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Sara Maitland: desert silence

In Christian Century (March 2012 issue) author Sara Maitland (A Book of Silence, 2010; How to Be Alone, 2014) has written of her annual journey to the Sinai desert seeking meditative silence. From the article:

I feel a strong spiritual affinity for deserts. For the last six years I have lived as a semihermit on a moor in southern Scotland, which is isolated, wild and, to me, extraordinarily lovely. However, it is not a desert, so every fall I go to Sinai for a week. In order to be able to afford this—silence not being very profitable in the 21st century—I am employed by a travel company to introduce other people to desert silence. The company, which hires members of the Bedouin tribe as hosts, has a serious ecological commitment and a deep, predominantly Christian spiritual agenda. The expedition I work on, however, is not a standard retreat but a nondenominational exploration of silence itself. One consequent privilege is to have travelers from a wide range of traditions—including Muslims, Buddhists, Jews and people without any explicit religious affiliation, as well as Christians from across the spectrum.

URL: http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2012-03/pursuit-silence

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Hermit caretaker wanted (Spain)

An historical hermitage, Our Lady of the Rock in sanctuary in Catalonia, Spain, is advertising for a hermit, but neither a monk nor ornamental hermit. Here is the write-up by the Spanish website Local:

Our Lady of the Rock (Mare de Déu de la Roca), which sits on a rocky outcrop high above the town of Mont-roig del Camp in Catalonia, uploaded the unusual job advert to its Facebook page on August 18th.

The year-long position includes free accommodation and consists of “guarding and looking after” the sanctuary and offers a stipend of €1,000 for the year.

The job is open to “anyone who is over 18 years old” and requires the successful applicant to carry out “all the proper functions of a hermit” which include keeping the hermitage in a good state of conservation during his or her “continuous and permanent” year-long residency.

While the job title of hermit might bring to mind a robe-wearing monk who shuts himself away from the world, the successful applicant at Our Lady of the Rock will actually be required to interact with the public on a regular basis, dealing with the sanctuary’s catering and accommodation services and guiding visitors around the religious site.

“The hermit must possess knowledge of the history of Our Lady of the Rock,” the job advert states, adding that one of their responsibilities will be to “describe the traditions and customs to people who visit the sanctuary”.

The hermitage includes a small chapel carved into the rock of red sandstone. The first written mention of the chapel comes from 1299, while a flagstone in the chapel is inscribed with the year 1591. A second chapel, dedicated to Sant Ramon, is perched even higher up the rock and whitewashed to guide sailors out at sea.

The chapel was immortalized by Spanish painter Joan Miró in his 1916 painting Mont-Roig, Sant Ramon, which depicts the chapel from afar.

The sanctuary is also eager for applicants to be pure in spirit, stating that they should always “keep in mind the religious and cultural character of the sanctuary” and “leave all uncivil or immoral activity outside”.

Applicants must be fluent in Catalan and “have a good grasp of at least one other language”.

URL: http://www.thelocal.es/20150827/wanted-hermit-to-live-in-remote-spanish-sanctuary

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Alberto Gutierrez, Nicaragua hermit

Alberto Gutierrez, who is nearly 80, lives in rural Nicaragua in a one-room hut without running water or electricity. But his hermit life is today well-known because of the rock carvings he has sculpted throughout the vicinity of his original farm for some thirty years. Gutierrez began his practice of rock-carving as a hobby, but his themes and skills remain those of a sociable but discreet hermit. Many travel blogs and video sites describe Gutierrez as a curiosity and a tourism attraction, and while he seems to welcome the attention, little is really known about him.

representative URLs:http://www.theplaidzebra.com/meet-alberto-the-stone-carving-hermit-of-nicaragua-who-lives-entirely-off-of-the-land/; http://expertvagabond.com/alberto-the-hermit/; http://jackandjilltravel.com/alberto-gutierrez-sculptor-nicaragua/

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Hermit nuns today

“Embracing the eremetical life” is a recent Today’s Catholic News article profiling three hermit nuns in Indiana. They share an eclectic path to eremitism, each being mature in age and having been married, two with children and grandchildren. Each has a rule specific to themselves, governing their overall apostalate. Ech wears a habit, though no habit is required of them. And each lives alone and is self-supporting. The article highlights characteristics common to all Catholic hermits.

URL: http://www.todayscatholicnews.org/2015/08/embracing-the-eremitical-life/

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Mt. Zhongnan hermits

A colorful overview of Chinese hermits today is presented by the View of China website. Highlights the famous Mt. Zhongnan (Mt. Chung-nan) and its long history of nurturing hermits. Discusses professional hermits, Buddhist and Daoists, as well as casual hermits who visit the mountains on weekends to meditate and absorb the atmosphere of the famous Zhongnan.

URL: http://viewofchina.com/modern-chinese-hermits/