Can One be a Consecrated Virgin and a Consecrated Hermit at the same time?

[[ Dear Sister, I am in my mid thirties with some brief experience of religious life. After I left my community I began to feel a longing for solitude and I also had a sense that perhaps I was being called to consecrated virginity. Is it possible to become a consecrated virgin and a hermit at the same time? Also, I have a strong yearning for solitude so I am thinking about becoming a hermit]]

Thanks for your questions. First, can one be consecrated under canon 604 (consecrated virgin living in the world) as well as under c 603 (without making a choice or clear discernment for one or the other)? Once upon a time, in the earliest history of both canons, the answer to that question was yes, but no longer. C 604 outlines a vocation marked by secularity --- a unique and compellingly sacred or eschatological secularity, to be sure, but still, a form of secularity. Consecrated virgins under c 604 are called upon to live this vocation “in the things of the Spirit and the things of the world.” This is a distinctive vocation with its own characteristics and dignity. It is discerned separately from any other vocation and entered into only when one has truly discerned such a vocation. In general, dioceses require that a person come to clarity regarding which vocation they are asking to be consecrated in.

That said, I should also point out that it is conceivable that one makes a mistake in their discernment and after some time (i.e.,  some years) comes to determine they have a different call. One might also grow into a calling and the eremitical vocation, since it is a second half of life vocation, might be one that one grows into. In such cases one might add profession under c 603 to consecration under c 604, but one would identify as a diocesan hermit and live in that way. If the discernment went the other direction (from hermit to CV), then, after securing one’s bishop’s approval to be consecrated under c 604, one would seek dispensation of one’s vows as a hermit and be consecrated as a CV. It is the case that some have seen that the two vocations can co-exist. I personally do not agree, but given the existence of a handful of such dual vocations now extant, the basic truth in such a case remains: at this point in the canons' history, one must discern which vocation is primary and be consecrated in that specific way. 

Moreover, my own impression is that if the two vocations can coexist, it can only occur when one privileges the eremitical over the consecrated virgin calling; that is, they can co-exist only when the eremitical is primary and consecrated virginity adds specific and necessary dimensions to the eremitical life it might not otherwise have. I haven't read or heard anything in discussions of the question, however, that convinces me c 604 has something needed by hermits living under c 603 which their own consecration does not provide. Hermits today recognize the spousal nature of their vocations and often have a profoundly maternal heart which informs and can inspire everything they do. They have these things by virtue of their own personal formation and their consecration by God in eremitical life. The sticking point for me on having such dual vocations is the secularity of c 604 --- significantly eschatological as that may be. Canon 603 call for stricter separation from the world [than other consecrated persons] and that seems to me to conflict with the CV's calling not only to be in the world but not of it as is true for all Christians, but also with the CV's call to act or minister "in the things of the Spirit and the things of the world". 

Secondly, you ask if a desire for solitude indicates an eremitical vocation? My answer has to be, perhaps, but not necessarily and not of itself. Your Sisters in the community you left, have a desire for solitude. So do forest rangers, many librarians, and others with quiet and solitary vocations --- all without being called to eremitical life. Unfortunately, for example, so do misanthropes, those with serious clinical depressions, and those with agoraphobia! As I have noted before here, the Unabomber had a strong desire for solitude, but this did not translate into an eremitical call the Church would have recognized or embraced and validated. You get the point, I think. There are many different kinds of solitude and a number of varying reasons for desiring it. Some are healthy and even noble, some are decidedly not healthy and may be downright ignoble. Very few are part of a call to eremitical solitude. When a desire for solitude matures into part of a call to eremitical life, it will also do so beyond the healthy desires for solitude associated with coenobitical life, or normal everyday life and it will do so along with other characteristics which help define it in terms of eremitical life. 

I sincerely hope this is helpful! Let me know if it raises more questions or concerns for you.

Why Doesn't the Church Support Hermits if they Support other Religious?

[[Hi Sister Laurel, I wondered why it is the church doesn't support hermits. They support other religious so why not hermits? Does the church want hermits to form lauras? (They support lauras, don't they? Do you agree with the church not supporting hermits?]]

Thanks for writing! Before I answer your questions though, I should correct one misunderstanding, namely, generally speaking, the church as such does NOT support religious. Religious live within their congregation's sphere of care and support. While individual religious work to earn money, that money goes to the congregation's treasury in order to sustain the congregation and its apostolate and ministries. One of the reasons religious communities today are strapped for money is the increasing median age and the declining number of Sisters and Brothers able to work. While religious tend not to retire in precisely the same way non-religious do, their earning capacity declines with increasing age. That means more elderly Sisters and Brothers are supported by fewer salaries and increased social security (which religious had to buy into because until the mid 70's, they did not pay into social security, and often were not able to do so because they earned so little). Again, I am speaking generally here only. Some (perhaps all) congregations depend on benefactors to a greater or lesser degree, so it is important to understand the church does not finance religious institutes; institutes themselves, generally speaking, are self-supporting.

Hermits (and here I mean solitary consecrated hermits living eremitical life in the name of the church under canon 603) do not belong to religious congregations so they are responsible for their own upkeep. This can include disability and social security payments, but the point is the hermit herself is responsible for her own upkeep -- the church does not generally assume financial or material responsibility for hermits. This also means that the hermit must secure her own living situation (hermitage); dioceses do not generally provide land or space for hermits consecrated under c 603. (Sometimes dioceses have provided these things, here or there, but the situation becomes fraught for the hermit in several different ways --- mainly in terms of insecurity should the diocese decide it needs to use the property in some other way or for some other purpose, but also because different bishops feel differently about eremitical life as such and may choose not to continue the arrangement.) The larger, but still related, problem in such a situation is the precedent it sets both within the diocese and for other dioceses who cannot provide in this way for a canon 603 hermit (or for multiple c 603 hermits within a single diocese). When other dioceses cannot act similarly they may simply decide they cannot profess diocesan hermits at all. It also sets precedents for other hermits or would-be hermits who don't realize that canon 603 assumes the hermit is and will remain self-sufficient and will live the eremitical life in the context in which she herself can best provide. (N.B., a new bishop may thus know canon 603 and ask a hermit to leave a diocese-supplied property precisely because he does know and understand canon 603.)

I think there is some pressure to form solitary hermits into lauras. In part this can come from the situation just outlined, where a diocese gives/provides land or retreat house space to a single c 603 hermit, and is not able to care for others in the same way unless they all come together in a laura. (Unfortunately, a laura is often misunderstood as though the colony is allowed to become a juridical community or institute. This is not the case under c 603.) I have already spoken of one group I know that began as a laura of canon 603 hermits and morphed into a community while still using c 603 as the basis of professions. In that diocese, it turns out that those desiring to become c 603 hermits were required to do so within this specific context and not as solitary hermits who are formed and may choose to live outside such a group. I know of three or four other groups that have called themselves lauras through the years -- though I am unsure they are all still viable. Neither do I know if there are other diocesan hermits living in these same dioceses and apart from such groups, though in the case mentioned above the laura is the only way to become a c 603 hermit in the diocese. For this reason alone I would have to say, yes, there is some misguided tendency to desire hermits to come together in lauras and then to funnel candidates for c603 in this direction. 

