The Cloisterite Family

[AccountDeleted]

Sr. Laurel- I really and truly do not mean this to be snarky....I am just trying to understand something.  As a Christian I have to limit the amount of time I spend on the internet in order to be faithful to my vocation- and I am not called to be a HERMIT.  Do you have such limits in place?  Does not spending so much time here interfere with your solitary prayer?  Would this not be a distraction from your vocation?  Maybe I am misunderstanding what a hermit is, but I always thought it really meant a lot of separation from the "world" and from a lot of interaction with other people.  It would seem to me that if a person has very limited leeway to spend interacting with others that maybe it should be directed towards something charitable- like volunteering at a soup kitchen.  You might say that volunteering at a soup kitchen would break your solitude, which leads me back to the point of how does being on the internet interacting with people not?

 

Even if you don't mean it to sound that way - it does seem a bit presumptious to be 'calling Sr Laurel to account' as it were about how she spends her time, especially since she already provided a breakdown of her day in an earlier post and in addition to all of the other things she does, she probably also allows herself a certain amount of private time where she can choose what activity to do. She probably doesn't 'serve in a soup kitchen' as that would be outside her calling as a hermit, but it is a charity to post information and to correct errors about religious life and the consecrated state, especially when there are serious issues involved.

 

I'm sure like any consecrated person,  SrLaurel is perfectly able to judge the amount of time she can spend online, writing letters, writing in her journal, doing spiritual reading, providing spiritual direction and praying in various ways. She isn't a postulant in a community who is being just taught about religious life, she is a consecrated diocesan hermit.

 

And there is a difference between posting indescriminately on the Lame Board and other forums just to increase posts and writing on VS where she provides information that comes from her experience as a consecrated diocesan hermit and which corrects errors and misunderstandings. It seem a very valid use of her time, like praying and spiritual direction.

 

I know that SrLaurel is perfectly capable of defending herself, should she feel the need to do so, but really, do you quiz other religious about how they spend their time? Just seems a bit instrusive to me and might alienate other religious from posting here, which would be a real shame.

 

Edited to add: Since you defended Gemma in a previous post, your motivation does seem a bit suspect when asking this question. I apologise if I am wrong, but perhaps you are just trying to silence SrL's voice of reason here?

 

Edited December 24, 2012 by nunsense

[ToJesusMyHeart]

Hello everyone! I hope all of your last Sundays of Advent have been beautiful and filled with joy! :)

 

I don't know if everyone else here is as tired as I am of dragging this thread forward, but I just wanted to make a confession and ask for forgiveness from anyone that I may have offended by any of my posts here. I never intended any harm and was only trying to assist Gemma since she is offline and can't reply for herself. 

 

So anyway, the confession is simple. My parents have decided to return to the Church after 10+ years of being fallen away, and yesterday evening I went to a restaurant with my father to celebrate and spend time with him. My kind father bought me a topshelf margarita and one for himself too. It was a lovely drink (singular), and we had a delightful time talking with one another at the restaurant. Unfortunately for me, as a newly-turned 21-year old, even just one margarita has its effects. So when I got home and logged onto phatmass, I let my emotions get the better of me and posted the "Please.End.This.Thread" request. That was a bad judgement call on my part, and I feel like I've caused this thread to spiral down into what it is today. I didn't consider the repercussions of such a post. 

 

Please forgive the indiscretion! I pray we can all continue our happy lives in Vocation Station with respectful discussions and advice for our journeys to the vocations that Jesus asks of us. 

 

We all have disagreements here about how this has been handled and how everyone has been treated. But there shouldn't be this negative vibe. dUst made a wonderful rule for us about not promoting unapproved communities, and I think that will be of great help in the future.

 

God bless you all and I hope your Monday last-minute Christmas shopping goes smoothly! :)

 

-TJMH 

 

Edited December 24, 2012 by ToJesusMyHeart

[AccountDeleted]

Hello everyone! I hope all of your last Sundays of Advent have been beautiful and filled with joy! :)

 

I don't know if everyone else here is as tired as I am of dragging this thread forward, but I just wanted to make a confession and ask for forgiveness from anyone that I may have offended by any of my posts here. I never intended any harm and was only trying to assist Gemma since she is offline and can't reply for herself. 

