Rockport Native Is Now A Member Of Hermits Of The Blessed Mary

It's been a long road from Rockport, Ind., to rural Texas for 46-year-old Brother Joseph Mary of the Holy Rosary. He's studied at Indiana State University in Terre Haute; and he's worked in the computer industry in California, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio and Colorado. Now he calls a small Carmelite hermitage in west Texas his home.

He was born Paul Wathen, one of eight children born to Lawrence and Melvina Wathen. The family attended St. Bernard Parish in Rockport, and Paul graduated from South Spencer High School.

He earned a degree with double majors in electronic technology and applied computer technology from Indiana State, and then headed west to work in the computer industry in Silicon Valley. By the time he was 40, he was living in Colorado and enjoying his life there -- but something was drawing him to a small hermitage in the Texas desert.

"As I got older,” he said, “I got more involved in my Catholic faith." He became intrigued by the writings of St. Teresa of Avila, a nun who founded Carmelite monasteries all over Spain in the 1500s.

"I was really inspired by her, and I was attracted to the Carmelite order. I didn't feel called to the priesthood, but I felt called to the contemplative life."

According to their website, the Hermits of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel live a life of silence, solitude, prayer and penance for the good of the Church and the salvation of the world, following the original Carmelite rule.

It is considered a contemplative vocation, with a foundation of the Eucharist, Sacred Scripture and devotion to Our Blessed Lady under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

The Carmelite Rule states, "Let each one remain in his cell, or near it, meditating day and night on the law of the Lord and keeping vigil in prayer, unless occupied with other lawful duties."

He was 40 when he made his first visit to Texas. "I needed to come here on retreat because I felt God was calling me here.

"There were special graces that weekend, and God let me know this was where He wanted me to be," Brother Joseph Mary said, explaining, "I found a lot of peace."

He remembers telling his mom about his decision to give the monastic life a try. "My dad had passed away 10 years earlier. My mom was excited about my decision. She was overjoyed, actually. She's always been supportive."

It took a while for him to disengage from his life in Colorado, a life he really enjoyed. He made his final profession in mid-July, taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and receiving the name "Brother Joseph Mary of the Holy Rosary." The prior chose the name, and Brother Joseph Mary said it was "very appropriate. I'm told I'm like St. Joseph because I work in the background a lot, and I'm a hard worker. And I've always been devoted to the rosary. I try to pray the rosary every day" so the name "fits pretty well."

During the ceremony, he promised to live the Gospel with zeal and with as much perfection "as I can," and to obey the Carmelite rule, constitution and statues.

As a member of the community, he was assigned a small cell, or house, which contains a bedroom, a study, a chapel, a bathroom, a porch and a yard.

While the order contains the word "hermit," he suggests that the men's lives are similar to lives of monks in other religious orders. One main difference is that they each have a separate cell or home while men in monasteries live in dormitory-like settings.

The Carmelite hermits are encouraged to try to spend as much time as they can alone in their cells praying and meditating. The Texas Carmelites support themselves through bakery products, which they produce and sell. Currently, there are four permanent members including two priests.

They rise at 3:30 a.m. to begin their daily life, and they pray the Divine Office at 3:50 a.m. in the community chapel. They have meditation with Eucharistic adoration for one hour, then pray Lauds and the rosary before celebrating the Liturgy together.

They eat breakfast alone in their cells, and from 7 to 8:45 a.m. they do the Lectio Divino prayer.

At 9 a.m. the work begins, as they tend to the property and do the baking.

Lunch is at noon in their cells except for Sundays, and from 1:30 to 2 p.m. they pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

"From 2 to 4 we work," Brother Joseph Mary said, and then "we get cleaned up." The heavy work habits are put aside for prayer habits made of a lighter fabric.

At 4:30, each man meditates in his own chapel, and they pray Vespers at 5:30 p.m. They eat dinner in their cells at 6 p.m.

At 7 p.m. they gather for a chapter meeting, holy readings and Compline, and then they retire at 8 p.m. "You usually don't have trouble falling asleep," he said, adding, "we sleep good."

For some, his daily life would be a wonderful three-day retreat -- with an option to leave. Brother Joseph Mary understands that, realizing that he has received a "special calling from God."

The men he shares his life with are from a variety of backgrounds, and they've each been "touched in a special way," he said.

"I felt it was my duty. I felt God was calling me. I felt I had to commit to this."