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WAY OF LIFE
The Laudaterian way of life is one of consecration to God, which is fully expressed in communal prayer. The prayer of praise to God in common with the members of our eremetical community forms the bond of charity which unites each hermit together in a spirit of solitude, silence, and simplicity through the monastic disciplines of poverty and work, and within a hidden apostolic fruitfulness.
The Laudaterian Hermit responds to a call to live the Gospel in a spirit of repentance through common monastic principles within a simple desert-like environment of solitude, silence, and contemplation. This characterizes both the exterior and interior demension and expression of our eremetical life.
LAUDATERIAN SPIRIT
Laudate is a Latin word which means praise. Dominum is the Latin word for Lord. Laudate Dominum is the name of our monastery hermitage, and describes the very essence of our eremetical vocation. The Laudaterian Hermits regard their monastery as God's sanctuary in the desert, and as a spiritual temple which the members of the hermit community build and maintain through their charity of praise to God. Therefore, communal prayer of praise is the most important element in our common life of liturgical prayer.
For the Laudaterian Hermit, prayer is the heart and soul of her/his life, and the formal and solemn singing of the Divine Office throughout the day is it's pulsebeat.
Therefore, the specific charism of the Laudaterian Hermits of the Contemplative Heart of Mary is to serve and worship our heavenly Father in union with His Son in the bond of love with the Holy Spirit through this simplistic beauty of song and chant.
Following Christ into the depths of Trinitarian life and love, the Laudaterian Hermit thirsts for the hidden life of union with God in contemplative prayer. Hidden in Christ, we are sons and daughters of God, and brothers and sisters to one another. This sprirtual harmony of love is expressed and made manifest each time the hermit community comes together with one mind, one heart, and in one spirit to pray each liturgical hour with reverent and mindful solemnity.
By preferring absolutely nothing to the Work of God, the Laudaterian Hermits unite themselves with the Universal Church and to Christ, our High Priest, through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and by daily offering to God an unceasing and loving sacrifice of praise, by which they make intercession for the needs of the whole Church, for the conversion and repentance of themselves and all sinners, for the protection of all creation, and for the welfare and salvation of the whole world in His Name.
THE LAUDATERIAN HERMIT COMMUNITY
Laudaterian Hermits of the Contemplative Heart of Mary live according to the Rule of St. Benedict and our guidelines, which are
adapted to the fundamentals of the Rule. We faithfully follow all the observances of the contemplative life as it is lived at Laudate Dominum Hermitage. We observe an enclosure and stay within the confines of the monastery complex unless work or necessity
causes us to be away.
We seek union with God by living a simple and hidden life of prayer in solitude, silence, and seclusion. Through the discipline of manual labor, penance, vigils, and fasting we strive to follow Christ's example and imitate His life.
Through vows of poverty, celibacy, obedience, stability, and conversion of life, the Laudaterian Hermit is consecrated to God and united with the hermit community.
To symbolize their consecration to God and the common contemplative life they share the laudaterian hermit brothers and sisters wear a simple white habit with a blue scapular, a black belt, and a small crucifix. The hermit
sisters wear a blue veil.
We obey a superior, and through the bond of charity, hold all things in common. We live apart in separate hermitages or cells; we work alone and in silence; we share one common meal a day which is taken in silence while listening to spiritual reading. The hours spent in personal prayer, meditation, and lectio are done in seclusion within each hermit's cell.
Laudaterian Hermits are strongly committed to maintaining a bond of spiritual community through their common liturgical prayer. The hermits come together daily for night vigils, and then six times throughout each day to formally sing the Divine Office in our chapel. The love of Christ, which unites us as children of God in the Eucharistic liturgy, and the sanctification of the day through the liturgical praise of God , which we raise to the Father with one voice, and one heart as brothers and sisters in Christ, create this bond of spiritual community among us. These major elements provide a balance for our solitary life, and anchor it with spiritual strength, and the loving support of a community rooted in the love of Christ.
Those interested in discerning the Laudaterian Hermit vocation for themselves may write to:
hermitcall@webtv.net
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