SAINT ROMUALD - JUNE 19

 

Saint Romuald

951-1027

Canonized in 1582

Pray to him for reformation of the church and for monastic life

"Sit in your cell as in paradise. Put the whole

world behind you and forget it."

St. Romuald

Today, one of the saints we observe is especially remembered for reformation of The Church and for monastic life, in general, so I recommend this to my small group of hermits in my Facebook hermit group and for other hermits unaffiliated with us.

Just like most Americans of the middle classes and above, Saint Romuald spent his early years in pursuit of pleasures in the tenth century, unconcerned with his spiritual life or weightier matters. Then one day he saw something that horrified him and opened his eyes. He saw his father kill a relative in a duel over a disputed piece of land.

The story that comes down to us is that, after witnessing this bloody duel to the death, he initially meant to spend 40 days at a local monastery, in reparation for the sins of his father and his family. But somehow he never went home again. Something within him was profoundly altered. (Dear God, may we all be so altered!)

At the same time that the temperamentally impatient and newly convicted monk entered the monastery, reforms were well under way. He was not well liked because of his criticisms of the more lax monks, and I am guessing they were relieved when he was given permission to become a hermit in Venice - something that appealed to everyone, each for their own reasons!

This is where any similarity between me and today's saint ends. I tend to be more understanding how  difficult it is to maintain an ascetic life in our modern times, especially now that I am disabled and in pain all the time. I have thought for a long time that my body is forcing me to endure asceticism that is not natural to my temperament and probably the only way that I would ever willingly endure suffering! After all, I MUST accept the pain over which I have little control, so it is best to welcome it and use it for my salvation and in reparation of my own sins and the sins of others.

But St. Romuald grasped the acetic life without force, and after 20 years as a hermit, he was called out into the world to found more monasteries. It was not always easy. Just because Holy Roman Emperor Otto established him as the abbot of the first monastery he endowed in his kingdom does not mean that it was successful!  The monks were not having any of it, as they were too established in their comforts, and I don't know if they kicked him out or if he simply gave up on them, but within a year, he was gone.

There are many different types of monastic life in the Catholic Church, and the version that Romuald left us is rather appealing. A group of contemplative monks would live together in silence, peace and grace, sharing work, meals, mass, and prayer schedules, but in the spirit of deep silence and contemplation. Each had their own cell and lived in a sort of cooperative hermitage.

Romuald left 7 practices for his monks. Each hermit must:

    Love his cell,

    Be detached,

    Be self-observant,

    Diligently pray the Psalms,

    Maintain ultimate reverence before God,

    Practice strict asceticism, and;

    Grow more childlike in accepting grace when given.

Personally, it sounds like a tall order for people who must also live together and cooperate with one another in the running of the monastery.

This arrangement grew into the tradition of the Camaldolese monks. 

The calling of a hermit, though a relatively rare state, is crucial to the health of The Church, in that it supports The Catholic Faith in a deeply contemplative way while, at the same time, is a cenobitic, or group living, situation, where monks adhere to a life in common. The Camaldolese share this life in common with other monastics called to a solitary spiritual practice. An interesting combination.

Many older Catholics may find themselves living alone in their later years, for various reasons, but to live for God alone and transform that single life into somewhat of a hermit existence isn't easy. One needs some of the grit that St. Romuald appeared to have, and it doesn't hurt if we also have the intense conversion experience of our own, as he did.

But it is not required that we be accepted into an official INSTITUTION such as a Camaldolese monastery. Besides which, most monastic institutions only accept young folks.  What I am talking about is kicking it up a notch in the spiritual discipline department and taking one's later years SERIOUSLY in relation to our relationship with The Lord and with our own spiritual life.

No matter how we live our later years, whether as a strict hermit or a lesser and more modest version of it, let us all pray that, as we age, we grow into the unique, particular vocation that God desires for each one of us. Let us pray for one another, that we grow stronger in our commitments and practices, despite the vagaries of old age, just as St. Romuald did.

God bless us all!

Silver Rose

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