New Camaldoli Hermitage LENT/EASTER TIME 2019

Loss and Renewal

“May we invite God into our losses and our grief, trusting that the Spirit is re-creating beauty through the fragile threads of our lives and our loves.”

– Lisa Washio-Collette

62475 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA 93920 • 831 667 2456 • www.contemplation.com

In This Issue Thoughts from the Editor Lisa Benner, Oblate OSB Cam. 2 Thoughts from the Editor Lisa Benner, Oblate OSB Cam. It’s been a tender year for the newsletter team. When we 3 Faith, Hope, and Love began the discussions for this issue, the theme to which we Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. consistently returned was “loss.” The Hermitage community of course had its share of loss—personal, through the deaths 4 Primacy of Fr. Robert and Br. Gabriel; and Aaron Maniam, Oblate OSB Cam. physical, in terms of continued pres- sure on the access roads and drive- 5 Tending to the Soil of Our Soul way. Our team also experienced many Lia Huber personal losses: some agonizingly

painful, others less so but still enough 6 A Christian Response to Gun Violence Phil McManus, Oblate OSB Cam. to give us pause. And of course, we are all bombarded with daily events in our 8 Br. Gabriel Kirby Obituary country and world which remind us of Fr. Isaiah Teichert, OSB Cam. the pain, suffering and vanishment that so many experience daily. 9 Fr. Robert Hale Obituary Matt Fisher, Oblate OSB Cam. In this season of Lent, we remain mind- ful, through scriptures, about what 10 The Beauty of Vulnerability Jesus went through as He faced losses Lisa Washio-Collette, Oblate OSB Cam. and defeats. His friends abandoned him, He was an outcast in his com- 11 Abounding Grace Debi Lorenc munity, His allies deserted him, yet He persevered, in hope and trust. 12 Helpful Blessings—the Maintenance Crew Jill Gisselere But it doesn’t stop there. We know the rest of the story. Out of that abandon- 13 Preached Retreats for 2019 ment comes recovery, from that loss comes renewal, from decay blossoms 14 Activities and Visitors growth, from death emerges resurrec- tion. For this is our Christian inheritance, 15 What the Monks Are Reading the Paschal mystery—this dying and rising—that we are awaiting, promised and seek. Which is why in the end, our team realized that no exploration of loss would be complete without an equal emphasis on growth.

Prior Cyprian’s essay reflects on this critical duality—both the difficult days he experienced in the last year and the hope and love that eventually got him through. He reminds us that, ultimately, hope is a choice on our part: something that springs from within us through Grace, and not some distant, external aspiration.

Fr. Isaiah and oblate Matt Fisher pay loving homage to Robert and Gabriel, two beloved monks who passed in the latter part of 2018, and who will be remembered for their gentle presences and prayerful inspiration.

Lia Huber’s essay is thoughtful and heartfelt in how it looks both inward and outward in its exploration of loss and growth. She shares how nature has been an inspiration to her and how it has served as a mirror for her own journey. In the seasons of this earth, she has found mirrors of her own soul seasons. At times parched and stark, sometimes blossoming and full—this has applied to both the natural world and her life’s path. She reminds us to stay with those

2 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage changing seasons no matter how lifeless and slow things me that my old friend Mark had taken his own life. On might seem, because there is always new growth happen- August 10, with Robert still in a coma, I had flown overnight ing, quite literally under our feet—waiting to present itself to Arizona to preside and preach for Mark’s funeral—never when the time is right. an easy task in the case of a suicide. I arrived back in Monterey at 10 PM the next day, emotionally and physically Several of our essays look outward at the cycles of loss and so exhausted I could barely speak. One of our staff, Jordan, growth beyond the Hermitage. Over the last few months, picked me up at the airport, but before we left the parking I have received several requests to address this ongoing lot he said, “Something arrived for you.” He promptly got issue. In this country, we hear about— out of his pickup, fetched something from a box in the bed often daily—occurrences of random of the truck, opened the passenger side door, and dropped shootings and killings by people a beautiful month-old white Alaskan Husky puppy on my lap. using guns. Innocent lives lost due “It’s been a rough month,” he said. “I thought you could use to others’ rageful violence. It seems a little cheering up.” to be the new epidemic and leaves many of us wondering, how did What I remember most was my hesitancy in that moment. we get here and how do we pro- First, did I really need another responsibility? Second— ceed? Can there be redemption in and this was deeper—I felt an unwillingness to become these situations? Is hope possible? emotionally attached to anyone or anything else in that Phil McManus presents us with an moment. I immediately thought of Mary Oliver’s well-known interesting essay about the conceiv- poem, “The Summer Day”: “Doesn’t everything die at last, able origins of this issue and how we and too soon?” (Mary Oliver herself was, of course, another can all come together, in our own irreplaceable loss to the world in these past months.) ways, to be part of a solution. Though not an easy issue to think—much It didn’t take long before Aldo, as I named him, won me less write—about, Phil’s reflections over, sitting on my lap with his head on my chest all the underscore how these conversations way home. I know a dog is no replacement for human and healthy dialogue can catalyze the beings, but this wasn’t just a pet. This dog came with a healthy growth and healing that are question from so needed right now. the Universe: not just “Are Lent is a season in the Church that you still willing offers us the opportunity to wait, to to love?” but watch, and to reflect. During this more like, “Are time in the liturgical calendar—as you willing to well as the Lenten times in our life— get up in the may we bow deeply and humbly to morning and these moments that might be filled keep going?” with loss or death. Then, may we be filled with confident Maybe more hope about what awaits us—the kind of joy, love, and fundamentally, peace that can be possible through Christ. Whichever “Do you still season you may be in, we hope that this issue brings you have hope?” something to contemplate and be comforted by. And a small voice inside me ultimately whispered, Faith, Hope, and Love “Yes. Yes, I do.” Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. Not only for I think the lowest point of the summer of 2018 was August 11. our community and me We had already been through Robert’s fall and traumatic personally, brain injury, and he was now back in the hospital after it has been a brief period of recovery at home. Our local bishop, a season of great loss for many in our larger community. Richard Garcia, had died on July 8 after a brief struggle Besides the natural disasters that have struck us all, with Alzheimer’s. Then Br. Gabriel, after a very long fight particularly the fires and rains on the California coast, there against cancer and congestive heart failure, entered his seem to have been an extraordinary number of deaths in excruciating six-day final death throes, during which time our circle of friends and oblates, some of them sudden and his sister, Sr. Jean Marie, OCD, also passed away. As I was tragic. The mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, for instance, preparing for Gabriel’s funeral and going over my homily was only a few hours south of us. And of course, besides one last time, I got a call from my Mom in Arizona informing our normal practical challenges, we at the Hermitage are