My sense from conversations I have had with bishops is a concern for adequate formation of those seeking profession under c 603. This concern seems to drive some of the pressure to form hermits into lauras. While it's an important issue for c 603 professions, and while I believe such groups can be a significant resource for diocesan hermits, I truly believe that adequate formation can and, in most ways, must be secured by the hermit outside such a group. This might not be done easily, perhaps, but it is possible and, in fact, I think it may be necessary for the solitary hermit learning to make discerning choices re: the use of resources. (Here I am thinking of the need to spend/use resources for the sake of priorities like ongoing education, spiritual growth, participation -- no matter how limited -- in the larger world, etc).

 As I have written before, I am torn on the issue of the church providing support for c 603 hermits. I agree completely that support should not be given initially, nor for some years after perpetual profession -- unless there is some significant emergency a diocese may decide to assist in. C 603 truly is meant for solitary hermits who are responsible for their own upkeep. Canon 603 cannot, and must not be used for folks seeking a sinecure, so unproven vocations might well slip into such a situation. One canonist opined that this ability to support oneself was a litmus test for c 603 hermits. While I didn't agree with that characterization when it was first made and still do not agree that this characteristic is the litmus test for this vocation, I do agree that it is an essential element in initially discerning such a vocation, and for living it as the authors of the canon envisioned. In my mind the requirement that one truly be a solitary hermit, and thus self-supporting, is part of the unique desert the diocesan hermit embraces. I can say more about this if it seems helpful.

Where I am torn, and here it is a matter of justice as well as protecting a vocation that is proven, is in two areas: 1) the need for ongoing formation, which I believe dioceses can and perhaps should assist with (here I am thinking of supplementing the hermit's resources to help pay for retreats, workshops, and maybe even to assist with funding for spiritual direction) in cases of demonstrated need, and 2) in the case of older hermits who have lived their perpetual profession for 15 to 20 years or more who may need access to a religious house where they can be physically secure and still live a significant degree of solitude in a supportive context.  In such a case I believe a diocese should, at the very least, help the hermit secure such a place. (Here bishops, vicars of religious, et al, might be able to intervene helpfully in the situation or simply have broader contacts than the hermit herself.) It is unclear to me at this point whether needs for additional care would be supported entirely by the hermit's own social security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc., or whether additional and financial resources would be required from the diocese. There is precedent for ongoing limited support for solitary hermit/anchorites whose vows/commitment was in the hands of the local bishop dating from the Middle Ages though what the authors of canon 603 had in mind is another question.

What I am completely clear about is that a hermit should be able to live on her own or, in well-established vocations, in a facility or religious house that allows her to truly remain the hermit she is until and unless she can do so no longer. That church (diocesan) sponsorship would likely be necessary in such a situation (I think the hermit should pay her own way) and I believe additional diocesan support could certainly help both the hermit and the house which is generous enough to allow (or consider allowing) her to live there. In such cases, it may be important for a hermit's diocese to be open to providing assistance, sometimes even financial in nature, to preserve and continue to nurture a long and well-lived vocation in a non-secular institution (where it is apt to be impossible to live). 

When I was first perpetually professed I received some correspondence from c 603 hermits who believed that church support indicated the church truly valued the eremitical vocation --- or, conversely, that failing to support the hermit indicated a failure to value the vocation. I thought the points were well-taken and I have not forgotten their cogency. At the same time, I recognize that, again, eremitical life is not meant to be a sinecure and that true eremitical vocations are rare. Likewise, I continue to believe hermits do not need to be supported by the church to believe that the same church values our vocations. What does have to be true however, is that there must be ongoing and meaningful communication and personal support from the chancery to the hermit, between the chancery and the hermit's delegate, and between the delegate and the hermit.

Rights and Obligations of Public Profession?

[[Dear Sister, have you ever spelled out the "rights and obligations" which make your vocation different from someone's with private vows or no vows at all? I can't remember you doing that and I thought perhaps it would be a help in coming to clarity for some, but also that it might be important for people discerning whether to live as a hermit in the lay state or the consecrated state, for example. I think that could be particularly true for hermits who fall more towards the individualist end of the eremitical spectrum. Perhaps you have already written about this; if so, my apologies.]]

This is a great request. Thanks!! I remember a friend,  another diocesan hermit (New Zealand), asked me about this once. She wondered if I could spell these out for her and I remember that we constructed a list at one point, but I am not sure I ever blogged about it.***That was several years ago now so I should consider doing it again in any case. The question of rights and obligations (and, let me add, the expectations others are allowed to legitimately hold in regard to these hermits) is the one piece of things that helps us understand what it means to be part of the consecrated state, for instance. It is the one thing which calls for an affirmation of difference between the lay and consecrated states while not allowing us to say one eremitical state is better than the other. It is also the piece of things that prevents anyone from cogently making the argument that solitary canonical hermits are all about externals. Hermits with private commitments are neither better nor worse than canonical hermits, but the two are vastly different in the rights and obligations associated with each vocation. Before I speak of these let me say that the most fundamental right and obligation of the canonical hermit is the right  and obligation (the privilege, that is) to give oneself entirely to seeking union with God. That is presupposed in every other right or obligation and expectation associated with her life.  The rights and obligations associated with the canonical state are meant to help structure and shape a life in which this central privilege can be realized for the sake of all God holds precious.

The Rights:

There are certain rights that come with canonical profession and consecration. The right to style oneself as Sister or Brother and be recognized as a vowed religious despite the fact that one is not part of a congregation or community is a right associated with c 603. One has the right to establish oneself/one's hermitage as a non-profit (301(c) 3), if doing so is actually helpful to one's ministry. (I decided this option does not assist me at all because I don't have retreatants or others coming for whom I might have expenses; nonetheless, I have this right). Canonical hermits have the right to call themselves Catholic Hermits and live this life in the name of the Church. In fact, they are commissioned to do so at profession. (Some have mistaken this as meaning the hermit speaks or writes in the name of the Church, but no, one lives eremitical life in the name of the Church and represents this vocation as best one can do with all the assistance the Church and Holy Spirit provides.)

When given specific permission by one's bishop, canonical hermits under c 603 have the right to reserve Eucharist in their hermitage, and wear a habit (though not the habit of an identifiable Order or congregation).  Additionally they may be given the right to wear a prayer garment (cowl, etc) publicly as a sign of their commission to undertake this specific ministry in the name of the Church and part of  their representation of a place in the Church's long eremitical history. Any other perks attached to civil law having to do with public vows of poverty, for instance, will also apply to the c 603 hermit. Finally, one has the right to expect one's local bishop (and/or the person delegated in this matter) to give one time to meet as needed, to take the time necessary to get to know the hermit and the way she lives this life. This means one (or one's Delegate) has a right to get an appointment with the bishop when needed --- something that others may not be considered to have a right to; this is so because canon 603 refers explicitly to mutual responsibilities entailed in the responsible "supervision" of this vocation.

