Monks, OSB a quarterly newsletter New Camaldoli Hermitage Spring 2015 • Vol. 21, Issue 2 62475 Highway 1, , CA 93920 • 831-667-2456 • www..com

Formation and Vocations Update By Fr. Isaiah Teichert, OSB Cam.

“No matter how much you push the envelope, it remains stationery.” This wisdom comes from Doug Herbek who is the newest postulant at the Hermitage, as well as a serious punster and joke meister. Doug the fun raiser has a way of gentling people into a laugh (or perhaps a cheerful groan). It’s very pleasant to have someone steadily raising a smile here, as the brethren Both of them are grow- can be a gloomy lot if we’re not careful. But for all his merriment, Doug is ing in grace and favor engaging the life earnestly, faithful to his with each passing class. work and prayer. He has a colorful back- ground, working as a lawyer for many years, then spending time in the Peace Corps, and most recently teaching high school in the Chicago area. Right now he’s studying under Fr. , and they are working through Bene- dict Groeschel’s Spiritual Passages. Both prior and postulant are growing in grace and favor with each passing class. Doug Herbek being clothed as a postulant. Another Doug blessing: he regularly makes sure our surplus food gets transported to the San Jose Catholic Worker, the soup kitchen in Salinas or to food distribution places south of us. This has become a concrete way for all Prayer for Vocations of us to be mindful of the poor. Br. Cassian, our novice, has been spending time recently visiting pos- sible future places of study. (Although he maintains the itself is Raise up in your church, O Lord, women THE school, the place where he learns the most). He visited Incarnation and men to respond to your call. May Monastery in Berkeley, and also spent a few days up at Mount Angel in Or- egon. Cassian has finished up his and is now away for a brief time, all people come to know their full voca- visiting family and doing a desert retreat. tion in Christ and with the Spirit’s grace Our Br. Ignatius is preparing to go off to Italy for school! He will be living find fulfillment. In particular, may Saint with our monks at San Gregorio Magno, right across from the Circus Maxi- mus and the Roman Forum, and taking a three-year course at Sant’Anselmo, Romuald intercede for those called to the the Benedictine University. We are going to miss him around here for all he Camaldolese way of life. May our life of is and does, but he’ll be home in the summers and we are happy to invest in solitude, communion, and contempla- such a fine man. tive outreach be for the church a sign of If you are or know of any man between the ages of 25 and 40 interested in Christ’s saving action, today and always. religious life, please contact Fr. Isaiah, [email protected]. And We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, please remember our vocation discernment retreat, “Come and See,” for any young people, male or female, taking place this year June 19-21, led by who lives and reigns with you in the unity Br. , Fr. Cyprian and Fr. Raniero. We’re still looking for participants of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and and scholarship sponsors. ever. vvvvvv 2 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage Father, Mother, and the Tao of Jesus Prior Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam.

