Hidden Life

“Those whose hearts are locked up with Jesus walk this earth in the present age as princes in disguise. They move around in the temporal duties of life like private detectives in a distant and unfriendly nation. They are breathing prayers, and thinking thoughts, and nursing hot fires of love, and ruminating on vast and amazing events that stretch over coming times and distant worlds. They are silently loading themselves up with a divine dynamite, that Daniel and Jesus both tell us will sone day grind the kingdoms of this present world to powder. Their joys are hidden, for it is written ‘that a stranger doth not enter meddle with it’. And their sorrows, also, are cloistered in the ear and bosom of God, for they know they need not look to the people of the world, and not even to the people of the church, for heart-felt sympathy; and so, like venturesome pioneers, they leave the crowded walks of life and traverse the great, solitary mountains, and take up claims on new and unexplored territory, and hold communion with the unseen God, and are more at home amid the great snowy mountain peaks of the divine perfection, then with the crowds that live only for the flesh and time.
The saints are called in Scripture ‘the hidden ones’. Their life is doubly hidden, in the Son and in the Father. God says to them, ‘call unto me, and I will show you great and hidden things’. Their life is constantly fed by secret prayer…..... God is working, as it were, by stealth, in this present age, and moves softly amid the affairs of life, as if shod with wool.”
… George D. Watson, ‘The Heavenly Life’.

Our Focus

I was thinking about the verse in the Song of Solomon - "Draw me, we will run after Thee." I am stressing the "me" and then the "we". If we maintain our focus and single eye on the Lord and nothing else, (beholding Him as in 2 Cor. 3), then others will also be drawn to seek Him. This reminds me too. of what the Lord tells us in John, that believing on Him is our true work.
And St. Seraphim of Sarov says that if we abide in His peace, then many others will come to salvation through our peace.

The Mass Media

I have a strong sense that the mass media/popculture idolatry is coming to its fulness and a point of no return.
We need to find that place in the wilderness where we can flee from it. I am not speaking of a literal wilderness, I am certainly too old to live off of the land, but the true meaning of what that wilderness is in our inner life and our spiritual reality. I am speaking of the wilderness of that hiding place and inner chamber such as Isaiah 26:20 or Ps. 91 or Rev. 12. The place where we will be protected from all this deception and intrusion into our minds.
I pray we will all be able to come to a deeper insight and pursuit of that place apart from all the madness going on these days.

Inner Life, a quote from Tozer

"A German philosopher many years ago said something to the effect that the more a man has in his own heart, the less he will require from the outside; excessive need for support from without is proof of the bankruptcy of the inner man.

If this is true (and I believe it is) then the present inordinate attachment to every form of entertainment is evidence that the inner life of modern man is in serious decline. The average man has no central core of moral assurance, no spring within his own breast, no inner strength to place him above the need for repeated psychological shots to give him the courage to go on living. He has become a parasite on the world, drawing his life from his environment, unable to live a day apart from the stimulation which society affords him."

.....from "The Root of the Righteous" by A.W. Tozer, published in 1955.

God Has Spoken

A Prayer of T. Austin-Sparks~~~
Lord, Thou who readest all hearts, how reticent we are to add words.
Thou hast spoken, and Thou hast spoken more than we can carry out in a lifetime.
Why Lord?
And so our need is very real,--great, --a matter now of capacity, God given;
to receive, to be able to receive.
O Lord, help us at this time in this very real need,
to speak, to hear, to further profit.
Around us there is help, O Lord, around us Thy help at this time.
For Thy Name's Sake, Amen.
1966.

A Help in Prayer

My heart desperately wants to go to the beach. I have not been in over 6 years. It is the only place on earth I really want to be. I would probably be the same way about the desert, (I have never actually been to one, but the ocean has the same effect on me). Being a desert pilgrim is something that is an inward reality for me, though I have never had the opporunity to experience a natural desert.

The ocean speaks to me of the vastness of our Lord, and also His silence, and the silence we enter into in deep prayer.
I set this old beat up watercolor I did many years ago in the window opposite where I sit in the bed to pray. I noticed the light was coming through it and keeps changing as the day goes on. This makes the painting somehow "alive". Anyway, it has given me a great uplift. So, I am sharing this photo. I wish you could see how the light moves through the painting.

The Monastic Call and the Problem of New Age Influence, part 2.

