Some people debate online if I’m a hermit because I asked to leave parish life or because I was kicked out of so many parishes. The fact is that I asked to leave parish life because I wasn’t willing to fight with lay “Eucharistic Ministers” about their lack of Eucharistic vigilance. The problem is that I thought the next Novus Ordo parish would magically have more care for the Eucharist. Of course, I was wrong.
Thus, I switched entirely to the old seven sacraments. The pain of the battle in the Novus world led to the glory of now using all the ancient rite sacraments—which I would not give up for a billion dollars to my favorite pro-life organization. God frequently uses evil for good.
But let’s say those lying about me were correct about me and I was actually exiled. There is a little truth to this insofar as even though I’m in good standing, I’ll never be invited back to parish life, at least not before the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary when the old-ways are restored in doctrine and liturgy. So, in exile, I run a charity called “Peregrino Hermitage Limited.” It seems like a oxymoron because the first word from the Spanish means “Pilgrim.” But the second word “Hermitage” obviously implies a monk living in stability. So which one am I?
I was lackadaisically flipping through a glossary in the back of a Desert Fathers book and I came across this fascinating definition of what happened to some men and women celibates in the early Church: Voluntary exile, Alienation and Expatriation (Greek: Xeniteia, Latin: Peregrinatio)—Making oneself a “stranger and sojourner.” (1 Pt 2:11) usually in an uninhabited place or a foreign land.
Notice therefore that in the early Church, exile was tantamount to pilgrimage in a foreign land. Not fitting into one’s diocese (or any heretical diocese) may make oneself “a stranger and sojourner” by the time Athanasius was facing an entire world of Arians claiming to be Catholic. One such monk seeks stability, but may find only Xeniteia or Peregrinatio. And so, the holy fool wanders. It matters not if it’s voluntary or involuntary exile—God can use him either way. Such a monk living as an expat anywhere in the world is called to both contemplation and action. As the Dominicans said, Contemplare and Contemplata Aliis Tradere: To contemplate and to hand over to others the fruits of contemplation. (I add: Even if this be online.)
I was hoping my exile would end in red martyrdom by now (as enough people are annoyed by me) but as it appears this odd life of living in the Peregrino Hermitage must continue. Like my namesake David, I need to build the Lord of Hosts and worthy chapel and altar in this new hermitage. Thanks to all who have decided to donate to Peregrino Hermitage Limited. Even if you can’t give again, what we have in savings will one day build a little something better. Such a hermitage may one day be a stable exile in the USA and/or a launching pad to be a missionary “a stranger and sojourner” in a foreign land. Either way, I hope to one day live in something slightly larger than a condo as a priest. Until then, I’m very thankful for all the tremendous blessings in my life, especially God’s grace and friends like you.