I recently re-read one of the Resources that we offer on our website (www. ravensbreadministries.com) titled: A Protestant Hermit in Search of Inner Unity by Pierre Lederrey. Originally written in French and published in 2002, it was translated into English in 2003. Daniel Bourguet, the subject was at the time, prior of the Ordre des Veilleurs (The Order of Watchers- founded in 1923). What a perfect definition of the hermit life! Furthermore, the fraternity is without tangible organization or legal status. (How wise!) It considers itself to be an “invisible monastery” that helps each member deepen his or her spiritual life. About two hundred people are connected through it across the French-speaking world.
Bourguet says: “Our rule is very simple. It consists mainly in consecrating three moments of the day to meditation.” No liturgy is imposed, the intent being to allow each Watcher to remain within the biblical tradition he or she finds most comfortable. Indeed, belonging to your own tradition is one of the principles of the movement, which does not want to appear to be a new Church. Daniel will accept the title of being a “Reform anchorite.” But he addds, “I believe that there are as many definitions as there are people.” At that time, he had spent six years in a hermitage, a wooden hut without running water or electricity near St-Jean du Gard.
How much time he spends in solitude depends on how many knock on his door. He says: “One should not confuse my life with that of a recluse. My door is always open. Receiving others is an much a part of a hermit’s life as is being entirely a monk.” When no one is knocking on his door, Bourguet follows a rather precise schedule “in order to avoid useless distractions that remove me from contact with God.” Moments of prayer are interspersed among mundane tasks. His life is based on this centering with the Lord, a meditative state that flees worldly futilities in the spirit of the Desert Fathers.
Bourguet adds: “The search for inner unity, which is that of the monk – monos – meaning precisely that which is unified; note: it does not mean a disengagement from the world. I believe that the more one approaches the Father, the more one is open to others.”
I am entranced by the phrase, “The Order of Watchers”! It reminds me of Thomas Merton’s poem on St. John the Baptist or “On the Hermit Vocation”. The final stanza sums it up:
“Night is our diocese and silence is our ministry
Poverty our charity and helplessness our tongue-tied sermon.
Beyond the scope of sight or sound we dwell upon the air
seeking the world’s gain in an unthinkable experience.
We are exiles in the far end of solitude, living as listeners
with hearts attending to the skies we cannot understand:
Waiting upon the first far drums of Christ the Conqueror,
planted like sentinels upon the world’s frontier.
Do any of these words ring bells in your spirit? Watcher? Listener? Waiter? For me, they all speak to the heart of the hermit calling. I would love to hear some commentaries on them!
Are there Order of watcher members in the USA? I have been a Franciscan for 12 years now but I am leaving the Episcopal church (TEC) for the United Methodist church (UMC) and have to be released from the order.
As a Franciscan, like Francis, I have been torn between the life of a hermit and that of an evangelist. The TEC has solitaries but I don’t believe UMC has anything even remotely similar. I have also been reading a lot about Poustiniks and it really calls to me.
Do solitaries/hermits usually belong to dispersed communities like the early desert fathers or do they go off and have their local church/parish be their community?
Thank you,
Alan
Alan! Thank you for sharing your problems – we all have them and benefit from knowing what others face. The Order of Watchers is only a spiritual construct which might appeal to hermits who (as Thomas Merton wrote) are “planted like sentinels on the world’s frontier.” No doubt you will always be a Franciscan, whether or not formally. You might benefit from a stay at a Poustinia. As I understand them, the periods of solitude are fairly short. The “ravens” who subscribe to Raven’s Bread live in a variety of ways. From what we hear, the most permanent are those who quietly live alone. Hermit groups or lauras do not seem to be very stable in this country and usually have only two permanent members. The laura at Ava, MO is doing well, possibly because it is attached to the Trappist Monastery there. If you can find an understanding guide in the Methodist community, you will be fortunate. God will guide you – as you well know. Our prayers are with you. Stay in touch. Karen & Paul
P.S. We can’t tell if you are in the US but it may interest you to know that we are looking for a hermit-minded person to live in the downstairs hermitage and help out with work around here in exchange for lodging.
I am now 68 years old and live in a little 23 ft. trailer with a dog and three cats. I live on two acres with two brothers suffering from mental illness and alcohol addiction and one of these is close to death. I had another brother die from these two afflictions and tuberculosis about four years ago. Now, my little dog has congestive heart failure and is constantly coughing from fluid in his lungs. In my life I have constantly had a difficult time in getting along with institutions (school, air force, Vietnam war, and so on. ) So, much so that I found that I liked living mostly alone. As a young man I was picked on by high school boys but used to go into the catholic church and pray even though I doubted that there was a God. Then one morning while I was in my bedroom, God came in and visited with me. He said,”I am the Holy Ghost and was sent into the world about two thousand years ago by Jesus Christ.” From then on we were off and running. The second person of the Trinity , Jesus then came and made love to me and then took my soul from my body and off we went into the cosmos eventually to the very presence of God. As I tumbled into the Cloud of God I kept crying out,”I am home,I am home.” God eventually made me into himself and I was God the Father. I got to experience Paradise and it was so wonderful and yet so normal but I had to come back to earth in the end. Now, I sometimes see and talk with God, angels, spirits of people and even at times demons who asked me to join them and when I refused they then try to kill me now and then, but God always lets me know what I must do to stay alive. I hope this is not too unbelievable to you for it is the truth. I have experienced God at least three times with catholic priests so this is not just of myself. But, now I no longer attend a church but seek God all day long in my life-I pray always, all the time and in whatever I do. Even at night I cry out to God- my prayer is my life and I constantly say God, God, all day long as I talk with Him knowing that He listens. I like living alone but am polite to all I see, I pray. Thank you fellow hermits and it is nice to know I am not the only one.
