New Camaldoli Hermitage SPRING 2018

In Fire and Flood

“Human kindness is seldom released so reflexively as when we’re brought together by suffering.”

Pico Iyer, “Loving What Lasts”

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

In This Issue Elements of Transformation: An

2 Elements of Transformation: An Overview Overview Lisa Benner, Oblate OSB Cam Lisa Benner, Oblate OSB Cam

3 Loving What Lasts Pico Iyer This past year was one of life-changing extremes in several arenas. Intense weather caused destruction and devastation. 5 Climate Change: A Christian Perspective Regions of our country and parts of this world experienced Matt Fisher, Oblate OSB Cam record breaking high and low temperatures. Heavy rain, which would ordinarily have been welcome in drought-stricken 6 The Anthropocene and the Incomprehensible areas, ravaged the west coast and carved permanent new Holy Mystery Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam features into the landscape. We learned new terms like “atmospheric river” and “bomb cyclone” which had to be 7 What’s Next for Big Sur? quickly understood to navigate safety and survival. Hurricanes (an interview with Magnus Torén) ravaged parts of the country, provoking apocalyptic fear. Fires seemed to come out of nowhere. Up and down the 8 Christian Aid Ministries Jerri Hansen California coast horrific wildfires wrought havoc. Destructive flames danced and jumped into towns, neighborhoods, vine- 9 After the Fire Dennis Maloney yards, and valleys. In other parts of the world earthquakes, fire and rising sea water decimated whole communities. 10 Reflections on Fire and Flood Those impacted by these catastrophic events could only hope for reprieve and continue to pray for help. Even those 13 We Got Through—with a Lot of Help from Our not directly affected felt their helplessness to stem the tide Friends Fr. Robert Hale, OSB Cam of upheavals that seemed relentlessly to rise.

13 Liminality and the Great Benedictine Vows Not only has fire and flood wrought devastating loss in the Mike Mullard, Oblate OSB Cam landscape, but also other tempests and upheavals have tormented and divided our nation politically and socially. 14 Upcoming Events Political positions have hardened, rifts widened, violent

anger reared its ugly head in public life. Now it seems we 14 Activities and Visitors are a nation and a world reeling and wounded, struggling to cope and to make sense of sudden world-rocking change. 15 What the Monks Are Reading

And yet Scripture tells us that fire can be revelatory, transfor- mative, cleansing, triumphant. Moses heard the voice of God Special Thanks to Deborah Smith Douglas speaking from the burning bush; Jesus promised to bring fire to the earth; Wisdom assures us that the souls of the righ- After four years of dedicating so much time, passion, teous shall run like sparks through the stubble. The world integrity, wit, creativity, and her own substantial lost much in the Great Flood, but Noah saved a remnant to literary gifts to serving as lead editor of this newsletter, begin life anew and received God’s promise of redemption. Deborah is stepping away now in order to dedicate more time to her family, to her own writing, and to Where and when have we known floods and fires in our other projects of great importance to her. During own inner or outer lives? Perhaps you have had to contend her leadership, this newsletter has become more with an actual flood or fire. Or maybe you have lost a job or of a journal—with a specific and substantial thematic a relationship or have been plunged into financial crisis. Or focus each issue, a wider range of contributing perhaps it was a crisis of faith that shook you to your core. voices, and a simultaneously more robust and more artful outlook in general. Deborah’s last issue How does this translate to our lives? Are we able to prepare as lead editor, “Poetry and Prayer”—a particularly for the potential disasters in our lives by taking Noah’s lead personally important theme for her—was so well and relying on God and further trusting the Divine to show received it required a reprinting. us the way? When we feel overwhelmed and things are out of control, are we able to remember the stillness of that Deborah, as editor, creative cohort, and friend, has burning bush—silently persevering in the heat but safely been a complete delight to work with, and we will contained by God? miss her dearly. At the same time, Lisa Benner steps in graciously and generously with her own gifts to become the newsletter’s new lead editor. Where in this devastation is there hope for new life? As in the paschal mystery, from death comes new Life. Where