With both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day if mother were to die, there is little chance coming up, I thought I would revisit a homily that baby would survive without the kind of I offered Wednesday of the 4th week of . radical intervention possible only in modern I know it may sound strange, but something medicine. And the bond between us and the about the combination of the two readings that Divine is even stronger. Even now we dwell in day (Is 49:8-25 and Jn 5:17-30) reminded me God as if we were infants in the womb of God. of the Tao te Ching, that great ancient book I’m reminded that the second most common of Chinese philosophy, chapter 52. Here’s word for mercy in the Hebrew scriptures is one translation of it: “The origin and mother rachamim which comes from a root word of everything in the world is Tao…” Please rechem, which means a mother’s womb. “The keep in mind that I have heard some very womb of mercy.” It’s a good image for Lent or convincing arguments (including, especially, that marvelous anytime: we are held in the womb of God’s mercy, which is more book by the Greek Orthodox Hieromonk Damascene, Christ the than forgiveness. It’s intimate, infinite compassion and unity in Eternal Tao) that the Chinese concept of the Tao and the Greek communion. Even now we dwell in the womb of God’s mercy. concept of the Word or logos are pretty much identical, to the Even now. extent that the prologue of the Gospel of John in Mandarin is In child development I’ve heard it said that one of the biggest translated, In the beginning was the Tao… differences in the relationship with the mother as opposed to the relationship with the father is that the infant still carries very The origin and mother of everything in the world is Tao. visceral muscle memory of being inside this other creature, and Know the mother and you can know the children. there is still a unification experience even while nursing at the Having known the children, breast, little or no sense of differentiation between I and Thou. return to their source and hold on to her. The father on the other hand may be the first person who is truly Abiding by the mother, you are free from danger, Other. Some will want to apply that to God, and our images of even when your body dies. God. God as Father is Other; whereas God as Mother conveys this sense of utmost perfect intimacy, union in communion. I It is not unusual, of course, for us to hear gospel stories in don’t think we need to choose between the two. As I heard the which Jesus speaks about his relationship with the Father, his late great Jesuit theologian Avery Dulles say once, “‘Father’ may , and the long passage from John 5 is a particularly good only be a metaphor, but it’s an inspired metaphor.” So we don’t example of that. want to lose that. But I think we can safely add on to that this image from Isaiah, that our relationship with God is even more The Son cannot do anything on his own intimate and unitive than the relationship of a fetus in the womb, but only what he sees the Father doing… totally symbiotic, two and yet not-two at the same time. And As the Father raises the dead and gives them life from what I read about Jesus’ relationship with God, his abba, so the Son gives life to those whom he wills… it was something more like that, no matter what metaphor he … as the Father has life in himself so also used––‘The Father and I are one.’ Two and yet not-two. How he gave the Son the possession of life in himself… does Paul say it? ‘In him we live and move and have our being And especially: I do not seek my own will (Acts 17:28).’ We speak so much about God-within-us; I’m not but the will of the one who sent me. sure we speak often enough about us within God. Let me recapitulate the Tao te Ching in this light. The Tao What was also interesting in that day’s readings, though, was says, “Know the mother and you can know the children.” Jesus to have the maternal image at the end of the passage from the says, ‘If you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father.’ The Tao says, prophet Isaiah (Is 49:15) placed side by side with that gospel “Having known the children, return to their source and hold on reading, and such a memorable phrase: ‘Can a mother forget to her.” Jesus says, ‘I have come not to do my own will but the the nursing infant, be without tenderness for the child of her will of the one who sent me.’ So having known Jesus, we return womb? Yet even if she forget, I will never forget you.’ God is to his God and our God, as he says in the garden. The Tao says, not necessarily imaged here as a mother, but instead God’s “Abiding by the mother, you are free from danger, even when tenderness and symbiosis, you might say, are said to be even your body dies.” And Jesus gives us his Easter message: ‘… stronger, deeper, than the bond between a mother and the child in whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me… the womb. Even stronger! That’s pretty strong, because in some has passed from death to life.’ way the child within the womb of the mother and the mother Even now. are not two creatures. Whatever Mommy eats, baby eats. And www.contemplation.com 3

Michela Petoletti

from the pages of… Vita Monastica

Our own Fr. Robert started contributing as a young monk to Vita Monastica, while living in Italy. This is from a 1976 issue devoted to “Monastic Community and Human Community.”

