[Mad Dawg]

No earthly good? That's EASY! I accomplish that with only lukewarm devotion! I'm gonna take that as meaning I'm rilly, rilly holy.

;-)

I guess the short answer would be that if it doesn't inspire it in the stigmatist, it inspires it in those who hear or read of him or her.

But to sort of spread it out a little, I'd say that the world "profits" from the prayers of the hole, and even from the prayers of such a moiself. While I think few are called to be hermits or 'enclosed', still not only histories of their lives, but their lives themselves benefit all of us.

Catherine of Siena, a lay Dominican and one of the heroes of our order, was a stigmatist and she was very active in the world, not only consoling and evangelizing, but writing and counselling. The cause and effect relationship might not be very clear, but nobody could say she hung around the house doing nothing. She seems to have been nourished and energized by her prayer.

[Mad Dawg]

from the prayers of the hole

TRUE for "hole"= "whole".

[guitarplayer1953]

"While I think few are called to be hermits"

I don't think that any are called to be hermits I do believe that all are called to share the faith. The bible says we are not to hide the give of salvation from the world.