2 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage can we find new vitality after the flood waters have cleared, after the fires have been extinguished, after the relationship Loving What Lasts has been restored or left behind? May we allow ourselves Pico Iyer to enter into the resurrection of Jesus to renew our faith and hope in God’s transforming purposes for our lives. I climbed all the way up the mountain to where our family home had been—for thirty-three years—and found nothing In these pages you will find inspiring words of hope and but ash. Statues were debris, my parents’ cars were husks. ideas to challenge and perhaps enlighten new thoughts. I’d actually been in the house the previous night as the Matt Fisher provides a Christian point of view on the urgent flames surged down from a far-off valley, to encircle our issue of climate change. Pico Iyer warmly invites us into an home, moving at seventy miles per hour; soon, stranded experience of loss and the blessed dichotomy of discovery, on the narrow road underneath the three-story structure, too. Prior Cyprian’s essay about the Anthropocene gently I was watching the fire pick through my bedroom, our reviews the past and current choices made by humans newly built library, every physical thing we owned. By the and the impacts of these choices—reminding us of “the time the evening was over, more than 450 houses had holy mystery that is the center of our being human, pres- been reduced to nothing, in what was then the worst fire suring us to evolve to spirit and participate in divinity, that in California history. we really become human.” Chris Lorenc interviews Henry Miller Memorial Library executive director Magnus Torén in a discussion about the recent devastating losses in Big Sur which were both personally felt and also have brought the region closer together. They ponder what the next steps are for this wild coastland. We can root ourselves in what’s beyond ourselves—beyond all As the new editor-in-chief of our newsletter, I’d like to thank Debo- comprehension—and what rah Smith Douglas for her diligent and eloquent contributions over the last years. She served as editor-in-chief with grace and style, endures, or we can found our and I am honored to carry the torch which she has passed to me. hopes and lives on what can too I am thrilled to begin this new role with this dynamic team. This newsletter has been lovingly cared for, and I hope to continue the often prove tiny and perishable, fine work as conscientiously. A little about me…I live in a suburb at the mercy of the elements. of Phoenix, Arizona. For the last 18 years I have been working as a therapist in the addictions and mental health field. I am an oblate of New Camaldoli Hermitage and always love visiting my spiritual home at the Hermitage. I am also a certified spiritual director and teach meditation classes at my parish. – Lisa Benner In time I would come to see that being stripped to the boneWe toothbrush I bought from an all-night supermar- ket that night became my only possession—was not a ter- rible thing. Starting over gave me the chance to do what I might always have been too shy or scared to do otherwise: live with fewer things, take myself to the country that had claimed my heart (Japan), attempt in fiction what was no God is our refuge and strength, longer possible in non-fiction, as my notes for my next eight an ever-present help in trouble. years of writing were gone. After I wrote an article about the fire, a torrent of support from strangers across the Therefore we will not fear, globe all but overwhelmed me, as unmet friends sent along though the earth give way good wishes and doll’s house furnishings and crumpled and the mountains fall into fifty-rupee notes. I was reminded that human kindness is seldom released so reflexively as when we’re brought the heart of the sea. together by suffering.

Psalm 46: 1-2 Yet what also struck me as we began to remake our lives, and our home, was that everything we could replace— books, furniture, clothes—was, by definition, worth very little; and whatever was worth anything—our photos, my notes, that bear my parents had given me when I was two—could never come back.

Eight months later, seeing me sleep for weeks on a friend’s floor, a thoughtful friend suggested I go to the place where