The theme of koinonia is not just one among many in monastic theology. Monastic life itself is essentially koinonia, according to the most ancient tradition of communal monasticism. So “holy koinonia,” understood in the broadest sense of communion in Christ with the Father and the other monks, explains every element and constitutes the proof and the goal of monastic life. Such koinonia has always been understood, at least in the most authentic tradition of monasticism, as communion open to the local church, to the universal church, and to the entire human family; therefore not as a group closed in its spiritual self- sufficiency, but a concrete koinonia that is organically inserted in the universal, Christian, and human koinonia. 4 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage Thomas Merton and the Camaldolese By Fr. Thomas Matus, OSB Cam. threefold good were In 1952, Thomas Merton began a his brothers at Geth- three-year correspondence with Dom semani, the cabin in Anselmo Giabbani, the prior general of the woods behind the Monk- of Camaldoli. Merton the abbey (which the wrote requesting permission to transfer to , tired of argu- the Holy Hermitage of Camaldoli in the ing with Merton, al- Tuscan Apennines. This was several years lowed him to occupy before the founding of New Camaldoli as a hermitage), and Hermitage (1958), but an American foun- his typewriter. Per- dation was already in Dom Anselmo’s haps the world needs plans and in Merton’s hopes. to thank Dom James Merton initiated the correspondence for compelling Mer- three years after his ordination to the ton to resolve his im- This is a photo of Thomas Merton reportedly at New Camaldoli priesthood as a monk of the Trappist Ab- patience by working in 1968 when he stopped in at the beginning of the fateful trip to Asia. bey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in rural in the mission field . He was restless, and while of his writing desk. had been an illusion and a temptation, and never doubting his monastic vocation, he Ultimately, our own Dom Anselmo they persevered — Merton the Trappist was unsure whether it could be fulfilled had to concur with Abbot Fox and the and Nazarena the Camaldolese — in the in the monastery where he had professed archbishop of Milan (the future Pope Paul monastic communities where they had his vows. He dreamed of the , VI) that Merton would do best to stay in professed their solemn vows. of some new, experimental communities Kentucky. On this sad note the correspon- In a sense, Gethsemani Abbey was of solitaries, and of the Camaldolese. He dence ended, but Merton embraced what Merton’s first love, and to this troubled seems to have decided that writing letters he had come to realize was God’s will and love he kept returning. On October 10, to the superiors of these other monastic his own best grace. He did offer advice to 1952, he wrote the following in his jour- congregations did not require the permis- Dom Anselmo for the upcoming founda- nal: sion of his recently-elected abbot, Dom tion of an American hermitage, advice “What am I certain of? If it were James Fox. that closely paralleled that of our Ameri- merely a question of satisfying my own To make a long story short: Dom can anchoress, Nazarena Crotta, in reclu- desires and aspirations I would leave for James was Merton’s abbot for more than sion at the Camaldolese nuns’ monastery Camaldoli in ten minutes. Yet it is not thirty-five years, and never would he of St. Antony of the Desert in Rome (An- merely a question of satisfying my own permit his monk frater Mary Louis (i.e. selmo had been her confessor since she desires. On the contrary: there is one thing Thomas Merton) to leave the abbey, ex- joined our nuns in 1945). Merton didn’t holding me at Gethsemani. And that is the cept for medical needs and to regularize know about Nazarena, and although she cross. Some mystery of the wisdom of his status as an American citizen. This was probably had read one or another of Mer- God has taught me that perhaps after all frustrating for Merton, but he resolved his ton’s books, they never corresponded. Gethsemani is where I belong because I frustration by keeping his solemn vows There was another parallel between do not fit in and because here my ideals of stability and obedience as well as any Merton and Nazarena: the transient rest- are practically all frustrated.” other monk. Perhaps Merton’s struggle lessness that afflicted both in the course of Later Merton would eventually see was something like that of St. Romuald, their monastic life. Both had great artis- the injustice of the last line in his jour- who in his mature years was, in the words tic gifts: Merton as a writer, Nazarena as nal entry. Others have pointed out — and of St. , sterilitatis impa- a musician. Both had entered the monas- Merton himself later admitted — that the tiens. That is, he was “impatient” with a tery with a well-settled understanding of abbot was trying his best discreetly to contemplative life that was “sterile,” that their vocation, although Nazarena, older provide a niche at Gethsemani for