ, in
their souls by grace, in the Sacraments, and most of all in the Blessed
Sacrament. We are all one in Christ Jesus. Sin destroys this unity,
this precious sacred “communio”, “the Communion of Saints”, among us.
It shatters and fragments us as persons, and the entirety of creation;
it shatters and fragments the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. St.
Mary Magdalene is the patron of all contemplatives. Her sins forgiven,
demons driven out, she humbly sat at the feet of Jesus Christ, she
LISTENED and she LOVED. She heard the WORD, and she responded with a
“YES”. In a world so fragmented by sin, let us first repent our own
sins with a worthy Sacramental Confession, and then allow God’s grace
to heal us, day by day, by reading His Holy WORD, praying constantly
and faithfully, and receiving the holy Sacrament of the Eucharist as
often as possible. And intercede for each other with all the love of
the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Most of all, let us MAKE REPARATION to
God for the countless sins that mock His merciful gift of His
only-begotten Son for the life of the world. PRAYERFUL ADVICE TO THOSE
IN NEED Since I do not have time to answer each petition personally, I
will put my advice below and pray that God uses it to touch each of
you. "Make a little cell in your heart for Jesus of the Agony; take
refuge there, when you hear Him outraged by men, try to make
reparation; you, at least, love Him and keep your heart quite pure for
Him." Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, discalced Carmelite quoting St.
Catherine of Siena. “Make for God in your soul a little cell”, a guest
room, where He may come when He’s tired, beaten up, insulted, spit
upon, hurting from the world’s ingratitude and hatred. A place like the
home of Mary, Martha and Lazareth where He may be totally and
completely at home, totally and completely welcome. And there, kneel in
adoration, praise, thanksgiving and reparation, glorifying the
Ever-Blessed Triune God. Let Him come and go as he desired - like the
people who welcomed Elijah the Prophet, and his disciple Elisha. When
the world and its confusion and evil is too much for you, flee to this
place, knock, and enter quietly to sit with Saint Mary Magdalene at His
feet, and listen, enjoy, be, tell him how sorry you are for your sins
and those of others. Rest in Him, quietly, without a word. It is “the
hermitage within” where God is found in every human heart made in His
divine Image and Likeness. It is the Ever Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother
of God - the Theotokos, the “God-bearing Virgin” - who leads us
unfailingly to her infinitely Holy Son, Jesus Christ. If you would
truly be God’s son or daughter and servant, wear the clothing of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, the Brown Scapular.
http://carmelnet.org/galleries/Saints/saints.htm Nothing whatsoever in
the Documents of Vatican II or its subsequent implementation documents
has ever ridiculed or forbidden this powerful and precious gift of the
Blessed Virgin Mary; rather Popes and Bishops still praise it. Given in
a vision in England to St. Simon Stock, with its promise: "whoever dies
clothed in this scapular will inherit eternal life"; this sacramental
is a powerful weapon to overcome sin in our own lives. We all need to
faithfully pray the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary daily. Pope John
Paul II
has written a marvelous Apostolic Letter on the Rosary, an extended
Gospel meditation. There is no “superstition”, no “magic”in wearing the
Brown Scapular, but rather the deliberate choice of service of the Ever
Blessed Virgin Mary who is the greatest, most humble, most obedient of
God's faithful servants, who holds Her motherly Mantle -- her
Omiphorion -- over her servants, whom she always unfailing leads to
Jesus Christ her son. The Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help
http://www.oloswestriver.org/novena_perpetual_help.htm is a most
powerful weapon to overcome sin in our lives. When faced with
insurmountable odds, pain, debt, needs: “Go to Joseph” - whom God
personally chose as the foster-father and protector of His Incarnate
Son and the Blessed Ever Virgin Mary, His Mother.
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/Litanies/joseph.htm In the Modern Era,
the entire Church has been blessed with the sanctity and intercession
of St. Sharbel Makhlouf from a Lebanese Maronite Monastery. The nephew
of 2 Maronite hermits, this faithful priest would become the incredible
wonder-working saint and hermit. http://www.marcharbel.com/ Student of
Blessed Fr. Nimatullah Kassab Hardini (in lay life, Joseph Kassab),
http://www.hardini.org/ Saint Sharbel lived with permission to the cold
windswept heights in a small hermitage with 2 others. Living on only 1
meal a day, delivered from the community around sunset, with perpetual
fasting, St. Sharbel persevered in the modern day imitation of the
ancient desert hermits St. Paul
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintp24.htm , St. Anthony
http://www.coralcoast.com/emporium/Ioan.Popei/H230.html , and St.
Maroun http://www.maroun.org/ for 23 years until his death in 1898. He
was stricken with a stroke while celebrating the Divine Mysteries and
died on Christmas Eve while praying the words: "Heavenly Father, Father
of truth, behold Thy Son, who makes atoning sacrifice unto Thee. Accept
the offering; He died for me that I might have life. Behold the
offering! Accept it..." He continued repeating these words until his
death. Go, also to St. Sharbel whose baptismal name was also Joseph.
