"Find God in Solitude, Nurture His Presence in Your Soul"

The title is quoted from a homily on You Tube by Fr. Matthias M. Sasko, F.I. in New Bedford, Massachusetts.  F.I. means Franciscan of the Immaculate. [1]  This short homily, about 3 ½ minutes, is worth listening to along with many of Fr. Matthias Sasko's short homilies [2].

A hermit is a person who chooses quietness and solitude in life.  To be alone with God, there is a necessary condition and that is utmost humility.  In solitude one ought to not only avoid distractions mentioned by Fr. Matthias Sasko, but also avoid making noises by sharing one's opinions, whether in correspondences, in the comment section on the internet or in a blog.

It seems a bit odd for a commentator who claims to live as a hermit finds it necessary to tell about it online, and odder even when the purpose of the homily is to keep one's prayer in secret, whatever its content.  Telling others that one attends Mass daily (in a second comment under reply), however holy and devoted one may see oneself as, seems to expose that secret, perhaps revealing unintentionally the hidden pride inherited from Eve.

Drawing a distinction between a recluse and a hermit amounts to hair-splitting.  Both a hermit and a recluse live in seclusion.  "A hermit (adjectival form: eremitic or hermitic) is a person who lives in seclusion from society, usually for religious reasons." [3]  "A recluse is a person who lives in voluntary seclusion from the public and society. The word is from the Latin recludere, which means "shut up" or "sequester".  Historically, the word referred to a hermit's total isolation from the world." [4]  A recluse is more extreme in the practice of "total isolation" according to the definition quoted, but even with a minimum amount of seclusion, a hermit ought to avoid the making gratuitous comments.

Perhaps ignoring the comment section is a better way to enjoy You Tube videos than being curious about what some people have to say and finding an unncessary and a prideful need to opine.


[1] https://www.catholicdoors.com/misc/abbrev.htm
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2x5tEH1gT8
[3] https://www.askdifference.com/recluse-vs-hermit/
[4] Ibid.