Mer- did not bear fruit for the gospel among the in years, had already realized that she was ton and above all to protect him from the people. called to the most extreme form of solitary worst frustration of all, that of his genius At this point, readers of this News- life. The underlying concern in both was as a writer. We Camaldolese have never letter will recognize the recurrent meme that, remaining in their respective com- had the kind of best-selling author that of recent Camaldolese authors: the munities, they might not fulfill their voca- Thomas Merton was, but we have had and Threefold Good of community, solitude, tional gift as monastic hermits. In the case do have good, creative monastics — writ- and gospel witness (see The Mystery of of both Merton and Nazarena, the spasms ers, artists, and musicians — both at our Romuald and the Five Brothers and The of restlessness ceased, they acknowledged Privilege of Love). Thomas Merton’s that their dreams of a better life elsewhere Continued on page 5 contemplation.com ~ 5 Thomas Merton Continued from page 4 mother-house in Italy and here in Califor- : Reading Scripture nia. The broadening of space for unique- Br. Bede Healey, OSB Cam. ness within monastic communities is something that happened simultaneously “It was important, I repeat, that monasticism rediscover this way among and Camaldolese, as in [lectio divina] of reading Scripture. But it has to go further: it has to other religious communities, and in my recognize that this way of reading Scripture is in no way specifically opinion this broadening is in good mea- monastic. It is the entire people of God who must rediscover it, since sure a fruit of the Second Vatican Council. it was the way in which, at one time, the entire people of God used All contemplatives in the Church owe thanks to Thomas Merton, especially in to read Scripture. We must, however, take another step. We must this year 2015 that marks the centenary go beyond the separation of the life of the monk from that of other of his birth. In the end, he thanked God Christians. We must rediscover the primitive unity that has been lost for the grace that led him to the abbey in on the way.” Kentucky, and we Camaldolese have rea- (From a letter on lectio divina by Armand Veileux, OCSO) son to give thanks that he persevered in his original grace and first love. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made The Reading List both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through What the monks are reading these days. his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal Fr. Robert: The Pursuit of Wisdom and claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place Other Works by the Author of the Cloud of the two, thus establishing peace and might reconcile both with of Unknowing (Paulist Classics). God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death Fr. Bruno: Surpised by Hope, N. T. by it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and Wright; , A Biogra- peace to those who were near, for through him we both have ac- phy, Peter Brown. cess in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strang- Fr. Thomas: The Resurrection of the ers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones Son of God, N. T. Wright; The Morning and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation Watch, James Agee. of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the Fr. Isaiah: Seeds of the Word, Robert Bar- capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and ron; Devices and Desires, P. D. James. Bro. Bede: Living Wisdom: The Mission grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being and Transmission of Monasticism, Cris- built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. tiana Piccardo; The Elephant Whisperer, – Ephesians 2: 13 – 22 Graham Spence. Fr. Zacchaeus: Live Your Truth, Kamal Ravi Kant; The Song of the Bird, An- In this rich passage from Ephesians, Paul reminds us of the unity thony deMello. that lies at the heart of all Christian experience. We are neither near Bro. Michael: Divine Intimacy, Fr. Ga- nor far, strangers nor sojourners, but, as Paul says, one new person. briel of St. Mary Magdalene, OCD. God, in Christ, brings all people, all things, all of creation together Fr. Cyprian: Time and Chance, Sharon – in peace. As Christians, Kay Penman; Waking, Being, Dreaming, the implications of this Evan Thompson. Bro. Isaac: Irish Art III (in the Roman- are clear. Divisions of all esque Period), Francoise Henry; The kinds must end, we must Golden Age of Irish Art, Peter Hardison. reach out in love to all, Bro. Ignatius: The Lord of History, Jean we must bring peace, we Danielou, SJ; The Ideology of the Aes- must be peace, so as to be thetic, Terry Eagleton. united in the one dwelling Postulant Doug: , Saint place of God. Augustine; Practicing His Presence, Brother Lawrence with Frank Laubach. 6 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage Easter Season at Incarnation News from Monastery of the Risen Christ By Fr. Andrew Colnaghi, OSB Cam. Fr. Daniel Manger, OSB Cam.

