A hermit is a person who lives alone, devoting himself to prayer and meditation. Old Testament figures such as Elijah and John the Baptist were hermits—they withdrew to the desert to fast, pray, and be alone with God. The word “hermit” comes from the Greek eremites, literally “a dweller in the desert,” because those living alone in this way invariably went to the desert.
While this withdrawal from the world might seem like a misanthropic renunciation of normal life, the motive of Catholic hermits is quite the reverse. Hermits love mankind so much, and are so repentant for the sins of our nature, that they desire to devote their whole lives to praying for God’s mercy and grace upon themselves and their fellow-men.
The first known hermits in the Catholic Church were St. Paul of Thebes and St. Anthony the Great, both of whom lived in the 3rd century A.D. They fled persecution on the one hand and worldliness on the other, living undistracted in the desert. Despite the privacy afforded by their wild surroundings, they became famous among Christians and were sought out by followers, whose numbers grew steadily. These followers adhered to and passed on the ascetic lifestyle of these holy hermits.
From the Eastern deserts, this way of life spread to the West. Hermits gradually joined together and formed monastic communities such as we are familiar with today. Now, many hermits live in community, coming together for Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, but living in separate houses and working in solitude. Carthusians and some Carmelites, for example, live according to this eremitical rule.
Hermits such as Paul and Anthony are not common, but on occasion some great and unique soul is called to this total abandonment of the world. St. Charles de Foucauld was one of these souls—and he lived quite near to our own time! Accurately detailed and irresistibly gripping, Jean-Jacques Antier’s biography of St. Charles reveals the life and holiness of this hermit with an Augustine-like beginning. Order your book today from The Catholic Company!