The Obligations:

Far more important than the rights associated with canonical standing are the obligations. Some are attached to the rights already mentioned.  The right to style oneself as a religious or to wear a habit is associated with the obligations of a religious. There are a number of these: living a formal life of prayer and penance for the sake of others, giving one's residence over to God and to seeking God in all things, living a life informed and structured by the evangelical counsels and one's vows (which means living a life of material simplicity/poverty (which may or may not include a cession of administration), a life committed to loving God, oneself, and others as well as all that God has created, to seeing all of these with the eyes of God, and to proclaiming the Good News of God in Christ rooted in one's own experience of the resurrected and ascended crucified One. One is obligated to be obedient --- meaning one is obligated to be open and attentive to the life and will of God, and therefore to engage in an active way in discernment with directors, delegates, and others who are similarly committed.

Likewise one is obligated to participate in ongoing formation for the whole of one's life. As part of this one is obligated to engage in regular spiritual direction and the related inner work that might call for or include; similarly one is required to make retreat at least once a year, and simply to do all it takes to make that an organic part of  one's life --- not something exceptional to the rest of one's life. One is ordinarily required to make a will before perpetual profession, and to work out what one needs for care as one ages since the diocese does not provide for such needs; this can include nursing or retirement home care or something similar in a convent if this is available,  and one will fill out a durable power of attorney for healthcare or living will, and other similar arrangements. These are the basic obligations of anyone with public vows within the Church.

The c 603 hermit's obligations include all of these and all of those things required by c 603 and her own Rule or Plan of Life. She will live a life of stricter separation from those things which are resistant to Christ, of assiduous prayer and penance in the silence of solitude. This means she will maintain a context defined in terms of all of these things, and she will structure her life in ways which make sure she will embody the silence of solitude and become God's own prayer in the world. Where most religious are active and proclaim the Gospel by what they do (teaching, nursing, ministry to families, to the marginalized, etc), hermits testify in a particularly vivid way to the dignity and meaningfulness of each and every individual life. They witness to the completion and authentic humanity stemming from the relationship we each have and are with God. 

Thus, the obligations of eremitical life are reflections of the basic truth that God alone is sufficient for us --- not in the sense that we can and must exist as isolated monads --- but in the sense that that this single relationship is the heart and ground of all authentic humanity and the one thing without which NO ONE can be whole or their lives truly meaningful. (This relationship always exists, even when it is merely implicit or entirely denied.)  The hermit lives in a way which proclaims the richness and joy of a life with and in God, even when, paradoxically, one must let go of discrete gifts and talents to make this witness. Moreover the hermit will do all of this in a way which is Eucharistic and which speaks of both thanksgiving and the incarnational presence of God in all she says and does. (Eucharist will be central to her life, not just devotionally and liturgically, but in all the Eucharist symbolizes and makes  absolutely real in our world. cf. Hermits and Eucharistic Spirituality)

The Expectations:

 Rights and Obligations imply expectations on the part of others. Because religious vocations (including c 603 vocations) are public and ecclesial vocations, this means that even when we are speaking of cloistered monks and nuns or hermits hidden in their hermitages, others both in the church and in the larger world have the right to hold expectations of such persons. Remember that religious during the Rite of Profession are called forth from the assembly; they answer some questions from the presider (bishop) re their readiness to embrace this commitment and thereafter the assembly witnesses as the vows are made, the consecration is mediated, the symbols of profession and consecration are given, and the vow formulas are signed and witnessed by (in my case), myself, the bishop, pastor, delegate, as well as being notarized by the ecclesiastical notary. All of this says, "What is occurring here is significant and you have the right to expect to be able to trust everything it says about these people, this commitment, and the God who empowers all of this." I cannot say that my life is private or hidden and for those reasons others may not have expectations regarding the way I live the elements of the canon, my vows, or my Rule.

It is true that I have a right to privacy (as does any other religious), but at the same time others have the right to expect I live my commitments as vowed. To some extent there must be trust that the individual will do this without external prompting, but there will also need to be trust that the relationships constituting " the ministry of authority" in supervising, or otherwise working with the individual are serving both individual and church as they ought. Let me be clear, the very fact that there is a structure of authority contributing to the individual's integrity and providing ongoing assistance and support, itself witnesses to the fact that others have the right to expect this vocation will be well-lived. If there are real questions about this occurring in a given case, then one has a right to bring those questions first to the person and then to those who are themselves responsible via the ministry of authority. This does not mean one can intrude on the person's privacy, but one does have a right to have serious concerns heard and responded to. 

That is a very different thing than is true of private commitments. For instance, if someone makes private vows of some sort, even if I know that person, I have no right to expect them to keep that commitment beyond the expectations of simple honesty and integrity. I  certainly have no  right to turn to their pastor or their bishop and complain that this private commitment may not be being kept! Yes, if they are a friend I may have a right to ask them how it is going; I can certainly pray for them, but, beyond a general expectation that a person will do whatever they say they will do, the fact of a private commitment does not create the right to have expectations regarding how or even whether the person keeps this commitment.

 So what concrete expectations do folks have a right to hold in my regard, for instance? Those who know me have a right to expect to see the fruits of a life of prayer, penance, and the silence of solitude in a fairly direct way. If they see me struggling in some way, they have the right to expect me to get the kind of help that assists in this struggle (say, for instance, medical help, financial assistance, or spiritual direction) --- or to accept reasonable assistance from them if they offer it. They have a right to see me living an essentially healthy life in conditions that are wholesome, no matter how spartan; they have a right to see that I am growing in my life with Christ and to some extent to benefit from that life in a more direct than indirect way. (In this regard I am thinking of doing homilies or reflections, leading Communion services, teaching Scripture, and doing spiritual direction, as well as writing or blogging; other c 603 hermits will specify different ways of directly benefiting their communities). Generally speaking people do not have the right to enter my hermitage or check out how I live my life, but they have every right to see evidence of the kind of life only the love of God makes possible, and to get hope from the Gospel my life witnesses to. They have the right to expect and see a life motivated by love --- genuine, passionate, and chaste love --- and thus too,  a life lived simply with a strong sense of what is truly central and essential for every human being. They have a right to expect professional competence and a generous sharing of that and whatever else I have to share within the limitations of eremitical life. (Remember, eremitical life will often mean letting go of discrete gifts and talents for the sake of the vocation itself.)

I have probably left some things out, especially in the sections on rights or obligations, but I think I have gotten the essentials. (I'll add to this piece if other things come to mind!) I am used to saying here that the term Catholic Hermit means one whose public vocation means they live eremitical life in the name of the Church. At this point I should also suggest that a Catholic Hermit is accountable in a catholic way through the structures of authority which ensure both freedom and responsibility. Thanks again for this question. As always, if this raises more questions or omits something you believe is important, please get back to me!

