God Pulls OUT the Hermit with Help from Santa Rosalia

The hermit had a horrendous attack yesterday, but last night God pulled the hermit out of it. This is the way it is, even though the spiritual da said the hermit must "pull out of it", the hermit cannot. Only God can pull the hermit out.

A phone call came late last night from a Catholic woman the hermit met under God-provided circumstances in Cathedral San Carlos y Borromeo in Monterey, CA, over five years ago. The whole meeting and friendship experience was orchestrated by God through Santa Rosalia, a hermit of Palermo, Italy who lived in a cave for 25 years, about 800 years ago.

The woman calls about once a year, unexpectedly each time, but always when the hermit has great need. It is as strange as Santa Rosalia's appearance to a young woman in Palermo, circa 1600's. That is how we know about Santa Rosalia today, through her miraculous appearance and message. She is the patroness of Monterey, although I did not know that when the saint and I began our adventure there.

The woman, last night, helped the hermit much with understanding, encouragement, and hope. This woman's family has had more suffering than what one could write in several blogs, but perhaps some of it should be written in the victim souls blog, as it deals with victim soul offering. This friend was interested in the three s', and the hermit told her it has been extended to nine s'. Then she laughed and said the tenth "s" should be "suffocation," as she has felt this in her isolation with so much suffering of her family. The hermit reminded her that Jesus suffocated to death on the cross. This fact made each of us feel much better, and stronger, not that we like it that Jesus suffocated. But we like it that we can know a bit what He endured, and that we should endure likewise.

The hermit went to early Mass, bad Catholic as the hermit felt to be with such darkness of the day before, such horrendous temptations. Going against the advice of the friend to stay clear of the confessor, the hermit not only went to confession, but when at Mass a man asked her to help with the Cup of Precious Blood, the hermit did so.

In confession, the hermit apologized deeply for having loved the Church more than loving God above all else, and admitted the tremendous passion held for over 12 years for Catholicism, and that this passion must be more so for God alone. Then the hermit expressed openly the attack, and the desire to see a psychologist, to which the confessor said a psychologist would not at all be useful for what the hermit is experiencing. The hermit admitted that the point, in the hermit's mind, was to be helped to leave Catholicism and be guilt-free for doing so! But that was under the attack, and the hermit had been freed last night with consolations.

The hermit admitted deep acceptance of having been etherized and sent out into the galaxy, of having no place in the Catholic Church but of having a place with God, and of total helplessness to "pull out" of these states when they come, and that only God can pull out the hermit. Yes, it is a helpless situation, and very frightening. Far easier to have manifestations of the devil outright.

But the confessor said that the hermit DOES have a place in the Church as part of the mystical Body of Christ, and that contemplatives ARE a part of the Church--and here the hermit interjected that Jesus said Mary chose the better part, but that this is not lived out in the Church. The confessor questioned a bit, and the hermit explained that even the Diocese paper is nothing but articles of action, action, and action. The editor had told the hermit that MAYBE there would be a "hole" for an article on contemplation, months down the road, and MAYBE once a month. Does that seem like choosing the better part? And, the hermit expressed that maybe the Church values contemplation and contemplative life in theory, but in practice it seems more about action and activity. Of course, Mass is the counter to action and is contemplation par holy excellence.

The confessor listened with a smile and yet with understanding. He said that the devil attacks the hermit because the hermit is enduring and is steadfast, and loves God very much and is a threat to the devil. The hermit does not see this, but will accept, for it makes sense out of chaos.

The hermit even admitted the thoughts of staying away from the confessor, and that being a good friend's advice, but no, the hermit had decided that the confessor can just lump through this with the hermit. This made the confessor sort of laugh, but he did not say he would not lump through it.

So the hermit is to be steadfast and just keep coming to Mass, receiving the Sacraments, and believing that the hermit has a place in the Catholic Church. And the hermit is to consider the Lord's Prayer, and the part of "lead me not into temptations," to which the hermit admitted having prayed for release from these attacks.

The hermit has returned to the Agnus Dei "cave", somewhere in the galaxy (the spiritual da asked if this meant 'cyberspace' and the hermit said sort of like that) with Santa Rosalia this morning, and there is disorder in the cave that must be organized, put away, and cleaned.

Thanks be to God for pulling out the etherized hermit from the black hole in the galaxy.