The Monastic Call and the Problem of New Age Influence, Part 2

The Jesus Prayer, not a Mantra.
‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
The traditional Jesus Prayer, (one form of continual attention) gives us a protection against methods that could be disconnected from who He is in us. It is the inner invocation of His Holy Name and comes from a deep love and devotion to Him.
The beauty of the Jesus Prayer is that His Name becomes the main thought in our minds and hearts, and it is really the opposite of having an empty mind, as new age philosophy promotes.
Through His Name, we have a renewed mind that flows in His thoughts (1 Cor. 2: 16), and we keep our minds stayed on Him as a Person, and on the Holy Trinity (Isaiah 26:3). His Name comes to dwell in us and becomes a constant presence. Through the invocation of the Holy Name we approach the fulfilling of 1 Thess. 5:17, ‘Pray without ceasing.’
Techniques that incorporate the concept of a ‘mantra’ should be avoided, they are not Biblically-based, nor focused on communion with Christ personally, but relate more to new age techniques or non-Christian religions. Much of the centering prayer movement also seems to be very technique-oriented.
Here is a quote from something written to me by a friend who has the gift of discernment in these matters:
“I think I have two reasons why I am uncomfortable using the word ‘mantra’. For one, it is a distinctly non-Christian term, borrowed from non-theocentric practices. It refers to a word given to one who is trying to empty his/her mind and simply become ‘mindful’. At a higher level it is used by those who are trying to ‘connect with themselves’, or with a ‘higher power’ in the universe. This may all sound very noble, but it comes from spiritual systems that quite often deny the existence of a personal God. And, if they do believe in ‘god’, they do not acknowledge the one true God as revealed to the world in Jesus Christ. As a Christian, during contemplative prayer I may use an anchoring word, or phrase, but the purpose is totally different. This brings me to the second reason why I prefer not to use the word ‘mantra’. I am not trying to simply get in touch with myself,or a Higher Power, or the Universe. I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives within me. Almighty God is my loving Heavenly Father. There is nothing ethereal about it. I am a real person in communion with a real triune God.” ~Used by permission.

These words from my friend speak so profoundly to this issue. Closely relating to the Jesus Prayer is dwelling on the Lord’s prayer (or some other verses of Scripture that have been quickened to us). It is very good to memorize Scripture, and the Holy Spirit will spontaneously quicken our minds with these verses. The renewed mind is drawn to dwelling in Scripture as its environment of life. This form of prayer is also called Lectio Divina (Divine Reading or praying the Scriptures), an absorbing of the Word and dwelling upon it, and waiting upon the Lord to speak to our hearts. Sometimes these forms of prayer will be experienced as intercessory prayer. As you are praying, you may find certain individuals come to you and a sense of prayer for them. This can be practiced at any time, while driving, waiting, or other times that you may think are wasted.

The Cross is the Key.
The monastic life, and indeed any serious Christian life, is one of a deep discipleship, the taking up of the Cross, not the development of self, or self-affirmation, or self-exploration as the new age philosophy is.
The embrace of the Cross, the love of the Cross, because it is the manifestation of who He is, this is the witness we are called to give. ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me’ - Mark 8:34. This is going to mean something different for every person.
In our society, it isn't really a question of deprivation or abject poverty for most people, but the asceticism (or self-denial) of simplicity. Seeking to remain simple and transparent before God is a form of asceticism that we must desire in the midst of the great material wealth we live in culturally. We should think twice about any teaching on prayer that is not based on taking up of our Cross and denial of the self-life. This includes the realization that in ourselves, we are unable to attain anything, we find our place in the life of prayer in abiding at the foot of the Cross in the knowledge that in ourselves we can do nothing, even prayer itself must be from the divine source of life. ‘If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God’ - Colossians 3: 1 – 3.
...end of article. (See part 1 to read the complete article.)