contemplation.com ~ 3 facing the additional hurdle of our entry road crumbling into the sea and the arduous, expensive process of building a new one. Primacy

i.m. Robert, OSB Cam. December 2018

I stopped at your grave today Too new to be marked Quiet reminder that the arcs Of some lives extend long Into the winter horizon Especially when crisp days Give way to clear nights of stars.

Four months now. Your voice Still dances in the Psalms and Intercessions. Your homilies echo Like the call of a thousand loves – I have begun to think of that road very positively though, Though you would probably say as if it were our own path to the future. In the middle of The truest words ring inside each of us. all that loss, New Camaldoli and I both turned 60 years You always seemed somewhat beyond science, old. I have been told several times that in India, 60 is an But well within the broader kind of reason auspicious age, a time of regeneration. That gives me hope. That I think moves me now to ponder – But what ultimately gives me hope is the Resurrection. Jesus’ triumph over death is not just about the physical Do I hear the unplayed tune of a flute? body, his and ours: it is about the entire thrust of the Is that a hand, unraised with blessings Universe. Within the endless and seemingly inescapable Yet to come? We shuffle out after prayers, cycles of birth and death, creation and destruction, growth The chapel light still warm. and decay, we believe that there is also a forward trajectory to history, sometimes leaping, sometimes imperceptibly If vocation is the life we’re marked for slouching toward new life, springing up gradually when Are we also called to particular deaths – all seems dead—a flower bursting through the concrete, Specific stories raveling from today an activist staring down a phalanx of guns, small acts of That write themselves beyond? generosity, a scared puppy curling up on my lap. In the recreation room is a portrait of you, I often think of and quote the philosopher and activist Standing in the cloister: eyes deep with loyalty, Cornell West, who points out that there is a difference between hope and optimism. Optimism, he says, is a Language, listening – all your gravity secular construct, a calculation of probability—and from Pulling us to the heart of this place, ever-ripening, a secular perspective “the end doesn’t look so good right Where the sunrises are never the same now.” “But we are people of hope,” he says. “Hope wrestles with despair, but it doesn’t generate optimism. It just And the sunsets, like your last word, generates this energy to be courageous, to bear witness, Take their sweet time to reveal themselves. to see what the end is going to be.” And the Resurrection tells us that in all circumstances, from physical death The ocean sighs, sufficient unto itself – through emotional upheavals all the way to dealing with I hear songs of distant whales – climate change and tyranny, we know what the end is: God The rain plays rhapsodies on rooftops – will be all in all, as Paul ends his discourse on death in 1st Corinthians 15. That doesn’t let us off the hook into a kind And everywhere of quietism. It generates the energy to be courageous, to bear witness, to decide to love some more, to get up in the As if proving the primacy of love morning and keep living. The scent of pines The scent of pines The Mary Oliver poem doesn’t end with that sad line quoted on the previous page. It ends with what may be – Aaron Maniam her most famous epigraph: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” 4 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage contemplation.com ~ 5 Tending to the Soil of Our Soul shift for me had been the importance of soil. Lia Huber I’d always thought of soil as just dirt. Something that got your shoes dusty and turned to mud if it rained. But I’d I remember, growing up in the Midwest, how a bleakness learned that there are over a billion microbes in just one would settle over me as the last burst of color faded from teaspoon of soil, nourished by a diet of decay. tree limbs, leaving a stark landscape of black branches slashing an ashen sky. Soil, it turned out, was a deep mystery far beyond our understanding and crucial to life on earth. In his speech That feeling followed me decades later to California. My “The Future of Food,” the Prince of Wales declared that husband, Christopher, and I had moved to wine country. “soil is the planet’s most vital renewable resource.” In spring, the hills would be carpeted in a green so fertile it tinted the horizon. In summer, broad leaves canopied God formed Adam from soil, and that connection was clusters of violet grapes. In autumn, vineyards blazed perpetuated in language—the Latin word for “soil”— persimmon and crimson. humus— and “human” come from the same root.

