Category: SolitaryLife

towards a patrimony

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… solitaries, recluses, or anchorites, [are] men and women who … live a spirituality of contemplative isolation. … embracing a spirituality of on-going conversion, spiritual combat, penance, and solitude. … Anchorites … [or] urban hermits … [embrace] stability and enclosure as a means of protecting contemplative prayer.

The above is a modified version – that is, present tense – of some introductory points from the book, Hermits and Consecrated Virgins, Ancient Vocations in the Contemporary Catholic Church: A Canonical-Pastoral Study of Canons 603 and 604 Individual Forms of Consecrated Life. I will use these as an ongoing guide to building a “spirituality of patrimony” of the enclosed solitary life in a modern Anglican context.

Day 712 – “changes”

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Today is a strange day for me. I end one life and pick up an older one. It is not by choice (which makes it a little harder) but by Divine Providence. And, to be completely honest, I am feeling confuzzled – simultaneously confused and puzzled. Where from here?

I have a place I call home and I believe is my vocation. (Yes, the place is the vocation!) I have made this place right for me – it has a chapel and a library. I can walk to the shops, medical appointments, and church. (And, yes, the occasional hot chocolate ar Mr J’s.)

Yet I live here in a community that is in the midst of great change and uncertainty. I know (intellectually) that I can continue my vocation somewhere different. Yet I am not ready (emotionally) for that in any way. My role in this community is uncertain. And that really confuzzles me. I need to be silent.

So at the moment I feel lost, uncertain, and out of my “comfort zone”. I have prayed. And I fear. So I have prayed for that which I fear. Maybe it is me? (Most certainly it is me.) So, in this context, what do I choice?

Day 674: “to wait …”

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It is complex to attempt to distil his teaching as so much of it was an exploration, a moving towards, rather than a fixed position or theology. He believed in the work of the Holy Spirit and that the work of the contemplative was not to seek what he or she asked of God but rather to wait upon God. The monk or nun could only rid themselves of distractions and obstacles which interfere with the bestowal of spiritual gifts from God, not seek the gifts for themselves. It was this sense of patience and humility that flowed through William’s witness and made him so authentic to those who met him. He was not putting forward a spiritual plan or teaching others a technique of prayer. He advised and encouraged the clearing away of the emotional and spiritual debris that cluttered the individual soul, this being achieved through a path of repentance and forgiveness; then to await the gifts of God through prayer and silence. It was a challenging path, yet a simple one in its approach unhampered by mystical complexity.

Father William’s Baton, by Peta Dunstan, in Stephen Platten. Oneness: The Dynamics of Monasticism . SCM Press.

I am a little “aimless” at the moment. (Not to be confused with “harmless” which I am all the time.) I have dipped in and out of various books without much purpose. I found the above and thought it was worth sharing. “To get ready to wait on God”.

The Anchorage

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Daily writing prompt
What do you love about where you live?
View all responses

I live in a place that is named, “The Anchorage”. And the short answer is, “I love everything about this place”. The location is great, the house is the right size for me, it is the right “style”, and I feel called to live there. This house has a place for my books and a special place where I pray. It is close enough to everything that I do not need to drive but can walk.

The longer answer: I think (hmmm?!) I have a vocation to the “enclosed solitary life”. That is, I live my vocation in one place. Enclosure can be understood very legalisticly – a border that I cannot cross. Or it can be understood as the place where a vocation is. This house is my vocation. And I love that!!!! I do not need to go outside to fulfil my vocation – my vocation is not elsewhere. I am called to be here.

2 s

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What brings you peace?

Solitude and silence. Not the absence of people or noise. But openness to presence and a willingness to listen.

I have created (with the help of faithful friends) a context in which I can live this peace. So the context – the place – is the real source of my peace. I feel called to a place. I feel the absence of this place.

Anyway …

Day 658 – to be forgotten

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I am a fan of reader-response in literary theory. So when I saw this quote, it made me think:

I am not sure if the quote is actually from Zinzendorf. Yet, for me, the last part spoke to me. I am willing to be forgotten!? Or, another way, “you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

It is one thing to speak about “hiddenness” and think about the anonymity of the solitary life. But am I prepared for the consequences?

No easy answers. But a desire for Jesus alone! Anyway …

Day 654 – “to be chosen”

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God is present in the moment of choice, not in order to watch but in order to be chosen. Therefore, each person must choose. Terrible is the battle, in a person’s innermost being, between God and the world. The crowning risk involved lies in the possession of choice.

Kierkegaard