THE
P RTAL
December 2018
Page 12
A modern day hermit
Jackie Ottaway and Ronald Crane on what a hermit does and is
P erhaps the
word “hermit” produces an image of someone living in primitive conditions in a
wooden hut in a remote part of the forest? It maybe that you picture Mother Julian in her anchorage in
Norwich? That there are modern day hermits, could well come as a surprise to you.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has two
entries about hermits. At numbers 920 and 921 we
read:
Without always professing the three evangelical
counsels publicly, hermits ‘devote their life to the
praise of God and salvation of the world through
a stricter separation from the world, the silence
of solitude and assiduous prayer and penance.’
They manifest to everyone the interior aspect
of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal
intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of
men, the life of the hermit is a silent preaching
of the Lord, to whom he has surrendered his life
simply because he is everything to him. Here is a
particular call to find in the desert, in the thick of
spiritual battle, the glory of the Crucified One.
In the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham we
are fortunate to have a number of hermits. One such
lives in Walsingham. The Portal has been privileged
to visit Brother Robert Augustine and produce this
interview with him.
He lives in an house on the edge of the village. He has
accommodation for a guest, and a beautiful oratory in
original plan back in 2013 when I bought the house
the back garden.
only it was an Anglican plan at that stage and then it
T he P ortal has heard a lot from Br Robert lately. became a Catholic plan from 2014 onwards. You’re
He has lots of new projects and one of them is The never quite sure what the Holy Spirit has in mind. And
Rosary Fellowship. Br Robert said, “Well since the there was this period of being in private vows with
article in T he P ortal I’ve had a number of enquiries. permission to wear a habit which is how I came into
It’s interesting as there has been interest from outside the ordinariate. That was not sustainable long term.
the Catholic Church as well as within so that’s quite
encouraging. It was launched on 1 st November.
“I wanted to be how I put it - kosher. I wanted to look
other Roman Catholic Religious in the eye on equal
“It sort of came out of the Lay Conference to which terms, and until there is a community, the only way
I did not go. But there was a feeling after that. The was to become a hermit. I’ve taken temporary vows for
‘oblate’ thing came up in conversation after my talk three years. I am half way through now as a kind of lets
at the Colloquium on Religious life. The laity needed see what happens. If the Lord requires me to stay on
something. People were asking are there going to being a solo act here that will be fine by me. but when
be oblates at my house. Anything is possible, and I’ve had a guest stay here it has always been a delight
I wouldn’t rule anything out. The Rosary seemed a to share the offices, somehow they are more powerful
good start.
if two or three are gathered in his name.
“The idea is to have a small community, that was the
“It’s my hope, I am anxious about it naturally, but Ø