Exciting things have been happening at the Monastery of the Risen Christ in San Luis Obispo this spring. With the generous help of various donors, oblates and friends (and the particular assistance of Patti Tackett, Paula and Mike Huston, Lorie Adolph and Susie Silva) the space adjacent to the chapel has been enclosed with glass and re- floored (along with the chapel and bookstore) in red oak. This We are still full of joy and enthusiasm in our celebration beautiful space, with its wonderful views to the southwest, of the Resurrection of Jesus. It has been a very enriching time will allow us to host groups of up to twenty-five people, and in preparation for Easter and now Eastertide. Sr. Sandra Sch- will also be used for ongoing oblate formation and retreats. neiders offered us a day of retreat on the Gospel of John. Sr. Rita King has already offered a six-week course in group spiri- Mary McGann also offered a day of retreat on environmental tual direction in the new space. . The house trailer on our property has been cleaned, paint- Weekly we gathered for lectio divina which has also been ed, and re-organized for use as Father Stephen’s guestmas- very fruitful. All of this brought us to a very joyful celebra- ter office, a small theological library, and additional meeting tion of and Easter which was well attended by our space. oblates and friends. Under the leadership of Mary Pat and Ron George, we Now we are experiencing the Spirit of the Resurrected Je- have begun to construct a labyrinth in the front pasture. We sus among us which will lead us to Pentecost. The upcoming would be grateful for donations to help us purchase the stone events that will be taking place at Incarnation will be an op- needed for the project, as well as for the Resurrection Path and portunity for all oblates and friends who wish to know more Stations of the Cross that will traverse the pasture to the place about the Camaldolese charism as offered in a day of retreat where the Celtic Cross now stands. by Fr. Robert on “Living the Threefold Good (Solitude, Com- Additional meditative garden space has been created (in a munity, Outreach).” design, planted with succulent plants and furnished with a In May, Fr. Thomas will offer a day of retreat entitled meditation bench) by Susie Silva and her husband next to the “The Ascent to the Depths of the Heart.” chapel, in memory of Connie Mayrhofer, for many years an Finally, all are invited to an exhibition of Fr. Arthur paint- oblate and friend of the Monastery. ings on June 28 - August 27 at Robert Mondavi Winery, Napa We would like to plant a vegetable garden, whose produce Valley. The opening will be on Sunday afternoon, June 28, would benefit local soup kitchens: we would be very grateful 3 - 5 p.m. for help purchasing a pump for our gray-water system to ir- rigate the garden in the dry months. Prior Cyprian and Brothers Cassian and Ignatius joined us The quarterly newsletter is published by the Camaldolese Hermits for a monastic history class with Father Stephen, followed by of America for our friends, oblates, and sponsors. Mass and lunch. It was a great day, full of laughter. Editors: Father Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam., Brother Bede Interns from Cal-Poly’s busi- Healey, OSB Cam., ness school have been helping us Deborah Smith Douglas, Oblate OSB Cam. rebuild our website; we had the Public Relations & Design: Susan Garrison chance at the end of the semester to visit the campus and thank the If you have questions or comments about this publication, please students for their good work for address them to: us. New Camaldoli Hermitage During Lent we assisted cler- 62475 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA 93920 gy throughout the deanery, saying (831) 667-2456 • Fax: (831) 667-0209 E-mail: [email protected] Masses and hearing confessions. or visit us on the web at: And now we rejoice in the Easter season’s many blessings www.contemplation.com here at the Monastery of the Risen Christ. contemplation.com ~ 7 The Freedom in Restraint By of what gives the area its shine. One day before, I had walked around a “growth center” along the coast where ocean views and What are we looking for in prayer--which is to say, in love, wooden cabins and friendly pre-schools and yurts for dancing in life? How can we balance the need for surrender with a sense in had seemed like a piece of boyhood wonder secreted in a that we are not lost in the world? How give ourselves over to forgotten canyon. something larger and deeper and wiser than ourselves, without But as I spent some time in the place, I began to wonder if coming to feel that the self is useless? youth knows entirely what to do with the old. A new beginning How create a life, as in a novel, in which must grow out of something, and has to a character emerges out of the collective know all that has been tried and found darkness, and “takes on a life of her own”? wanting. You can’t start the world again I was sitting on the deck of a cabin in my from scratch. And to cast aside everything secret home in Big Sur, as I thought these that humans have learned and suffered over lofty thoughts. The Pacific was spread out centuries smacks of an innocence so close to before me like an eternal carpet. The sun arrogance that it makes me think of a child burned on the water to the north, behind the saying, “You be president and I’ll be pope.” evergreens. To the south, a little white scar Put simply, a six year-old has an of a road led around curves just above the energy, hopefulness and--yes--purity that placid blue. The hills run down to the ocean her grandmother might envy. But she is here like sleeping lions, though in early foolish if she presumes to claim a wisdom spring they are green, like big cats waiting or experience greater than her elders’, or to to master their feral nature. know about the future without a sense of I was thinking that for someone from past. Eden was where innocents got expelled, the Old World--like me, England-born, to after all--until, perhaps, graced with a higher parents from India--this was the fresh heart of the American innocence, on the far side of experience, they could find the key promise: a land unhistoried, looking out on the kind of horizons that would bring them in again, in autumn. we couldn’t imagine in rainy Oxford (and couldn’t see in I came back to the monastery and bells were tolling. Men jampacked Bombay). The strip of coast around Big Sur grows in white with grey beards were singing from the psalms. The less peopled every year, it seems; millionaires and movie stars sun would soon rise above the hills, though the rocks, the sea, take over this package of land or that dream estate, but storms the jays and rabbits had clearly been here since before the word block the road for months at a time and mudslides follow every “human” was invented. storm. Fire regularly roars through the dry hills, and only eight Old wise men were quoted in the bookstore. The message on months before, I had received urgent word, while sitting in a hotel my desk invoked St. Romuald (“Sit in your cell as in Paradise,” in Bogota, that “my” hermitage was being evacuated and seemed and not, as it might have been down the coast, “Sit with your certain to be razed to the ground. (It survived, but the retreat- cell as in Paradise”). The few pieces of paper around the place- house where I went a few days later when a fire surrounded my -my deepest home now for 18 years--intoned the ancient terms home in Santa Barbara, rebuilt after an earlier fire, burned down of Vigils, Lauds, lectio divina and oblation. The best way we five months later). could bow before the old beauty of the world was in the ways The area sits in the sun like the fresh green breast that that women and men had found and refined and discarded and Scott Fitzgerald once described. Terrible things were done to improved upon again over centuries to do justice to our mortal the Indians who once lived here, but for the most part the land hearts. is surprisingly unscarred. The hesitations, the complications, I’m not a Catholic and I came to the New World from the the low skies, the “Yes, buts...” I had grown up with and on in Old to drink from its youthful fountain of possibility. But I found England are unthinkable here. Sitting on the deck in the shining steadiness in the old rites, and trust in the words that were sung silence of another refulgent spring day, I found it impossible not and recited and shared, in different languages, for a thousand to think that I had stolen into Eden again. years or more, since St. Benedict’s time. It was the one lesson that The clocks were stopped, and the purity of the elements was the entirely new could not understand, I thought: that freedom so strong that, in the silence and solitude of the monastery, it was makes most sense when it lives with and within restraint. You impossible not to think a purity of the heart was recovered, too. can best drink water--or, for that matter, wine--when it’s set And then I thought back to the other settlements created inside a cup, and infinity is parceled out in bite-sized pieces. The along the coast, most of them rainbow-filled, bright effusions frame is what gives the picture beauty. of youthful dreams. The Sixties never ended in Big Sur, and its sense of new possibilities and idealistic beginnings is part (This first appeared in Portland Magazine several years ago.) 8 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage

