Saint Ulphia (Wulfia or Wulfe) - January 31

 

Saint Ulphia

(died January 30, 776)

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I started writing this post in January but was dealing with the aftermath of a terrible fall that hurt both knees badly and caused me to slow my movements even more than what is typical, so it became lost for some time and I am just now getting back to it on February 6th. I will try to post it in the proper order online, but if I am unable to do that, I know you will understand.

There are a surprising number of female hermits who have been sainted. Typically, when the subject of "hermits" comes up, most folks tend to picture a grizzled old man, usually with long, unkempt hair and a beard to match. For some reason, the men get a lot of celebration while the women see very little mention. Perhaps women are more successful in remaining hidden.

I enjoy reading about these female hermits, searching for clues as to how they survived this mode of life and hoping to get some picture of their inspirations and motivations. I wish there was more information on-line. This is yet another one of my many projects for which there is not enough time. The balance between the religious, intellectual, and writing projects is delicate. There is only so much time in each day, and I am becoming less and less able to do much of anything physical, while at the same time I have, essentially, no help with any of the physical jobs that need doing in order to function properly.

Saint Ulphia

with her mentor, Saint Domitius

Amiens, France

Today's little-known female hermitess lived near Amiens, France, in the 8th Century. She was a disciple of Saint Domitius, located at the Abbey of Saint-Acheul, in Amiens. Perhaps her relationship with that (male) saint is how she became known by others and how a community of disciples began building hermitages around her. She organized them into a community and then went back into seclusion.

It is that particular sequence of events, when she got involved with organizing others, that initially interested me, particularly because I am currently peeking outside my own hermitage in a temporary effort to offer some inspiration for a type of ministry that I feel the Church is lacking, as a whole. (This is the "Parish Membership Ministry" that I've designed with various modules, including the "Elder Orphans" ministry. It is taking forever to even see if it will be enacted because it is proceeding in that glacially slow way that appears to be so typical of the churches that are struggling to keep their membership. They are so stuck in their procedures that I believe they have trouble letting go of those things that are bogging them down to begin with. The infections of modernism and secularism are at the heart of most of it. More about that in another post.)

I have encountered many unexpected surprises in my brief foray into a recently increased contact with other humans.  Other people, not realizing that I am living a different kind of life than they might imagine, are not equipped to understand our differences.

In the Middle Ages, I have the impression that most people were aware of the vocation of hermit and anchoress.

I have considered wearing a modified uniform, a "habit" that communicates some kind of religious lifestyle but which is different enough from the standard habit that I won't look as if I am impersonating a nun or sister of any particular order. The key point is modesty, of course, and a simple style. My style has leaned toward maxi dresses since I was 15 and I used to sew them up by hand from the lightweight cotton Indian 'bedspreads" that were popular during the hippy era. I have a bolt of nice, plain linen I bought online and will likely end up sewing some new ones with long sleeves, and leave it at that. Somehow I have to get the back room organized in order to produce anything with that sewing machine. When the time is right, The Lord will provide the needed help.

Up until now, I have liked keeping a low profile and not catching the attention of those around me. However, I am beginning to think that it may be time to have more of an outward presentation and to start wearing a habit of some sort. It would certainly reduce the number of pieces of clothing that I keep in the hermitage and would, among other advantages, reduce the amount of laundry duties. It would also explain to some people, without my having to say anything that could be interpreted as rejection of others, that I am not typically involved in the normal entertainments of secular life.

Saint Ulphia sounds like a real character. Supposedly, she was living on the banks of the Noye River, determined never to marry, and when potential suitors came to bother her, she would behave as if she was crazy, just to scare them off. The Bishop gave her "the veil" when she was 25, I suppose granting her similar vows to that which the Diocesan hermits take in these modern days.

She was the attendant of the famous hermit Domitius, who was a Deacon who gave up active work for the life of a hermit. He was much older than she was. She attended to him, and he endowed her with his wisdom. It is not unusual for hermits to attract devotees who learn from them the wisdom of the vocation. It reminds me of my experiences as a Hindu nun, under the tutelage of Swami Swahananda at the Vedanta Society in Southern California.

