Being a Hermit is a Calling

Being a hermit is a calling. Rachel, Hermit of the Diocese of Nottingham, writes:

“The call to hermitage is often a gradual realisation, a growing affinity with solitude, a desire to know God in the ordinariness of simply being alive.”

Introverts

First, being an introvert and being a hermit are not the same thing. Being an introvert is one’s temperament, not one’s calling. You are born an introvert, you are called to be a hermit.

Vocation

Second, being a hermit is a vocation. That is a distinct calling from God to come away from the world and be with him alone. This is not something a person chooses, but is a response to an inner urging of the Holy Spirit. If you’re called to be a hermit, you will know it. No one has to tell you.

Pursuit of God

Third, the most important part of the vocation of the hermit is the pursuit of God. Solitude may have some value in itself, but for the Christian hermit, the whole point is to know God in the depths of ones inner being. It is to be alone with the Alone.

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Jay N. Forrest

I am a Christian Teacher focused on the Pursuit of God through Prayer, Contemplation, Silence, Solitude, and Simplicity. I became a Christian in 1983, attended Bible school, and eventually earned my Doctorate in Ministry. I served as a Protestant minister for 27 years and also spent about a decade practicing Buddhism. In 2005, I was baptized into the Catholic Church, but have since joined the Episcopal Church. I live in the desert southwest of the United States.

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