*** Turns out I have written about this before, once only a couple of years ago. Please see, Rights and Obligations Associated with C 603 Vocations, and labels associated with that post,

On Legalism and the Place of C 603 in Eremitical Life

[[Dear Sister, thanks for explaining your position on pursuing consecration and using Canon law for that. I had always thought that people who supported canon law like you do were legalists. Also, I was convinced that this law was contrary to the Gospel because of the way I read Paul and his writings on law and Gospel. But you make good points on the importance of law serving love and that's new to me. I never heard that idea before. I also thought about your story about the non-canonical community you knew and how law was necessary to help their idealism. This was also not something I had thought about. But what do you do with Paul's teaching of Christ as the end of the law? How does someone living a Gospel life need law? Doesn't this lead to idolatry? Isn't one's heart divided as idolatry divides our hearts? I am not Catholic so maybe there is something in your Catholic faith that makes this okay --- not idolatry I don't mean, but you know, some kind of peaceful coexistence of law and Gospel.]]

Thank you very much for your comments and questions. This seems to be the week for comments on legalism. If my thanks seems a bit effusive it is because those comments contrasted significantly with the following assertions I also got by email this week. They are posted here just as they were received; nothing is left out: [[Your responses in your blog are as legalistic as those of the clergy! “Love God and do what you will.”]] followed by my response, [[Dear ___, I am sorry you think so. Could you give examples of what you mean? Do you think all recourse to law is "legalistic?]] and then, [[All !!! You quote Canon Law very very frequently. Did the Hermits of old quote Canon Law.]] There were a couple more emails after this but you get the idea. I didn't post my last post because of this email exchange (it preceded the exchange slightly) but it was very timely. In any case, your questions and your comment were and are very welcome.

Paul's Notion of τελος:

I think some who read Paul's phrase about Christ being the "end of the law" read it just as you have done, but the simple fact is the word translated as "end" is the Greek, τέλος  or telos, which means goal, fulfillment, and in this sense, end. Jesus is the human embodiment of the Law of God, the fulfillment of the Torah, the fullness of the Law and the Prophets. He is the incarnation of the Wisdom of God, the One who "shows us who God is, who we are, and what God wants us to be about" -- as one of the Communion service' texts I use reminds us. As my interlocutor above said quoting Augustine, "Love and do what you will" --- but the meaning of the term "love" is no more obvious than the meaning of the term God. We need someone to show us Who God is, and who we are. We need someone to show us what love is and to empower us to live it besides. Jesus is the one who does all these things; he is the one in whom we learn what it means to "Love and do what you will" because he is the One who loves God and does the will of God rather than his own will. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, the One is whom the Law, a very great gift of God which Paul also affirms, is allowed to be translated into loving, healing, lifegiving and empowering Presence.

In a sense what Christ reveals to us is our own vocation to become the fulfillment of Law. He empowers us to become imago Christi, the image of the Christ in whom the whole law and prophets are completed and made incarnate. When I think of things this way I understand my vocation in terms of becoming a fulfillment, an expression of the goal and a living embodiment of canon 603. If and to the extent I succeed in this with the grace of God, my life allows canon 603 to achieve the very goal of its being. But I think this is as far from legalism as one could possibly be or get. Not all laws work this same way of course, but Canon 603, by it's very nature and purpose does. It provides the lineaments of a divine and living vocation, sets this vocation off from other vocations, and even from other worlds, and when one is consecrated by the Church's mediation of God hallowing blessing and commissioned to live this way both from and on behalf of the Church, she is called and commissioned to breathe her own unique life into these lineaments and allow them to assume a human face, a human heart and soul. Legalism? No. Transfiguration? Yes.

The Ongoing Need for Law:

All of us fall short of the fullness of humanity revealed and empowered in Christ. To the extent we are imperfect and fail to love as God loves we need guidelines, reminders, boundaries, limits, and pathways. Law serves all of these roles. I have written here before that the hermit's Rule serves like a trellis which supports growth in youth and weakness, or holds a plant relatively safely in times of heavy weather or storm. I have also described it as analogous to a stair railing which  supports us when the climb is difficult and keeps us from hurtling off the stairs entirely when the descent picks up speed.  Imagine someone trying to learn to live a disciplined but also genuinely free (not libertine!) life without any law at all. Imagine trying to commute from Oakland to North Beach in San Francisco without traffic laws helping every motorist to be safe. Imagine having a physician who follows no rules, instead of acting freely within the guidelines and procedures governing an ethical and professional medical practice. Imagine trying to teach a classroom of children who have been told, "Love and do what you will!" (Even worse, imagine trying to parent a couple of teenagers who have been told the one Rule of the house is the very same thing!) Or imagine trying to play a Bach unaccompanied sonata or partita on violin if rules, technique, and exacting long-practiced discipline hadn't been applied so consistently that now the player is paradoxically freed to be able to transcend the notes on the page and, in a unique communion with J.S. Bach, play music which springs from the depths of the performer's heart and mind!!!

No one truly lives without law. Law serves a number of purposes but in most of these it serves love and allows life in community. Whether I am talking about the children in the classroom, the teenagers in the family, the drivers trying to commute from point a to point b, law serves love --- love for ourselves, for our brothers and sisters whom we know -- and those whom we do not, love for those who are weak or ill and need the support, guidance, and structure of law to help them with (and, sometimes unfortunately, protect others from) things like addictions, immaturity, foolishness and lack of judgment. The proper use of law does not imply worship of law. It does not make an idol of law. It simply recognizes a gift of God which provides space and structure for genuine freedom. (We are free to learn in a well-ordered classroom, free to enjoy a drive or road trip when traffic laws lead to safe roads, free to be ourselves and stand strong in the face of peer pressure where rules hold sway, and free to play Bach (or whatever!) because we have been subject to the constraints or norms and discipline of the art of music-making.) And for the Christian, we are free to fail and repent, and to learn more and more what it means to "love and do what you will" when our ability to love and our wills are formed with the assistance of the Ten commandments, the laws of the Church, and what we come to know of the natural and divine law.

Divided Hearts?

 My heart is not divided by Law, not canon law or any other code of norms. I am clear that I love God, that God comes first and that law must serve this love or be jettisoned. Still, I recognize that law is a gift of God to those of us (all of us!) who need help with Augustine's dictum. Christ shows us what it means to be truly human while law tends to remind us of the ways we fall short of that. Both are necessary; law serves us especially in our immaturity, weakness, uncertainty, and navigation of complex situations with others. But it serves us as do signposts on a long journey or stair rails on steep bits of the path. Again, there is no legalism here and certainly no idolatry -- just appreciation for all the ways God is present to and for us and a clear awareness of our own sinfulness and very great potential.

I hope this is helpful. All good wishes during this Easter Season.

On c 603 Vocations and Bankruptcy

[[Dear Sister, if a person is discerning a vocation as a diocesan hermit but has had a bankruptcy, how does this affect their petition to be admitted to public profession and consecration?]]

Brand new question for me! Thanks. I would say that unless there is a reason for the diocese to doubt one's ability to support oneself adequately and prudently as a hermit, I can’t see any reason a bankruptcy would affect the discernment of such a vocation. If, however, this (bankruptcy) bears on the candidate's ability to vow and live religious poverty, to deal with (and avoid) significant debt, to prioritize and moderate one's spending (some expenses are necessary for the diocesan hermit when they might not be for the lay hermit), and other similar issues like assuring adequate medical insurance, housing, formation, etc, then one's diocese might well be concerned by it.

