In the Conferences of St. John Cassian, Abba John lays bare the secrets of the eremitical vocation: “The perfection for a hermit is to have his mind freed from all earthly things, and to unite it, as far as human frailty allows, with Christ.” 1 What is the yoke of which Jeremias speaks in his Lamentations? Our Redeemer has the answer:
“Come to Me, all you that labor, and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For My yoke is sweet and My burden light “ (Matthew 11:28-30).
The yoke of Christ is the Heart of Christ. His Heart is the fountain of charity. Charity brings perfect peace. Peace is found in rest. True rest is found in God alone.
St. Augustine declares, “God knows how to act in restfulness and to rest in activity.” 2 How can lasting peace and rest be obtained? God is unchanging. It is the human heart that is ever subject to change. “As a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed: but Thou art the selfsame, and Thy years shall not fail” (Hebrews 1:12).
Saint Benedict, in his superlative Rule, has an answer: stability. In Chapter One of the Rule, he highlights four kinds of monks: cenobites, anchorites, sarabaites, and gyrovagues. Cenobites live in community under an abbot. Anchorites live in solitude after a period of testing. Sarabaites and gyrovagues are not true monks. Sarabaites live singly or in small groups, in which they follow their own whims and desires.
Gyrovagues “spend all their lives long wandering about diverse provinces, staying in different cells for three or four days at a time, ever roaming, with no stability, given up to their own pleasures and to the snares of gluttony, and worse in all things than the Sarabaites.” 3
The Old Testament provides several examples of gyrovagues. In the Book of Genesis, Jacob and Esau, though twins, lived two widely divergent lives. Esau was “a skillful hunter, and a husbandman, but Jacob a plain man dwelt in tents” (Genesis 25:27). Esau spent his time wandering abroad after beasts and the things of this earthly life. Jacob stayed at home in quiet and stability. Because he gave in to the love of earthly things (namely, gluttony), and neglected the concerns of the soul, Esau lost that which he had already possessed -- his first birthright. Jacob, on the other hand, because he dwelt in tents (in Latin, tabernaculis; tabernacles), had the eyes of his heart continually fixed on eternity. He preserved his peace and gained an eternal treasure -- the first birthright.
Another Old Testament wanderer is found in Dina. “And Dina the daughter of Lia went out to see the women of that country” (Gen. 34:1). Because she left the security of her home, Dina lost the precious gift of her virginity. She not only did not obtain what she desired (“to see the women of that country”), but she also lost that which she had already possessed. Oh Dina, what were you hoping to find? What were you looking for?
-------------------------------------------
Every Christian, and the solitary in particular, is called not only to purity of body, but also to purity of heart. “Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). How can this purity be obtained? Our Redeemer knows: “I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And in another place: “Abide in My love” (John 15:9).
What is the goal of a solitary, of a monk? In the Conferences, Abba Moses provides the answer to this critical question: “The end of our profession indeed, as I said, is the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven: but the immediate aim or goal, is purity of heart, without which no one can gain that end: fixing our gaze then steadily on this goal, as if on a definite mark, let us direct our course as straight towards it as possible.” 4
Purity of heart is everything. How can the soul abide in the love of Christ – in His Heart – and so obtain purity of heart? How can one remain in this highest of goods, in all stability?
-------------------------------------------
Stability of place fosters stability of mind. Stability of place is a critical advantage of the communal cenobitic life. Everything a monk needs is provided within the shelter of a community. When all bodily needs are taken care of, the soul is free to focus exclusively on God. Why wander, when everything you need is at hand?
