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October, 1996 Vol. 3 No. 1
* Thoughts in Solitude by Bede Jagoe, O.P. |
MARABOU is a quarterly newsletter for hermits and those interested in the eremitical life. This newsletter seeks to affirm this life style since it is ecclesially recognized and endorsed by the Church. MARABOU is to be a collaborative effort and thus depends on the reflections, poetry, news and information from hermits themselves.Subscribers to MARABOU are limited to those who are hermits and to those who aspire to the eremitical life. The circulation of MARABOU is limited, but if you feel you would qualify to be on our mailing list, kindly indicate your hermit status.
Write to MARABOU at 7200 W. Division St.; River Forest, Illinois 60305. The annual subscription fee is $7.50. MARABOU (ma-ra-bu) also marabout, marabu, (a. French marabou), app. repr. an Arabic use of murabit, hermit. The stork is said to be mrabt, i.e. hole (Pagni in Daozy, Suppl. aux Dictt. arabes, s.v. murabit.). Marabou, a large stork or heron, leptoptilius marabou, or crumnifer, a native of West Africa.
Thoughts in Solitude
Solitude seems all the more inviting in this noisy, work oriented world of ours. Is the frantic activity a way of running away from ourselves? Are we afaid to meet ourselves?Recently, I dropped back a good few centuries to see what Saint Thomas Aquinas might have to say about solitude. In the Summa, (II-II, Q. 188, Art 8) he wrtes, "Solitude, like: povery, is not the essence of perfection, but a means thereto." For the contemplative (read: hermit) solitude is necessary for purity of heart. The Angelic Doctor suggests that socia1 life, indeed community life, is a prerequisite, and goes on to say that the life of solitude can be fraught with great danger, unless that grace be supplied by God as in the case of Abbot Anthony and Abbot Benedict.
Benedict was a hermit in the lonely wilderness of Subiaco. He sought solitude and may have turned his back on "bookishness." In his eremitical experience he gained two things: a different knowledge, and a deeper wisdom. These come to contemplatives who experience God in prayer. It is a knowlege of God as the ultimate truth, and a wisdom which gives the proper perspective to the created universe. Benedict once had a vision wherein the whole world was gathered into one sunbeam.
If we can catch a glimpse of the glory of God, we see the world, its people, and events in their true light. We begin to 'see' with the eyes of God.
Library
- Wilms, Cecilia W. "Solitude and Union: A Select Bibliography on the Hermit Way of Life."
- Cistercian Studies Quarterly. November, 1996 (27 pages). Copies of this issue (which among other articles has one on Saint Romuald by Peter Damian Belisle, O.S.B.Cam.) are available at $5.00 (U.S. dollars), postpaid, from Sr. Sheryl Frances Chen, O.C.S.O., Santa Rita Abbey, HC 1 Box 929, Sonoita, AZ 85637-9705.
And Yet --The still, dark poolDraws me. silence laps At my heart. Your Word, the tool Of the refinery Hammers and taps At the start, But soon shrivels, distraut, At -- Nought -- And yet --
Into the quiet dark Sr. Alice Ruth Carr, H. Subiaco, AR |
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Canonical and Legal Reflections
A publicly professed Hermit according to Canon 603 n.2 is one who "publicly professes the three evangelical counsels, confirmed by a vow or other sacred bond.." The words, "confirmed by a vow or other sacred bond," are the subject of this particular reflection.Canons 1191 - 1198 set forth the definition of a vow for the purposes of the Church. Since a Hermit professed according to Canon 603 is not a member of a religious institute as such, it is important to be aware of the nature of a vow outside the context of a recognized religious institute.
Canon 1191 n.1 states: "A vow is a deliberate and free promise made to God concerning a possible and better good which must be fulfilled by reason of the virtue of religion." One must have reached the age of reason and not be otherwise forbidden by law from making a vow, and the vow must be free of"grave and unjust fear or fraud" Canon 1192 n.l is important because it defines public and personal vows: "A vow is public if it is accepted in the name of the Church by a legitimate superior; otherwise it is private." (Italics in original) Since Canon 603 n.2 requires public profession "in the hands of the diocessm bishop", the bishop is the "legitimate superior" who receives the vow in the name of the Church. Althouugh the code does not explicitly mention dispensation from vows for a publicly professed Hermit, Canon 691 n.2 (which gives a diocesan bishop authority to dispense members of congregationss of diocesan right from vows) would presumably confer the same right in regard to Hermits.
Canon 1194 is also important. It states: "A vow ceases when the time appointed for the fillfillment of its obligation has passed, when there is a substantial change in the matter promised or when the condition on which the vow depends or the purpose for which it was made no longer exists; it also ceases through dispensation or commutation." Here the "plan of life" mentioned in Canon 603 n.2 is extremely important because the vows made to the diocesan bishop will be based on living out that plan - not in an abstract profession of values. Thus, a Hermit undertakes a public and concrete commitment and lifestyle in a particular location under the authorily of the diocesan bishop. Some possible implications of Canon 1194 will be the subject of the reflections in the next issue of Marabou.
