About

I’m a Catholic priest in good standing, with full priestly faculties of the Catholic Diocese of Owensboro, Kentucky, from the time of my priestly ordination on 4 January, 1992, and as confirmed by the Pontifical Right Institute of Consecrated Life, The Fathers of Mercy, in Auburn, Kentucky (into which I remain incardinated). I don’t know, off hand, how many particular sets of faculties I’ve received from (Arch)Dioceses right around the world. I’m up to date on police checks and protection programs.

The Bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, has welcomed me as a hermit on one of the ridges of the Blue Ridge Mountains in his Diocese and also provided me with full faculties from the Diocese, the same as any of the other priests of the Diocese.

The Fathers of Mercy have agreed to my being a hermit since it is said that it would be good to have some prayers for the Fathers of Mercy. I am eager to do apostolic work, always, but I look at eremitical life as entering more fully and intensely into the New Evangelization: if priests are sanctified, they will be all the more available for the sanctification of those called by the Lord to go to heaven.

I’m a hermit by choice, by way of life-long desire, ever since my vocation at two and a half years old, both to the priesthood and to be dedicated to the sanctification of the priesthood. For much of my life I didn’t think it was possible to be a hermit, but I finally figured out that it has to do with trust in the Lord. With this realization I gave up a coveted teaching position of Scripture, Theology and Liturgy at the Pontifical College Josephinum (where I was also a Spiritual Director, Confessor and Formation Advisor). I had standing invitations to teach in major seminaries right around the world, with the last, very hard to turn down invitation coming in from an Archdiocesan Major Seminary just minutes before entering my new hermitage.

We hermits are as different one from another as Saint Jerome the hermit was from Saint Paul the hermit. There’s lots of time for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Prayer of the Church, Rosaries and time before our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In consultation with my Spiritual Director and Confessor, not to mention my Superior General and the Bishop, Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to prayer and penance especially for the sanctification of priests in the purgatory of this world and the next. Along with this, I write on such subjects as the Immaculate Conception and the Priesthood, the Spiritual Life and the Priesthood, Confession and the Priesthood, and so on.

Accompany me as I start out being a hermit to assist my fellow priests and bishops to bring souls to heaven.

P.S. There’s always a nay-sayer! One or two have questioned a hermit having a presence on the internet. I can only say that I’ve been a bit of an academic my whole life. I need advice and assistance to make a go of this project. The internet has been a source of networking — without which I could not have made it this far — and this, I think, is within the scope of the providence of our dear Lord. Thanks for trying, now, to understand! Offer a prayer for me as well! And on this kind of thing, read the next P.S. …

P.S.  Comments are welcome, but, know that hermits are rather particular about the kind of comments accepted in the hermitage! Comments must be directed at the post at hand. Some comments may be commented on elsewhere on the blog. Other topics or greetings or whatever are welcome to be sent to the email, which is holysoulshermitage using gmail dot com.