 

So anyway, the confession is simple. My parents have decided to return to the Church after 10+ years of being fallen away, and yesterday evening I went to a restaurant with my father to celebrate and spend time with him. My kind father bought me a topshelf margarita and one for himself too. It was a lovely drink (singular), and we had a delightful time talking with one another at the restaurant. Unfortunately for me, as a newly-turned 21-year old, even just one margarita has its effects. So when I got home and logged onto phatmass, I let my emotions get the better of me and posted the "Please.End.This.Thread" request. That was a bad judgement call on my part, and I feel like I've caused this thread to spiral down into what it is today. I didn't consider the repercussions of such a post. 

 

Please forgive the indiscretion! I pray we can all continue our happy lives in Vocation Station with respectful discussions and advice for our journeys to the vocations that Jesus asks of us. 

 

We all have disagreements here about how this has been handled and how everyone has been treated. But there shouldn't be this negative vibe. dUst made a wonderful rule for us about not promoting unapproved communities, and I think that will be of great help in the future.

 

God bless you all and I hope your Monday last-minute Christmas shopping goes smoothly! :)

 

-TJMH 

 

It's never a good idea to post after drinking. Or drive or do much of anything really. :)

 

I for one am not tired at all of learning things about different states of consecrated life. SrLaurel helped me understand something about the Hermits of Bethelehem which I didn't know before and which explains a lot to me about why I didn't feel an attraction to the life. She has also made it clear just what the vocation of consecrated hermit life is all about, and explained canon 603 in ways which I hadn't thought about before.

 

I also don't think it spiraled anywhere - so don't whip yourself over anything. You felt a need to defend a friend, and that is great - very loyal. But on the other hand, SrLaurel's posts are helping us to see that friendship alone doesn't guarantee legitimacy of an enterprise.

 

Personally, I love Father Romano and am very loyal to him, but I can also see that what he has established is not really a 'laura' of hermits under canon 603 (even though they are consecrated under this canon to their Bishop) because they share a common Rule, common prayer times, regulations and obedience to a common superior. That doesn't mean I feel any less love for Father Romano or the hermits, it just means that I can see now what I couldn't see before - things have been clarified for me about the particular vocation. This was helpful to me because I felt there was something wrong with me that I couldn't adapt to the life at Bethlehem, even though it appeared to be what I had been seeking, hermit life. But in many ways, it wasn't the life of a consecrated hermit - it was more of a community, and yet it lacked the things about community that I liked best, the praying of the Divine Office in common.

 

What I am trying to say in my lengthy way is that we can love someone and support them and yet still see that things might not be the reality that they appear to be. From what I am understanding now, perhaps even Father Romano didn't truly understand what being a consecrated hermit under canon 603 meant so it's no wonder that Gemma doesn't. He told me that he had been a parish priest who retreated to the property to be a hermit himself, but then others asked him if they could join him and he found himself setting up a 'laura' of hermits, when maybe what he should have done (canonically) was to set up a religious community instead. The Carmelite hermit sisters who live next door to him are hermits, but they also admit that they are a religious community. I don't know if they have gone the canon 603 route or the religious institute one, but the Hermits of Bethlehem seem very similar to them - if not in spirituality, then in structure.

 

So don't beat yourself up about having a drink - just be careful about posting when you do! I am definitely going to drink a vodka or two on Christmas night but will try to stay away from phatmass after I do!  :)

[Sister_Laurel]

Sr. Laurel- I really and truly do not mean this to be snarky....I am just trying to understand something.  As a Christian I have to limit the amount of time I spend on the internet in order to be faithful to my vocation- and I am not called to be a HERMIT.  Do you have such limits in place?  Does not spending so much time here interfere with your solitary prayer?  Would this not be a distraction from your vocation?  Maybe I am misunderstanding what a hermit is, but I always thought it really meant a lot of separation from the "world" and from a lot of interaction with other people.  It would seem to me that if a person has very limited leeway to spend interacting with others that maybe it should be directed towards something charitable- like volunteering at a soup kitchen.  You might say that volunteering at a soup kitchen would break your solitude, which leads me back to the point of how does being on the internet interacting with people not?