I do not have a teacher for the last 20 years, but having experienced the support of a highly spiritual elder in my former religion, I feel that I have at least the confidence to try to be a decent Catholic hermit.

There has yet to be a reputable Catholic guide and exemplar for me, ready at hand, and I am sure The Lord would provide one if He felt this was necessary. He knows how reliant I am upon the writings of the experts and I will not get waylaid by quacks or charlatans who try to bamboozle the unsuspecting devotee through thaumaturgic "cosmic poo poo." He knows that I stay grounded.

Speaking of which, I have received no return phone call from the Archbishop since I reached out in December. I was told in December that he would get back to me around January 13, as he was busy until then. I have followed up with phone messages and another email, and I hear crickets.

I cannot pretend to know the reason(s) why "ghosting" people has become a thing that everyone seems to do when they have no use for you.

But I am aware that I am unimportant and also have no money - so why should anyone respond? I am of no use to them and therefore everything that comes across an Archbishop's desk is automatically more pressing than my needs. Besides which, a Dioscecan hermit's vows are given directly into the hands of a bishop, and it may sound like extra work to a man already weighed down with many weighty matters.

On the other hand, I have already lived this life for 20 years, and the only thing I lack is spiritual support and the ability to retain the Blessed Sacrament on my own personal shrine. I will continue to live this life, God willing, for as long as I remain on earth, and I trust completely that The Lord will give me everything I really need.

I am currently not regularly receiving the eucharist, however, and I do need to rectify that situation. The lady that was bringing it to me was subjecting me to a terrible angry temperament, and yelling at me quite a bit - both here and in her car during errands - also yelling at the other drivers in an unending litany of surreal conversation with people who I doubt could hear her with her windows rolled up. Once she even got out of the car, in the middle of traffic, and walked to the car BEHIND us so that she could yell at the driver. It was a frightening series of events.

I finally could not endure it any longer and I believe it is safer not to have her come here because I am beginning to think that she may be suffering the onset of some kind of dementia, alzheimer's disease or something like it, and there are certain instances when those experiencing this illness have completely lost their tempers and gotten violent. I am not able to run away from her, if she should really come unglued, so I told her not to come here any more.

The deacon did not believe me, I don't think. Or he did not want to. I am not sure what is going on there, but he indicated he would not be making any effort to get me someone else. He muttered something about not having volunteers and how rare they are since Covid. Even after Covid has mostly gone away, people have not returned to volunteering, which I find sad.

I also wonder why no one at the parish makes any effort to reach out for volunteers and perhaps announce them after mass. So many Christians are in need of companionship with other friends of Jesus! My "Parish Membership Ministry" is designed to help with this issue, but I despair of it ever getting off the ground. Ever since the internet became enmeshed in our lives, it feels as if humans are no longer interested in interacting with other humans at all.

If I can find someone to drive me, or somehow get a car, it may be better to go to church instead of having someone come here, even if the pain of this exercise is extraordinary. The arthritis I inherited from my mother's side of the family is fairly awful, but I look upon it as an ascetic practice, so even if there is a lot of extra pain, I think I will accept if someone offers to take me, and I will work hard to try to get SOME kind of vehicle, since getting transportation is an awful ordeal at present.

Something tells me that it is beneficial to the spiritual constitution to be treated with disdain. Jesus was treated with actual contempt, scorn and ridicule, yet he managed to maintain his modesty and gentle demeanor throughout his entire ordeal here on earth. I must do the same, to the extent I am able. I am really working on my patience, at present. Being in constant pain for 20 years has added to the difficulty.

Despite it all, I continue to live my hermit life, praying unceasingly, with my mind on Him throughout the day, relying upon the many examples of hermits through the ages in order to form my holy vocation.

I pray for you, as I hope you pray for me.

May God bless us all.

Silver Rose

GOD'S DIVINE PURPOSE FOR TRUMP

 

Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked.

For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods,

the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,

who has no favorites, accepts no bribes;

who executes justice for the orphan and the widow,

and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him.

So you too must befriend the alien,

for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. 

