A lush green garden with tall trees, a small bench, and potted plants in the background, under a cloudy sky.
Flower garden with red roses, green plants, moss, and black soil.
Pink roses climbing a garden trellis with water droplets on the petals and leaves, surrounded by green foliage.
A glass bottle with a butterfly and nature-themed design contains a bouquet of yellow, pink, and red roses with green leaves, placed on a wooden surface against a textured wall.
Sky with clouds and trees in silhouette at sunset or sunrise.
Christian altar with a wooden crucifix, two lit candles in glass holders, a white cloth, religious cards, and a notebook with a pen. A sign reads 'Always thank God for you.'
Freshly baked loaf of bread on a wooden cutting board in a kitchen.
Two dogs playing on a green couch, one lying on its back and the other sitting up, both with open mouths and relaxed expressions.

Life at the Hermitage

Close-up of red anthurium flowers with yellow spadix and green leaves.
Room with a whiteboard, a table with a water heater, chairs, shelves with small containers, and a view of outdoor greenery through a door.

In this section I will write something about life at the hermitage.

I will try to give you an idea about life as a Diocesan hermit.

This website is a new endeavor for me.

As a Diocesan hermit I spend most of my time in solitude.

There are two of us at the hermitage we are both Diocesan hermits under cannon 603.

We devote our time to prayer, penance and work. Yes we do work, but our work is done at the hermitage.

I also grow vegetables and fruits.

Sometimes I paint, icons mostly.

Sister Ursula and I maintain the yard ourselves.

And sometimes we offer day retreats at our hermitage.

A large part of what we do as hermits is praying for others.

We live a life hidden in Christ of contemplative and intercessory prayer.

We offer intercessory prayer, and pray for the faithful departed. We also pray for the clergy and all religious sisters and brothers.

There is also time for study and spiritual reading.

I will add more to this page as time goes on.

In Christ Jesus Sr. Avia Maria Lucia Montoya Er. Dio.

October 18, 2025

Well since I last updated this page there have been some big changes. Sr Ursula is writing down her poetry and thoughts on a notebook page on this site go check it out and please drop her an email and let her know what you think.

We have started a non profit in order to continue to provide monthly day retreats, spiritual direction and maintain a library of spiritual books for those who come to the Hermitage and are looking for books to deepen and explore their catholic faith through spiritual reading. The books are provided through the non profit as they become available and are provided at no cost. Donations are encouraged but not required for retreats, spiritual direction and books.

Please continue to submit your prayer requests!!!

As hermits we work to provide for our earthly needs. Our work is done at the hermitage and provides us with a modest living. Most hermits have some sort of cottage type job in order to be self supporting.

Sr. Ursula is working on maintaining her new notebook to share her thoughts and creativity with her poems on this website. Sr. Ursula does most of the work - cutting the grass and caring for our two dogs. Sr. Ursula also helps prepare and run the once monthly retreats at the hermitage.

You may have noticed changes to this website as far as there being no store site. Sr. Avia will still have candles and rosaries available for sale online at- sr-aviascreations.com

Sr. Avia has started making her artwork and photography available online at these two sites;

avia-montoya.pixels.com

and enterintosilencestudios.com

learn more on Sr Avia’s page - Art in Silence Sr. Avia

March 29, 2024

Life at the Hermitage is much the same, I apologize for not updating this section as often as I intended. This year we had a bit of an issue with feral pigs. We decided that for our safety we had to put up a fence to keep the pigs away from the Hermitage, therefore we fenced off a large part of the property.

We are still busy filling in the holes left by the pigs. I found a use for some of the holes closest to the Hermitage and planted some mini roses and other flowing plants.

We continue to enjoy the silence and prayerful place that the Lord has given us in our Hermitage. We are thankful that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we found our Hermitage.

In Christ Jesus Sr. Avia

Jan 24, 2023

A new year has begun and life at the hermitage is peaceful and it is our great joy to serve the Lord as Diocesan hermits. Sr. Ursula and I enjoy our life of service to God.

We spend our days in the quiet of our hermitage; some days not so quiet, you see we took in a second small dog that was in need of a home so it is taking a bit of adjusting and like our first dog he was a gifted to us.

Other than that, life here continues much the same with prayer, solitude, penance and work to fill our days.

We appreciate all of our readers that come to look in on us on these pages.

We hope that you find what you read here informative and helpful to your spiritual growth.

In Christ Jesus Sr. Avia Montoya Er. Dio