– Photos from La Casa de Maria Retreat and Conference Center website. 2015 Camaldolese Assembly “Celebrating Consecrated Life Together”

17 - 19 July 2015 • La Casa de Maria Retreat and Conference Center 800 El Bosque Road, Montecito (near Santa Barbara,) CA 93108 • www.lacasademaria.org

The coordinating committee has cho- We will explore the theme of living a con- Single Occupancy $375 sen this as the theme for : secrated life in the world via ($400 after May 31) Celebrating Consecrated Life Together. • conferences by the monks, followed Double Occupancy (per person) $300 Similar to last year, when Cyprian spoke by shared discussion ($325 after May 31) on the Camaldolese response to Pope • liturgy, Commuter Rate $150 Francis’ document on the New Evangeli- • shared meals, and ($175 after May 31) zation, his keynote address this year will • interactive small-groups. (Includes Lunch and Dinner on Saturday, be based on the Holy Father’s Apostolic and Lunch on Sunday) Letter calling for a Year of Consecrated Please join us: Life. Specifically the pope urged the • for spiritual nourishment for Refund policy: Due to our contractual Church to look to the past with gratitude, the journey; agreement with la Casa de Maria we will live the present with passion, and embrace • to explore how you might share only be able to refund $100 for any can- the future with hope. For us Camaldolese your skills and experience as we cellation by June 15. No refunds after this means first of all an understanding of work together to sustain and extend June 15. our place in the whole context of Bene- the Camaldolese charism of dictine monasticism, as well as the great contemplative presence, hospitality Arrival: ressourcement that took place within our and outreach; Check in after 4 p.m. Retreat begins with congregation in the 20th century under • to continue our conversation about “Happiness Hour” at 5 p.m., followed by Priors General Anselmo Giabbani and what it means to be monks, oblates, dinner. Benedetto Calati, even before the Second and friends Vatican Council. How to Register: Then, a look with a prophetic eye at Conferences and Conversations with By phone, call the Hermitage: 831-667- our current situation, as a community (in- • Fr. Cyprian Consiglio 2456 ext. 143; Katee will accept credit deed, as three communities!) and a greater • Fr. Michael Fish card on the phone. She can also be network of oblates and friends, as part of • Fr. Raniero Hoffman reached by email: reservations@contem- a local church and a greater congrega- • Bro. Bede Healey plation.com tion, and as part of tumultuous times in the world. And finally, to quote Fr. Bru- Space is limited, so register early! Please consider attending. It is the one no: Can we imagine, as human creativity Costs include room, board, and confer- chance each year for a larger number of emerges more and more powerfully in our ences from Friday dinner through Sunday oblates and friends to come together and time, a monastic life, in its broadest sense, lunch. share in the prayer and work of the Her- which is largely animated by an orienta- mitage. tion toward the future? contemplation.com ~ 9

The prior’s Advisory Board met at New Camaldoli January 30-February 1. Row 1: Fr. John Donato, CSC, Debi Lorenc, Fr. Cyprian, ValJean Albright, and Michael Mullard; Row 2: John Marheineke, Bishop Sylvester Ryan, Rev. Richard Schaper, Ree Rickard, Toni Bettschart, and Chris Lorenc.

Compassionate Conversations: Almsgiving An Interfaith Retreat August 20-23, 2015 Ignem ardentem exstinguit aqua, Et eleemosyna resistit peccatis. (Sir 3:33) With four esteemed faith leaders- Venerable Tenzin Chogkyi, Dr. Zvi Bellin, Imam Tariq Ansaar Aquil, and Father Cyprian Consiglio That disciple is blest whose spirit burns What is it? An interfaith retreat exploring approaches to spiritual and personal transformation in four of with generosity, renovating the inner room the major world religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and . In this weekend of of her heart. The world rejoices at her worthiness dialogue and exploration, we will learn about and experience the transformative techniques practiced by the followers of these religions, and Šnd the intersecting spaces and common and the Lord glories in the welcome glow of her light. ground in these faith traditions. Purpose and Benets: Jesus ben Sirach says a surging To create an opportunity for positive interactions between practitioners of di‹erent faiths flame will be snuffed, raging fires To foster more communication and understanding among practitioners of di‹erent faiths To experience transformational practices of other religions put down with welling water –– no longer able to damage dwellings with burning –– Partnership Organizations: when that disciple douses sin, healing souls Vajrapani Institute is proud to partner with Chochmat HaLev and New with the gracious gift of her alms. Camaldoli Hermitage organizations to o‹er this retreat. (translated from the Old English by Jacob Riyeff from vajrapani.org the collection Lofsangas: Poems Old and New)