~January, 2007. written by Susan Stanley (Sr. Brigid)

The Monastic Call and the Problem of New Age Influence

The Monastic Call and the Problem of New Age Influence, Part One

Contemporary Culture.
We live in a decadent culture that constantly bombards us, even to the point of brainwashing, with noise, idolatry, immorality, political correctness, ridicule of that which is Holy, and disdain for the Biblical witness. This is the particular suffering we face in our time and in our area of the world. As Abraham, who suffered over the decadent state of Sodom and Gomorrah, we are in a similar situation. If you think about it, the things the society forces on the person seeking godliness is a very real form of persecution. It is not the martyrdom or violent persecution faced by believers in other parts of the world, but is a mental and spiritual form. It is a very real warfare. This is part of the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ, and the Scripture tells us that all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

NewAge Influence.
This affluent culture has also been greatly influenced by new age thinking, and that very affluence leads to the ever increasing, but never satisfied desire to find self-fulfillment. Many people, and even those sincerely seeking to understand their calling, are unaware of just how much the new age movement has affected their lives. There is a great lack of the gift of discernment, which we desperately need in this time regarding this issue. We need to stay vigilant in much prayer as we pursue this life, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide us.
The monastic realm is especially vulnerable in our time. There has been a very strong new age influence in many Orders, and also in contemporary writings on the subject, with many classic writings of the Saints and monastic writers being reinterpreted and republished with a new age slant and commentary added. It is best to seek out the original writings of the Saints and early fathers of the church that are free from added influence. One very good source is http://www.ccel.org/.

Prayer.
We need to pray for the gift of discernment regarding our prayer life. There is so much that has become intertwined into teachings on prayer and the monastic life that relates more to therapy, self-fulfillment, and "stress reduction", than to true prayer. Because of the complicated nature of life as it is in our time, many people conceive of monasticism and contemplative prayer as a form of personal therapy because people are very unhappy and unfulfilled, and the culture constantly tells them they should seek their own fulfillment, and have the right to it. However, life is not really about that. In fact, it is actually about Jesus Christ, and the surrendering of our lives to Him, and living for His purposes. We must be very careful about any so-called ‘spirituality’ that moves away from the Person of Jesus Christ. Our personal relationship to Him, and the Holy Trinity, is the key to a sound, Biblical form of contemplative prayer, and anything that moves in another direction is problematic, such as ‘self-awareness’ or abstract ‘nothingness’ concepts.
We need to be watchful of anything that would cause a disconnection from our Lord personally, or gets too heavily into techniques. The whole point of a life of prayer is an ever-deepening relationship with Him, and the ever-deepening awareness that we can do nothing without Him, especially prayer itself. He is our life, and ultimately is the One praying in us through the Holy Spirit. We are completely dependent on the Holy Spirit for any practice of prayer we may be led to - Romans 8:38. The Holy Spirit always leads us to Christ, not to the emptying of the mind or some other abstract form. We seek a stillness totally focused on Him as a Person, the gaze of the mind and heart, fixed on Him and on His Holy Name, not the personless concepts of new age thinking. He (personally) leads us beside the still waters, there must be that connection to the Shepherd of our souls.
There are different ways of prayer, but realistically, in modern life with its many responsibilities, necessities, jobs, family life, etc., those of us not living in monasteries have to find what will actually work for us, in whatever time we can find. The essential thing is at least some time each day of remaining in His Presence.
The most important thing in the inner life is the faculty of attention. That is what He is truly after, the ‘single eye’ mentioned in the Gospel. That is what He desires, our absolute undivided attention, nothing in-between. If a person commits to a regular time, and even if it seems fruitless and dry at first, the fact of the commitment to it is key, and He will increase it. It is that space or desert within that becomes our place of communion with Him, if we are willing to abide there. ‘I have set the Lord always before me’ - Psalm 16:8.
Often silence is experienced as we pray and it flows from a response to who God really is, and the awesomeness of His Presence. Silence can also be seen as the Rest of God, or as in the book of Hebrews, a ceasing from our own labors, thereby silencing anything of our own efforts.

....end of part 1. To be continued Written in January 2007 by Susan Stanley (Sr. Brigid)

Four Hundred Years of Silence

Christmas Eve, 2008

I was thinking recently of the four hundred years of silence that lies between the book of Malachi in the Old Testament and the first advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. In keeping with that, I would like to post a portion of a letter I received in 1990. I was cleaning out some old files and came across this. It was written in a letter to me from George Moreshead who spoke at a home fellowship meeting we went to in the Altanta area. Although this is 18 years old, the message is vitally relevant to our current times.
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"Given the spiritual level of the Body of Christ, with the consequent immaturity prevailng among older as well as younger believers, can we hold out for..... and does the Lord look for.... anything more than the Malachi condition, which pertained, apparently, all during the last 400 years--at the very least--before the Lord's first coming.

'Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other,
and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance
was written in His presence concerning those who feared
the Lord and honored His Name.' .....Mal. 3:10.

May it not have been to the members of just such an unformed fellowship of His lovers and expectant ones in Jerusalem with whom Simeon and Anna were related and to whom Anna 'spoke about the Child'.... as to those 'who were looking forward to the redemption of Jeruslaem'. Lk. 2:38 ?

If we allow our minds unwittingly to form a preconceived pattern or image of what we expect to see dwelling in and with our groups....and then, thereafter even unconsciously, continually measure our groups over against that preformed concept of what we believe the Lord is working for among us, may we not run the risk of ending up somewhere out in left field and also missing the Lord's goal.... and of straining in the flesh to achieve what can be attained only in and by the Spirit .... as with the Galatians. (3:3)?

Could it be that the Lord is asking and expecting at the moment no more than our simple gathering together.... as those who love Him supremely and want nothing more than Himself.... just to talk of Him and share what he has given us of Himself either from the Word, or from our other reading, or through some personal, practical experience on the job or in the home (and even perhaps at times just being there as a channel for His Life to flow through.... and out into the room and into the spirits of the others present for their uplifting and quickening)-- a Malachi scenario in this time preceding the Lord's second coming? Would He have us to reduce down to something of a zero condition together-- a coming down to ground floor, as it were-- and from there, without care or preconception as to what and when and how He will take us higher up corporately, let His Life draw us and beget among us just that form and expression of Himself that will issue organically from the growth of His Life in and among us ("Behold the lilies of the field: they toil not, neither do they spin......)"
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Inspiration in Prayer

Yesterday I took some time out and went to this special place near my home. I have not stopped thinking about this place since then. It became a place of refuge for me as an inward reality. I have received strength in the Lord from being there. Click on the photos for a larger view.

What of the Night?.....Isaiah 21

In Isaiah chapter 21, we have the question--- Watchman, what of the night? This is preceded by the statement, The Burden of Dumah. Dumah in Hebrew means 'silence'. So... in a sense you could say that this is the burden for silence. I was reminded of a quote from Malcolm Muggeridge that goes something like this......
"The media has tried to become the Logos". ( And he said this many years ago!)
For some time now, I have had a sense of foreboding about the internet. I know the Lord is using it in spite of the corruption, and I have made many close connections through the internet, even things that have led to fulfilling what I believe is God's will for my life, but at the same time, I am also seeing that at some point, believers will have to reject the media. The commercialization of media is tied in with the merchandising of mystery Babylon. I have already rejected television, several years ago being literally unable to watch commercials, putting them on mute for a long time, finally giving up television altogether, sensing that the commercialization was the true evil of it.
My only source of news and current events is the internet and some radio. Yesterday while looking at a news story on an online news source, as I was trying to read an article, a figure of a man walked out of an advertising box and walked across the screen on top of the story and walked back into the ad box, seeking to draw my attention to the ad. Something in that struck me as really evil. Not only evil, but as if the gall of the media has come to a fulness. If it were possible, I think the advertisers would send hologram figures into our living rooms. And indeed, something like that may exist eventually, if this thing goes far enough.
....end part one, (I hope to write more on this subject)......

St. Brendan and our Feathered Friends

"On the approach of the hour of vespers, all the birds, in unison, clapping their wings, began to sing a hymn, `O Lord, becometh Thee in Sion, and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem' (Ps. lxiv.); and they alternately chanted the same psalm for an hour; and the melody of their warbling and the accompanying clapping of their wings, sounded like unto a delightful harmony of great sweetness.

Then St Brendan said to the brethren: `Take bodily refreshment now, for the Lord has sated your souls with the joys of His divine resurrection. ' When supper was ended, and the divine office discharged, the man of God and his companions retired to rest until the third watch of the night, when he aroused them all from sleep, chanting the verse: `Thou, O Lord, wilt open my lips;' whereupon all the birds, with voice and wing, warbled in response: `Praise the Lord, all His angels, praise Him all His virtues.' Thus they sang for an hour every night; and when morning dawned, they chanted: `May the splendour of the Lord God be upon us,' in the same melody and measures their matin praises of God. Again, at tierce, they sang the verse: `Sing to our God, sing; sing to our King, sing wisely;' at sext: The Lord hath caused the light of His countenance to shine upon us, and may He have mercy on us;' and at none they sang: `Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity.' Thus day and night those birds gave praise to God. St Brendan, seeing all this, made thanksgiving to the Lord for all His wonderful works; and the brethren were thus regaled with such spiritual viands until the octave of the Easter festival.".....source, The Celtic Christianity e-Library, photo from FreeFoto.com