The candidate will know the reasons for the bankruptcy and the diocese, I think, has a right to know what these were or are. Similarly both the diocese and the candidate will need to discern the candidate's capacity for living religious poverty and supporting herself as a diocesan hermit. Insofar as the bankruptcy is a matter of the past alone it should not matter. To the extent it reveals things about the candidate and her relationship with money, or her ongoing needs, impulses, habits, priorities, etc, it will bear on the mutual discernment she and the diocese undertake.

I should note that as I understand it, bankruptcy wipes out significant debt, but also ruins one's credit-worthiness for some time. This takes care of the problem of significant debt --- hermit candidates cannot be admitted to public profession with significant debt; however, it may also cause the diocese some legitimate concern that the hermit will be able to manage finances, house themselves, take care of medical expenses (especially unexpected expenses) and the like. If the bankruptcy is recent a diocese may decide prudentially to prolong the period of discernment for several years until the candidate has established a good track record with finances and so forth. Hermits sign a waiver of liability on the occasion of their perpetual profession which makes it very clear that their dioceses are not responsible in any way for financial support. Still, and partly for this very reason, dioceses must be certain a hermit can and will live religious poverty (which is not the same as simply being materially poor) and that she be able to support herself accordingly without significant debt and/or default. This is only just since these are things the hermit will be called upon to witness to in her life as a consecrated religious.

I hope this is helpful! Be assured of my prayers. Please remember me in your own.

Eremitical Solitude: A Silent Preaching of the Crucified One

Dear Sister how is it a hermit can be a silent preaching of the Lord and at the same time be "hidden from the eyes of men"? You write about canon 603 a lot but why don't you ever write about pars 920-921 in the Catechism? They are richer than the canon I think. [[921  [Hermits] manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of men, the life of the hermit is a silent preaching of the Lord, to whom he has surrendered his life simply because he is everything to him. Here is a particular call to find in the desert, in the thick of spiritual battle, the glory of the Crucified One.]]

I agree with you that the paragraphs on eremitical life in the Catechism are quite rich. I don't personally find them richer than the canon but my relationship with the canon is necessarily different. What I mean is that the canon is both legally and morally binding on me in a public way. I am commissioned and directly responsible for understanding and revealing its meaning with my life. The catechism, on the other hand, was actually written for bishops, theologians, and those teaching the faith. It thus presumes a broader knowledge which can adequately contextualize and inform what the CCC says in summary fashion. It is not meant to be the final word on things --- much less on things eremitical! (In this case, for instance, par 920-921 are to be read in light of the Church's theology of consecrated life --- not the other way around.) With that in mind I can say that while the CCC is profoundly instructive, and while I reflect on it as well as on the canon, it is not normative for my life in the same way. Still, if you look at the themes dealt with regularly here I think you would find par 921 is at least implicitly present in almost all of them (par 920 is essentially a reprise of canon 603).

For instance, I write a lot about eremitical life as an ecclesial vocation, a vocation which "belongs" to the Church in a formal way, the charism of the vocation (the silence of solitude where solitude is understood in terms of both aloneness and communion) which is a gift of God both to and from the Church, the hermit as ecclesiola (a la Peter Damien). This is all part of a hermit being a manifestation of the intimacy with Christ which is the interior aspect of the Church's own identity. I write very frequently about the distinction between isolation and solitude, or between silence and solitude and the silence OF solitude; this involves several of the elements mentioned in par 921 including intimacy with Christ, the silent preaching of the hermit, the hiddenness of her life, etc. When I write about the redemptive experience that must exist at the core of the hermit's life or about the theology of the cross, I am clearly writing about the Crucified One, the inner spiritual battle we are each called to participate in, and the intimacy with Christ the Hermit is commissioned to manifest. When I write about the Word Event or Language Event the hermit becomes as she is transfigured and comes to rest in the silence of solitude I am thinking again of her intimacy with Christ and of her life being a silent preaching of the Lord.

I do believe all of these fit neatly together (though not without the paradox present whenever Christianity is lived out in our world) and I believe that the hiddenness of the life is completely consistent with being a silent preaching of the Lord. You might want to look at the following article Hiddenness of the Hermit Vocation and others with the label "Eremitism and Hiddenness" for what I have written in the past years.  What is clear to me is the work of the hermit is to allow the silent and entirely hidden work of the Lord within her heart, mind, and spirit to come to fruition in her life. She witnesses to this presence and to the redemptive work of God that occurs in each and every person in the silence of solitude. No active ministry is needed here. One simply lives in intimate relation with God and is made whole and holy in the process. It is to this power perfected in weakness to which the hermit especially  witnesses with  her life.

But all of this is also implied in the elements of canon 603. Assiduous prayer and penance combined with stricter separation from the world in the silence of solitude conveys a sense of essential hiddenness and of something special happening in that hiddenness. The Evangelical Counsels and the hermit's Rule do likewise. How could she live these otherwise? Even the supervision of the bishop required by the canon and the hermit's delegate witness to this; it is, in fact, what they are called to ensure for those who never see or come to know the hermit -- and for the whole Church. I do appreciate the CCC paragraphs and I actually love the reference to a hermit as a "Silent preaching of the Lord" (or, as I tend to think of it, a silent preaching of the Crucified One).

The salvation of the world occurs  through the solitary life of the One who lives in an ineffably intimate dialogue with the Father in the power of the Spirit. While it may seem his life is filled with people and certainly filled with love, Jesus' entire life is a solitary life in the desert. He is, except for his relationship with his Abba, alone --- alone in a crowd, perhaps, but still ultimately alone with only God as the One who knows him intimately in the biblical sense and completes him. And of course, at the end of his life he experiences the absolute aloneness of even an experience of God's absence. Jesus' 40 days in the desert was, as I understand it, a snapshot of the character of his entire life. Likewise, there is no doubt in my mind that par 921 of the Catechism sees the hermit's life reprising this aloneness which is lived, as c 603 says explicitly for, "the salvation of the world", the reconciliation of all of creation.

While the two sources are complementary and while both are rich resources for reflection on the nature of eremitical life, canon 603 functions to order and govern my life in ways the CCC paragraphs neither do nor can. Also, its elements are most often misunderstood and misunderstood not only by candidates but even by professed hermits and chancery personnel. For instance, the Silence of Solitude is often misread as "silence and solitude", while the specific charismatic nature of this element is often missed. (The silence of solitude functions not only as context and goal of the hermit's life, but as the gift the hermit is empowered to bring to both the Church and World.) For that reason, because I personally need to be in touch with this notion of charisma and because misunderstanding of this element of the canon  leads to a failure to esteem to specific gift this vocation is, as well as to professions of solitary persons who are not and may never be hermits, I have spent more of my time and attention on the canon which mentions it explicitly.

Lay Diocesan Hermit???

Dear Sister, what is a diocesan lay hermit? How do they differ from conse-crated diocesan hermits?

Thanks for your question. From time to time folks search this site using various terms and one of those is "diocesan lay hermit". There is  simply no such thing. All diocesan hermits are professed and consecrated canonically under canon 603. What this means is that if one is publicly professed and consecrated as a diocesan hermit, they live as a hermit OF a specific diocese rather than living as a privately dedicated or non-canonical hermit IN the diocese. The distinction between being a hermit in a diocese and being a hermit OF a diocese may seem like a petty distinction but it really is not. It involves the difference between doing something privately within a diocese and being commissioned to do something that publicly represents the diocese and her own discernment and trust in this specific way.