 

Yes, I have limits and I am keeping those. So no, please be assured I am not spending too much time here nor is it a distraction from my vocation. You see I do have a public responsibility to live this vocation, but also to be sure it is not misunderstood nor abused. Since I do get emails from people who have heard that they can use canon 603 to become a hermit on the way to doing something else, and since some dioceses have actually decided to profess no one under canon 603 because they consider it a fallback vocation or because of abuses such as those promulgated on Gemma's site, taking time in this particular effort becomes more important. Some of the questions I have received are from people supposedly associated with Gemma's project and one in particular was from someone who had spent several years "preparing" to approach her Bishop for profession when in fact she did not feel called to this vocation but to cenobitical life. She had questions about the "seven pillars" Gemma often refers to and also about which Bishop she should contact, her own or Gemma's. In other words she had wasted several years. I consider preventing such situations acts of charity. For that matter, preventing anyone from buying into a fraudulent and misguided internet project which is supposedly connected with canon 603 in some way could be considered an act of charity. Sometimes the food people need is that of truth or information and the soup kitchen they visit is located online.

 

As far as separation from the world goes, "the world" in the sense canon 603 requires is not simply anything outside the hermitage, nor is it ever simply cutting oneself off from interaction with people. Remember that a large part of the desert tradition is hospitality and that may mean having others come into the hermitage or something else entirely. Certainly the Desert Fathers and Mothers spent time answering people's questions. "The world" in the sense of canon 603 means "That which is unredeemed or resistant to Christ" and it can be as much a matter of one's own heart as an outer reality. (cf, Handbook on Canons 573-746, "Norms Common to All Institutes of Consecrated Life, Canons 573-606" page 33, Ellen O'Hara, CSJ) However, with that in mind, the contact I have is something I work out with my director, my delegate, and my Bishop (who, by the way. knows I have a blog, spend time answering questions about canon 603 life, am in contact with other diocesan hermits around the world via email and website, etc). Of course, posting here also means there are other things I am not doing instead, but, if you have looked at my horarium  you will see how this CAN fit into a day devoted mainly to prayer, so I would encourage you not to worry. My time is well spent and in a quantitative sense I am actually not spending much time posting here. For instance, this post has taken about 10 minutes so far, perhaps less.

 

Solitude is often misunderstood in the same way "the world" is. It too is as much an inner reality as it is an outer one, though both aspects are necessary. Solitude has more to do with Communion with God than it does with simply being alone. It has more to do with maintaining personal integrity in the midst of criticism and peer pressure than it does with isolation. In any case, you might be surprised how much prayer is involved in posting to this thread, and how much ongoing discernment and even a bit of necessary personal work is involved as well. It is very much a solitary activity. So again, please do not be concerned. Just as I trust you maintain those necessary limits you referred to needing to maintain, I expect folks to trust that I do the same with my own. That is especially true since I rarely post here and do not do so indiscriminately or as recreation.

 

Sincerely,

Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Er Dio

Stillsong Hermitage

Diocese of Oakland

http://notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com

Edited December 24, 2012 by SRLAUREL

[Sister_Laurel]

It's never a good idea to post after drinking. Or drive or do much of anything really. :)

 

I for one am not tired at all of learning things about different states of consecrated life. SrLaurel helped me understand something about the Hermits of Bethelehem which I didn't know before and which explains a lot to me about why I didn't feel an attraction to the life. She has also made it clear just what the vocation of consecrated hermit life is all about, and explained canon 603 in ways which I hadn't thought about before.

 

I also don't think it spiraled anywhere - so don't whip yourself over anything. You felt a need to defend a friend, and that is great - very loyal. But on the other hand, SrLaurel's posts are helping us to see that friendship alone doesn't guarantee legitimacy of an enterprise.

 

Personally, I love Father Romano and am very loyal to him, but I can also see that what he has established is not really a 'laura' of hermits under canon 603 (even though they are consecrated under this canon to their Bishop) because they share a common Rule, common prayer times, regulations and obedience to a common superior. That doesn't mean I feel any less love for Father Romano or the hermits, it just means that I can see now what I couldn't see before - things have been clarified for me about the particular vocation. This was helpful to me because I felt there was something wrong with me that I couldn't adapt to the life at Bethlehem, even though it appeared to be what I had been seeking, hermit life. But in many ways, it wasn't the life of a consecrated hermit - it was more of a community, and yet it lacked the things about community that I liked best, the praying of the Divine Office in common.