But in winter, just as in the Midwest, there was … nothing. I had always read Jesus’s words about bearing fruit through the lens of my upbringing, assuming the “fruits” Like so many of us growing up in modern society, I’m not were achievements and wins. I had never given a second great at waiting. And the bare vines and branches felt, I’ll thought to the “soil.” To me, failure and loss were nothing admit, like something of a waste. A waste of time. A mark more than things to be lamented and grieved. of inefficiency. But looking out at the vineyard that day, I began to wonder But that just shows how little I knew about how plants if I’d had it all wrong. After all, the health of soil was fueled grow. About how we grow. not by the “useful fruit” that had been carted away to farmers markets and pressed into wine, but by what was A few years after we moved to Healdsburg I was having left behind. tea with my wise friend, Jann, on a blustery February day, looking out over their (bare) vineyards. I’d just shared how What if the character traits Paul lists in Galatians weren’t empty I felt, in the midst of a painful battle with fibromyalgia, just guidelines for being a good person, but the actual thwarted by numerous nonstarters in my career. fruit Jesus was talking about? What if God were using my failures and losses to nurture the soil of my soul? Jann blew on her tea and looked out the window. “What do you see when you look out at those vineyards, Lia?” she What if, just as God designed the soil system to be regen- asked me. erative—where death and decay were the very genesis of new life—the same was true of our “soul system?” “I don’t know,” I replied, fidgeting impatiently. “A bunch of dead branches.” Leaving Jann’s that day, I decided to try on the notion that the rejections I’d been experiencing might not be outright “Aha,” she said. “That’s where you’re wrong. Those vines failures. aren’t dead. They’re actually doing the most productive work they’ve done all year.” Over the years, through wise mentors and the guidance of the Spirit, I acquired tools and developed practices to tend She went on to explain that, while above the surface it to my spiritual soil—quiet, solitude, space for contemplation, appeared that nothing was happening, below the ground regular meditation and prayer, and journaling. the vines’ roots were replenishing themselves, taking in And over the years, fruit began to appear. nourishment from the rich compost and mulch—the refuse from previous seasons—so that they could do the Not the juicy fruit I’d been banking on of success and rec- taxing work of bearing fruit come summer. ognition and ease. But the deep, abiding fruits of the Spirit.

Jann turned to me. “What if you’re in a fallow time in your I recognized them in the way my soul’s gaze slowly pivoted outward life, Lia,” she said, “because God wants to nour- outward, continuously on the lookout for ways to serve ish something deeper in you right now, to give you the others rather than just myself. And in the way my breath strength to bear fruit in the future that you don’t even would remain even and my emotions tempered during know exists yet?” an argument, when in the past I would have stormed out the door. I cocked my head as two worlds merged. But the biggest harvest came several years later during a In my food writing career, I’d been gaining a deeper under- particularly grueling time. standing of sustainable farming practices. One big paradigm contemplation.com ~ 5 I had flown out to Connecticut with our then 4-½ year old daughter, Noemi, to be with my parents over the Fourth of A Christian Response to Gun Violence July holiday, seven months after my Mom had suffered a Phil McManus, Oblate OSB Cam. devastating stroke. To make it worse, the tension between Christopher and me was so high he’d stayed at home to We are all too familiar with the images of senseless gun make it easier on both of us. violence. A concert in Las Vegas. A synagogue in Pittsburgh. Even in our schools, innocent children and dedicated Everything that week fell at the extremes of the emotional teachers are being murdered: 143 killed and 289 wounded scale, often at the same time. since the Columbine killings in 1999. And the trauma extends much further. More than 4.1 million students Sitting beside my Mom in her wheelchair on the deck, endured at least one lockdown in the 2017–2018 school laughing as we watched Noemi attempt somersaults on year alone. One million of them were elementary-age. At the grass … and moments later the tears that came with least 61 percent of the lockdowns were related to firearms. the gut-wrenching acknowledgement that Mom would A recent Washington Post article reports on the lasting never again play with her granddaughter on that lawn. trauma that some children experience as a result of a lock- down, even when no violence actually occurs.1 Having a firecracker fight with Christopher over the phone just as the sun was setting on the Fourth ... and then walk- ing out to the backyard to see my brother delighting in his niece as they painted the black sky with fiery sparklers. I was aware that the g-force of such strongly opposing emotions would have crushed me in the past. Yet what pervaded during those days was a deep sense of joy and peace that did not in any way come from me.

Interestingly enough, healthy soil brings more resilient crops. And I was finding the same outcome to be true with my soul’s soil. God was tilling all my loss and grief with His love to bring about a closer connection with Him, and a richer life—no matter the circumstances—than I could ever have imagined.

Lia Huber is the author of NOURISHED: A Memoir of Food, Faith and Enduring Love (with Recipes) and the founder of NOURISH Evolution (nourishevolution.com). Through much soul tending over the years, 49 Farolitos, an art installation by James Nocito at Grace Cathedral, was Lia felt the stirring of the Spirit towards her calling of helping people live a tribute to the 49 people murdered in the Orlando nightclub shooting richer, more delicious lives by eating deliberately and living authentically, on June 12, 2016. which she does through her writing, her talks, and her online programs. She lives in Healdsburg with her husband, Christopher, and daughter, The bishops of the United States have long called for mod- Noemi. est gun control measures as one essential step in confront- ing the epidemic of gun violence. Their list includes a total ban on assault weapons, universal background checks for all gun purchases, limitations on civilian access to high- capacity weapons and ammunition magazines, and locks or other measures that make guns safer.2

However, the withering polarization of our politics has impeded dialogue and made it very difficult to find common ground.