His best website is: marcharbel.com http://www.marcharbel.com Pray,
too, to the saintly Carmelite hermit Martyrs of Compeigne
http://www.karmel.at/ics/others/newkir.htm and
http://www.oksister.com/Saints/carmelite_martyrs_of_compiegne.htm
(whose gift of their own lives for the sake of the Church, quite
probably purchased the end of the bloody French Revolution). They
inspired and intereced for some of the holiest of modern saints: the
Saint and Doctor of the Church, St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the
Holy Face of Liesiex ("the little flower"),
http://carmelnet.org/galleries/Therese/therese.htm and her "disciple",
the marvelous Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity
http://www.oksister.com/Saints/elizabeth_of_the_trinity.htm. And the
40's, the great convert, philosopher, and martyr Saint Terese Benedicta
a'Cruce, known in the world as Dr. Edith Stein, Ph.D. followed.
http://www.carmelites.ie/Saints/edithstein.htm I have found the Rosary
of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy to be
profound and necessary sources of prayer and grace daily. Mother
Angelica’s EWTN web site has a marvelous and thorough collection of
sound Catholic prayers in English
http://www.ewtn.com/Devotionals/prayers/prayers.htm and Spanish
http://www.ewtn.com/spanish/prayers/oracion.htm. SOME FEW SUGGESTED
READINGS
Since this hermit follows the Rule of Saint Benedict in the Trappist
tradition (without being a trappist), this list will be heavy on
Benedictine Trappist sources. FOR THOSE WITH A SHORTAGE OF FUNDS, I
have tried to include links directly to downloadable copies of the
entire work below. PLEASE REMEMBER, also, to check your local Public
and University Libraries, and the wonderful INTE
RLIBRARY LOAN program.
THE GOLDEN EPISTLE" A Letter to the Brethren of Mount Dieu, by Bl.
William of St. Thierry, tranl. Theodore erkeley, ocso, Intro. y J. M.
Dechanet, osb. The HOMILIES and CHAPTERS of Abbot John Eudes Bamberger,
ocso at Trappist Abbey of the Genesee:
http://www.abbotjohneudes.org/aindex.html#aindex DAILY GOSPEL and
EPISTLE readings: http://www.dailygospel.org/ provided by the NCCBUSCC.
THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE, NCCBUSCC web site
http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/index.htm THE CATECHISM OF THE
CATHOLIC CHURCH: http://www.nccbuscc.org/catechism/text/index.htm 3
LIGHTS FROM THE EAST Y By Sister Maria Philomena, M.I.C.M.
http://www.catholicism.org/pages/Maronites.htm THE CLOUD OF UNKNOWING:
http://www.ccel.org/a/anonymous2/cloud/htm/i.htm The HOMILIES found at
Our Lady of New Mellerey Trappist Cistercian Abbey, Peosta, Iowa,
"Sharing the Word": http://www.newmelleray.org/index.html THE RULE OF
ST. BENEDICT OF NURSIA: http://www.osb.org/rb/ THE SAYINGS OF THE
DESERT FATHERS (Also called the Apophthegmata Patrum):
http://www.balamandmonastery.org.lb/fathers/indexdesert.htm THE
CONFERENCES AND INSTITUTES OF ST. JOHN CASSIAN:
http://www.osb.org/lectio/cassian/conf/ All of the writings of St.
Teresa of Jesus of Avila:
http://pascal.calvin.edu/cgi-bin/htsearch?words=teresa+of+avila
Autobiography of St. Teresa of Jesus
Way of Perfection
Interior Castle
All of the writings of St. John of the Cross: Ascent of Mount Carmel
http://www.ccel.org/j/john_cross/ascent/ascent.html Hidden Flame of
Love
Dark Night of the Soul
Spiritual Canticle of the Soul
http://www.ccel.org/index/author-J.html
Hundreds of other magnificent titles may be found at CISTERCIAN
PUBLICATIONS:
http://www.spencerabbey.org/cistpub/catalogue/catframes.html CATECHICAL
INSTRUCTIONS
http://www.tcdsb.org/external/schools/chaminade/oac-philosophy/public_html/cure.htm
of Saint John Marie Baptiste Vianney ("the Cure of Ars") THOUGHTS
MATTER, by Sister Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, Continuum, New York, 1998
ISBN 0-8264-1063-4
http://www.geneseeabbey.org/Books%20-%20Spirituality.htm It is always a
little dangerous to recommend a book you haven't read yet, but I will
include these:
Title: A Way of Desert Spirituality: The Plan of Life of the Hermits of
Bethlehem Author: Eugene L. Romano, HBHJ ISBN: 0-8189-0821-1
PRAYER AND DEVOTIONS OF THE CHURCH Many, myself included, have found
the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy
to be profound and necessary sources of prayer and grace daily. Pope
John Paul II published in 2003 a marvelous Apostolic Letter called
ROSARIUM VIRGINIS MARIAE which I highly recommend:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_20021016_rosarium-virginis-mariae_en.html
With praying the Rosary, goes the wearing of the Brown Scapular
http://www.catholic-church.org/martyrum_nostrum/carmfaq.htm#1 and
consecration of one’s life to the Blessed Virgin Mary:
http://carmelnet.org/scapular/brown/brown.htm. [St. Louis de
Montfort's, which Pope John Paul II has made, is only one of many sound
and valid forms of consecration.