DT 10

Typically, I am NOT political. But because my Christian brothers and sisters have elevated Trump to an almost prophetic position and are WIDELY advertising how they believe that God has placed him into office for some Divine purpose, I HAVE to point out a possible purpose that these Christians have not considered. 

 
First of all, what they do not appear to realize is that this so-called "divine purpose" may be to punish American Christians for drifting so far into arrogance and selfishness that The Lord is going to show us just how damaging our haughty, entitled selfishness turns out to be.

There is more than one way to "take down" a people and force them to recognize their sins and thereby adopt a more humble stance at the feet of our God.

Our entire American history is one of taking advantage of the labor of enslaved people. The resulting wealth and comforts would not have been possible, had not our country started out by just TAKING a huge swath of land from the people that had lived here for thousands of years and importing enslaved people from Africa into it, who were then forced to work. 

The forced work of enslaved human beings was monetized for the benefit of white people, leaving the Africans that we violently forced into slavery to live barely sustainable lives of abject poverty - a poverty, by the way, that has mostly been perpetuated by racism, down through the centuries.

That soul-killing and unfair poverty is mostly responsible for most of the crimes committed by the poverty-stricken peoples, but that is an entirely different topic. But I do have to point out that it has been proven that undocumented immigrants commit crimes at far less of a percentage than Americans, which makes sense. They don't want to be caught doing crimes, because they don't want to be sent back to whatever situation they have escaped in their home country.

Now, hundreds of years after TAKING this land from its previous occupants, we have all this animosity against poor brown immigrants who have LIKEWISE been wage slaves, earning very low income in our factories, watching our children, cooking and cleaning in our favorite restaurants, and laboring in various other, rather hidden, places.

Animosity against these modern slaves is being fomented to the point where Trump has vowed to immediately deport all undocumented immigrants, with total disregard for the giant hole that will be left behind.

One thing that these Christian nationalists do not realize is that these modern slaves are paying more than 96 BILLION dollars a year into American programs and taxes from which they cannot typically obtain benefits, such as Social Security and Medicare. 

What happens when they are kicked out of the country and all that lovely money goes away?

The second question Christian Trump supporters should ask themselves is whether or not they will be encouraging their sons and daughters to go to work at the meat processing plants or in the fields, cultivating vegetables. Who, exactly, is going to do these jobs?

Some Christians THINK they are elevating and recognizing a prophet, when it is entirely possible that they are actually enabling the instrument of their own doom - because THAT guy is going to put us all into a type of abject poverty that is tantamount to slavery where only the top 1%, the oligarchs, will hold all wealth.

The party's over, folks.

Just wait and see.

I pray for all of us, including immigrants.

Silver Rose

OFFERING THE PAIN OF DISEASE AS AN ASCETIC PRACTICE

 

Part of a Christian's spiritual program has, for centuries, usually included the imposition of some sort of painful, uncomfortable or inconvenient practice that imitates the suffering of Christ and thereby draws us closer to Him. Christ's pains were taken on purposely, willfully, in reparation for the sins of the world. He certainly did not merit the terrible punishments he received. He offered them to the Father in order to atone for our sorry selves.

Also, to the Catholic mind, humans are body and mind BOTH. We are not spirits who occupy a body for a time and then dispose of it when we die. IN FACT, we are promised that we will rise in our glorified bodies at the second coming of Christ. Our bodies are not awful things. We were all made in the likeness and image of our beautiful Lord but, due to the fall of mankind, the body's demands have become disordered and require tempering and balance.

Thus, part of the purpose of penitential practices is to gain control over the selfish and pleasure-loving body and ego and keep it in proper balance with our spiritual selves. Ascetic practices require and build the discipline necessary to the task. In fact, the instrument with which one whips oneself with cords, made from leather or rope, that is still used in some monastic communities, is itself called "the discipline."  Also a "scourge." 

John the Baptist wearing a garment of camel hair.

In the Middle Ages, pious people might wear a hair shirt under their clothes so that all the day long their skin would be pricked and irritated by it. Some of the saints recommend praying for hours with arms outstretched, in imitation of that agonizing position that Christ was made to take while nailed to the cross.