For instance, I lived for many years as a hermit IN the Diocese of Oakland; only when I was admitted to perpetual profession and to consecration as a canon 603 did I become a diocesan hermit OF the Diocese of Oakland. A legal document (analogous to a sacramental certificate) testifying to this fact was issued by the diocese and given to me on the day of profession; such affidavits represent ecclesial affirmations of a public vocation and have been provided for many diocesan hermits over the years upon their admission to perpetual canonical profession.

You see, once one attaches a term like diocesan or Catholic or consecrated or professed to one's eremitical life one is necessarily talking about being a publicly or legitimately committed and commissioned hermit OF the diocese. The diocese must share in the individual's discernment and admit them to canonical profession and consecration. When this occurs the person so consecrated is a diocesan hermit, a hermit living her eremitical life in the name of the diocesan Church and too, the Church Universal. (Remember the diocese is a local Church and the publicly professed hermit lives her life in the name of the Church --- both local and universal). Through profession under canon 603 alone does one become a diocesan hermit. A lay hermit in a diocese, whether privately vowed or not vowed at all, is not a diocesan hermit. She is a hermit IN the diocese but she is not a hermit OF the Diocese of [N___].

Again,  the professed (i.e., the canonical) hermit is not necessarily better than the lay (i.e., the non- canonical) hermit. However, they differ in the rights and obligations they have assumed. Both live their baptismal promises in the silence of solitude. A canonical or consecrated hermit --- whether under c 603 or professed as part of a congregation (or institute) like the Camaldolese or Carthusians, for instance, --- is extended and embraces canonical obligations and rights which are additional to those associated with baptism alone. The word diocesan in your question points to an ecclesial vocation in which the Church admits one to canonical standing as a hermit under the direct supervision of the diocesan bishop.

Addendum, Followup Question: If I am a Catholic and a lay hermit don't I also live my life in the name of the Church? Why not as a hermit?

Lay persons do indeed live their lives and vocations as persons in the lay state in the name of the Church. The Church commissions them to do this not only at baptism or other Sacraments of initiation, but at the end of Mass (Go and proclaim the Gospel with your lives, etc), and at other times as well. Such a sending forth is something we may take for granted but it is an act of commissioning which serves to renew the call associated with one's state of life.

However, a lay hermit (with or without private vows) does not live eremitical life itself in the name of the Church. She has undertaken this life according to her own discernment in her own name. It is a private undertaking unless and until the Church specifically commissions her to live it in her name. You, for instance, are entirely free to live as a lay hermit in this way, just as you are free to live your lay vocation in any number of ways with various commitments (e.g., to the military, law enforcement, education, medicine, politics, etc) in light of your baptism as a lay person alone.  While all of these and any number of other similar commitments are significant callings ordinarily embraced by persons in the lay state, they are not ecclesial vocations and are not commissioned by or lived in the name of the Church. If you should also wish to live eremitical life in the name of the Church you (or any lay hermit) must submit to a process of mutual discernment and, should the Church determine you are called to this vocation, they will act to profess, commission, and eventually consecrate you to live eremitical life in her name.

Rights and Obligations Associated with Public Profession (c 603)

I had a conversation with a friend and diocesan hermit from another country yesterday and we talked about many things with regard to c. 603 vocations including a number which she found important but she also thought they were rarely defined clearly enough for those looking on at the vocation from outside, and sometimes, even for those who staff our chanceries.

A couple of these include, 1) the specific rights and obligations attached to public profession and consecration as a diocesan hermit, and 2) the meaning and import of recording professions and consecrations of such persons not only in the hermit's diocese, but in the baptismal register of her home Church (that is, the Church where she received the Sacraments of initiation or at least that of baptism).  I wanted to list the rights and obligations I am aware of here (though I am certainly apt to miss some!) because too often it happens that non-canonical hermits portray canonical standing as involving a kind of liturgical icing on the cake or unnecessary legalism rather than something making a substantive difference in the vocation. (Please also see, What Specifically does the Church hold you Responsible For? for a related discussion.) I also wanted to say a little more about the import of recording canonical professions and consecrations since it is significant that one's profession and/or consecration is included in one's Sacramental record whenever one proposes to make a commitment effecting a change in one's state of life --- something untrue of private commitments and acts of dedication. A third topic I will come back to in another post is the significance of making one's profession "in the hands of " the bishop because this is important for both the hermit and all subsequent bishops under whose direction she will live her life thereafter.

Canonical Rights and Obligations associated with c 603 Profession and Consecration:

* The right to be known as a consecrated (canonical) hermit with an ecclesial vocation which one lives "in the name of the Church." By this I mean one is consecrated by God through the public mediation of the Church and commissioned to represent the eremitical tradition in the name of the Church. (She does NOT consecrate herself!) A canonically consecrated hermit maintains this right even when her diocese gets a new Bishop or ceases to profess c 603 hermits for one reason or another.

* (When granted by one's bishop) the right to style oneself as Sister or Brother, to wear a religious habit, to wear a cowl or other prayer garment in public once perpetually professed. Note well, this does NOT include the right to wear a recognizable habit associated with a specific Order or Congregation. No Bishop may give permission to wear a Franciscan, Dominican, Carthusian, or similar habit and no diocesan hermit can assume such a habit on their own initiative.

* (When granted by one's bishop) the right to reserve the Eucharist in one's own hermitage and to have a priest celebrate Mass there occasionally. (This comes with correlative obligations regarding how and where one reserves the Sacrament, maintaining a living connection to the faith community from which the Eucharist comes, etc.)

* The right to establish oneself (or one's hermitage) as a 501(c)3 or according to other tax exemption provisions, depending upon country. (Lay or non-canonical hermits do not have this right.) This means that one is recognized in civil law as well as in canon law as having a public vow of poverty and an ecclesial vocation.

*The right, in the case of serious concerns regarding the way she is living her vows, etc, to appeal any canonical actions (censure, dispensation) undertaken by her diocese. While this is a right few hermits ever need to exercise, because her profession and consecration are canonical, she is protected from arbitrary or precipitous actions on the part of others. Just as canon law defines and governs her vocation so too does canon law protect the hermit's public commitments and standing by providing for due canonical process.

Obligations:

* One is obliged morally and in law to live one's Rule under penalty of sin against religion.

* One is obliged to publicly represent the c 603 vocation with integrity even if this is mainly done in eremitical hiddenness. Since one's profession is public the Church as a whole has a right to expect this as a sign of authentic Gospel witness and the Lordship of Christ. Others have a right to see an authentic representative of a public vocation in the Church and to expect of them all that is appropriate in public witness.

