INSTITUTUM OF BETHEL

Preamble

“And over all these virtues put on love,

which binds them all together
in perfect unity” (Col 3: 14).

1.1 In Bethel, hermits dwell together in prayer, silence and solitude primarily conforming their lives in
accordance with the unwritten rule of Charity. As the word "Bethel" means the dwelling-place of God
(see Gen 28: 16), and as God is love, so shall love permeate this community of solitaries.

1.2 It is in charity that we root our vocation as hermits; it is in charity that we bind ourselves as
solitary branches into a single trunk; it is in charity that we bring forth verdant leaves and promising
flowers; and it is charity that we produce propitious fruits for the benefit of the sanctification of
others. Charity is the nature, spirit and goal of the eremitical life. May our presence in Bethel be the
mirroring of our “pursuit of perfect charity” as a response to the divine vocation of “leading a life
dedicated to God” (Perfectae Caritatis, 1).

1.3 As hermits, love is our echoing prayer, love is the silent language we speak, and love is our
constant companion in solitude. In the lights and shadows that constitute permanent elements of
human existence, our religious compass is the conviction that “Love never fails” (I Cor 13: 8).

1.4 As Hermits of Bethel, we submit ourselves to the Church as persons consecrated in charity to the
praise of God and the salvation of the world by our life of prayer, silence and solitude. In the hands of
the bishop, we publicly profess to live the evangelical counsels, by a vow or some other sacred bond.
Under the guidance of the diocesan bishop and the pastoral care of our Servant-Leader, we live our
Plan of Life in loving harmony with this Institutum in the knowledge that in doing so we totally
dedicate ourselves to God, contribute to the sanctification of others, and find meaning in our life.

Bethel—Place of Solitude

The apostles returned to Jesus

and told him all they had done and taught.
And he said to them, "Come away to some lonely place
all by yourselves and rest for a while" (Mk 6: 30-31a)

2.1 Bethel is an anointed place, a singular gift of God in the Church and for the Church. It is in this
place of solitude that a colony of solitaries live their vocation of oneness with God through prayer and
silence.

2.2 It is also a place for those who feel the stirrings to live a life of solitude—even if for a few days—so
that they may participate in the spiritual presence of a company of hermits.

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2.3 It is a place where, like the story of Jacob, we take time to rest for a while in the journey of life,
and be surprised with the realization that God has always been with us in our sojourn through life...
and with Jacob, we utter the words, “Truly God is in this place...” (Gen 28: 16).

Bethel—A Laura

“Separated from all, we are united to all...”

- Evagrius the Solitary

3.1 The vocation to eremitical life flows in two streams. Some are called to live this vocation in
complete and total isolation while some are called to be solitaries witnessing to the spirit of
communion. The spirit of communion is the very fountain of our identity as Hermits of Bethel.

3.2 The Hermits of Bethel are solitaries, both men and women, lay or cleric, who are called to live a
life of prayer, silence and solitude in the spirit of communion in order to incarnate concretely the
eremitical vocation’s connectedness to the Mystical Body of Christ. Among Eastern Christians, such
solitaries live in what they call a “Laura,” a cluster of cells where hermits live, mostly with a church at
the center of this cluster.

3.3 Bethel is a Laura or Lavra. It is a Greek word (Λαύρα), which means, “passage” or “pathway.” A
Laura not only suggests that hermitages are solitary paths that meet at the center—i.e. the chapel. It
is also a testimony that each separate vocation in the Church finds its unity in Christ.

3.4 In Bethel, we seek to live the concrete life of solitude in the spirit of communion. We live our life
as solitaries, dwelling in our respective hermitages, but witnessing to communion through the
common celebration of the Eucharist.

3.5 As permanent residents of this Laura, we are bona fide members of Our Lady’s Hermits of Bethel
(OLHB) recognized by law of the Church as hermits dedicated to God in consecrated life in the spirit of
Canon 603 of the Code of Canon Law, and recognized civilly with juridical personality as Our Lady’s
Hermits of Bethel, Inc. (Corporation Sole) with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registration
number CN201211340, TIN 008-307-516.