In his recent book Them, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse argues that “the dysfunction in D.C.” stems from something “deeper than economics,” “deeper and more meaningful” than politics. “What’s wrong with America … starts with one uncomfortable word … Loneliness.” And he underscores the need to build community as one essential antidote. In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. The profound alienation of the perpetrators of mass killings is an obvious, extreme example of the loneliness to which – Albert Camus Sasse refers. Violent street gangs are a complex phenom- enon, but in them we can discern the desperate human

6 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage need for community. And we have no doubt experienced isolation can be profoundly discouraging. Coming together in our own lives the deep longing for community, the ways with others to try to do something about it is in itself an act in which we have sought to build it, and the ways in which of healing and a key step toward finding solutions. societal pressures and our own inertia have caused our efforts to fall short of our ideals. The US bishops hold up “restorative justice”3 as a power- ful model for communal healing. They recognize that in Perhaps we can learn from other societies that have been order to prevent future violence, we must find ways to heal torn apart by deeper and wider violence and yet have the wounds of violent acts. This process must involve the found paths forward. In Colombia, a 50-year civil war has perpetrators, the victims and the community that itself has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. A peace deal ap- been wounded and that is uniquely able to provide the proved in 2016 charted a way out of the war; building a support and ensure much-needed accountability. solid and sustainable peace will still take years. In 2008, evangelical church groups, organized by the Mennonite For many of us, contemplative practice is a means of organization Justapaz, started an innovative peace-building rooting ourselves in Christ who is found, as Jesus told us, project. Working in some of the most dangerous parts of in “the least of these.” But how do we ensure that our the country, the churches came together to do the hard practice does not short-circuit itself in self-absorption or in work of building peace long before the peace agreement the pursuit of inner reverie but instead produces the fruit was on the horizon. of engaged service In the ensuing years, and the transforma- they have brought tion of our suffering hope to their com- world? munities, obtained concrete assistance Episcopal priest for victims of the Tilden Edwards takes war, and built broad up this challenge: coalitions that have “The rise of contem- facilitated commu- plative practice today nity-based problem stems ... from the solving and given desire to grow more local communities a fully into who we cohesive and power- really are. We need ful voice to advocate to cultivate spiritual for their needs. communities ... where there is mutual sup- Several elements, port, challenge, and integral to their prog- practices to foster the ress, may illuminate lifetime journey from our own efforts to The sculpture Non-Violence is also known as “the knotted gun”. It was originally created as a the image to the memorial tribute to the legendary singer and songwriter John Lennon, after he was shot and confront the epidemic killed outside his home in New York City on December 8, 1980. likeness of God ... Lis- of gun violence in tening and respond- the USA. First of all is the practice of their Christian faith. ing together from the contemplative heart in all societal Their faith is what fuels the responsibility they feel to work settings can further the maturing of human relationships, for peace. Its values guide that work and, together with purpose, and inclusive societal well-being: the ripening of support from church communities, sustains them in the the communal kin-dom of heaven.” (Emphasis added)4 midst of the considerable personal risks that they take. In addition, rather than simply addressing the symptoms 1 www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/school-shootings- of the conflict, they are committed to conflict transforma- database/?utm_term=.216c0bad1507; statistics are from tion, addressing its deeper roots. That informs both the www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/local/school-lockdowns- in-america/?utm_term=.47899a8c8fa6 style and the content of their work. A related factor is their insistence on reparations for the victims, because justice 2 www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/criminal-justice- restorative-justice/backgrounder-on-gun-violence.cfm requires it and because you cannot build a sustainable peace in the absence of some form of healing for the victims 3 zehr-institute.org/what-is-rj of the war. Finally, they are committed to the demanding 4 Tilden Edwards, “Aging from the Contemplative Heart,” “Ripening,” work of listening; of building relationships, mutual under- Oneing, vol. 1, no. 2 (Center for Action and Contemplation: 2013), 50–52. This excerpt appeared (12/28/18) in Franciscan Friar Richard Rohr’s Daily standing and trust; and of creating accountable political Meditations, a wonderful source of food and guidance for the journey; structures that bring together the diverse voices of church- cac.org/category/daily-meditations es, business, community organizations, universities, victims and others, in a unified and powerful chorus. Phil McManus, an oblate, lives in Santa Cruz. For many years, he has Hope is nurtured when people come together in common worked with advocacy nonprofits focused on justice and peacebuilding cause. Contemplating the horrific violence around us in in Latin America. BR. GABRIEL April 20, 1930 – July 18, 2018