If one does not know the purpose of these practices and instruments of penance, it can seem odd to the modern mind, but I am not prepared to launch into a detailed explanation of the need for ascetic practice because I am usually writing for a community of people who are generally aware of the basics of Catholicism and monastic life. If you have stumbled across my blog, however, and you are not familiar, I will be happy to refer you to some excellent articles that explain these things. Just send me a comment here or find me on Facebook and I will be happy to speak with you. It need not be a public conversation, as I do not publish all the comments I receive.

All sorts of things are considered penitential. Giving alms to the poor, for instance, is considered a penitential practice. Any time we give of ourselves, it involves some sacrifice on our part, and it can be considered to be a penance, especially if done intentionally.

20 years ago, when I became so disabled that I was no longer physically able to work outside the home, I decided to live as an independent monastic, in the tradition of a hermit, since my circumstances forced me into a semi-solitary state. My hermitage has to be located in a fairly urban area because my disabilities require medical supervision and care. The situation of an "urban hermit" is not the traditional setup, obviously, but the location of my apartment is somewhat rural, and it works for me.

Being physically disabled is not considered to be an ideal state in which to embark upon monastic life. It is a difficult life that requires a lot of discipline and a degree of penance, depending on the order one joins. I would never be accepted into a monastic institution in my current state or age of life, as I would be an increasingly inconvenient member of the community. 

In fact, 40 years ago, before I converted to Christianity, I was already beginning to experience some physical problems when I was a nun in a Hindu convent. Even then, I found it extremely difficult to carry out the many daily hours of physical labor that were required. I was often on the cooking schedule, for instance, making the one daily meal for the community of 12, with little or no help, and I remember having to endure quite a lot of physical pain because of all the standing. In fact, it injured me, and I spent a few weeks in a wheel chair, simply from the stress of it, as the disabilities from which I currently suffer were making themselves known at that time. This was inconvenient to the community and caused some of the women to become irate. It was a distressing situation that most monastic institutions are careful to avoid, when they can. 

Me, on the left, when I was in the Hindu Convent,

sitting with friends and the swami

If I had not left to get baptized and convert to Catholicism, I do not know how long they would have allowed me to stay, considering my poor physical condition. My intellectual and spiritual gifts were not in high demand. Half of the nuns were already seniors who were occupying the few jobs that were primarily of an intellectual nature. Their need was for young, physically able people who could keep us fed and the house clean and everything in good working order. This is not an unusual state of affairs for a monastic institution of any religion.

The nuns, eating our main meal of the day

(with the swami visiting)

We meditated a minimum of 3 hours per day, which was a delight, but the newer nuns were also required to do all the menial labor jobs, such as house cleaning, cooking, and that sort of thing. We also performed the daily worship services, which involved some gardening, hiking, and flower preparation. These positions were avoided by the senior members, but I enjoyed the quiet physicality, even if it did hurt my body.

I have always been a voracious reader, and while I was in that convent, I read all the books that we sold in the book store and our catalog by mail. The books by and about the  Catholic mystics and contemplatives, such as St. Teresa of Avilla and St. John of the Cross, Jane de Chantal and St. Francis de Sales tugged at my heart strings.

Saint Jane de Chantal

I read the Desert "fathers" and "mothers," as well as the modern writers, such as Thomas Merton. I couldn't get enough of the mystics! I realized that Catholicism had struck my heart in a way that Vedanta never could. So I left the convent, became Christian, and went back to work in a secular job as a legal secretary. But I always missed monastic life.

Therefore, when I had to retire early, it quickly occurred to me that I could replicate convent life for myself in my little urban apartment and live as an urban hermit, dedicated to God, and live a contemplative life, similar to what I had experienced in the Hindu convent, the schedule and setup of which had been modeled on Catholic contemplative orders. I missed monastic life very much and was thrilled at the idea that I might return to it, in my own fashion.

Saint Anthony the Great - Hermit

My inability to do physical labor would not inconvenience anyone but myself. Keeping a monastic schedule would prove to be difficult, of course. The older I became, the worse the illnesses grew. My Rule of Life had to adhere to the spiritual principles and aims of a monastic hermit life while at the same time accommodating my increasingly inconvenient physical condition. It took some time to come to grips with my limitations and to accept the fact that, like Brother Lawrence, who practice the presence of God, I am not one of those "high class" monastics whose practice appears to be perfect.

