Dispatch Easter 2012, Part I

  I went ashore at first light. I had anchored just offshore at New Bight, Cat Island, Bahamas and planned to go 70 nm that day up to a safe anchorage at the south end of Eleuthera. Wind from the west was expected; Cat Island has no protection from west wind.
  Father Jerome was an architect, a dog breeder, mule skinner, merchant seaman, missionary priest, and monk. He came to the Bahamas in the early 30's as an Anglican priest, and settled in the islands. A major hurricane had destroyed the church buildings, and being an architect, he rebuilt the buildings stone on stone in the fashion of medieval buildings, with arches and buttresses, that would withstand future storms. On Long Island alone he built seven Anglican churches. He went to Rome to study, and three years later came back a Catholic priest, and in Clarence Town, Long Island built a bigger and better Catholic church on the hill next to his Anglican church. He was "reassigned" to Australia. Some years later he "retired" and moved back to Cat Island, where, atop of the highest place in the Bahamas, he built his Hermitage.

The Hermitage

This is a small scale reproduction of a European monastery. From a distance it looks like a castle complex. And when I say "he built it" what I mean is he lived in a cave (in which his body was buried) while he, by himself, cut the stones, and constructed the buildings. It is called The Hermitage, but he led the life of a monk, not a hermit. He played an important role in the life of the islanders as a spiritual figure, medical care giver, judge for disputes, and the last resort for impoverished local people. "Beloved" is the term used to describe him. I wanted to see his Hermitage before I sailed north.
  I am still surprised to find paved roads in the more remote Bahamian islands. There was even a paved road with a sigh, "The Hermitage". In the morning twilight the road landscape was almost foreboding. There were open areas with nothing but rock outcroppings, interspersed with sinkholes. In the water these holes are called "blue holes" because they are very deep, hundreds of feet, and are dark blue compared to the waters all around. On land no telling how deep these holes were. They looked like vernicle caves. Some were 30' across, others only 6'. About a mile farther the road ended at the trailhead up to The Hermitage.
 I could see it as I looked east into the morning sky, high atop the hill "Mt Alvernia". There were Latin inscriptions on the stone arched gateway. A bit up the trail there was a monument, "Jesus Christ Condemmed to Death, then farther on another, Jesus carrying the cross, a stone carving, Stations Of The Cross.

Father Jerome made each of them. Now the trail was steep, in one place a series of 12 steps cut into the stone. Jesus falls, Jesus sees Mary. When I got close there was a plate of metal hanging from a tree. Instructions are to strike the metal with a stone to announce your presence. I announced my presence to the early morning mountaintop. There before me was the final residence, and the final resting place of Father Jerome. It looked like a monastery, on a small scale. There are really only three rooms, and these only large enough for one person. But it was an architectural work of art, and built by one man's hands. At first it was a curiosity, but after a few minutes I began to feel that I was on holy ground. The primary part of the small complex was what looked from the outside like a chapel, and in fact is a chapel, but only large enough for one person. There was the altar, with the rising sun in the window. He oriented the chapel so that altar faced the rising sun at Easter. There was one kneeling chair. I visualized the man starting and ending his day with prayer.
 The sun was above the horizon, and I had miles to go, I did not linger. As I went down the hill, past the 14 Stations, I was overcome with the realization that I had walked the Way of the Cross, on Good Friday, in the steps of a holy man.
  God Bless You All
 Bill Doar