Br. Gabriel Kirby OSB, Cam. passed away on the 18th of explore monastic life. It was an article in Time magazine July, 2018. When I think of Br. Gabriel, I am reminded of a which clinched it for him. The short article had a single funny cartoon in which there are two men looking at an sentence about the Hermitage and one photograph, but escalator and a third man is walking up the “down” escala- that was all he needed. “By the time I finished that article, tor—clearly going against the flow. One of the two men the Lord gave me a miracle of grace,” he had said to me commented, “That’s Bob, he was raised in the wilderness about his inspiration to pursue the monastic life. He by salmon.” arrived at the Hermitage soon after, in 1962, and perse- vered for more than 50 years in his monastic vocation. That man going against the flow could be Br. Gabriel, who When Gabriel got hold of a thing, he’d never let go—his had something of a reputation for being a contrarian. If you devout genuineness made him a special person. said no, he would say yes and if you said yes, he’d say no. If I said, “It’s raining cats and dogs,” he’d say, “I don’t see any Over the years, Gabriel worked in many capacities at the cats or dogs.” It was his witty simplicity and sincere truth Hermitage. He was secretary to the community chapter, that endeared him to so many. worked in the kitchen, and served as guest-master. For 20 years he did nearly all the shopping for the entire Br. Gabriel was also the most generous of monks. When he community—a weekly journey to Monterey, which he used to do the weekly trip into town, for example, he would enjoyed very much. go out of his way to help stranded motorists. He would ensure they received assistance, sometimes bringing them He also worked as Sacristan, a job he particularly loved. back to the Hermitage for a night’s lodging. One retreatant said, “The way he did the Sacristan work spoke to me profoundly of the love of God.” She was Br. Gabriel was born on Easter Sunday in 1930 to a devout inspired by his work and wanted to set her table the way Catholic family. As a young man, he never thought of be- he set up the altar. Another guest reported him giving her coming a monk—his passion was for music. As a child he a magnificent blessing. She shared his words, “May the sang in a boys’ choir and appeared in the movie Going My grace you will receive in this retreat be greater than all you Way. He wanted to make music his life’s work. Things didn’t have received in your life so far. May God sweep you up to go as planned, but music remained essential to him. He heaven and so inflame you with his love that when he sets told me, “One thing which has been of great importance in you down again you will want nothing but him forever.” my spiritual life all along has been charismatic praise and A memory I want to retain of Br. Gabriel was the time he worship and Handel’s Messiah.” He further explained, “No came back from a charismatic convention. With arms out- matter what I was going through from the first note I am all stretched and full of jubilation he was singing one of the on fire through to the end and beyond.” hymns “YOU are all I want!”

He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles Fr. Isaiah was born and raised in Sacramento. He has resided at the with a degree in geography, but ultimately felt led to Hermitage since 1980. He considers himself “one of the old timers.” 8 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage FR. ROBERT April 21, 1937 – August 29, 2018

Fr. Robert Hale OSB, Cam. was born on April 21, 1937, in After stepping down as Prior, he returned to Berkeley to Denver, Colorado. His parents were active members of the teach for several years before returning permanently to Episcopal Church and it was the Anglican liturgical tradition New Camaldoli in 2006. Although he briefly served a sec- that first introduced him to regular praying of the psalms ond term as Prior from January 2012 through June 2013, and the structures of morning and evening prayers. After his major role during his final years at New Camaldoli was his father’s death when he was 14, Robert and his mother serving as Oblate Chaplain. moved to Glendale, California, where he graduated high school and entered Pomona College to study philosophy. Fr. Robert frequently talked about the impact that Thomas During his time as an undergraduate, he converted to Merton’s writings had on him, particularly in regard to Catholicism and entered New Camaldoli Hermitage in April making him aware of the Camaldolese. He was a plenary 1959 at the end of his senior year in college. As he told the speaker at the first General Meeting of the International story in his book, Love on the Mountain, he actually came to Thomas Merton Society (ITMS) in 1989. He also served as the Hermitage during spring break with the initial intent of an advisor for the Bede Griffiths Trust since its inception in not taking his final exams or finishing his degree. (His pro- 1994 and was elected as its first chairperson. fessors eventually convinced him to do both!) After solemn vows, he studied in Italy and was ordained at Camaldoli in He was the author of numerous articles and three books: 1966 before coming back to the United States to complete Christ and the Universe: Teilhard de Chardin and the Cosmos graduate studies at St. John’s University (MA in theology) (a revision of his doctoral dissertation); Canterbury and and Fordham University (PhD in theology). Rome, Sister Churches: A Roman Catholic Monk Reflects upon Reunion in Diversity; and Love on the Mountain: The Chronicle Fr. Robert taught philosophy and monastic spirituality at Journal of a Camaldolese Monk. Sant’Anselmo, the international Benedictine university in Rome, from 1972 to 1979. In the autumn of 1979, he was He died on the 29th of August, 2018. Fr. Robert will be sent to Berkeley by his Camaldolese superiors to provide remembered by many for his gentle and loving presence leadership in the founding of Incarnation Monastery as an as well as his thoughtful mentoring, both in person and ‘Ecumenical Joint Monastic Community’ with the brothers through virtual environments such as Facebook and of the Episcopal Order of the Holy Cross. online discussion groups. His consistent emphasis on the importance of the “primacy of love” and the importance While living at Incarnation, Fr. Robert initiated the Camal- of koinonia (Christian fellowship or communion) are hall- dolese oblate program. Starting in the autumn of 1980, Fr. marks of his legacy. Robert taught spirituality at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley until he was elected Prior of New Camaldoli in Matt Fisher is a chemistry professor at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and has been a Camaldolese oblate since 1998. For over 1988. He served as Prior through January 2000; during this 30 years he has studied and taught the Japanese art of Aikido, in which time the oblate program at New Camaldoli was established. he holds the rank of fifth-degree black belt. contemplation.com ~ 9 OBLATE COMMUNITY & PEER MENTORING

