Posted on by Kurt Bodling

hermits in the world

“So how does semi-eremitism apply to you? In more ways than you might think.


“On a weekly basis you might go to church only on Sundays and holy days. At the very most you might have one other day or evening dedicated to the work of the church. But all through the rest of the week you choose to find your own rhythm between solitude and communion in the family and the work place. You learn this from studying, praying, and practicing. You cultivate the hermit within. You meditate. You cultivate awareness of your relationship to God and all creation. You trust that you cannot wrong. Your inner voice is the voice of the Holy Spirit.”


Talbot, John Michael. The World is My Cloister: Living From the Hermit Within. (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2010), pages 57-58.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

The Little Brothers of Jesus

“The followers of Charles de Foucauld have no special pastoral task allotted to them. They do not argue with people, try to convince them, try to convert them, try to make them amend their lives. They seek only to be with them, to share their lives, their poverty, their sufferings, their problems, their ideals: but to be with them in a special way. As members of Christ, they are Christ. And where they are present, Christ is present. Where He is present, He acts. Their being, their presence, is then active, dynamic. It is the leaven hidden in the measure of meal. This of course is a strictly contemplative view of the Christian life, and unless it implies a complete sacrifice of oneself, of all one’s ambitions and worldly desires, it cannot be effective. But once it is properly understood, it is utterly simple. So much so, that it is terrible in its simplicity. It is the simplicity of the Gospel itself.”

The Vatican has announced that Charles de Foucauld will be canonized.


Merton, Thomas. The Inner Experience: Notes on Contemplation. Edited and with an Introduction by William H. Shannon. (NY: HarperOne, 2003), page 144. [this text written in 1959]

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

unity within plurality

Ambrose Traversari, 15th cent Camaldolese Humanist and Prior General


“Reformer and papal legate on behalf of ecumenical work with the Eastern Church, Traversari* promoted unity within plurality–a concept he saw expressed concretely within the Camaldolese tradition by the union of the active and contemplative dimensions. He promoted dialogue on the ecclesiastical front by his participation in Church unity negotiations, as well as on the home front by forming humanist discussion groups….”

*Ambrose Traversari was a 15th century Camaldolese Humanist and Prior General.


Belisle, Peter-Damian. “Overview of Camaldolese History and Spirituality” in Belisle, Peter-Damian, editor. The Privilege of Love: Camaldolese Benedictine Spirituality. (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2002), page 24.