| Title:
A Way of Desert Spirituality: The Plan of Life of the Hermits of Bethlehem Author: Eugene L. Romano, HBHJ
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A hermit's life is special. It is a hidden life of prayer in the silence of solitude where men and women strive for that purity of heart which most clearly mirrors the Heart of Jesus. It is a life of selfless love which -- for the first time in history -- has been codified in Canon Law. Although hermits live in solitude they are not isolated from the common concerns of a suffering humanity. On the contrary, as this newly revised and explained Plan of Life of the Hermits of Bethlehem reveals, they find themselves very much in the midst of the troubled world giving witness by their lives of solitude and prayer to the absolute primacy of God who alone can satisfy our human longing for truth and love. |
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Father
Eugene L. Romano, the Founder of the Hermits of Bethlehem who put
together this Plan of Life, was ordained in 1957 for the Diocese of Paterson where he served as a
parish priest and in various other capacities for 18 years before obtaining permission to establish
the Hermits of Bethlehem. Within a very few years, the work expanded to include 12 hermitages, a
road, a common house, a new enlarged chapel, and St. Joseph's house for guests and family visits.
Hundreds of people have been drawn to its isolated setting to share the desert life of the Hermits.
On December 8, 1997, Bishop Frank J. Rodimer, Bishop of Paterson, New Jersey, canonically erected
the Hermits of Bethlehem from a Public Association of the Christian Faithful to a Laura of Consecrated
Hermits of Diocesan Right. This book defines and explains their way of life.