forms. During these times, difficult emotions like sadness The Beauty of Vulnerability and disappointment cause us to feel vulnerable in our pain. Lisa Washio-Collette, Oblate OSB Cam. This vulnerability and pain are what we want to avoid, but this is the risk we take in loving others. In The Four Loves, My husband Julian and I enjoy the gift of living and working C.S. Lewis writes: “To love at all is to be vulnerable.” Our at the Hermitage as housekeepers for the monastery perfect image of vulnerable love is Jesus on the cross. Di- retreat facilities. One of the most fun things about the job vine love empowers us to risk loving and to keep on loving is driving a golf cart around, from the kitchen to the retreat amidst the realities of uncertainty and our lack of control. house to the bookstore and back again! Lately I have noticed, in the upper right-hand corner of the golf cart, a In my housekeeping work, I dust away spiderwebs, but beautiful piece of art—an intricate, circular woven web not the one on our golf cart. For me, this web has become created by a spider. I am quite amazed at the web’s a symbol of resiliency and beauty among the inevitable strength and the resiliency of this spider. The web has losses of life. May we invite God into our losses and our stayed intact through winds and rainstorms. There have grief, trusting that the Spirit is re-creating beauty through been days when I saw that the spider had lost half her web, the fragile threads of our lives and our loves. and one day I noticed that it was completely gone. But to my surprise and delight, after a couple of days there it was again, delicate silver threads making a perfect circle shining Lisa Washio-Collette and her husband Julian are both oblates and work at New Camaldoli Hermitage. Prior to living at New Camaldoli, they lived in its full glory! After major loss, the spider had faithfully and worked in a Catholic Worker community in San Jose, California. She isa re-created beauty. graduate of the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary (now Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary).

Like billowing clouds, like the incessant gurgle of the brook the longing of the spirit can never be stilled.

– Hildegard of Bingen

For me, part of this past year has been a season of major grief and loss. At the end of May, my elderly mother was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I was able to live with and take care of her while she received in-home hopice care for nearly two months. In her last moments, I held her hand as she passed away peacefully.

I inherited my parents’ house, so the next month was devoted to clearing it out. I experienced the letting go of my childhood home as part of the grieving process, which symbolized for me the letting go of stability and security. During this time, Fr. Robert Hale, one of the elder monks of the Hermitage, also passed away, a mere ten days after my mom. I felt that I was grieving with the community as they were grieving with me.

My connection with the Hermitage and the support of friends, family, and my dear husband gave me the strength to go through this difficult time. I am learning to accept that death is a part of life, and life includes losses in many

10 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage OBLATE COMMUNITY & PEER MENTORING Abounding Grace Debi Lorenc There is a light that can overcome the darkness. I said to my soul, be still, and let the There is no darkness dark come upon you that can overcome the light. Which shall be the darkness of God. – Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, – T.S. Eliot, “East Coker III:12–13”

Where do we go when in despair? When you lose a loved one, get a frightful diagnosis, lose your home in a fire, find out you have been betrayed, or learn your child is in crisis? When you feel numb and you can’t take one step forward?

I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love, For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting. – T.S. Eliot, “East Coker III:23–26”

As Christians, we too often believe that we should have some supernatural strength “The weeds are pulled up by the muscular efforts of to get us through hard the peasant, but only sun and water can make the times—just by believing corn grow.” – Simone Weil God will be right there for us. Even though this The only thing we can do that has any effect is strip away is true, we may not get the things that get in the way, but only God is the source of the results we think the sacred grace, which He gives freely and generously. are obvious or that we want. Often our pride This time of waiting allows God’s grace to sink deep into our does not want us to souls, opening our hearts to have compassion—to come to sit with the fear and the aid of each other in need—with love and empathy. My father’s hand and mine shortly before uncertainty. The truth is he passed on September 8, 2018. that we need to em- Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of brace our struggles and Christ. (Galations 6:2) unknowing and wait for God, as T.S. Eliot writes above in “East Coker”: “… wait without hope / for hope would be hope As Jesus suffered, died, and rose again, through our own for the wrong thing.” patient suffering, we will be given the grace to rise and be a vessel where God’s grace can live, flow, and bless others. “I do not at all understand the mystery of grace—only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so where it found us.” – Anne Lamott that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. Think of David’s despair in the cave as he waited for God (2 Corinthians 9:8) to release him from his torment, “How long, Oh Lord? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). Isn’t that what it’s like when you feel abandoned? And often we get more blows in Debi Lorenc is a designer, a photographer, and an artist. She is the the process. But then there are the “thin places”—the veil design director of this newsletter and a retired creative director and between the earthly world and the eternal world—between partner of a graphic design firm. Debi lives in San Jose and Big Sur with her husband, Chris. They have four children and two grandchildren. She our emotions and the sacred light that peers in with is an oblate of San Vincenzo Abbey in Italy and a longtime friend of the glimpses of promise. Benedictine sisters there.