3.6 As a colony of hermits, in order to maintain the balance of solitude and communion, there may be
no more than five (5) bona fide hermits in one colony. Beyond this number, a different foundation has
to be made, after deep prayer and profound discernment, and as decided by a general chapter with
the approval of the diocesan bishop.

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 Chapel

“Only in daily, confidential relationship with the Lord in the tabernacle can one forget self,
become free of all one’s own wishes and pretensions,
and have a heart open to all the needs and wants of others.”
- St. Edith Stein

4.1 The heart of Bethel is the chapel where the salvific sacrifice of Christ is both remembered and
celebrated in the Holy Eucharist. Our solitary paths converge in the one person of Christ who is the
Way (see Jn 14: 6).

4.2 In the celebration of the Divine Liturgy we recall our engagement to live the eremitic life to offer
unceasing prayer, to listen to God’s voice in silence, and to unite ourselves to the world in solitude. On
both sides of the small chapel are two oratories dedicated to Our Lady who reminds us constantly to
unite our will to God: fiat voluntas tua, and St. Joseph who reminds us that God is our Providence.

4.3 The small chapel is a simple sanctuary dedicated to the Holy Family. As each member of this family
sanctified one another through one’s presence, so we seek to sanctify our solitary lives through each
one’s eremitic presence. This holy presence we seek to extend to anyone who wishes to spend desert
days with us.

Mary, Our Lady of the Way

“The Mother of God is a type of the Church

in the order of faith, charity
and perfect union with Christ”
- Lumen Gentium 63

5.1 St. Louie Marie de Montfort famously introduced his work True Devotion to Mary with the
following words: “It was through the blessed Virgin Mary that Jesus Christ came into the world, and it
is also through her that he must reign in the world.” As consecrated hermits of Bethel, the love of the
Blessed Virgin Mary is of paramount importance. The solitary life of prayer and silence to which all
hermits of Bethel aspire takes its form in the holiness of the Blessed Virgin Mary for in her silence,
prayer and solitude, Christ was born in her womb.

5.2 We consecrate ourselves as hermits under her patronage because we believe that in imitating her
virtues, Christ will be born within us, among us, on us. She is the sure guidepost that will help us bring
forth the presence of Christ into a world that seeks His light, His life, and His love. As Our Lady’s
Hermits of Bethel, we take humble delight identifying ourselves with her because we know that under
her guidance, we shall always find ourselves along the path of sanctity. In her who bore Christ,
through her we bear Christ.

5.3 As a gesture of formally entering as an aspirant hermit of Bethel, a candidate consecrates himself
or herself “to Jesus, through Mary” in the following prayer of consecration that has come down to the
Christian tradition through the holy St. Louie Marie de Montfort. Within the celebration of the

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Eucharist, before the Servant-Leader of the community, and kneeling in front of the altar, the
candidate, reading his or her handwritten copy of the consecration, offers this prayer:

O Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom! O sweetest and most adorable Jesus! True God and
True Man, only Son of the Eternal Father, and of Mary ever Virgin! I adore You
profoundly in the bosom and glory of Your Father during eternity; and I adore You also
in the virginal bosom of Mary, Your most worthy Mother, in the time of Your
Incarnation.

I give You thanks, that You have emptied Yourself taking the form of a slave, in order to
rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil. I praise and glorify You, that You have
been pleased to submit Yourself to Mary, Your holy Mother, in all things, in order to
make me Your faithful slave through her. But alas! Ungrateful and faithless as I have
been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnly to You in my baptism; I
have not fulfilled my obligations; I do not deserve to be called Your child nor yet Your
slave; and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Your anger and Your repulse, I
dare no more come by myself before Your Most Holy and August Majesty. It is on this
account that I have recourse to the Intercession of Your most holy Mother, whom You
have given me for a Mediatrix with You. It is by her means that I hope to obtain of Your
contrition, and the pardon of my sins, the acquisition and the preservation of wisdom. I
salute you, then, O Immaculate Mary living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the
Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by Angels and by men. I hail you,
O Queen of heaven and earth to whose empire everything is subject which is under
God.

I salute you, O sure refuge of sinners, whose mercy fails no one. Hear the desires which
I have of the Divine Wisdom; and for that end receive the vows and offerings which my
lowness presents to you.

