A review article in the Vatican’s official publication L’Osservatore Romano addresses a recent book Il silenzio e i suoi pensieri. L’esperienza dell’eremo nel nostro tempo [Silence and Its Thoughts. The Experience of the Hermitage in Our Time], edited by G. Giambalvo Dal Ben.
The Engllsh-language review is titled: “Being alone for others: hermitism today.”
From the article: “It is not, in fact, being alone in a place that makes a hermit but being in the presence of the Lord in the name of all those who do not fit in, do not know or do not want to, and on their behalf,”
“Hermitage is an experience closely linked to monasticism, which is why I was interested in reading this periodic survey that scholars, journalists, and interested individuals have attempted regarding this vocation. It is the result of meetings organized by the Christian Meditation Center of Florence, and it is not ‘a book about hermits, but a book written by hermits, based on the conviction that to “investigate the meaning of solitary life today;’ it is more useful to listen to the living testimony of individuals who have made this choice.”