 

What I am trying to say in my lengthy way is that we can love someone and support them and yet still see that things might not be the reality that they appear to be. From what I am understanding now, perhaps even Father Romano didn't truly understand what being a consecrated hermit under canon 603 meant so it's no wonder that Gemma doesn't. He told me that he had been a parish priest who retreated to the property to be a hermit himself, but then others asked him if they could join him and he found himself setting up a 'laura' of hermits, when maybe what he should have done (canonically) was to set up a religious community instead. The Carmelite hermit sisters who live next door to him are hermits, but they also admit that they are a religious community. I don't know if they have gone the canon 603 route or the religious institute one, but the Hermits of Bethlehem seem very similar to them - if not in spirituality, then in structure.

 

So don't beat yourself up about having a drink - just be careful about posting when you do! I am definitely going to drink a vodka or two on Christmas night but will try to stay away from phatmass after I do!  :)

 

A note about terminology. People may have noticed I have referred a number of times to solitary eremitical life in speaking of canon 603. There is nothing redundant in that phrase (though when I first added it to my perpetual vow formula at the request of the diocese I thought it was!). Canon 603 fosters SOLITARY eremitical life. Religious hermits (those who belong to communities like the Hermits of Bethlehem or the Camaldolese or even the Carthusians) are no less (or more) hermits than diocesan hermits professed under canon 603 as solitary hermits, but their lives are also different. These folks are also called semi-eremites sometimes. Thus is not because they are only "half hermits" but because the context for their eremitical lives is community and they fall at one end of the eremitical life spectrum. At the other end of the eremitical spectrum are recluses who are much less in contact with members of their community or those outside the hermitage. Some have NO contact except with the superior that visits regularly or the priest who comes to say Mass (if the hermit is not also a priest). Solitude, and even eremitical solitude comes in many shapes and flavors but all of the people mentioned above are hermits.

 

Sincerely,

Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Er Dio

Stillsong Hermitage

Diocese of Oakland

http://notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com

[AccountDeleted]

A note about terminology. People may have noticed I have referred a number of times to solitary eremitical life in speaking of canon 603. There is nothing redundant in that phrase (though when I first added it to my perpetual vow formula at the request of the diocese I thought it was!). Canon 603 fosters SOLITARY eremitical life. Religious hermits (those who belong to communities like the Hermits of Bethlehem or the Camaldolese or even the Carthusians) are no less (or more) hermits than diocesan hermits professed under canon 603 as solitary hermits, but their lives are also different. These folks are also called semi-eremites sometimes. Thus is not because they are only "half hermits" but because the context for their eremitical lives is community and they fall at one end of the eremitical life spectrum. At the other end of the eremitical spectrum are recluses who are much less in contact with members of their community or those outside the hermitage. Some have NO contact except with the superior that visits regularly or the priest who comes to say Mass (if the hermit is not also a priest). Solitude, and even eremitical solitude comes in many shapes and flavors but all of the people mentioned above are hermits.

 

Sincerely,

Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Er Dio

Stillsong Hermitage

Diocese of Oakland

http://notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com

 

Thank you yet again - the Church is rich in the forms of consecrated life that she offers. I have learned a lot just from reading this thread.

[Sister_Laurel]

Thank you yet again - the Church is rich in the forms of consecrated life that she offers. I have learned a lot just from reading this thread.

 

I'm glad. There is no reason to say members of Romano's group are not hermits (they definitely are!!), but we need to know the term can cover a number of things without being infinitely flexible.

 

best,

Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Er Dio

Stillsong Hermitage

http://notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com

[Lil'Nun]

Sorry, but I also have to say I find the overall tone of this thread unpleasant now. I do believe it has served its purpose. I do think that it was very necessary to flag up the problems with CO. I also believe it will be necessary to do that again in future (hopefully in a more succinct manner).

However, this - to me - is now overkill and I, do think it looks like bullying - or people getting their own back.

I really wish the thread would be locked, as the previous one on the same subject was. I think the point has been made. But, for whatever reason the moderator seems happy with it but I just wanted to say I find the grinding on and on of this stuff about CO very saddening and not in the real spirit of Charity.

I am not going to post in this thread again, nor read it. I find the hermit information enlightening but this thread is not something I want to revisit.

 

[AccountDeleted]

I'm glad. There is no reason to say members of Romano's group are not hermits (they definitely are!!), but we need to know the term can cover a number of things without being infinitely flexible.