Are there any brothers and sisters in Germany? Are you “accepted” in the Lutheran church? As protestant Christian with deep catholic roots I am on the contemplative way and search my place in the boarderland of the churches. Blessings!
Dear Ruth,
Peace! There are hermit subscribers to Raven’s Bread in Germany. Our ministry operates independently of any particular church because we feel that the solitary, contemplative calling crosses all boundaries, being born of inspiration of the Spirit “who blows where it wills”. We try to build a sense of community among all readers of Raven’s Bread because dwelling “in the boarderland” can be a lonely place. Just knowing there are others who share your calling can be very affirming. Let us pray for one another. Karen F
Dear Karen,
thank you for your very friendly answer! I am very glad to have found you and your work – and to realize that there seem to be others “on the way”…
As an urban solitary, I live a hidden life amongst the trouble, even if I have to go out (because of having no garden) to buy food or to do some work. I live hidden, unknown, even if people can see me in the streets, when I go for a walk. In this life of the most important things is to have people, who know about my existence, even if we never meet.
To see that there does exist a group like the order of watchers, a connection of solitaries, supporting each other, who, beside that, are open for oecumenical aspects, is heart warming. The beatitudes are inter-confessional … they are human and divine…
Thank you for this information!
Blessings
Ruth
As I understand it the Beatitudes are the centre of the Order of Watcher’s day and spirituality. It’s a way of life that reminds me of those lay people who came together to pray in the early years and to live the ascetic life from which the monastic movement arose. Even having to earn money to make a living we can as Col 3:1 says focus on the risen Christ and keep that monos focus of finding Christ present in every moment and every person in love, Beatitude living. I’m so grateful for this site and the comments as a more occasional Internet user.
An Anglican solitary from Australia
Welcome, Brother Gregory!
Thanks so much for your insightful comment. The Beatitudes are really the heart of Christianity, and perhaps of many other religions as well, come to think of it. They certainly give both meaning and challenge to religious life …. and, to hermit life, as well. One of the challenges of the Beatitudes is that we can never say we are living them to their fullest! Tell us more of your thoughts on “Beatitude living”, if you would? Let us pray for one another. Karen
The Beatitudes I feel need to be centre stage in our awareness and to be received as deep blessing and encouragement to respond in love to the living Christ and to be in the right place rather than unachievable aspirational ideals.
Nepsis is crucial here, watching and waiting and being present as best I can, conscious always of being part of community of prayer, responding to invitations and testing in Godly conversations with others.
Thank you for the invitation to respond and may these words of poverty be taken by the Holy Spirit in some form.
Gregory in Australia – city margins
Thanks for taking up our invitation, Brother! Your thoughts will give all of us something important to reflect on. Could you help me out and say more about what “nepsis” is? From the context, it sounds fundamental to the hermit life.
Re the Beatitudes, one of our readers argues that they are more fundamental to Christianity than the Ten Commandments which, after all, are like traffic laws and make common sense. While the Beatitudes are really counter-intuitive but if we truly strove to live them, there would be no need for the Commandments! Should we, as my friend proposes, start teaching them in primary school rather than the “thou shalt nots”??? She feels children can grasp the heart of the Beatitudes perhaps more easily than adults. What sort of world would we have if we had a whole generation of people trying to live the Beatitudes? Pretty beautiful, no? Gratefully, Karen
All the words above, give me additional emotional strength to do this! In college I read Henry David Thoreau and even later visited his cabin at Walden. He said an excellent place to be alone and unknown is in a big city! So true! Not a little town, as I have learned! So, whether I evolve into my “Moveable Hermit” modality in my pickup and travel trailer, or Hermit En Situ in my current big city, I will have the outline of the Watcher as described! Again, thank you all so much!
Michael, Most of us find we are coming full circle when we are finally able to realize our Call to solitude and prayer. It’s a dream we have savored for many years and suddenly the moment comes when we clearly see how to make it happen – usually about the time we hit our mid-life restlessness and know that it is Now or Never! Stay open and the Spirit will fly in! Karen
Saying no to something that stserses you out is important and limiting your social interactions is a good way to gain control again when you feel like you are in the process of losing it, or simply overwhelmed.The difficulty is knowing when enough is indeed enough, because I would usually withdraw so far that before I knew it, weeks had gone by without staying in touch with anyone. As with so many things, balance is the key, and challenging oneself without losing sight of realistic capacities. (As you already wrote.)The latter challenging yourself is equally important in my opinion, to not withdraw into your comfort zone and stay there. I would often feel like not engaging in social activities and look for excuses to stay home, but after forcing myself, the vast majority of those days turn out enjoyable and manageable.I don’t have any friends living geographically close, so usually we keep in touch online and even those I meet face to face most often, I see maybe three times a year in person. But I try to make more of an effort both online and offline, so that those opportunities do not melt away as well, like they used to.
