Nch Spring 2014

Camaldolese Monks, OSB a quarterly newsletter New Camaldoli Hermitage Spring 2014 • Vol. 20, Issue 2 62475 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA 93920 • 831-667-2456 • www.contemplation.com Brother Cassian Begins Novitiate, Other Formation and Vocation News Fr. Isaiah Teichert, OSB Cam. traveling around Egypt and conversing with celebrated monks, gleaning all their Br. James Makil became a novice wisdom and writing it down. His Confer- on February l2th, the feast of St. Bruno ences were called by Abbot Butler “the Boniface. At that time he received the first considerable scientific exposition monastic habit and a new name: Cassian. ever composed on the spiritual life, and it The novitiate clothing ceremony remains to this day in many respects the is a solemn and beautiful one. The new finest and best.” In the last chapter of his name (a closely guarded secret up to that rule, St. Benedict urges the monks to read time) is announced to the assembly, and Cassian’s works. then each piece of the habit is blessed, We also have a fine man from Loui- and the postulant is clothed with them. siana with us on observership presently, So, for example, with the tunic, the prior John Bick, who is a highly accomplished says, “May the Lord clothe you with chess master and carpenter. So the Lord the new person, created in the likeness is blessing us with fine men eager to try of God, in righteousness and holiness.” sents the Lord’s easy yolk, and the hood our life, and for this we are grateful. With the cincture (belt) he prays, “May which stands for the hope of salvation. A the Lord gird the loins of your body and young neighbor, watching all this, said Fr. Isaiah serves as our vocations direc- strengthen in the Gospel the resolve of the next morning, “It was wonderful to tor as well as guestmaster, so if you or your heart.” Each piece of clothing is see Br. James turn into a monk.” any man is interested in discerning a deeply symbolic, and the prior proceeds St. Cassian, James’ new patron, was vocation with us, please contact him at to invest with the scapular, which repre- a 4th century monk. He is famous for [email protected]. Hermitage Hosts Icon Writing Workshop Sylvia Deck, workshop participant Sixteen students, both intermediate and beginning, participated in a seven-day Icon-Writing Workshop in early March. Their teacher was master iconographer Dmitri Andreyev from the Prosopon School of Iconography which was founded by his father twenty-five years ago. The workshop introduced the students to the ancient Russian- Byzantine tradition of iconography, using only natural materials, in- cluding ground pigments in egg tempera. From the school’s website: “Apprenticeship in this discipline of the hand, mind, and heart can lead beyond technical competence; the method of study promotes the incarnation of the principles of the painting experience into all aspects of one’s life.” (www.prosopon- school.org) Participants agreed that the experience affected them profoundly Master iconographer Dmitri Andreyev. on many levels, and many are looking forward to the next workshop March 3-11, 2015 for beginners and March 12- 20 for intermediate students (which is almost full). The subject for next spring’s workshop will be Michael the Archangel. 2 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage The Little Ones Prior Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam. An interesting piece of liturgical trivia appears on Thurs- And that is the second part of the moral imperative of the Eu- day of the 7th week in Ordinary Time Year II. The 1st reading, charist that follows from the reception, what Nathan Mitchell from the Letter of James (5:1-6: Come now, you rich, weep calls an “economy of the Eucharist” that we are not free to ig- and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted nore: to go out and be Eucharist, broken and poured out for the away, your clothes have become moth-eaten…), which is on its world. own cycle, is paired with this reading from the Gospel of Mark What both of these readings also call to mind is how all of (9:41-50), which is also on its own cycle (meaning they are not intentionally chosen to go together): us are tied together, indeed how everything is bound together “Whoever causes one of these little ones in some way. And that is part of the mystical meaning of the who believe in me to sin, Eucharist. What I look out and see in that moment of realized it would be better for him if a great millstone eschatology is one body, the Body of Christ. And then I need were put around his neck to expand my vision to not only all of us gathered here, but to and he were thrown into the sea. all the baptized. But not only all the baptized: all of humanity If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. which is in some way It is better for you to enter into life maimed one body, as Saint Au- I sometimes think the most gustine said. But even than with two hands to go into Gehenna,” important word in the Mass What’s interesting to me about that is that those same two farther, to all creation readings collide in Year B on the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, which Paul tells us is right at the end––“Go!” when they are also not on the same cycle. If this was not inten- Christ holds together in tionally calculated by the compilers of the Lectionary, which himself is one body too––‘til God be all in all. would have taken some manipulation and planning indeed, it Lucien Deiss has a good commentary on this reading from still calls to mind the adage that “There are no coincidences James. He says that, “The Christian religion cannot live solely with God.” I thought of a story (that I am not sure comes from in the bosom of beautiful liturgical celebrations, sheltered from Greek philosophers or from the monastic tradition) which sort social problems. Each one, for his or her part, must face and 1 of ties the two together. A man was seen throwing a bag of combat [the] ‘structures of sin’ which oppress the poor.” In gold into a well. When he was asked why he would do such a the Letter of James, the problem is not necessarily the riches thing he replied, “Better for me to drown it that for it to drown themselves; it’s the injustice that the rich are committing to me.” gain, shore up or protect their wealth. Behold, the wages you One of the teachings of our late liturgist scholar Cipriano withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying Vagaggini that I liked very much was his application of the aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of four senses of Scripture to the Sacraments. So, just as every the Lord of hosts, James scolds. That’s part of the moral mean- Scripture reading can be understood for its literal meaning and ing of the Eucharist too. Even if we are not necessarily con- symbolic meaning, in its moral sense and its mystical sense, fronted with abject poverty in our backyards, even if it is not every Sacrament too has a literal meaning, a symbolic meaning, our vocation to do active apostolate with the poor, or to involve and also a moral meaning. The moral ourselves with the political sphere, we are still part of a body meaning is the obligation that it implies. that is suffering mightily. Pope Francis That ache, that itch, and that is the loudest but not the only of the last And I think this teaching especially ap- groan become my prayer for the plies to the Eucharist: there is a moral five popes who have spoken about this imperative in preparation to participate little ones who have no voice. strongly. We live in a world where count- in the Eucharist. In order to approach less people are suffering from injustice, the altar worthily I need to make peace from exploitation, from the greed of with my neighbor. But even more than that, I need to wash his developed nations, from our culpable ignorance. What global- or her feet, the great choreography that we celebrate on Holy ization in this sense (not in the commercial sense!) could give Thursday. Then comes this the amazing moment––I think as a us is a sense of the human race as one tribe, one body. Even presider in a parish it was always my favorite moment at the someone who is considered a stalwart of conservatism and clas- Mass––when in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord we raise sic “old world values” as Pope Benedict XVI wrote as much in our arms or join our hands and sing Jesus’ own prayer, the his World Peace Day message in 2007, that the human family, Our Father. Just for a moment, I like to think, this is realized “which today is increasingly unified as a result of globaliza- eschatology; this is what the world was meant to be; this is the tion, also needs, in addition to a foundation of shared values, an way God created us to be here, like this, right now. But then economy capable of responding effectively to the requirements we don’t get to stay there. We get sent out. I sometimes think of a common good, which is now planetary in scope.” That too the most important word in the Mass is right at the end––“Go!” 1 God’s Word Is Our Joy, vol.

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