Mission Statement of the Hermitage of St. Joseph
“To promote the contemplative life of prayer in the Catholic Church; to give financial, logistic and spiritual support to those who wish to live the eremitic life following the example of the hermits of Mount Carmel and according to the spirit of the Reform of St. Teresa of Jesus for the glory of God and the salvation of the world.” (Article III of the Articles of Incorporation.)
The origins of the hermit life in the Catholic Church began in 270 A.D. when St. Anthony of Egypt started his quest for purity of heart and became the father of the hermit movement in the Church. He did not found any monasteries per se, but established a way of life in which one sought God in solitude and unceasing prayer. He not only founded the life of strict solitude (hermits that lived totally alone in the wilderness), but also “lauras,” where hermits would live closer together in clusters and gather for Saturday Vigils and Sunday Mass. This is the origin of monastic life in the Church.
Early in the 12th century a group of crusaders returning to Europe decided to stay in Palestine and live as hermits on Mount Carmel. They chose to live near the spring of the Prophet St. Elijah, and organized themselves into a laura. In the early 13th century they asked St. Albert, Bishop of Jerusalem, to give them a Rule sometime between 1206-1214. This was the beginning of the Carmelite Order.
In order to establish a laura according to the ancient tradition of monastic life and in imitation of the hermits on Mount Carmel, the Hermitage of St. Joseph was founded as a religious non-profit corporation, under the patronage of St. Joseph. It has been granted a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. In order to carry out its mission, the Hermitage of Saint Joseph will acquire land and build hermitages for those who join the laura.
The Hermitage of St. Joseph will assist in the formation of its members according to the example of the hermits of Mount Carmel. The areas of formation will include spiritual, intellectual, and economic, as follows:
· Spiritual formation focuses on what is proper to the eremitic life such as prayer, solitude, and lectio divina (holy reading) or the meditative reading of Scripture and other spiritual books.
· Intellectual formation focuses on the history of the eremitic life in the Church, emphasizing the early written sources such as The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, the hermits of Mount Carmel in the 12th century, and the Carmelite Reform of Saint Teresa of Jesus in the 16th century, as well as the study of theology and Church documents, such as papal encyclicals.
· Economic formation focuses on training in those areas of work appropriate for a hermit such as painting Icons, rosary making, wood work, or some other craft. Intellectual work is acceptable if it is not disruptive to the life of a hermit.
Each hermit will make his/her own contribution to the well-being of the laura with his/her own unique gifts in the spiritual, intellectual and economic areas of life. The laura enables each hermit to live out his/her own vocation, and in turn each hermit will help maintain the life of the laura, as well as strive for the well-being of the whole Church through a life of prayer, penance and solitude, and giving spiritual counsel to those requesting it.
The Hermitage of St. Joseph will also build hermitages for those who desire to experience a life of solitary prayer for shorter periods of time, such as a retreat or time of discernment.
(The statue of St. Joseph shown in the picture above was erected on October 15, 2010.)
The origins of the hermit life in the Catholic Church began in 270 A.D. when St. Anthony of Egypt started his quest for purity of heart and became the father of the hermit movement in the Church. He did not found any monasteries per se, but established a way of life in which one sought God in solitude and unceasing prayer. He not only founded the life of strict solitude (hermits that lived totally alone in the wilderness), but also “lauras,” where hermits would live closer together in clusters and gather for Saturday Vigils and Sunday Mass. This is the origin of monastic life in the Church.
Early in the 12th century a group of crusaders returning to Europe decided to stay in Palestine and live as hermits on Mount Carmel. They chose to live near the spring of the Prophet St. Elijah, and organized themselves into a laura. In the early 13th century they asked St. Albert, Bishop of Jerusalem, to give them a Rule sometime between 1206-1214. This was the beginning of the Carmelite Order.
In order to establish a laura according to the ancient tradition of monastic life and in imitation of the hermits on Mount Carmel, the Hermitage of St. Joseph was founded as a religious non-profit corporation, under the patronage of St. Joseph. It has been granted a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. In order to carry out its mission, the Hermitage of Saint Joseph will acquire land and build hermitages for those who join the laura.
The Hermitage of St. Joseph will assist in the formation of its members according to the example of the hermits of Mount Carmel. The areas of formation will include spiritual, intellectual, and economic, as follows:
· Spiritual formation focuses on what is proper to the eremitic life such as prayer, solitude, and lectio divina (holy reading) or the meditative reading of Scripture and other spiritual books.
· Intellectual formation focuses on the history of the eremitic life in the Church, emphasizing the early written sources such as The Sayings of the Desert Fathers, the hermits of Mount Carmel in the 12th century, and the Carmelite Reform of Saint Teresa of Jesus in the 16th century, as well as the study of theology and Church documents, such as papal encyclicals.
· Economic formation focuses on training in those areas of work appropriate for a hermit such as painting Icons, rosary making, wood work, or some other craft. Intellectual work is acceptable if it is not disruptive to the life of a hermit.
Each hermit will make his/her own contribution to the well-being of the laura with his/her own unique gifts in the spiritual, intellectual and economic areas of life. The laura enables each hermit to live out his/her own vocation, and in turn each hermit will help maintain the life of the laura, as well as strive for the well-being of the whole Church through a life of prayer, penance and solitude, and giving spiritual counsel to those requesting it.
The Hermitage of St. Joseph will also build hermitages for those who desire to experience a life of solitary prayer for shorter periods of time, such as a retreat or time of discernment.
(The statue of St. Joseph shown in the picture above was erected on October 15, 2010.)