* One is obliged both morally and in law to give the whole of one's life to this vocation. It is not part time and even one's residence is given over to the requirements of the vocation --- meaning one provides appropriate hospitality should someone request it, but in this and every other way, the hermitage is just that and nothing else. While a hermit lives an essentially hidden life and certainly has matters which remain private, she is a public consecrated person and this she is full time. This will necessarily constrain the kinds of activities in which she may participate, the relationships and time for these she will have, the degree of socializing she will do, etc. She is obliged, especially to be aware of the witness she gives to the God who redeems the isolated and marginalized in the silence of solitude.

* One is obliged by many of the canons which apply to any religious with public vows of the evangelical counsels and a life centered on Christ. Similarly, she is obliged to participate in ongoing formation, spiritual direction, annual or bi-annual retreat (as possible), and continuing education in any areas which bear directly on her vocation.

* One is obliged to live her life under the supervision of the bishop and in religious obedience to him. This ordinarily means she meets annually with him unless there is a specific need which calls for a more immediate meeting. A similar situation may extend to a diocesan delegate who serves both the bishop and the hermit and with whom she meets more frequently. This differs from one's relationship with a spiritual director with whom there is no legal or even moral obligation to religious obedience. (Similarly, the diocesan bishop assumes the role of legitimate superior and is obligated to assist the hermit in the faithful living out of her vocation by virtue of the hermit's public (canonical) profession and consecration. The delegate serves as a "quasi-superior".)

* The canonical hermit is responsible for her own upkeep, insurance, rent, etc. (I am including this here only as a reminder that the Church is in no way obligated to assist the hermit in these ways.) Moreover, she is obligated to maintain herself in a way which is entirely compatible with and assists in her living eremitical life. Some treat this as a criterion of discernment for the diocesan hermit; I am not sure this can be asserted since the obligation is nowhere written in law. Still, at this point in time those who cannot maintain themselves will not be admitted to profession and consecration under c 603.

* If the hermit proposes to move to another diocese and wishes to remain in public vows and the consecrated state of life, she must get the permission of the bishop of the diocese to which she proposes to move and his agreement to accept her vows to be lived "in his hands" as well as being "excardinated" from her diocese of profession. (In other words, both dioceses must be involved, the first to certify the hermit is a canon 603 hermit in good standing -- which may include a statement by the bishop and a copy of the affidavit (testimonial) given to the hermit on the day of her perpetual profession testifying to her public profession and consecration -- and the second to allow for her "incardination" into the new diocese.)

N.B., As I have written here before, while the hermit's consecration is a mediated act of God which cannot be undone, she can leave the consecrated state of life. When we speak of a state of life, we are speaking of a stable state marked by legal obligations and rights as well as by legally established relationships which govern, support, and characterize the vocation. Leaving one's state of life means leaving behind the legal rights, obligations, and relationships. Thus, if one moves from one diocese to another without the participation of the originating diocese and especially without the acceptance of the receiving Bishop, the hermit effectively leaves the consecrated state. In such a case her vows will be dispensed either by a formal act of the first diocese or will cease to be binding or valid because of a material change in the terms of her profession (no formal dispensation may be necessary); her home diocese will notify her (and the new diocese!!) of the fact that she is no longer a consecrated hermit under c 603.

* A hermit professed under canon 603 is obliged to make a will valid in civil law usually before temporary vows but certainly before perpetual profession. Besides its practical function, this underscores the public nature of the hermit's commitment and the all-encompassing ecclesial dimension of her vocation.

Recording Professions and Consecrations in the Baptismal Record of the Home Church:

It may not be well known but all public professions, consecrations, ordinations, and marriages (or decrees of nullity and dispensations of vows) are recorded in the diocese where they occur and in the home parishes of those involved. Whenever one requests a baptismal certificate from one's home parish --- something that is necessary whenever one is admitted to the other Sacraments of initiation in another parish, for instance, a public profession, consecration or the sacrament of Orders or Matrimony --- it will include all instances of canonical vows, Sacramental marriage, decrees of nullity, dispensations, Holy Orders (e.g., permanent diaconate, transitional diaconate, priesthood, episcopacy) or laicization the individual has also made or received. (I'm pretty sure ferendae sententiae excommunications and other formal penalties or interdictions will be similarly recorded but perhaps someone will correct me if I am mistaken.)

This occurs because these either represent instances in which the persons are initiated into new states of life with legal rights, and obligations which also establish impediments to entering other states of life; alternately they involve acts where the Church reduces one from these states depriving that person of commensurate rights and obligations. When a person must prove they are free to undertake a public commitment and enter into a new state of life, when they must demonstrate that there are no impediments to receiving a Sacrament (e.g., Eucharist, Orders or Matrimony) or to be admitted to a religious institute or to consecration under cc 603 or 604, the person's baptismal register provides much of the necessary information. (Additional information will be available in dioceses or parishes where related records are also kept.)

By way of clarification, note that none of this is necessary for lay or non-canonical hermits making private vows or other private dedication since such commitments do not change the person's state of life nor create impediments to admission to public vows (profession), consecration, marriage, and so forth. It may certainly be unwise for a married person to live as a hermit with private vows; still, it is not something that involves the Church in the way public vows do. Moreover, while the dispensation of public vows may include significant conversations with one's director, delegate and Bishop before the hermit legally petitions for and is granted dispensation (or is required by her diocese to be dispensed), the dispensation of private vows may be granted by a simple act by one's pastor, a bishop, or anyone who has been granted this authority. Likewise, because private vows are private in every sense of this term, a hermit living her vows badly will not lead to the dispensation of these vows or other ecclesiastical action or censure on the part of the Church. Her example may be disedifying but will not involve the local or universal Church in canonical censure or penalty.

On the Deadly Sin of Individualism in the Eremitical Life

[[Dear Sister Laurel, are you aware of a "Catholic Hermit" who has recently written the following: [[No one else [besides the hermit, the SD, and God] really knows the whys or wherefores of how a consecrated Catholic hermit is or should be or has to be living his or her life. In fact, no one should be declaring a Catholic hermit consecrated or not consecrated in the Catholic Church, based upon his or her own interpretations of what is specified in Church documents, or presuming someone has an impediment to being in the Consecrated Life of the Church. A Catholic hermit's bishop and/or spiritual director or other Church authority can make that determination when it comes down to validity, if that designation even matters ultimately, eternally (and not the least) to His Real Presence!]]

And also, [[But it is not to judge them, or decide they are not living their lives "according to Hoyle" (according to some other Catholic hermit or non-hermit, or through the eyes of various individual priests or bishops or lay persons who have their own notions but not necessarily God's omniscience for each consecrated Catholic hermit living or dead.]] How can a Catholic hermit argue that an individual Bishop cannot be considered authoritative because he doesn't have God's omniscience? How can she argue that a Bishop's determination that someone's consecration is invalid (or valid I guess) might not even matter ultimately or eternally? It all sounds like a very Protestant approach to vocations and authority, but not very Catholic.]]