I, N. N., a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in your hands the vows of my Baptism;
I renounce for ever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus
Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to
be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before.

In the presence of all the heavenly court, and before my Servant-Leader, I choose you
this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate myself to you as your
slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all
my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to you the entire and full right of
disposing of me, and of all that belongs to me, without exception, according to your
good pleasure to the greatest glory of God, in time and in eternity.

Receive O gracious Virgin, this little offering of my slavery, in honor of, and in union
with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have your Maternity, in
homage to the power which both of you have over this little worm and miserable
sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favored

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 you. I protest, that I wish, henceforth, as your true slave, to seek thy honor, and to obey
you in all things.

O admirable Mother, present me to your Dear Son, as His eternal slave, as a humble
hermit of Bethel, so that as He has redeemed me by you, by you He may receive me.

O Mother of mercy, get me the grace to obtain the true Wisdom of God, and for that
end place me in the number of those whom you love, whom you teach, whom you
lead, and whom you nourish and protect, as your children and your slaves. O Faithful
Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator and slave of the Incarnate
Wisdom, Jesus Christ thy Son, that I may attain, by your intercession and by your
example, to the fullness of His age on earth, and of His glory in heaven. Amen.

5.4 The now Aspirant Hermit signs his or her consecration with his or her own signature, on the altar.
The Servant-Leader receives this consecration and prays in his or her heart that the dream so uttered
find reality in the hermit’s life.

Christ in the Eucharist

“They should celebrate the sacred liturgy,

especially the holy sacrifice of the Mass,
with both lips and heart as the Church desires
and so nourish their spiritual life from this richest of sources”
- Perfectae Caritatis 6

6.1 Vatican II declares that the “Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life” (Lumen Gentium
11). Inasmuch as from Christ radiates the holiness of all, so in the chapel, in the celebration of the
Eucharist, radiates the very breath and spirit of the eremitic life in Bethel. A hermit of Bethel is a child
of the Eucharist. The Eucharistic sacrifice is the primal symbol of caritas to which all hermits aspire to
perfect.

6.2 The hermits of Bethel shall find a beating heart in the celebration of the Eucharist. A mass is to be
celebrated in the Chapel whenever opportunity arises. The life in Bethel is to be punctuated by the
solemn celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice, especially in special occasions.

6.3 The soul of private prayer of a hermit shall include moments of solitude with Christ in the
presence of the Blessed Sacrament. As we contemplate the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist,
we likewise contemplate the nascent presence of Christ in us. In so doing, we shall leave the chapel
with the clearer perception of the presence of Christ in others, and in the world.

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 The Hermitages

“The solitary sits alone, listening and speaking to Christ.”

- St. Aelred of Rievaulx

7.1 Each hermit dwells in one’s own cell called a hermitage. In each hermitage—furnished with all
things needed, and none of the excess—the solitary lives his or her threefold vocation of prayer,
silence and solitude.

7.2 In the hermit’s passionate separation from the world, the hermitage becomes one’s immediate
world where his or her own sanctification starts, continues and finds fruition. The hermitage should
not be a sign of severance or withdrawal from the created world in as much as it should be a sign of
one’s intimate union of solitariness with God, and santifying connectedness with the world.

7.3 The hermitage should cater to the flourishing of one’s total wellbeing. It should attend to one’s
body by provision of proper nourishment, sleeping area and comfort room; it should attend to one’s
soul by having its own area, with sufficient relevant books, for lectio divina and other studies; and it
should attend to one’s spirit by having its own oratory or prayer area. In this way, a hermitage
becomes a home where cura personalis is achieved.

7.4 As the chapel unites solitaries in the spirit of communion, the variety of hermitages is a singular
sign that Bethel is a unity in diversity: We are women and men, cleric, religious and lay, young and old
who discerned that in our life, God calls us to consecrate ourselves to Him as solitaries.

Types of eremitical life in Bethel

“The religious person embraces only those doctrines which cast light upon his inner awareness,
joins only those groups to which he or she feels moved from within,
and performs only those acts which express his self-transcendence.”
– Louis Dupré

8.1 As a Place of Solitude, Bethel is not only home to Hermits but is also open to those who wish to
experience renewal in life by living out the three pillars that characterize the eremitic life: silence,
prayer and solitude.