contemplation.com ~ 11 Helpful Blessings—the Maintenance Wade, also known as “Uncle Wade,” arrived Crew in 2000, after a child- Jill Gisselere, Director of Development hood friend gifted him with a retreat stay. He Each day during the week you can find a small group of reflected, “I did not men and a German Shepherd named Sophia gathered in find the Hermitage, a circle behind the cloister. These men comprise the the Hermitage found maintenance department led by Michael Richards. Every me in 2000 and being morning, they gather to plan what needs to be done and offered a job here was to address any urgent issues at the Hermitage as well as an undeserved bless- the long-term maintenance requirements so that we can ing.” Wade can often keep our doors open to the public. be spotted cruising the Hermitage property These daily in a donated golf cart tasks may filled with tools and change de- groundskeeping sup- pending on plies, and he can fix just the weather about anything. or many oth- Merritt, a Big Sur native, came the Hermitage after doing er variables. some contract work in 2008. He assisted in building the The areas of infirmary. In 2012, he came on board as a full-time employ- responsibility ee joining this dynamic team. for this team include: man- Rod was newly married and passing through on his honey- agement of moon in 1998 when he first stumbled upon the Hermitage. the buildings, He returned in 2008 as an outside contractor to do some upkeep of remodeling work on one of the monk’s cells. Since then he the grounds, has been a full-time employee and he and his wife Jane live working at the Hermitage in a private residence. with heavy equipment Tim started in early 2018 after doing some volunteer work and genera- for special events at the Hermitage. He moved to Big Sur tors, repair from Los Angeles in 2014 and had been looking for full- work for the time employment in the area. Tim and I married last year automobiles, and we live at the Hermitage. monitoring the refrig- Joe recently joined the maintenance crew. He is a long-time eration, maitaining the roads, being mindful of the spring family friend of our Chef Chris and hails from New Jersey. and water works, supervision of hazardous materials, and managing fire clearance and concerns. What is the most interesting thing that has happened I sat down with the maintenance team—which­ currently while working at the Hermitage? consists of Michael Richards, Rod, Wade, Merritt, Tim and Joe—and asked them a few questions so that our readers When I presented this question, I was expecting to hear could get to know them and learn about what they do at stories of disasters, fires, or evacuations. Instead, I found the Hermitage. that the team approached these issues as part of their jobs and they handle crisis events with grace and stability. What might be of concern to many of us is handled smoothly by How did you find out about the Hermitage? this group.

Michael found the Hermitage through a friend over 30 Rod replied that, “the most interesting thing is the joy of years ago and began working for room and board, assisting not being in the world and how easy it is to live without it.” Br. Emmanuel and Fr. Joseph Deamer with various projects. Michael responded, “obtaining a unique monastic perspec- When it was decided that Michael would stay on as an tive on life.” Wade noted, “a couple of unexpected visitors employee, he originally asked for one dollar per day as his including a man on horseback traveling across the coun- starting salary but the monks offered him two dollars and try to “spread the word” and a lovesick peacock hoarsely he agreed. Michael has been with the Hermitage since calling for a date after dark.” Merritt reflected on the very 1985, and he oversees the maintenance department. unique challenge of the placement, by a crane, of the new

12 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage guest hermitages on the hillside of the property. The pro- cess, which occurred in 2014, took over three months to Preached Retreats for 2019 complete. The new guest hermitages have helped sustain April 26–28 the livelihood of the Hermitage, providing retreatants with Joseph Neary, PhD. new, modern, affordable places to stay. Tim’s most inter- esting moment was getting caught in a runaway dump Neuroscience and Meditation truck a few months ago, which came very close to a ledge Studies from the new field of contemplative neuroscience on the property. It was a close call for Tim, Michael, and demonstrate that Christian and other ancient practices of Sophia and because of their quick response, they were meditation can change the activity, structure, and function able to stop the truck from going off the hillside. of our brains. During our time together, we will explore how we can utilize basic principles of neuroscience—such as When asked to describe a typical day at work, all are in neuroplasticity and stress resilience—to enrich our con- agreement that there is no way to define a typical day. For templative practices and enhance our health and well-being. those who commute to the Hermitage, this often means an early morning, carrying a chainsaw to move and cut debris Dr. Neary is an internationally known neuroscientist and in the road and navigating ongoing road closures. The main- long-time meditator, and he has held positions at tenance department prioritizes their daily tasks based on Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, the needs of the monks, the retreatants, and the staff. Main- National Institutes of Health, Marine Biological Laboratory, taining over 900 acres, 50 buildings, 30 residents, and 20 University of Miami School of Medicine, and VA Medical retreatants can be daunting and any given day many issues Center. He has published 100 research and review papers can arise. The team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a on the mechanisms of learning, memory, neuroendocrinol- week as needed for those who are living at the Hermitage. ogy and traumatic brain injury.

May 17–19 What is your biggest concern for the future of the Maggie Weaver Hermitage? 11th Step Wade, Merritt, and Tim all agreed that both the driveway Sacred reading, holy reading, close reading—how do we and the maintenance of Highway One are the top priorities. bring together our understanding of the human capacity The urgency to keep both open in order to be able to get to read and understand with the mysterious spiritual core resources to the Hermitage as well as other residents and of ourselves? The monastic practice of Lectio Divina, truly local businesses is essential. Michael and Rod both agreed a charism of the church, continues to expand and utilize that it is important to continue populating the Hermitage cultural changes and human knowledge to bring us closer with new monks to sustain the important work that occurs to ourselves and to God. at the Hermitage.

The donations we receive throughout the year help sup- June 21–23 port the hard work of this team. The Hermitage could not Fr. Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. and Jacob Riyeff, OblSB survive without this team of dedicated men. They are so Wake Up! The Legacy of Swami Abhishiktananda in committed to the work the monks are doing and to the fu- Poetry, Song and Film ture of the Hermitage. You may occasionally see them qui- Swami Abhishiktananda (Fr. Henri Le Saux) was a etly working on the property or in the chapel. If you have a Benedictine monk who spent much of his life in India chance, please take a moment to say hello and thank them immersed in the contemplative traditions of Christianity for the fine work they are doing. and Hinduism. By the time of his death in 1973, Swamiji had become a prophet of interreligious dialogue, an accomplished spiritual writer, and one of the 20th century’s great mystics. Swamiji sought and desired to lead others to the realization of Absolute Reality, drawing together Christian teaching on the Trinity and Hindu teaching on nonduality (Advaita).

