Hermit

A number of fascinating themes prevail in the lives of the minor saints, as described daily in the meditative journal Magnificat. Among these is the prevalence, in the ancient Church of the fourth to the thirteenth century, of the hermit-to-bishop pattern: a penitent sets off into the wilderness to seek conversion and holiness; he becomes a holy man after years of prayer and fasting; and he becomes an influential and saintly bishop. In the daily readings, this intinerary repeats itself every few days. It seems to have been the "ordinary" manner in which God guided and blessed His Church. What does this have to do with us today? The most pertinent point, for me, is that my daily "hermitage" is the key to my day and my life: my time spent alone with God...early in the morning, at mass, walking and praying the rosary, visiting the Blessed Sacrament, shared prayer with my family and friends. Everything else...everything!!!...all my engagements, tasks and relationships...everything!!!...flows out of this primal friendship. On the macro-social level, we see a contrast of this hermit-model of the episcopacy with that of the CEO-bishop of today, who is responsible for a complex network of institutions (universities, hospitals, schools, parishes, and other) valued in the billions of dollars. I wonder if we have not become over-institutionalized! I wonder if Ivan Illich was right years ago when he advocated the simplification, de-bureaucratization and impoverishment of the Church! I wonder if Obama is not doing the Lord's work (albeit without a conscious clue) in his oppressive contraception-sterilization mandate in forcing the eventual de-institutionalization of the Church! Maybe the bishops, the Church and each of us will be better off with a return to simplicity and poverty: a return to the hermitage!