VAJRAPANI I N S T I T U T E A Meditation Retreat Center in the California Redwoods A Meditation Retreat Center in the Santa Cruz Mountains 10 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage From An Oblate’s Journal … It was 1996, one year after my hus- Never before had I experienced band’s sudden death. My dear friend the psalms like this: the solemn chant- and spiritual father, Monsignor James ing of the psalms at Vigils before sun- Aloysius O’Callaghan, said to me,” rise, the singing of the psalms at Lauds You need to go on a silent retreat.” and Vespers. And how I look forward to I said,” Silent? I can’t be silent. I that half hour of one-on-one time with have two teenagers at home…actually I Our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration ev- have never been silent. I got a D in self ery evening after Vespers. control in the second grade because I I recall standing along the wall couldn’t keep my mouth shut!” in the rotunda during looking But I trusted him, and so I made reser- up at the light rays shining down and vations for a 4 night stay at the - illuminating the altar, and the robes of age for a silent retreat. Many of us re- the monks, listening to their beautiful member Fr. Isaiah’s out-going message singing, and feeling as if I were having on the old phone reservation system, an “other worldly” experience. urging guests to “persevere calling un- All of these things have drawn til you reach a living, breathing monk!” me back year after year. I try to come That I did. So Fr. O and I drove up the up for a 7 -10 day silent retreat twice beautiful California coast from South- a year, make one the preached retreats, ern California to Big Sur for our first of come up for short visits on special oc- many visits to the Hermitage, the place casions. My spirit so resonated with I now think of as my spiritual home. Camaldolese monastic spirituality that I The second day of that first stay, became an oblate 15 years ago. That has I walked down the road and sat on a been a huge blessing in my life. Connie Tramma and Valerie Sinkus are oblates, as bench for a while, soaking in the beau- well as regular retreatants at the Hermitage. I was so inspired by the expe- ty of my surroundings. As I walked rience of contemplative prayer and the back up toward the bookstore, I vividly monastic tradition of lectio divina that remember thinking to myself as I gazed along the Pacific coast, I returned home to my parish and began a contemplative prayer “This place will change my life.” I had no idea how that would group. And every chance I get I tell others about the richness of happen, but I was sure that it would. the monastic experience at the Hermitage. And I was right. One of my hobbies is “writing” (painting) icons in the Rus- God and Father O. knew just what I needed. My soul was sian-Byzantine style. So four years ago, Connie Tramma and thirsting for the silence, the simplicity, the uninterrupted (no I began organizing icon workshops at the Hermitage, bringing phone, no TV ) time with God in nature, in the daily rhythm of Dmitri Andreyev, a master iconographer of the Prosopon school the monk’s Divine Office—all food for my soul. as our instructor. Icon writing is a way of praying. To be able to write an icon within the monastic rhythm of the Hermitage makes it an even more powerful prayer. And as Prior Cyprian acknowledges, it seems to grant a blessing to the monks as well. We have introduced many iconographers to the Hermitage, and they also are so grateful for this experience. Many have also had life-changing experiences up here on the mountain. One who came this year said her only complaint was having to return to the world at the end of the retreat. I am blessed to be part of the international Camaldolese family; especially to have been able to make pilgrimage to the Camaldolese communities in Italy and India. Thank you to my spiritual brothers there on the mountain for being so welcoming to me all of these years. I pray daily that God will continue to bless the brothers abundantly as they go about God’s work for the salvation of souls. In Gratitude, Valerie Sinkus, Oblate O.S.B. Cam.

contemplation.com ~ 11 Max and the Hermitage By Sylvia Deck

I was honored when my grandson Max asked me to be his sponsor last fall. At first I wondered why he didn’t ask someone younger, someone who could share his spiritual journey for more years than I would be able to. But he explained that he thought I would be able to answer his questions about faith better. And so I accepted, hoping he was right. At our first meeting together his teacher provided a list of suggestions for activities that the sponsor and candidate might share. These included service projects, attending Mass together, watching films and discussing them, sharing a poem, prayer, song or scripture, taking a hike in nature. I knew immediately what I wanted to share with Max. I had actually been thinking about it ever since listening to Pico Iyer speak at the Camaldolese As- Max and Sylvia during their day at the Hermitage. sembly at Asilomar in May of 2013. Pico spoke of the gift of silence, solitude and inner reflection which he discovered with the monks of New Camaldoli. His in- who had brought his class there to be enriched by the silence and troduction to the Hermitage had come from a high school teacher the beauty surrounding them. Pico talked about arriving at the Hermitage, staying for a while and then, after he had left, yearn- New Camaldoli Retreat FAQs ing for that solitude and longing to return. Q. How much notice do I have to give to arrange a private I wanted this for my grandchildren! I wanted them to have retreat? an experience of God’s presence where they wouldn’t be dis- A. It is helpful for you to arrange your private retreat in ad- tracted by mobile devices, where they could listen to the silence, vance. Same day reservations are usually not possible, however where they might discover something new about themselves in not impossible. the process. I hoped that they too would visit, feel something stirring and someday, long to return. So, finally, during Easter Q. Is and or the sacrament of reconciliation Week we found a day when there was no school, no music les- available? sons or soccer practices, and Max, my husband and I drove down A. Spiritual direction and the sacrament of reconciliation is the coast to the Hermitage. available upon request at the bookstore during regular operating We arrived before Mass and were warmly greeted by Fr. hours. Cyprian. During the always compelling liturgy, I was impressed that Max, perhaps because he’s a musician, intuitively adopted Q. Can we attend the prayer services with the monks? the monastic rhythm and slowed down his responses. Afterwards A. Yes! Our guests are encouraged to attend the Liturgy of the we explored the bookstore, took a picnic to one of the tables Hours with the Monks of the hermitage. overlooking the Pacific and then gave Max an hour on his own to draw, write, think, or walk. (He spent the hour thinking.) We left Q. Does the retreat house have dorm-like rooms? then and made stops at two park beaches and the Carmel A. The Retreat House rooms are single occupancy only. Please Mission on the way home. read the accommodations and rates page for details. Later that night he thanked us for the day and said he felt “protected.” I loved that word. It meant he felt safe and at home. Q. Will I have to share a bathroom? Perhaps it was Fr. Cyprian’s homily that morning which gave A. Yes! The retreat house guest rooms (Rooms 1-9) each have him the idea. Referring to the Gospel which described the net a sink and toilet. Two private showers are shared between which held 153 fish but didn’t break, Fr. Cyprian had said, “The these rooms (Located in the middle of the building along with net will always hold you.” kitchen). However, all private hermitages and double occupan- I hope that, like Pico Iyer, his grandparents and so many oth- cy rooms have attached private bathrooms. ers, Max will someday feel the urge to return when the memory of the beauty and the gifts of the Hermitage nudges his Spirit. Q. Can I get access to the internet while on retreat? Perhaps it will be a time when he yearns for the safety and pro- A. There is no internet, cell phone, radio or TV service here at tection of the net. He has already written a brief email suggesting the hermitage. Also, there are no landlines in the retreat rooms, that we return someday. although we have a courtesy phone line available for making Like the net, my heart is full. brief calls that are of an imperative nature. What better Confirmation gift could I have given him? 12 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage Activities, Events and Visitors