Thanks for the questions. Yes I am very aware of the post this all came from. I read it two or three days ago. It is a followup to a post this lay hermit already put up which asked the question, "Who do they think they are?" It seems that a "young canonist" (and member of another consecrated vocation) wrote something upsetting about hermits working full time and opined that vows would be invalid in certain circumstances. If I am correct in this, the offending posts (these were the only pertinent ones I could find that were at all recent) were on the blog, "Do I Have a Vocation?" which is written by Therese Ivers, JCL, a canonist and Consecrated Virgin I consider a friend. Beyond this she specializes in the law of consecrated life and is working on a doctorate in canon law focusing on Canon 603 so she certainly knows what she is talking about. (By the way, though written the 1st of February I only saw this article for the first time about a week ago; I was very gratified by Therese's referral to my blog.)

Now Therese and I don't always agree on everything (who does?), and sometimes we even disagree on relatively small details in regard to canon 603, but her posts on whether or not a hermit should work full time and on private vows were spot on. cf: Can Diocesan Hermits Have Full Time Jobs?, etc. Most importantly she dealt with abuses of canon 603 which have happened because dioceses have used the canon as a stopgap solution to profess non hermits who worked full time in highly social jobs. While you did not quote this portion of the post,  you can hear I hope, the incredible irony of a blogger who is herself a privately dedicated hermit dismissing Therese's expertise in Canon 603 on the grounds that she, though a canonist and consecrated virgin, is not a consecrated hermit.

The Church is very clear on who is considered a member of the consecrated state of life and who is not. There is one sentence in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which has caused some confusion because of its location in paragraphs on eremitical life under the heading "The Consecrated Life", but this is really a minor problem since the catechism's own glossary and other paragraphs make it very clear that (except for consecrated virgins living in the world) entrance into the consecrated state always comes to be through profession made in the hands of a legitimate superior with both the authority and the intention of doing this. The sentence refers to hermits who do not make vows publicly but canon 603 allows for sacred bonds other than vows so the sentence could be an awkward reference to this or an attempt to speak to lay hermits without duplicating the paragraphs in another section of the CCC. The c 603 profession itself, however, (whatever form it takes) is always public. In any case, when confusion exists it is up to canonists to make clear the requirements and Therese Ivers is certainly capable of authoritatively doing this --- and does do so for dioceses seeking clarification.

Also, the Church is very clear what constitutes an eremitical life lived in her name. Canon 603 says it is a life of the silence of solitude (not just silence and solitude), stricter separation from the world (that is, from all that is resistant to Christ or promises fulfillment in the way the God of Jesus Christ does), assiduous prayer and penance,  profession of the evangelical counsels, all lived according to a Rule or Plan of Life the hermit writes herself and lives under the supervision of the local Bishop. For this reason, the Church has every right through canonists, Bishops, theologians, and others to say what the terms of this canon and all it requires actually means, both explicitly and implicitly. This is especially true when the Church seeks to understand this canon in conjunction with the history of the eremitical life generally and this canon's history specifically.

Beyond this, the actual living out of this vocation in the contemporary world means that Catholic Hermits who deal daily with the tension that exists between the canon's pure or ideal expression (if there even is such a thing!) and the hermit's necessary existence in time and space means the Church will also pay attention to the input of those who are publicly professed and canonically obligated to live the canons governing their life. To state that only the hermit, the SD, and God [[really know the whys or wherefores of how a consecrated Catholic hermit is or should be or has to be living his or her life]] flies in the face of canon 603's explicit and implicit requirements. The Diocesan Bishop and/or Vicars for Religious as well (especially I would argue) as the hermit's delegate (and to a lesser degree or in a different way, the hermit's Pastor) are required to know "the whys and wherefores" of the hermit's life if they are to meet their own ecclesial obligations in her regard.

I can't overstate the importance of understanding vocations to the consecrated state as ecclesial vocations. They are gifts of the Holy Spirit TO the Church, yes, but they are also entrusted to the Church to discern, protect, nurture and govern. That means that they are given to the WHOLE Church and are up to the WHOLE Church to receive and protect -- even when this mainly occurs through legitimate superiors acting in the name of the Church. They are vocations belonging to the Church and she legislates then way they are to be understood and lived. While this does not mean that everyone has an equal voice in the matter, it does mean that folks knowledgeable in the history of the life 'called "consecrated", or those who have lived such lives, do have the right, and often the obligation, to make their opinions known. At the end of the day it is the institutional  Church herself who will clarify what is acceptable or not but until that happens, folks with knowledgeable  or authoritative opinions will discuss matters and give their opinions when asked. What having an ecclesial vocation does NOT mean is that one can do whatever one wants and then conclude "it's up to me and my director and the omniscience of God" just because they belong to the Church that is entrusted with the vocation. This is simply untrue.

No competent director I know would declare a person "consecrated", that is, a member of the consecrated state because he witnessed their private vows. Neither would any competent director suggest one need not listen to what canonists, theologians, or Bishops say about such vocations. None would suggest that a person could assert she knows God's will better than the entire Church and then approve of her living her vocation "in the name of the Church" with out ever being legitimately commissioned to do so. There is a loose usage common regarding the verb "to consecrate" and I hope it ceases sooner rather than later, but even if a spiritual director did mistakenly encourage a directee to declare herself a consecrated hermit or professed religious because she had dedicated herself to God as a hermit, this does not change what the Church herself authoritatively says about initiation into the consecrated state of life.

Let me close this with a quote or two from Pope Francis speaking about vocations to the conse-crated state. It can be found in Keep Watch! A Letter to Consecrated Men and Women Journeying in the Footsteps of God. Francis says, [[ When the Lord wants to give us a mission, he wants to give us a task, he prepares us to do it well, just like he prepared Elijah. The important thing is not that you've encountered the Lord but the whole journey to accomplish the mission that the Lord entrusted to you. And this is precisely the difference between the apostolic mission that the Lord gives us and a good, honest, human task. Thus, when the Lord bestows a mission, he always employs a process of purification, a process of perception, a process of obedience, a process of prayer.]]

And then there is the following one, which, while written with cenobites in mind applies equally well to hermits with ecclesial vocations. That is especially true bearing in mind  St Peter Damian's characterization of solitary hermits as "ecclesiola" or "little churches": [[Thanks be to God you do not live or work as isolated individuals but in community: and thank God for this! The community [local Church] supports the whole of the apostolate. At times religious communities are fraught with tensions, and risk becoming individualistic and scattered, whereas the need is deep communication and authentic relationships. The humanizing power of the Gospel is witnessed to in fraternity lived in community [the local parish and diocese, etc] and is created through welcome, respect, mutual help, understanding, kindness, forgiveness and joy.]]

I have written many times here that the really deadly sin of the solitary hermit is  individualism. This is the real route of destruction for an ecclesial vocation and  a  destructive caricature of eremitical solitude. No one who prays regularly much less assiduously can separate themselves from the community of the Church. No one living a vocation in the name of the Church can eschew the opinions of those who knowledgeably comment on the requirements of the canons governing their own vocations. They certainly cannot suggest that no matter what the Church says, they don't need to listen to anyone's opinion but those of their spiritual director and God and (if they have even been given this right) still legitimately call themselves a Catholic Hermit. For those who are lay hermits but not living their eremitical lives in the name of the Church I think they must still be concerned with what the Church says about the eremitical vocation; they can make their own opinions heard in this matter and are relatively free to live as they feel called, but they should take care not to exchange individualism for eremitical freedom.