There is a Catholic hermit who is praying for us, but he is cold as Winter approaches because he can't afford a stove!
Fr. George Byers, C.P.M. is building Holy Souls Hermitage in the North Carolina Mountains. His mission is to pray for us. Just today, Holy Mass was offered according to the 1962 Missal for the intentions of his benefactors.
In his spare time over the past year, he has been tutoring me in my seminary courses while I undergo cancer treatments, keeping me from falling behind and actually putting me ahead of schedule with my courses.
However, Winter is approaching, and he is getting cold. From his blog:
But there are some things that you can only learn with experience. In the desert, it’s not so much the daytime that’s a penance, it’s the nighttime freezing temperatures. There are wild ranges of temperatures from hellishly hot to the cold that one would behold when hell freezes over.
Hermits who live in rain forest mountains[!] can know a wild range of temperatures, though perhaps not so intensely severe. Yet, the other day, it went — in the fahrenheit scale — from the mid 80's during the day down to the 30's at night. 50 degrees in about six hours. Yikes! Great football weather. Great lumberjack weather. But hard to live in outdoor temps 24/7. Which is the reason for a cave, or, lacking a cave, a hermitage, with a stove, with stove pipe!
The cost is $1,506.98. I can’t solicit donations under Obama’s administration. So I won’t. I’m just informing you of my personal project!
This morning it was near freezing again. Tomorrow it might just freeze altogether. And then… Winter!
If anyone were to force me to take a donation against all my protestations, such a kind soul would have to send a check made out to George David Byers, and send it to: 102 College Station Drive; Suite 3 — PMB 233; Brevard N.C. 28712 USA !"
9 comments:
Check written, he had me at the picture of himself holding a crucifix and a chainsaw! Love this guy.
Cathy
Praying for both fathers :-)
Will promote the hermit cause and God bless!
I just sent my donation.
...most necessary check written this month, probably this year.
Done.
I got three things in the mail today asking for money, all for very good causes. Then I remembered seeing this on Fr. Z. Once I saw it on your site also, the choice was clear. Nothing is more important than praying for our priests. We need to support Fr. Byers for what he is doing for all of us. :-)
Crescat said you set up a PayPal account for Catholic Hermit for us to donate to, but I cannot find it anywhere....can you provide any info where it might be found??
Thanks!
I have been praying for you these several years and continue to do so.
God bless you!
grace & peace
MP
A reminder that canonical hermits who are not priests must support themselves while priests receive monthly stipends from the Church. While I am happy people are supporting this hermit, it should be known that there are, in the US alone about 60 c 603 hermits who must live in similar situations without the assistance of the Church. This is true of religious men and women who, after years in community, have become vowed hermits under c 603 and thus left the security of their congregations as well as lay persons who have done so.
This hermit was a religious, and he made an arrangement with the bishop where he will raise his own money. He does not get a stipend either.
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