 

best,

Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Er Dio

Stillsong Hermitage

http://notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com

 

Yes, I understand what you are saying. The Carmelites still refer to themselves as 'hermits in community' too. They are not claiming to be 'hermits' as in diocesan hermits, but as in living a life that is silent and solitary in spirit. We usually work alone but we do pray the Office together and have Recreation together.

 

Father Romano's group are even more hermit like in that they live apart and pray apart but I can now see much of the community life in what they do.

 

I do appreciate the information you have provided here. I think this thread has been very useful for a lot of us, especially for those interested in the consecrated hermit life under canon 603.

[To Jesus Through Mary]

So anyway, the confession is simple. My parents have decided to return to the Church after 10+ years of being fallen away, and yesterday evening I went to a restaurant with my father to celebrate and spend time with him. My kind father bought me a topshelf margarita and one for himself too. It was a lovely drink (singular), and we had a delightful time talking with one another at the restaurant. Unfortunately for me, as a newly-turned 21-year old, even just one margarita has its effects. So when I got home and logged onto phatmass, I let my emotions get the better of me and posted the "Please.End.This.Thread" request. That was a bad judgement call on my part, and I feel like I've caused this thread to spiral down into what it is today. I didn't consider the repercussions of such a post. 

 

:lol: Been there, done that. No worries. I could point out some of my posts that... but I won't ;) 

 

But I would head Nunsense advice, beware of posting at those times. Even though it seems like the wittiest and smartest thing ever. Trust me (from experience), it never is. ;)

[Mary's Margaret]

Having received a call (which was also discerned by my parish priest) later in life (I'm now 65). I made private vows a few years ago witnessed by my parish priest and live as a 'lay contemplative' (Father's term) under his supervision and the guidance of my spiritual director.  I am in the process of writing my rule/plan of life as it emerges from my lived and discerned experience: it's rather an organic, emergent process as I discover the more exact nature of my call and what works best for me within it.  The posts in this thread, in particular those by SRLAUREL and Nunsense, have been very informative and helpful as I grow in my understanding of my particular call into the silence of solitude.  Thank-you, and I sincerely hope such informative and clarifying conversations continue.   

[StClare_OraProNobis]

Even if you don't mean it to sound that way - it does seem a bit presumptious to be 'calling Sr Laurel to account' as it were about how she spends her time, especially since she already provided a breakdown of her day in an earlier post and in addition to all of the other things she does, she probably also allows herself a certain amount of private time where she can choose what activity to do. She probably doesn't 'serve in a soup kitchen' as that would be outside her calling as a hermit, but it is a charity to post information and to correct errors about religious life and the consecrated state, especially when there are serious issues involved.

 

I'm sure like any consecrated person,  SrLaurel is perfectly able to judge the amount of time she can spend online, writing letters, writing in her journal, doing spiritual reading, providing spiritual direction and praying in various ways. She isn't a postulant in a community who is being just taught about religious life, she is a consecrated diocesan hermit.

 

And there is a difference between posting indescriminately on the Lame Board and other forums just to increase posts and writing on VS where she provides information that comes from her experience as a consecrated diocesan hermit and which corrects errors and misunderstandings. It seem a very valid use of her time, like praying and spiritual direction.

 

I know that SrLaurel is perfectly capable of defending herself, should she feel the need to do so, but really, do you quiz other religious about how they spend their time? Just seems a bit instrusive to me and might alienate other religious from posting here, which would be a real shame.

 

Edited to add: Since you defended Gemma in a previous post, your motivation does seem a bit suspect when asking this question. I apologise if I am wrong, but perhaps you are just trying to silence SrL's voice of reason here?

 

 

I personally would really appreciate if someone who had a sincere question about how I live my own vocation would voice it.  It would help to clear up misconceptions.  Sr. Laurel answered very graciously for which I am appreciative.   I did learn a lot from her answer.  It was precisely the question of maintaining interior solitude that I wondered about.  It is easy for any of us to become dissipated, especially in a noisy, busy world. Sr. Laurel assured us that she is able to keep that solitude even with being online.

 

And I do think this thread should die as I do not see the fruits of the Spirit coming from it at all anymore.  I think the truth was shared in love initially, and that is likely the motivation now as well, but I think it is not right to continue to talk about it when Gemma is not responding anymore.  Maybe she will be back after the Holidays, and then I think it would be appropriate to ask her questions if she wishes to answer them.