Pentecost 2008

We minister at a local retirement center in our area on Sundays and it has turned into a wonderful expression of praise and prayer. This past Sunday the service for Pentecost was particularly blessed with a sense of unction. I wanted to share a picture of me as I prepared before the service with you. You can hear an audio of this entire service HERE.

A Message from One of His Creatures ??

On a recent drive through the Cloudland area of NW GA, I actually saw one just like this crossing the highway and heading into the woods. A sighting like that is quite rare. I did a little research on Mtn. Lions and found that they are solitary in nature. I keep pondering on this.................

Come Apart a While

A place that is a part of my everyday. It is my own backyard.

Surrender

I recently began re-reading a very old copy I have of a biography of Francois Fenelon and came across something that really spoke to me. The quote is in the introduction of the book.

"Consider your life as a perpetual perishing and lift up your mind to God above all whenever the clock strikes, saying, 'God, I adore your eternal being. I am happy that my being should perish every moment so that every moment it may render homage to your eternity.'"
.........Jean-Jacques Olier.




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The Scattered

I was listening to an audio sermon by T. Austin Sparks and he mentioned how 1 Peter is written to the "scattered". I was thinking how much that speaks of the way it is now.
He was also going into the concept of the church being "one new man" (Eph. 2:15) in the earth, and though we are scattered, we always recognize those of a like spirit, and that is what proves we are only one man (i.e, The Body of Christ is one).
I keep hearing "one Lord, one faith, one baptism". This verse keeps resonating in me.

My first attempt at Iconography

It has been a couple of years since I wrote this one, I have another unfinished one, and recently got some inspiration to get back into this.

This one is of Holy Abraham.

A Favorite Photo

One of my favorite photos (taken by a friend).

Pilgrimage

Song of Solomon, first chapter, verse 14 ---

"My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi."

Engedi - This is the place where David was sheltered in the caves. Spurgeon says that all locations in Song of Solomon are out of the way places.
None of these places are "Jerusalem". In other words they are all temporary sojourning places. Perfect picture of the pilgrim state.
From my journals, Aug. 2, 1991.
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The Wilderness

I have been thinking about Revelation chapter twelve, and the woman (Church) fleeing into the wilderness where she is sustained. I often think about the part that says that the earth helps the woman and swallows up the flood that is after her.
Sometimes you just have to go out and be in the wilderness, so yesterday I took a drive in the countryside. I have been resting in the spiritual help I received from this drive all day today.

Link to a Great Article

After a long absence due to serious writer's blockage, I just wanted to share a really good piece from one of my favorite blogs, The Pen of the Wayfarer. The subject is true worship and it really spoke to my heart.
Go here to see this piece.
I had to make the link the hard way, by typing it in. If anyone could tell me how to link a post directly, I would really appreciate it.
Would also appreciate your prayers regarding this blog, I really hope to get back to writing.
"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer."
....Psalm 19:14.

Saint Pachomios

Here is an excerpt from a really good article about St. Pachomios (a.d. 390). To read the whole thing, go to:

http://www.stpaulsirvine.org/html/orthodoxy.htm
(Scroll to the bottom of the page for the link to the article.)

From "The Spiritual Father in the Pachomian Tradition"

by Fr. Steven Peter Tsichlis

"The Man of Scripture - The Scriptures play a large role in the development of Pachomian spirituality. The place of the Scriptures in his approach to the Christian life may be seen from the following passage which describes his early formation as a monk under Palamon: When he (Pachomios) started reading or recited God's words by heart, he did not do it in the fashion of many other people, but he strove to comprehend it himself, each and every thing through humility, gentleness and truth, according to the Lord's word, "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29)."