contemplation.com ~ 3 he took his high-school classes every spring: a Benedictine rebuild. Every time I returned to the Big Sur chapel, an hermitage three hours to the north, called New Camaldoli. empty chair reminded me of a new absence. I followed his advice and, within seconds of arriving in that pristine stillness, I stepped into the radiance and sense of Sometimes it wasn’t easy to remember that, even the home I’d been seeking everywhere from Kyoto to Tibet. I’d morning after the fire, I was leading a life that ninety-nine always loved silence, but this was something warmer and per cent of my neighbors across the planet would envy: in more liberating than just a freedom from noise: a silence a comfortable, sub-tropical town on the Californian coast, in which there was no space for “I.” A vast, sunlit expanse with an insurance company ready to help us rebuild, never so polished by prayer that it felt like the world the moment having experienced poverty or hunger or war. Yet over it was created. A place beyond the reach of ifs and buts, and over I recalled that what the fire—the floods—had to pure peace. tell me most was much the same as what New Camaldoli taught me every time I returned: we can root ourselves in I thought of all this as fires encircled our house once again what’s beyond ourselves—beyond all comprehension—and this past winter, in what soon became the new worst fire what endures, or we can found our hopes and lives on in California history. Hardly had my friends and neighbors what can too often prove tiny and perishable, at the mercy recovered after three weeks or more of evacuations than of the elements. sudden rains fell for over four hours, and with topsoil wiped clean by the recent flames, a whole mountain more I remember a photo I once received from the Dalai Lama or less collapsed on the people who had returned home, when I was three years old (my philosopher father had leading to the worst mudslides in California history. In truth, gone to see the Tibetan leader soon after the latter came it felt as if Nature were sending us a message—to remind into exile, and His Holiness, with his characteristic gift for us of our place in things—and we were blithely forwarding making connections with every last soul, had sent a pres- that message, unheard, to voice-mail. ent to my father’s three year-old back in Oxford: a picture of himself as a little boy, at the age of four, already seated Soon after my mother and I moved into the house we on the Lion Throne in Lhasa, ruler of 6 million Tibetans and rebuilt after the fire, after all, mudslides had threatened 14 million Buddhists). I kept it on my desk all the time I was that new structure, too. Four times in eighteen months, growing up, and set it on my desk again after my family fresh fires sent reverse-911 calls our way, and we were moved to California. forced to evacuate again and again. In the five months before the devastating Thomas Fire, we’d received one But it, too, was gone after the fire passed through, leaving other evacuation warning and an order. me with just the truth that the Dalai Lama and New Camaldoli had The Hermitage moved me—clarified me—because it seemed so often passed a place out of time. It observed a rule laid down more than on: nothing a thousand years ago; it offered a taste of Eternity, stain- material lasts. Yet less, beyond what the picture the reach of speaks for, what time or human the Hermitage complication. opens out onto, But the hermit- the sense of age itself had possibility that been encircled silence awakens by fire, too, in us—all those three times can remain so since my house long as we have burned down. breath. “Would The local I love it this way retreat-house if it could last…” to which I I read recently, often went revisiting New when I didn’t Camaldoli, in a have time poem by W. S. to go to Big Merwin. I thought Sur had itself of the truth that been burned New Camaldoli embodies, of the rocks all around it and to the ground the ocean, the skies above, and I realized, “Yes. The fires in one of our and floods remind me of what lasts, precisely by stripping fires and its everything else away.” monks lacked the funds to Pico Iyer has been coming to the Hermitage regularly since 1991. 4 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage contemplation.com ~ 5 in that climate is the average of these quantities over a Climate Change: A Christian period of time (months, years, decades, centuries, etc.). Perspective Climate can impact availability of fuel for wildfires in two general ways, depending on the ecosystem. In areas such Matt Fisher, Oblate OSB Cam as grasslands, increased precipitation the previous year and warmer temperatures can result in more plant growth, Fire is an important natural process in many ecosystems, resulting in the availability of more fuel for wildfires. In helping to recycle biomass and serving as a catalyst for other ecosystems, for example forests, higher temperatures significant change in an ecosystem. At the same time, and reduced precipitation can result in greater drying out wildfires can place an enormous demand on resources— of biomass resulting in fuel that is more flammable. Higher estimated costs of suppression efforts in the US are $1 temperatures in mountainous forest regions also result billion annually—and result in enormous damage to in earlier melting of the snowpack. While the snowpack is communities and economies. in place it actually serves to keep the fire danger low. But earlier melting because of higher temperatures creates a Examination of both the duration of fires and the fire longer period of time for fuel to dry out and become more season as well as the area burned in recent decades flammable; these forest regions often see scarce summer shows a clear increase. Over the same time period the precipitation.

Predicting future trends about wildfires is challenging. While several scientific models have been devel- oped that clearly predict changes in temperature with increasing levels of greenhouse gases, similar predictions for changes in precipitation or wind activity are much harder and do not show the same consistency. In addition, it is quite possible that the vegetation found in a region could change as the climate changes—such a shift in vegetation could impact fire trends.