8.2 The types of eremitical life in Bethel are as follows:

Guest – any person who wishes to stay in Bethel for a short or long period of time in order to
share in the sanctifying presence of a colony of hermits.

Guest Hermit – As a colony of hermits, Bethel is open to any other hermits from other Lauras
or hermitages, for a short or long period of time, in order to deepen their spiritual life.

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 Aspirant Hermit – Someone who has made a formal entrance to Bethel in the hands of the
Servant-Leader, in view of becoming a Consecrated Hermit. One may not have a formal
entrance to Bethel unless the person has stayed in Bethel for a reasonable period of time, has
been in consultation with the Servant-Leader in the discernment of one’s vocation, and has
explicitly resolved to formulate one’s Plan of Life. An Aspirant Hermit, through formal entrance,
is already entitled to identify himself or herself as a bona fide member of Our Lady’s Hermits of
Bethel (OLHB).

Consecrated Hermit – a bona fide member of Our Lady’s Hermits of Bethel who has already an
approved Plan of Life. He or she seeks to sanctify oneself and the world in the faithful, integral
and authentic observance of one’s Plan of Life under the guidance of the diocesan bishop, in
general, and under the care of the Servant-Leader, in particular. The consecration of a hermit is
in the hands of the diocesan bishop, and in the presence of the Servant-Leader.

Plan of Life

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord,

and our hearts are restless until they rest in you”
- St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions I, 1.

9.1 Each hermit formulates, seeks approval of, and observes one’s own “Plan of Life” as prescribed by
Canon 603 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law. As a Laura, or colony of hermits, there is no common Plan of
Life that prescribes and binds all and each to a specific character of eremitic life. In Bethel, by having a
Plan of Life for each one, we live our life free and informal, simple and flexible in order to allow the
Spirit to blow where it wills. This Institutum of Bethel does not serve, nor does it replace, each
hermit’s Plan of Life.

9.2 This Institutum of Bethel is composed in order to address practical issues of organization that is
exigent in any group of individuals. It is likewise not meant to replace or surpass the unwritten rule of
Charity, but only acts as a guideline, which may be changed, as discerned according to the promptings
of the Spirit, after at least five years of implementation and with the simple majority vote of the
hermits’ general chapter, in order to achieve the goal of eremitic life as outlined in the Preamble. The
Institutum of Bethel exists only to be of service towards the attainment of the Preamble.

9.3 Each hermit’s Plan of Life defines the specific character by which one lives out his or her own
religious consecration to give praise to God and contribute to the salvation of the world. Through this
Plan of Life, one lays down one’s specific manner of living out the three pillars of eremitic life in
Bethel, namely, prayer, silence, and solitude; and this same Plan of Life needs to find a harmonious
place in the spirit of the Institutum of Bethel. In this way, each hermit’s Plan of Life becomes
synchronous with each other. Like different paths that lead to the same Christ, the diversity of our
Plans of Life should lead us all to unity in Christ.

9.4 St. John of the Cross narrates to us that there are different paths towards perfection. In the same
way, there are different paths by which we live the eremitic life in Bethel. In the spirit of Paul’s first
letter to the Corinthians, diversity mirrors the manifold mystery of God’s Mystical Body (I Cor 12: 1-

Institutum of Bethel 7
31). Difference is a unique gift from God defining our particular identity and path towards union with
God. This is not kind of difference that divides, but a diversity that lives out the mystery of manifold
unity, which mirrors the Trinitarian life of God. Like the spokes of a wheel, all differences become one
in Christ.

9.5 An Aspirant to the eremitical life needs to formulate his or her own Plan of Life according to each
one’s particular vocation towards complete praise of God, total service of others, and integral holiness
with regard to the self. The formulation of one’s Plan of Life should be a fruit of one’s experience of
living in prayer, silence and solitude in Bethel itself. The Aspirant, in continuous consultation with
Servant-Leader, and with his or her own Spiritual Director, shall submit this same Plan of Life to the
diocesan bishop for approval.