It is clear from this passage that Pachomios not only read the Scriptures, but he also knew portions of the Bible "by heart" and could recite them from memory. This is not an altogether unusual achievement in fourth century Egypt. Bishop Aphou of Oxyrhnychos, an eremitic (hermit) Bishop who was a contemporary of Pope Theophilos of Alexandria (385-412 A.D.), required of each candidate for ordination to the Diaconate a minimum knowledge of Scripture comprised of twenty-five Psalms, two of Paul's letter and part of a Gospel-- all by heart.

What is unusual in this passage is the way in which Pachomios reads the Scriptures: he seeks to interiorize them, to make them a part of his being. He approaches the sacred texts as a way of life, i.e, only one who lives the content of the Scriptures-- "humility, gentleness and truth"-- can understand their meaning. For him, "the Holy Scriptures pointed the way to eternal life with terseness of expression", they "are signs for us" and it is through the benefit of these signs that we have come to know that the fathers of our time are their (the Apostles) children and imitators, so that it may become known to us and to the coming generation, to the end of time, that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. The Scriptures, in their terseness of expression, delineate the contours of continuity in the tradition, and it is precisely the interiorizaiton of the Scriptures which makes the spiritual father an embodiment of the true tradition."
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Many thanks to Fr. Tsichlis for this article. I hope the link works!
~Desert Pilgrim

What to Remember

From Psalm 137, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning."

Take "Jerusalem" to mean the heavenlies, or the things that are above. Watchfulness (attention or focus) is the key to the spiritual life. Being watchful can be taken to mean not forgetting about something. Another familiar verse to go along with this is from Isaiah 62, "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, (margin "the Lord's remembrancers"), keep not silence, And give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."

In other words, there are those called to hold the Lord in their memory constantly. Therefore, watching is tied to the memory, and spiritually speaking, I believe you have to make a choice to retain the Lord in your memory or thoughts, and not to be in a state of forgetfulness of Him.

I believe Scripture is admonishing us to not be forgetful of the higher life or our Lord.

Another thing to remember:

I believe "remembrance" of our mortality is one of the key things in the spiritual life. I always go back to the verses, "Lord teach us to number our days, that we might apply our hearts unto wisdom", Psalm 90:12; and also, "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:13,14.

I believe it is a foundation of wisdom to keep our mortality always before us. It keeps us directly in the present moment, and also saves us from many projections of "big ideas" or visions for the future, that may not be led of the Spirit.

In 1989 I had a suspicious test result, that proved to be benign, but I was unable to find that out for about three weeks. For some reason there were complications with tests results and the doctors were uncertain about it. I really came face to face with my mortality during that time. The Lord really used it to shake me profoundly, and I came out of it in a new place. I count it as a great blessing looking back on it.

On another note, there is another side to this. There can be a really good forgetfulness. From Isaiah 43:18, "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old, Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth..." And where would we be without the divine forgetfulness of our sins? For He has said in His covenant promise, ".... their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." Hebrews 10:17.
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~Desert Pilgrim

The Hermitage Within

For those of you familiar with the book "The Hermitage Within" by an anonymous Monk, you might be interested in a little commentary I have done on a few excerpts from the Foreword. Any of you that don't have this book, you should get it. It's easily obtained by an internet search and is not very expensive.

Excerpts~~

1. The description of the book - "Here we have a book devoted to the innermost activities of the soul".

~~~Keep this in mind, it is speaking of an inward reality.

2. "Our activity is in God Himself, (Who is somewhere else that is different from everywhere else)."

~~In other words, whatever active thing we are doing is actually in God. Our activity is transfered to another realm. This should remain in the thoughts of those of us who are in circumstances requiring going out into some form of active life even though we may be also called to solitude.

3. "We are not deserting our fellow-men."

~~ This is a very important concept. Maybe the most important concept for us to try to retain, and help others to understand. Many years ago, I had a strong grace of the Lord through which I realized that even if I were stranded on a desert island, and never saw another human being again, my life in Him would still be corporate, and have a corporate function. That was the very beginning of my understanding the call to solitude. A foundation was laid in me that the solitary life is for the benefit of the Body of Christ and even the world, and has an intercessory function. Knowing that solitude was actually corporate was something I had to understand before I could understand anything else about it, or go any further with it.

4. And finally, ...."Every Christian, whether called to solitude or not, still must have an inner hermitage."

~~We all must have a prayer closet, an inner chamber in which we draw aside to be with Him, and pray to our Father in secret. Wonderful concepts for us to ponder, as are so many others in this book.

~Desert Pilgrim