Fr. Thomas from Incarna- On April 15th we hosted the quarterly meeting of the Four tion Monastery has been spending Winds Council which includes representatives from our com- additional time with us here. He is munity, , Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, working with our archives. We enjoy and the Tribe. This group of friends has been meeting his presence and are grateful for his now for 23 years, both sharing spiritual practice and acting as work, which will allow us to build a advocates for the and Los Padres Forest, more complete history of our congre- which we all call home. Some members stayed the night with gation’s presence in America. us, then all gathered for a morning February 5-8 Fr. Cyprian at- meeting led by Fr. Raniero and a tended the annual meeting of Bene- festive lunch with the brothers in the Fr. Thomas dictine , Prioresses, and Priors monastic refectory. at St. Bernard’s Abbey in Cullman, Alabama. This year they dis- On April 21st Fr. Mario Za- cussed “Monastic Leadership in a Complicated, Rapidly Chang- notti from Fonte Avellana, one of ing Time,” led by Dr. Sharon Daloz Parks and Dr. Bill Cahoy. our Camaldolese houses in Italy, On February 27th Therese Gagnon turned ninety. A resi- joined us here for a two-week frater- dent oblate, she and her nal visit. Also that day the Rev. An- husband Eric joined us gus Stuart, rector of St. Francis-in- Bro. Benedict in 1987. Eric died a few the-Wood in West Vancouver, B.C., years ago but Therese re- presented a dramatic interpretation of mains with us, living in her the Gospel of Mark entitled “Testament own little hermitage in the of a Naked Man” in our chapel. woods. We had a wonder- May 5th Bro. Benedict began a ful Sunday celebration in visit to Italy to see family and our mo- her honor. nastic brothers there, returning on the The monastic com- 26th. munity had a brief retreat Our housekeeper, Brendon Shave has March 3-5. Unlike our just taken off on a six-month long trek regular time of retreat, this along the Pacific Crest Trail, which be- Therese Gagnon was a time of greater si- Brendon Shave gins at the Mexican border and ends at lence and solitude, helping the Canadian border. You can follow his us to center ourselves in the Lenten experience. exploits, as we will, through his blog: pct15.wordpress.com March 6th twelve students of the World Reli- gions Class from Mount Madonna School in Wat- sonville joined us here at the Hermitage chaper- oned by our friends Dayanand Diffendaugh and Sarojani Rohan. March 13th through the 16th Fr. Cyprian went to Vanderbilt University where he per- formed “Gitanjali: Song Offerings” with his long-time collaborator John Pennington and Vortex, the university’s percussion ensemble. In late March Brother Cassian visited Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon, exploring the possibility of further studies there. Fr. Cyprian then joined him there and they both then attend- ed a gathering in the Portland area for a meeting with our friends and oblates. From March 3rd to the 23rd we hosted two icon writing workshops. This has be- Please visit our website for information on come a yearly event here at the Hermitage, and we look forward to hosting it again our weekend retreats at in 2016. This will be an intermediate level workshop. For more information, please www.contemplation.com. contact Valerie Sinkus, [email protected]