How splendid this sounds! L’Ordre de Veilleurs. I don’t know whether that fits me. But then what does? I’m old, I’ve lived several lives, not all the ones I meant to at the beginning. Now all that seems important is to cultivate solitude and intimacy with the Holy Trinity, which I don’t understand at all.
To watch: for what? To watch for what God has to show? To watch for what our neighbor needs? To watch where the world is weak and needs shoring up with prayer? Simply to watch as a spectator? Tout simplement, veiller?
Wish I were more articulate.
Janet! How well you probe our hearts with your questions, questions born from the wisdom that a well-lived life generates. I’m sure that all you listed should be on our “watchful list” except the one that designates us merely as a spectator. No, we need to be ready to have our hearts raked over, time and again. The Lord will show us the way whenever He catches us sincerely on the Watch. Finding the one that “fits” is actually quite spontaneous. We are grabbed by the need or the ideal and KNOW in our hearts that this is the “bundle” which the Lord means for us to carry at this time. Sometimes it even has our name already written on it! But we aren’t forced and there are no irredeemable mistakes. We will always be given another chance … and another!
Thanks, Karen.
Isn’t God the ultimate Veilleur? My questions – there are lots more! – are between myself and God, which is just the name of what we seek, the Heart of the Universes, all possible Universes – isn’t Veilleur a wonderful alternative name for God, which is just a generic word for…?
Lately I’ve become convinced I need to immerse myself more in the news, to take into my inside self the human visions and vomitings of our world, of the place we love and desecrate – and be moved to tears more often… I hardly ever shed a tear, and even in my own family, there are so many horrors and tragedies to weep over.
Then look at the world.
A friend of mine who lives in SE Asia writes me all the time about the crushed lives all around him. He drinks and drugs to dull the pain, so why can’t I open myself wider, really WATCH, and let my prayers and tears spread the thinnest film of solace over all the anguish of our world.
The other worlds need prayer, too, but perhaps they have their own veilleurs. God gives us what we need, all of us.
I don’t want to say that and mean that, well, he’s given me what I need, so you go to him and try to get what you need. Don’t apply at my door!
I’m reading Catherine Doherty, and with every page, I’m more saddened and gladdened at the same time.
With all Christ’s love,
Janet
Janet, I resonated with your comment about becoming more connected “with the world”. I do not live in solitude, although i wish i did. i know, too, that some of my lack of solitude is my fault — often choosing “doing” instead of being. I call many things the “buffet” syndrome — so much to see, learn, do and not enough time. i want the silence BUT i also want….
But, probably my best way of remaining connected with the broader world is facebook. i am trying to limit my time on Facebook, but i have “liked” pages which speak to my values, whether political, spiritual, religious — or, just plain silly. So I end up with a wide variety of knowledge. my facebook friends are not all people I personally know — there are authors and friends-of-friends, for example. so i can enter into discussions as little or as much as i wish.
if you don’t have the internet but are able to go to a library and use their computer, you can open a facebook account. then any time you are reading something on a website — say, the national catholic reporter or time magazine or even a Maxine cartoon — you can “Like” the page and you will get their postings in your facebook “news feed”. (I hope I’m not preaching to the choir!)
I will leave my email address — anyone who writes, please put “Raven’s Bread” in the subject line….
marytattoo@yahoo.com
The Order of Watchers rings a cord with me, first and foremost because of it’s simplicity. Working a 9 to 5 you have to get very creative about how you approach your spiritual life and the silence you can grab here and there. The “consecrating three moments of the day to meditation.” with no set liturgy is certainly what I have to do. Meditating before I leave work and when I get home are automatics, but if you don’t get creative about the 75 minutes to and then the 75 minutes back , you’re wasting a lot of unorthodox spiritual opportunities. The weekends and days off, holidays, are obviously easier and a stricter schedule can be followed but for who I am and the life I currently live demands creativity; some of the opportunities bear surprising spiritual fruit and the opportunity to be alone in a crowd and the opportunities it gives you to pray for others is surprisingly plentiful.
I think out of all the words mentioned above “watcher” is the one that resonates with me. Often it is an active and creative watching but whether it’s actually watching or watching for (and taking advantage of) opportunities, watching (in a slightly unorthodox way) is something I can definitely identify with.
I was much relieved to read that “the search for inner unity…does not mean disengagement from the world. I believe that the more one approaches the Father, the more one is open to others.” I have often felt uncomfortable with the solitary stance that we must “give up the world,” because the older I get, the more I can see that God is very much working out His purposes IN the world. To wall out the world could very well mean that we wall out God. I prefer to think that the solitary forgoes the useless distractions the world offers, not its people. My door is always open, and except for rare occasions, my time is always available, and whatever virtues God has urged me to evolve are consciously directed toward everyone I meet.