With regard to my prayer schedule, I adjusted that to accommodate the fact that simply caring for oneself, without help, takes a terribly long time. My solution for that was to be flexible about the timing of my formal prayers and to "pray without ceasing" at all times of the day, through various methods. (I have dealt with this in my blog post about MY RULE OF LIFE, which you may find HERE)

The Jesus Prayer is dear to my heart, and I pray it throughout the day:

"Lord, 

Jesus Christ,

Son of God,

Have mercy upon me,

a poor sinner."

In the early stages of organizing my hermitage, I realized that, rather than having to artificially create pain or inconvenience to fulfill the penitential aspect of the life, I could simply make use of the terrible chronic pain and disfunction which I suffer naturally. I offer it to God in reparation for my own sins and the sins of the world. 

Since I live in an urban setting, albeit close to a rural area and the Rio Grande River, I do have neighbors and, although I do not seek them out for entertainment, I work hard to be helpful to them, when needed. These are small offerings, but they are intentional. 

In these ways, I have transformed, in my mind, what could be considered a personal disaster into a blessed life for which I am grateful. I am a living offering to the Lord, even though my living space has few of the accoutrements enjoyed by monastics living in traditional monastic quarters.

In the beginning of my hermit life, I was more physically able, and I regularly attended mass, but I am not longer able to do that, so I stream the Mass from various providers on the internet. I have almost no spiritual support from my parish. I was finally able to get someone to bring me the eucharist at home, but it took a couple years of calling them and begging for it.

Some Catholic Churches wonder why their membership is dwindling.

At any rate, you cannot live this life and be emotionally needy. As a modern-day hermit, one has to be confident in one's connection with The Lord and His love for you because the parish will not likely reach out to you unless you were well known to them prior to becoming disabled and/or you have a lot of family that belongs to the parish. Every community has its own personality, of course. I am just saying that lack of spiritual support from your church family may be one of those painful things you will have to offer up and, even if you have no interest in becoming a hermit, disability and isolation may force you into that position, so you might as well find a way to enjoy it and embrace the vocation that has been thrust on you.

Saint Melania the Elder

as a Hermit

Another challenging situation to offer up is that growing disabilities make it more and more difficult to make one's hermitage look like a place of prayer. I have no help at home, even though approved for 28 hours of housekeeping services a week by Medicaid because there are simply not enough people available to do this kind of work.

I am learning to accept things as they are and to be grateful for everything, even though there are dishes piled up in the sink. Art projects and rosary makings, meant to supplement the income, present a colorful, happy mess on the art table. The mail has piled up because I am now blind in one eye, and it takes a long time to slog through it. The floor needs sweeping. But, in my mind and heart, I am in Heaven with God, our Blessed Mother, and all the saints and angels.  I am surrounded by the entire Heavenly Court, singing the Lord's praises and enjoying the consolations that being near The Lord bestows.

I predict that we are going to have a growing number of senior Catholics turning to this kind of life, as they grow older. Baby boomers are retiring at the rate of about 10,000 people PER DAY, many of them in fragile or ill health, and it has occurred to me that all of those who are Catholic could do the same as what I am doing. There are SO MANY resources in the forms of books and videos, YouTube talks, and  streaming mass that the guidance is available, even if you do not have a single human person leading you down this path. The ascetic practices become a natural outgrowth of one's normal life as a senior person.

Living as a hermitess is also considered to be, in itself, a penitential type of life. Many baby boomers find themselves alone at the end of their lives. Perhaps this vocation is meant to be.

Saint Marina

as a Hermit

Whether you construct your life as an "urban hermit" or a wife and mother, or a single working person, the method of adopting the intentional offering of life's sufferings as a spiritual practice can be used by anyone. You don't need a hair shirt or a scourge. Offer up all of the naturally occurring sufferings! In this way, all of it becomes spiritual currency. 

God bless us all. 

Silver Rose