9.6 Upon the approval of the bishop, in consultation with the Servant-Leader, the Aspirant Hermit
consecrates himself or herself solemnly, within the celebration of the Eucharist, which is the spring of
a hermit’s vocation, to live out this same Plan of Life in the spirit of the Evangelical Counsels in the
hands of the diocesan bishop and in the presence of the Servant-Leader. If the Plan of Life includes the
solemn profession of the Evangelical Counsel through a vow, the hermit does so in the hand of the
diocesan bishop. If there is no discernment of a profession of vows, other sacred bonds shall be made
in the hands of the diocesan bishop as an act of formal consecration.

9.7 Hermits of Bethel are diocesan in nature. Though a Servant-Leader is in charge of their material
and spiritual needs as a colony of hermits, their life as a whole is under the pastoral care of the
diocesan bishop where they find themselves. Their presence in the diocese should become an agent
of conversion and sanctification of the whole People of God in the diocese, primarily through their
prayer, silence and solitude.

9.8 Each hermit shall have his or her own Spiritual Director.

Role of the Diocesan Bishop

“In exercising their office of father and pastor,

bishops should stand in the midst of their people
as those who serve.”
- Christus Dominus 16

10.1 The diocesan bishop informally accepts one as an Aspirant Hermit who has made a formal
entrance to Bethel in the hands of the Servant-Leader. To the Aspirant Hermit, the diocesan bishop is a
father who cares and gets to know a newborn member of his local Church.

10.2 The diocesan bishop formally accepts one as a Consecrated Hermit when, in his hands, one
makes a public profession of the three evangelical counsels, by a vow or some other sacred bonds,
and leads one’s particular Plan of Life under his guidance, in general, and under the care of the
Servant-Leader, in particular. To the Consecrated Hermit, the diocesan bishop is a father and pastor
who assists the Consecrated Hermit in accomplishing his or her vocation of the sanctification of the
People of God in the light of the diocese’s Vision and Mission.

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10.3 Although the material and spiritual care of Bethel falls under the responsibility of the Servant-
Leader, the diocesan bishop, as head of the diocese, exercises pastoral care for the overall wellbeing of
the Hermits of Bethel. As head of the diocese, he not only oversees the faithful, integral and authentic
observance of each hermit’s Plan of Life, but also exercises, with the help of the Servant-Leader, the
adherence to and implementation of the Institutum of Bethel.

The Role of the Servant-Leader

"To lead the people, walk behind them."

- Lao Tzu

11.1 The Servant-Leader, who may be a Consecrated Hermit of Bethel or a Priest of the Diocese
assigned by the diocesan bishop, attends to the material and spiritual care of the Hermits of Bethel.
He ensures, with the help of the diocesan bishop, that the spirituality of Bethel permeates the whole
colony of hermits through the faithful adherence to, and charitable implementation of, the Institutum
of Bethel.

11.2 Regardless of whether the Servant-Leader is a Consecrated Hermit or a Priest of the Diocese, he
acts as primus interpares among the hermits of Bethel.

11.3 Through the pastoral office of the Servant-Leader, Bethel as a colony of hermits should contribute
to the fulfillment of the diocese’s Vision and Mission in consultation with the diocesan bishop.

11.4 As a sign of total consecration, the Servant-Leader holds this office for life, unless, through a
general chapter, in prayer and discernment, the bona fide Hermits decide otherwise, but with the
approval of the diocesan bishop.

General Chapter

“How good and how pleasant it is, when brothers dwell together as one!”
- Psalm 133: 1

12.1 A general chapter is held in order to ensure that life in Bethel is a path towards the holiness of all.

12. 2 Among the Hermits of Bethel, the general chapter has supreme authority in the spirit of Canons
631-633 of the Code of Canon Law, and in accordance with the Institutum of Bethel.

12. 3 All bona fide members of Bethel comprise the general chapter, with decisions made definitive by
a simple majority, with the approval of the diocesan bishop. The Servant-Leader functions as a
moderator.

Institutum of Bethel 9
12.4 The Hermits of Bethel holds a general chapter once a year, before the start of the season of
Advent, or when an urgent need arises. The latter will only push through with the approval of the
diocesan bishop.