San Antonio, TX
Sounding Solitude
Ours is a crucial job withn the mystical Body. Without leaving the hermitage, we help save souls, feed hungry children, fill the priesthood, fight for justice, stop many abortions. Called from the world, we entered the desert to pray up a storm of good works. Although we may long to actually do those works, God keeps us right there in our hermitages, waging the battle of prayer. Yet lest we become puffed up with our vocation, we must always resist taking ourselves too seriously! Some laughter within the hermitage walls will balance the life of silence.Our God wants us to be happy. the evidence is found in countless passages in the Scriptures. since He commands all nature to be happy (Psalm 95), surely He wants joyful servants. When I set my will to becoming childllike and asked the Holy Spirit for th egift of joy, it came all wrapped up in a sense of humor and tied with the spirit of fun!
My daily schedule includes "play time." The opportunities for play are all around in simple activities or things: Animal or bird watching. Coloring books and crayons. Crossword puzzles or brain teasers. The lives of the saints. Galloping 50 laps around the hermitage. Having a spree of cookie-baking.
God plays! God has fun! Think of a goose---snowy white feathers and dayglow orange feet! Only someone with the pure playfulness of a child would create such a bird. "Unless you become as little children..." I noticed the many clumsy and blundering things I do and imagine myself trying to explain to my beloved Papa-God what I've done -- and Him trying very hard not to grin.
So after refreshing my sould with laughter and fun, especially with laughing at myself, then I return to the glorious duty of prayer with renewed vigor.
Chapel Hermitage of Mount Carmel
Kenmore, New York
The Beguines: A Movement Toward Hermitage
Beginning in the 12th century, new movements in the religious life of the Church began which Fr. Chenu called an early "humanism." It was an awakening to the possibility of expanding religious experience and apostolic need beyond the walls of cloister and choir to the cities and markets of a new Europe, and eventually, the New World.Women were among those who entered this new path in several directions which, we today in our terminology would identify as a "women's movement." The Cistercians, and later the Dominicans and Franciscans set up convents affiliated with their Orders, and found they could no longer absorb these women, and so some took it upon themselves to form their own groups and religious expression. Especially in the Low Lands of the Rhine Valley, Germany and France these women began a style of community and solitary living known as the Beguines. They live in individual houses, or apartments in a close knit community in which they shared prayer, Bible study and sacramental life. They did not take monastic vows, but voluntarily lived them. They were often under the spiritual direction of Dominican and Franciscan Friars, as well as Parish Clergy, although mostly independent of them. They were often women of means and their houses were also open to the indigent and the poor. The Beguinage became a vital center of spirituality for the towns and cities in which they were established.
Their lives were a mix of eremitical and apostolic witness. Some were solitaries and wandered as mendicants, but most clustered in communities, and because of their instituional freedom, they pursued new paths of spirituality and merited, therefore, some suspicion. Eventually, as a movement, the Beguines were absorbed and dissolved into the larger social and institutional streams of the time.
The wars and Black Plague had devastating effects on them. Their spirit, however, was kept in such movements as the Devotio Moderna and the Incarnation.
In this fascinating movement of the medieval Beguines, today's eremetical and apostolic spirituality among both men and women can be caught as in a mirror.
Denver, Colorado
Bulletin Board
Canadian hermit is looking for a residence this winter. Requires SUN, solitude, possibly with some community contact. Is comfortable with outhouse, hand pump, etc. Possibility of trading hermitages? Write: Ann Jopling, RR 4, Site 440, C.32, Courtenay, B.C. Canada V9N753.One Sister, in Ireland, presently living at Mt. Tabor Hermitage, seeks a companion (either permanently or long-term) who will share her vision to build a solid foundation for others. The hermitage is in the Carthusian/Camaldolese tradition with five new cells for Sisters and a Roman Catholic priest, plus a newly consecrated chapel. Very peaceful setting in the shadows of St. Patrick's Holy Mountain, Croagh Patrick. Write: Sr. Irene Gibson, Mt. Tabor Hermitage, Drummin, Westport, Co. Mayo, Ireland.
. . . Hermit Listening . . .
An up-dates list of hermits is available for a $2.00 offering. Write: Sr. Mary Vogel, H.S.S.R., Prayer Mountain hermitage, Route 3, P.O. Box 3574, Palestine, TX 75801.
Hermitage Available
Beginning November 1, 1996, there will be a hermitage available for rent at Transfiguration Hermitage. If interested, write to Str. Elizabeth Wagener at RR1, P.O. Box 398, Thorndike, ME 04989-9709.
Kindly take note that Marabou is for hermits and those who aspire to the eremitical life. Of late we have been getting enquiries and some subscriptions from New Age groups, curiosity seekers, and those who now find Marabou on the Internet. We are unable to meet the demands of those who are not aligned to the hermit lifestyle. When seeking a subscription, please let Marabou know of your eremitical status. Thank you!
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