But what of the anchorite, whose aim is to cling to God alone? Abba John, who lived as an anchorite for many years, left the desert to join a cenobium. As an anchorite, he experienced the sublimity of divine contemplation: “I frequented with insatiable desire and all my heart the peaceful retreats of the desert and that life which can only be compared to the bliss of the angels.” 5 But he still found that his purpose of mind – his purity of heart – was drawn aside by earthly matters, i.e., providing for the day’s work and food. These things “not only caused that fire of divine contemplation to grow cold, but also entangled the mind in many ways in the chains of carnal matters.” 6
He continues, “And so the result is that the freedom of the anchorite’s life is so hindered by these ties that it can never rise to that ineffable keenness of heart, and thus loses the fruits of its hermit life.” And unless the necessities of life are “ready at hand for those also who live in the desert, they will indeed have to undergo the labors of the anchorite’s life, but will lose its fruits which can only be gained in peaceful stability of mind.” 7
In the cenobium, “there is no providing for the day’s work, no distractions of buying and selling, no unavoidable care for the year’s food, no anxiety about bodily things.” 8 Modern anchorites find the aim of their vocation hindered by the necessity of attending to earthly cares. While some hermits are blessed with the support of a generous lay community, many struggle to make ends meet. The anchorite desires one thing – the Heart of Christ – but is drawn aside to the necessities of shopping, driving, working, and paying bills. All these things distract and dissipate the mind. When one is entangled in a multitude of cares, how can one be free to attend to God alone? Another benefit of the cenobium is the presence of a stable monastic horarium. A stable schedule fosters a calm which blossoms into a holy liberty of spirit. When one is constantly concerned about what is to come, how can one focus on He Who Is?
------------------------------------------
True stability of mind, true purity of heart, is found only in the Heart of Christ. When earthly concerns are eliminated, the solitary can attend to the Kingdom of God – the kingdom within.
In solitude, the anchorite finds the truth of the Savior’s words: “A man’s enemies shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:36). The true enemies of the soul are not without, but within. Christ must reign within the soul until all its enemies – the vices – are subdued (1 Corinthians 15:25). How can one attend to the interior when caught up with the exterior?
The peace of contemplation – the peace of Christ’s Heart – comes in a state of quiet and calm. Our Lord did not send the Holy Ghost when His disciples were scattered abroad in fear and trembling at His arrest and betrayal (Mark 14:50). The Holy Ghost came upon His Apostles and disciples in the upper room, when “they were all together in one place” (Acts 2:1).
What does it mean to be “all together in one place” but to be established in a state of immovability, of stability, of stillness? “Be still and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth” (Ps. 45:11). And, in another place, “The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful: the most High hath sanctified his own tabernacle. God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved” (ibid., v. 5-6).
What is the “stream of the river” to which the Psalmist refers? Is it not the stream that flowed out from the Heart of Christ after His crucifixion, when “one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water” (John 19:34)?
The anchorite’s sole desire is to cling continually to God. Where else shall the soul find its happiness? Where else will it find its fulfillment? In what other way can it firmly establish His Kingdom forever?
Where can modern anchorites, particularly those who have found a home in the traditional liturgy, find the stability they need to adhere to the Lord?
------------------------------------------
Day after day the Heart of Jesus cries out to each soul: “Quo vadis? – Where are you going?” May each soul answer His loving plea: “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:69).
------------------------------------------
This reflection was written by an anonymous hermit. Heed, a nonprofit, was formed to support contemplative eremitic vocations. Heed’s vision is to create a community of contemplative hermits in a cloistered setting. The immediate plan is to establish a hermitage in a home that needs improvements. The long-term plan is to purchase a cloistered monastery that contains a fully-consecrated traditional chapel. The maintenance and acquisition of these properties will require significant funds. For more information, please visit www.heedhiscall.org, or reach out to Mark Rose, founder and executive director, at mark@heedhiscall.org.
------------------------------------------
1 J. Cassian, ‘Conferences of John Cassian’, New Advent, Conference 19, ch. 8, https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3508.htm.
2 De civ. Dei XII 17,2 quoted in L. Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, TAN Books, Illinois, 1974, p. 36.
3 P. Delatte, The Rule of St. Benedict: A Commentary, Forgotten Books, London, 2018, p. 33.
4 ‘Conferences of John Cassian’, New Advent, Conference 1, ch. 4
5 Ibid., Conference 19, ch. 5
6 Ibid.
7 ‘Conferences of John Cassian’, New Advent, Conference 19, ch. 6
8 Ibid.