Admission

“Behold, I come to do your will”

- Hebrews 10: 9

13.1 Any person, male or female; lay, cleric or religious; young or old, may be admitted as a Candidate
to Bethel but only after a prolonged period of prayer and discernment, continuous consultation with
the Servant-Leader, and only after a reasonable time of stay in Bethel.

13.2 Introduction to the life in Bethel of a Candidate shall among the primary responsibilities of the
Servant-Leader. However, witnessing to a life of solitariness in communion by the bona fide members
of Bethel is exigent. A Candidate discerns whether he or she is called to Bethel or not on the basis of
one’s experience of living together with other hermits of Bethel.

13.3 Admission of a Candidate to the status of an Aspirant Hermit shall be a decision of the Servant-
Leader in consultation with the other bona fide members of the Laura. The Servant-Leader informs,
formally in writing, the diocesan bishop regarding this.

Formation

“Religious should strive during the whole course of their lives to perfect the culture they have received
in matters spiritual and in arts and sciences.”
- Perfectae Caritatis 18

14.1 Formation to the eremitic life is an on-going event and on a case-to-case basis due to the
different Plan of Life to which each one is consecrated to live, as a means to one’s own consecration to
God and the Church.

14.2 Nonetheless, common formation events need to take place to instill a unity in living out the
spirituality of Bethel as a life of solitariness witnessing to the spirit of communion in the Church. The
Servant-Leader is responsible for these common formation events.

14.3 All who journey towards holiness encounter stumbling blocks, and though some triumph over
these, some fall under the weight of the gravity of human nature. In the event of actions unbecoming
of the consecrated life and contrary to the Gospel, the Servant-Leader, in consultation with the
diocesan bishop and in conformity with existing norms of the Church, shall attend to the formative
disciplinary needs of the person concerned, always in the spirit of charity which binds all wounds, to
address the wrong that has been done, and that due justice may be served to all people concerned.

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14.4 The diocesan bishop, in dialogue with the Servant-Leader, shall oversee the formation of the
hermits of Bethel in view of the diocese’s Vision and Mission. Hermits of Bethel journey towards
holiness together with the local People of God, and formation should reflect this same journey of
togetherness.

Finances

“For it is in giving that we receive...”

- St. Francis of Assisi

15.1 Each hermit contributes to a common fund, in accordance to one's own means. What we receive
in charity, we share in charity.

15.2 The common fund shall be the resource for the day-to-day subsistence of hermits inclusive of
utilities, meals, repairs, constructions and necessary expenses, including medication, in order to create
in Bethel a pervading ambience of divine charity.

15.3 The common fund is maintained in the bank account of the Hermits of Bethel:
Bank Account Name: Our Lady’s Hermits of Bethel, Inc.
Branch: Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Iba, Zambales Branch
Bank (Savings) Account Number: 001783-0250-74

15.4 From this common fund, a regular allowance, determined by a chapter, shall be allotted to each
bona fide hermit for non-communal expenses.

15.5 The Servant-Leader oversees the finances of Bethel, and the administration of its temporal goods
in the spirit of Canons 634 – 640 of the Code of Canon Law, unless otherwise explicitly stated in this
Institutum.

15.6 Other than the Servant-Leader, a bona fide hermit shall take charge of bookkeeping and
disbursements of allowances.

Departure from Bethel

“Every day I shall put my papers in order and every day I shall say farewell.
And the real farewell, when it comes, will only be a small outward confirmation
of what has been accomplished within me from day to day.”
- Etty Hillesum

16.1 In the discernment and living out of the eremitic life, bona fide members, in the course of their
lives, may feel the stirrings of the Spirit to leave Bethel temporarily in order to understand deeply
God’s will for them. The duration, terms and conditions of this temporary departure are on a case-to-

Institutum of Bethel 11
case basis with consultation and approval of the Servant-Leader. The diocesan bishop shall be
informed, formally in writing, by the Servant-Leader of this temporary departure and the terms and
conditions attached to this.

16.2 In cases of permanent departure of bona fide members, deep prayer and profound discernment
by all members of Bethel shall be made. The decision of permanent departure shall be mutually
consented to by the hermit himself or herself, his or her Spiritual Director, the Servant-Leader, with
the consent of the diocesan bishop in whose hands the hermit has made the eremitic consecration of
one’s life.