http://www.theotokos.org.uk/pages/fatima/montfort.html Whatever the
daily schedule (horarium) of the individual hermit, the LITURGY OF THE
HOURS is essential: http://www.xmission.com/~hta/lithours.htm. Daily
LECTIO DIVINA http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html is requried by the
Rule of Saint Benedict http://www.osb.org/rb/ . Daily MASS, if
possible, and frequent serious study of the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC
CHURCH http://198.62.75.1/www1/CDHN/ccc.html and other sound orthodox
Catholic doctrinal sources are essential. The writings and lives of the
great Saints and Doctors of the Catholic Church provide the hermit with
a sound and tested trustworthy group of sources from which to draw on.
Be patient. Each day read some, pray some, work some, study some -- let
the Holy Spirit work within you as He wills. PRAYER is like water
hitting the ground, and slowly percolating down through layers of soil
until it collects purified, and pure in the aquafers - gigantic
reservoirs beneath the earth’s crust --
http://www.paccd.cc.ca.us/drdave/Lectures/ground.ppt deep beneath the
earth's crust. Daily prayer and meditation on Scripture and on
commentaries written by holy and saintly men and women on them is
essential to the hermit. Slowly it permeates and purifies the person,
"divinizing" them, remaking them in the Image and Likeness of God and
of His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Word Made Flesh Who dwelt
among us. The great Fr. M. Louis Merton (known in print as Thomas
Merton) once expressed so very clearly the sense of helpless bumbling
toward God we all feel:
"MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.” We all feel like that
sometimes. He went on to pray that he did know that God was pleased
with his desire to please God and would always lead him, never ever
abandon him. nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for
you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils
alone." Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude" © Abbey of Gethsemani
Thomas Merton Center
Concerning the Collection in the Bellarmine Library
The International Thomas Merton Society (ITMS)
The Thomas Merton Foundation (TMF)
Thomas Merton Links
| Home Page | History | A Monk's Day | Retreat Information | Order Gifts | Vocations |
| History Book | Fr. Matthew's Homilies | Thomas Merton |
Bookstore
| EUCHARISTIC ADORATION before the Tabernacle or in the Monstrance
provides the hermit with the love-dialog with the Risen Jesus, truly
Present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, necessary to persevere in
silence and solitude "in love with God the Bridegroom". SPECIAL
CHARITABLE REQUEST
There is great need of financial assistance to the Trappists and
Trappestines in the Philippines; a relatively young foundation in a
country troubled with sickness, civil strife, and poverty. They are in
the process of building a modern food processing plant in order to
become self-supporting. FOR THOSE WISHING TO HELP SUPPORT THE TRAPPISTS
AND TRAPPESTINES OF THE PHILIPPINES, many marvelous icons are available
from Marie Clare at the Our Lady of New Helfta website:
http://www.ourladyofnewhelfta.com/ Part of this money goes directly to
the Philippines, and part to support of Sr. Marie Clare, the artist.
Direct contributions of support may be sent to:
http://www.ourladyofnewhelfta.com/OLP/fund-raising.php In his letter to
Shannon Loughlin, the Director of Campus Ministry of Geneseo Newman
Community, Rev. Father John Eudes Bamberger, ocso wrote: "I have asked
Ms. Minhhang Huynh of Geneseo to assist in collecting funds for our
various needs and she has generously responded to this request. I would
appreciate it very much if you would assist her in collecting and
handling any donations we might receive through the Newman Community.
Such assistance on your part would greatly contribute to Minh's efforts
to aid us in this project. Yours very truly, Abbot John Eudes
Bamberger, OCSO" PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT 100% OF YOUR DONATION GOES TO
THE FUND.
Make check payable to:
GENESEO NEWMAN COMMUNITY
Philippine Trappist Fund
PO Box 464 . Geneseo, NY 14454
On the memo line, “ For Abbey of the Philippines.”
PRAYER REQUESTS: Please address prayer requests to
hermit@hermitsskeet@angelfire.com http://www.ocso.org NCCBUSCC
http://www.nccbuscc.org ABBEY OF THE GENESEE “HOME”
http://www.geneseeabbey.org PERSONAL NOTE: I am a Roman Rite Catholic
hermit. My academic training includes a B.A. in both Philosophy and
Theology and graduate work in Ministry. I am a "real bear" for genuine
Catholic orthodoy. As a result of many years of attending Divine
Liturgy, I am quite comfortable with Ukrainian Greek Catholic liturgy,
theology and spirituality. I also love Latin (both old and new), and
Spanish liturgy. PRAYER REQUESTS: Please address prayer requests to
hermitsskeet1@juno.co