Though he, like so many of the great mystics, called seek- ers to go “beyond” (beyond concepts, beyond words, beyond images), he also understood the necessity of words and signs in our everyday reality. In that spirit, New Camaldoli Hermitage is excited to offer a retreat focused on Swamiji’s life and teaching. While we will make space for the silence Swamiji loved so well, we will also celebrate his life and teaching in various arts: New Camaldoli’s own

contemplation.com ~ 13 Fr. Cyprian will lead us in chant and song, Benedictine oblate and poet Jacob Riyeff will give a reading of Swamiji’s Activities and Visitors newly translated poetry, and we will view the new docu- AUGUST mentary of Swamiji’s life, Dawn of the Abyss: The Spiritual Fr. Thomas spent a month at our hermitage in Brazil. Birth of Swamiji. SEPTEMBER In addition to these multimedia sessions, traditional con- We celebrated the funeral of Fr. Robert on the Feast of ferences on Swamiji’s teaching will offer a more detailed the Birth of Mary; Br. Timothy spent time with his Holy encounter with his profound insights into the contemplative Cross community in Santa Barbara; Fr. Cyprian visited life. Please join us for this joyous event! Oregon Catholic Press in Portland; Thomas began a round-the-world pilgrimage to Australia, India, and Italy All reservations are made through Katee at (831)-667- (with stops in Hawaii and Singapore). 2456 ext. 143 or [email protected]. OCTOBER We had a marvelous retreat week led by Sr. Marielle Online it will appear that there is no availability for the Frigge, OSB, from Yankton, SD; Br. Benedict had a family Preached Retreats. That is because these rooms are being visit to Philadelphia. held for individuals who wish to join the retreat. If you want to do it by email, that is fine; or you can give Katee a NOVEMBER call. This is the information Katee needs: a mailing address, Cyprian had a family visit to Phoenix; Postulant Doug had a phone number, an email address, the number of people a family visit to North Carolina; Br. Timothy visited Holy coming, and a Visa or MasterCard number (with expiration Cross motherhouse in New York; our Financial Advisory date) to which to charge the first night’s deposit; which Board met at the Monastery of the Risen Christ. is the cost of the room for one night and the additional $60.00 per person for the Preached Retreat itself. DECEMBER Oblates Jackie Chew and Aaron Maniam offered us an afternoon of music and poetry; our friends at Lucia Lodge hosted us again for a Christmas dinner; we had a beautiful, quiet Christmas celebration and an all-Camaldolese The triannual newsletter is published by the Gathering two days later at which we voted to approve Camaldolese Hermits of America for our friends, Br. Bede’s request for ordination. oblates, and sponsors.

Director: Father Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. JANUARY Editor: Lisa Benner, Oblate, OSB Cam. The prior’s Advisory Board held its annual meeting; Fr. Scott Design: Debi Lorenc Sinclair offered us a week of conferences on Scripture. Development: Jill Gisselere

Photo credits: Debi Lorenc: Front cover, pages 2, 4 right column, 6 left column, 11, 14, and back cover Devin Kumar: Page 4 left column Kayleigh Meyers: Pages 8 and 9 Jill Gisselere: Pages 12 and 13 Rich Veum: Page 3, 15 left column (top), middle left two Valerie Sinkus: Page 15 left column (bottom), right two

Back Cover: ‘’The Avowal’’ By Denise Levertov, from OBLIQUE PRAYERS, copyright ©1984 by Denise Levertov. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.

If you have questions or comments, please email Advisory Board meeting [email protected]. FEBRUARY New Camaldoli Hermitage Several of the monks participated in the welcome and 62475 Highway 1 installation of the new bishop of the Diocese of Monterey, Big Sur, CA 93920 Daniel Garcia; amidst the worst winter storms of the sea- Visit us at www.contemplation.com and son, Bishop Jerry Wilkerson came to New Camaldoli and “New Camaldoli Hermitage” on Facebook. ordained Br. Bede to the diaconate and Br. Ignatius to the priesthood. We of course also celebrated Fr. Ignatius’ first Mass. 14 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage What the Monks Are Reading

Fr. Cyprian: Divine Discontent: The Prophetic Voice of Thomas Merton by John Moses; Earthly Joys by Phillipa Gregory Br. Doug Herbek: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri; Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J. Fr. Isaiah: Reimagining the Ignatian Examen by Mark Thibodeaux; The Sunne In Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman Fr. Thomas: The Silmarillion by J.R.R.Tolkien; Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death by F.W. H. Myers Br. Timothy: Evolutionaries by Carter Phipps; Sacred Fire by Br. Bede’s ordination Ronald Rolheiser

Staff Submissions Rich Veum: How to Change your Mind by Michael Pollan; The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida Vicky Conte: All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot; The One Year Bible (New International Edition) Julian Washio-Collette: White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism by Robin D’Angelo; Empire Baptized: How the Church Embraced What Jesus Rejected by Wes Howard-Brook Lisa Washio-Collette: Christian Meditation: Experiencing Br. Bede’s ordination the Presence of God by James Finley Jill Gisselere: In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Maté; The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

“I said: what about my eyes? He said: Keep them on the road.

I said: What about my passion? Fr. Ignatius’ ordination He said: Keep it burning.

I said: What about my heart? He said: Tell me what you hold inside it?

I said: Pain and sorrow. He said: Stay with it. The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”

– Rumi

Fr. Ignatius’ ordination contemplation.com ~ 15 The Avowal

As swimmers dare to lie face to the sky and water bears them, as hawks rest upon air and air sustains them, so would I learn to attain freefall, and float into Creator Spirit’s deep embrace, knowing no effort earns that all-surrounding grace.

– Denise Levertov