In his encyclical Laudato Si, Pope Francis returned a average surface temperature of the Earth has clearly number of times to the idea of an “integral ecology” which increased; the clear consensus in the scientific community requires that we consider our duties and responsibilities is that the increased surface temperature has been in the context of three relationships—to God, to other significantly driven by human activity that releases green- people (especially the poor), and to the earth. These three house (heat trapping) gases like carbon dioxide in theat relationships must always be kept in mind as we consider atmosphere. Is it possible to describe a causal link between the common good. The question of how climate change Earth’s increased surface temperature, the resulting and wildfires are related and what actions we take to mini- climate change, and wildfires? mize the negative impact of wildfires on people and eco- systems serves as a good illustrative case of the complex Wildfires depend on several factors—availability of fuel, relationships that need to be considered in this integral favorable weather conditions, topography, and ignition ecology. Meeting the challenge of climate change and wild- sources. Roughly 90% of wildfires are ignited by some fires will require a range of actions, including ones that are form of human activity such as cigarettes, campfires, or focused on alleviation and others focused on mitigation. downed power lines; only 10% of wildfires are ignited by lightning. So climate change won’t have an impact on wild- Matt Fisher is a chemistry professor at Saint Vincent College fires through increased lightning activity that would lead and has been an oblate of New Camaldoli since 1998. This brief to more frequent ignition of fires. article draws on information from several scientific publications that are not listed here for reasons of space. Anyone interested Weather (temperature, precipitation, wind) can vary in the full list of references is welcome to contact Matt at significantly on a daily basis. Climate differs from weather [email protected].

contemplation.com ~ 5 way that God intends us to be, in the way that glorifies God. The Anthropocene and the Because we are not fully human until we are participating in Incomprehensible Holy Mystery divinity. We are not fully who we are meant to be until we are guided wholly by the Spirit of God. Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam If we’re going to have a positive influence in the Anthropocene, For about the past 12,000 years, since the Ice Age, the we need to realize that what makes us human is our evolution Earth has been in the geological era that scientists call toward spirit, our movement toward divinity. As St. Augustine the Holocene. It’s been a relatively stable period with a famously and shockingly wrote, “God became human so remarkably stable temperature range. It’s within this period that humans might become God.” Actually we believe that that all of human civilization developed and spread across all creation is moving in this direction—until God is all the planet, especially in the past 5000 years. in all—but in the human person that evolution becomes conscious, participatory. And it’s this movement forward, With the growth of civilizations, however, humanity has this evolution, this capacity, our “active self-transcendence,” actually wound up shaping the environment more than that Karl Rahner taught is the essential foundation of the we have been shaped by it. In fact, some anthropologists human person. It is also the essential foundation of our and geologists believe we human beings have altered responsibility. Judy Cannato calls it “the presence of the the environment to such a degree that by some time in incomprehensible holy mystery” within us, pressuring, the 1950s we had entered a whole new epoch in the urging, impelling us to become more, working from within geological timescale. At the International Geological the creature pressuring it to evolve. God became human Congress in Cape Town, South Africa in 2016 a working so that this could happen. Johannes Metz’s variation on the group of geologists recommended an official recognition theme is that “God became human that we might become of this new epoch and adopted a term that the Nobel human.” But it is not until we discover that, the incompre- laureate Paul Crutzen had coined: the Anthropocene Era. hensible holy mystery that is the center of our being human You will recognize the Greek root anthropos—which pressuring us evolve to spirit and participate in divinity, that means “of or related to the human beings.” we really become human.

What we mean by “Anthropocene” is that at this point in the history of the universe our very choices as human beings and our actions based on those choices are affect- ing the course of evolution. As a matter of fact, the force St. Augustine famously and of natural selection (or evolution) has in some sense been shockingly wrote, “God became superseded by human choice. Through our decisions and our actions based on those decisions, we human beings human so that humans might are changing the very trajectory of evolution in a way that become God.” no other species possibly could. Whether we know it or not, we are deciding which pathways of evolution will be shut off forever and which can flourish.