 

Nonetheless- I am not trying to silence anyone.  I was in religious life for a  short while, and one major aspect of living that vocation is avoiding distraction  Maybe the community I was with was just a little more strict.  The entire point of any vocation is discipleship with Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit, according to the Will of the Father.  That is why I asked the question about being a hermit and being on the internet.  I am probably not the only person to wonder the same thing!  After all most of us do not know or interact with any other hermits!  

 

I know you yourself are heading for Carmel, and God bless you on your way!

[StClare_OraProNobis]

Yes, I have limits and I am keeping those. So no, please be assured I am not spending too much time here nor is it a distraction from my vocation. You see I do have a public responsibility to live this vocation, but also to be sure it is not misunderstood nor abused. Since I do get emails from people who have heard that they can use canon 603 to become a hermit on the way to doing something else, and since some dioceses have actually decided to profess no one under canon 603 because they consider it a fallback vocation or because of abuses such as those promulgated on Gemma's site, taking time in this particular effort becomes more important. Some of the questions I have received are from people supposedly associated with Gemma's project and one in particular was from someone who had spent several years "preparing" to approach her Bishop for profession when in fact she did not feel called to this vocation but to cenobitical life. She had questions about the "seven pillars" Gemma often refers to and also about which Bishop she should contact, her own or Gemma's. In other words she had wasted several years. I consider preventing such situations acts of charity. For that matter, preventing anyone from buying into a fraudulent and misguided internet project which is supposedly connected with canon 603 in some way could be considered an act of charity. Sometimes the food people need is that of truth or information and the soup kitchen they visit is located online.

 

As far as separation from the world goes, "the world" in the sense canon 603 requires is not simply anything outside the hermitage, nor is it ever simply cutting oneself off from interaction with people. Remember that a large part of the desert tradition is hospitality and that may mean having others come into the hermitage or something else entirely. Certainly the Desert Fathers and Mothers spent time answering people's questions. "The world" in the sense of canon 603 means "That which is unredeemed or resistant to Christ" and it can be as much a matter of one's own heart as an outer reality. (cf, Handbook on Canons 573-746, "Norms Common to All Institutes of Consecrated Life, Canons 573-606" page 33, Ellen O'Hara, CSJ) However, with that in mind, the contact I have is something I work out with my director, my delegate, and my Bishop (who, by the way. knows I have a blog, spend time answering questions about canon 603 life, am in contact with other diocesan hermits around the world via email and website, etc). Of course, posting here also means there are other things I am not doing instead, but, if you have looked at my horarium  you will see how this CAN fit into a day devoted mainly to prayer, so I would encourage you not to worry. My time is well spent and in a quantitative sense I am actually not spending much time posting here. For instance, this post has taken about 10 minutes so far, perhaps less.

 

Solitude is often misunderstood in the same way "the world" is. It too is as much an inner reality as it is an outer one, though both aspects are necessary. Solitude has more to do with Communion with God than it does with simply being alone. It has more to do with maintaining personal integrity in the midst of criticism and peer pressure than it does with isolation. In any case, you might be surprised how much prayer is involved in posting to this thread, and how much ongoing discernment and even a bit of necessary personal work is involved as well. It is very much a solitary activity. So again, please do not be concerned. Just as I trust you maintain those necessary limits you referred to needing to maintain, I expect folks to trust that I do the same with my own. That is especially true since I rarely post here and do not do so indiscriminately or as recreation.

 

Sincerely,

Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Er Dio

Stillsong Hermitage

Diocese of Oakland

http://notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com

 

Thank you for clarifying!  I hope you understand the sincerity of my question.  My own experience in religious life was one in which we did not have or use computers, so it always surprises me to see religious, (and now hermits,) on line.  It is just not what I am used to.  It really reassures me to know that you have worked this out with your director, delegate and bishop as you mentioned.  I have always wondered who would hold a hermit accountable!   

 

I have read parts of your blog and have found you to be very well-spoken and insightful.  Wishing you a most Merry Christmas!

[StClare_OraProNobis]

That being said, I reread my post and realize that it may have sounded confrontational, which was not my intention at all.  Apologies.

 

Peace on Earth!

[CatherineM]

I suspect the moderators have kept this thread open because there is real sharing of information going on. I have seen no bullying.