Perpetual Profession and Eremitic Consecration

Altar ready for the Eucharistic celebration of Perpetual Vows
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Prince George, BC
Photo by Rebecca Gilbert - Prince George

A "stand alone" page with this title is now in the menu under the heading of this blog.

The pictures in a photo album provide a display for the outline of the celebration. Some additional information includes the Formula of Profession and the Solemn Prayer of Consecration, as well as a link to a web photo album.

The Assumption of Mary -Body and Soul- into Heaven

Coronation of Mary by Diego Velázquez: Spain 1599-1660

The Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven is a glorious feast of the triumph of the Plan of God for humanity.
Mary excels every other human being after her son Jesus the Christ. But her holiness is just the same as the holiness we are called to. It is the holiness of listening to and responding to God's invitation of Grace. It was not easy for her and it is not easy for us. But it is possible with God's grace because "All is possible with God".

Today we rejoice with Mary because in her humility she has become great with the greatness and the holiness of God. But above all we rejoice with her because she is totally one of us, and where she is not only we can be but we are called, urged to be.

I can think of all the Beatitudes of the Gospel welcoming her "home" today, and she herself joining in the praise of God who has done great things in her, Holy is his Name.


In this magnificent feast, with the background of the liturgical texts of Mary's triumph today God granted me the final confirmation of my vocation as a contemplative, as a pray-er and a Diocesan Hermit. My heart sings for joy and rejoices in the Peace of the Lord as well as in the goodness of the local Church community that God has called me to serve with my life of prayer. This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad.

With a grateful heart I delight especially in greeting Mary with my favorite hymn from the Liturgy of the Hours:

Mary the dawn, Christ the Perfect Day;
Mary the gate, Christ the Heavenly Way!
Mary the root, Christ the Mystic Vine;
Mary the grape, Christ the Sacred Wine!
Mary the wheat, Christ the Living Bread;
Mary the stem, Christ the Rose Blood-red!
Mary the font, Christ the Cleansing Flood;
Mary the cup, Christ the Saving Blood!
Mary the temple, Christ the temple's Lord;
Mary the shrine, Christ the God adored!
Mary the beacon, Christ the Haven's Rest;
Mary the mirror, Christ the Vision Blest!
Mary the mother, Christ the mother's Son
By all things blest while endless ages run. Amen.

Text: Anon., alt. by the Dominican Sisters of Summit, 1972

Perpetual Profession as a Diocesan Hermit

Today we are celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a title of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, with long and wide tradition in the Church. The Carmelite Orders of women and men have her as their Mother and Patroness under this advocation which connects their lifestyle dedicated to prayer and asceticism with the prophet Elijah and other early hermits who inhabited over the centuries the caves of Mount Carmel in Palestine.

As a hermit myself I too cherish this feast and I'm grateful for special blessings received on this day over the years. I'm especially grateful this year as I prepare to celebrate my perpetual profession of vows as a hermit next month.

The adventure into the eremitic life started for me ten years ago with an intense process of discernment after many years living the cenobitic religious life. The last eight years living as a hermit are the culmination of a long journey of faith and soul search. Initially, when the invitation came strong and clear, I was scared and reluctant to try the path of the hermit. With God's Grace and Mary's powerful intercession I was able to take the first steps and thus discover and embrace my deeper vocation in a lifestyle that is made of paradoxes and rich with the simplicity of what is essential in life.

The accompaniment of an exceptional spiritual director has been a key instrument of God's grace and guidance. There have been many others also who made it possible for me to come to this point in the journey. Their help, encouragement and support, and even their challenge have made it possible. I am deeply and prayerfully grateful to them all.