Scenes from a Hermitage

For anyone who wonders what a 21st century hermitage looks like, I thought I'd share a few pictures.


The plaque by the front door was made by a dear friend and very talented woodworker.

 

When you enter the house, to the left of the entryway is my prayer corner.  On the wall is this beautiful oil painting of a Wild Goose in flight, the gift of my blessed sister and brother in Lindisfarne, Sue and Thomas. (My photograph doesn't do it justice!)

To the right of the Goose is my prayer table.  The icon is of Christ, the Blessed Silence, said to be a patron of monastic life. The chalice and paten are from my abbot and abbess at my novicing and reception as a priest in Lindisfarne, and the stones on the paten are from the Holy Island of Lindisfarne itself, which I visited with another brother in community, Chris.

 

And here is my habit, which I wear for retreats, or if I am participating in liturgy.  The seal on the scapular, a black-and-white image of the Wild Goose logo, was made by a wonderful artist on Etsy.  I have two more if anyone's interested -- use the comments field, or email me for information.

So that's a bit of a visual tour of the hermitage.  I've been looking forward to sharing these with those of you who have expressed an interest in this particular Way of Living out the New Monastic life.  It is a help to me to have some external expressions of this inward path.  I hope it is a help to others as well.  Blessings!