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Hermit's Skeet

What is a "Hermit"?

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.com

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