Revision of the Institutum of Bethel

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love.”
- 1 Corinthians 13: 13

17.1 Upon approval of this Institutum by the diocesan bishop, the said Institutum shall be in effect, in
full and in part, for a duration of five (5) years.

17.2 At the end of the five-year period, a general chapter shall be held to discern, in the spirit of
prayer and sacrifice, whether changes have to be made to this Institutum. Changes are definitive on
the basis of a simple majority of votes by bona fide members with the approval of the diocesan
bishop.

17.3 Revision of this Institutum is possible prior to the five-year duration, if approved by the diocesan
bishop. A general chapter shall be held soon after.

updated: 13 March 2015

Institutum of Bethel 12
 Appendix to the Institutum

OBLATES OF OUR LADY OF BETHEL

1. The foundational pillars of eremitic life, namely, prayer, silence and solitude, though lived intensely
in Bethel by Our Lady’s Hermits of Bethel (OLHB), are also essential elements of Christian life in all
walks of life. The Oblates of Our Lady of Bethel (OLB) are those who are called to solidarity with the
eremitic life of the Hermits of Bethel, but are not called to formally enter as professed hermits.

2. They share in the spiritual blessings of the Hermits of Bethel by an annually renewed oblation to
live the foundational pillars of eremitic life in a secular setting, through their ordinary day-to-day life as
committed Christians who seek the path of holiness and fullness of life.

3. Oblates are called to incarnate in their lives the Preamble of the Institutum of Bethel summed up in
the word Caritas. Though not consecrated religious, they still lead a life dedicated to God that
journeys toward “the pursuit of perfect charity” (Perfectae caritatis, 1).

4. Oblates may be single or married lay people or any religious or secular clergy who seek to incarnate
in the secular world, and in a conscious and deliberate way, the foundational pillars of eremitic life of
Bethel.

5. Through a prayerful reflection and meditation on the “Institutum of Bethel,” they seek to incarnate
the spirit of Bethel by a secular life imbued with a contemplative spirit. Further, as sisters and brothers
to the Hermits of Bethel, the Oblates actively share in the mission of the Hermits to promote the
importance of prayer, silence and solitude in the lives of all people they encounter.

6. Through a liturgical ceremony, highlighted by the imposition of the brown Carmelite scapular, and
solemn recitation of the prescribed prayer, one becomes an Aspirant. He or she then starts and
endeavors to faithfully live the life and promises of an Oblate while undergoing a series of formation
to Christian Spirituality and other disciplines that seek to mature and deepen one’s faith in Jesus.

7. The Hermits of Bethel take charge in the on-going formation of the Oblates, ensuring that each one
shares in the spiritual joy of being a member of one religious family, being one in hope and
aspirations.

8. Upon prayerful discernment of the Servant-Leader of Bethel and in consultation with other Hermits
of Bethel, the Aspirant may become a Professed Oblate within a Liturgical Ceremony of Oblation,
highlighted by the imposition of the Oblate Mantle signifying their formal participation in the family of
the Hermits of Bethel, and in the giving of the Oblation Cross.

9. Although not living a Plan of Life, each Oblate endeavors to organize their lives according to these
statutes:

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 a. More frequent attendance and active participation in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist,
beyond the prescribed Holy Days of Obligation.
b. Daily recitation of, at least, the morning prayer (lauds) and evening prayer (vespers) of the
Liturgy of the Hours, either personally or communally.
c. Silent prayer of at least an hour a day, which may be distributed throughout the day, e.g., 30
minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.
d. Must participate in church life by an active involvement in another organization, movement or
ministry in a parish community.
e. Must spend “desert days” at Bethel consisting of at least three days and two nights and least
once a year.
f. In order to maintain familial bond, an Oblate endeavors to join the community of the Hermits
of Bethel in some significant events as one’s personal schedule may permit.
g. Must endeavor to participate in the on-going formation of Oblates.

10. An Oblate annually renews one’s personal oblation emphasizing that one’s spiritual participation in
the life of the Hermits of Bethel is a constant and continuous sacrifice of one’s self to God who calls
everyone to the path of holiness and fullness of life.

Updated March 24, 2015

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