One thing we enjoyed on our last trip and again on this one was going ashore on Cat Island. It’s pretty sparsely populated, but does have basic services and some very friendly people. We, however, mainly went ashore to walk up to the Hermitage, but before I can explain that, I need to give you some background.
There is a blog on Father Jerome from our last trip, and I won’t repeat that here. The gist is that Father Jerome was sent to the Bahamas by the English Anglican church to help rebuild after the 1908 hurricane. He was very active in the Bahamas religious life, ministered to the people on many islands and designed and built many churches here. He returned later in life as a Catholic priest and designed and help build many Catholic churches across the islands. As he aged he backed away from his frenetic activities and sought a more solitary and spiritual inner life. Most of us when we retire look forward to leisure activities and more freedom to do what we want with our time, and Father Jerome must have felt some of that, but he channeled it differently.
His retirement plan was to build a one-man monastery were he could commune with God, nature, scripture and himself. This is called The Hermitage and it is remarkable. It is sited on the highest point in the Bahamas (203 feet) and appears to grow right out of the rock it is built with and upon. Jerome was a skilled craftsman with architectural knowledge, stone carving skills, and an eye for aesthetic beauty.
One thing he created here was a Stations of the Cross which is the depiction of Jesus’ journey to his crucifixion including his conviction. Father Jerome sited his stations of the cross on a steep embankment climbing from the trail up to the Hermitage. And here is where the story gets a little more personal.
On our boat the night before we talked about our memories of the Hermitage from our previous trip. I was sure we had visited another Stations of the Cross this year on our trip. I could remember it vividly, but Mary Beth assured me that we did no such thing. We concluded that I must have dreamed about it.
When we got up to the Hermitage’s Stations of the Cross it was exactly what I was sure I had seen earlier in the trip! I was a bit freaked out by this.
Father Jerome’s stations are placed along a steep climb from the path to the Hermitage. The footing is tricky at times, and the combination of the stations and the need to climb with some care seemed to put me in a heightened state of awareness. The stations have stones carved with an image of Jesus and what was happening to Him at each station culminating with a tomb with the rock rolled away and then the ascension. The melding of art, the rustic backdrop to the art, the images, the words, and the way the stations are placed into the steep hill is very effective and meditative.
The "XIII" Station is a depiction of Jesus's tomb with the stone rolled away.
The building is filled with charming archways and lots of openings for great cross ventilation.
Fr. Jerome's Chapel
There is still a bell in the Bell Tower that you can ring. Fantastic view of New Bight anchorage from here.
On the way back down I walked up and down the path through the Stations of the Cross again. There was nobody else there and my recollection of the vivid images in my mind of being there earlier on this trip, which exactly matched what I was looking at, gave my time there an otherworldly feel. It was very moving, and I’m very glad we got to go there and experience it again.
There is truth in the phrase “God works in mysterious ways”.
Thanks for Reading!
David