This is generally described as a negative thing because It’s the Anthropocene Era. We’re in charge now. If we are of all the problems that stem from our ever-growing to live in such a way and make decisions for the good of population of now over 7.5 billion souls—pollution, every species on the entire planet—and that’s a lot of resource overuse, and extinction. This is why Pope Francis, responsibility!—then we have got some work to do. There is in his now famous encyclical Laudato Sì, called for a a knowledge that only comes from participation in divinity, “conversion.” Some folks, on the other hand, like so many which will lead us to a realization of our proper relationship, young people I meet who are studying environmental our kinship, with creation. This is a knowledge that only the science and sustainability, are hopeful (if not always Spirit can give, a knowledge of the incarnation of divinity, a optimistic) that we human beings can actually have a knowledge that glues all other knowledge together. Without positive influence, too, in this Anthropocene Era and now that knowledge our very choices and actions based on start using our genius to protect what the Holy Father calls those choices are going to be faulty. If we have not arrived “our common home.” Indeed, some believe that a global at this point of being absolutely available to this holy mystery sustainability revolution is underway. working within us, urging us, pressuring us to evolve, then we are not fully human yet. And the only way that the But all this begs a question: what does it mean to be Anthropocene Era is going to be great is if we arrive at that. human? This is where I think the spiritual traditions and specifically Christianity’s incarnational theology have This is the real next step in evolution—our divinization, something to offer, some additional wisdom that scientists so that we can really be human. And the whole earth, all and environmentalists may be overlooking, something to creation, the whole cosmos will benefit from it. As a matter add to the conversation. I would posit that the problem is of fact, St. Paul says the whole earth, all creation, is depending that we are not human yet, at least not fully human in the on it, groaning and in agony until we work it out. 6 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage the firefighters lost control of the fire. It ‘jumped the line,’ What’s Next for Big Sur? and I said to myself: No! Not again! I felt, for the first time, (an interview with Magnus Torén) that to grab my tools and spend the next 72 hours non-stop preparing for an approaching fire with ever-increasing noise and smoke wasn’t something I was ready for again! I Magnus Torén came to Big Sur for the first time in 1978 said to my wife Mary Lu, “We’ve done this already too many and moved here in 1984. Since 1993 he has been the times. Let’s not have it happen again.” executive director of the Henry Miller Memorial Library. Both as director of HMML and as an engaged resident, Preparation and vigilance are watchwords that become he is one of the most perceptive and important voices ever more pregnant with meaning as one experiences about cultural life in Big Sur, including about both the near-loss of one’s own home and the total loss of the historical and contemporary land use issues. Magnus homes of close friends. In addition, there’s evidence that lives with his wife Mary Lu on Partington Ridge. He’s the land itself has been made more vulnerable than in the interviewed below by Chris Lorenc. past due to climate change. The recent fires and landslides on the coast have caused more damage than in the past, CL: Magnus, you and many friends have been personally which I believe is due, in part, to the diminishing vitality of impacted by fire and flooding in Big Sur over the years. the flora on the coast which in its turn is due to drought What are some of the things you’ve learned about the Big Sur and warmer average water and air temperatures. I am very community from being right in the midst of crises like fire and concerned about the future. road closures? The current situation stretches my ability to be ‘philosophical’ Magnus: The demographic makeup of Big Sur has changed. about it. I think we will be having this conversation for better A fire, or a bridge collapse and large landslides, puts this or worse for a long time. in relief: an increasing number of residents have second homes and simply elect to evacuate their Big Sur home in CL: I’m struck by what you beautifully describe as certain friends the event of fire, floods, and road closures. Big Sur becomes even finding a greater sense of aliveness, purpose, and com- less populated! munity in the midst of a natural disaster. But then, at the same time, when things return to “normal,” the pace of busyness, crowdedness, and over-use of some places accelerates again. Are we doomed to pitch back-and-forth between natural disasters and the accelerating pressures (upon wilderness and rural community life) that Big Sur’s growing fame brings with it?

Magnus: Since I moved to Big Sur in 1984, I have seen an increase in the number of visitors each year with the exception of the years that have had fires and floods. Many people, perhaps most people, enjoy Big Sur primarily because it offers a wild and natural place seemingly untouched by man. People want to be alone, to be the last invader, to get lost, to be disconnected, to get in touch with something that feels timeless. But it is becoming more difficult to experience this as the highway and all public places are being overrun by visitors. You are in fact never alone. But, on the other hand, each time disaster strikes many of those who remain enjoy a sense of togetherness, even For people who live on the coast this becomes clear when among some a sense of tribal belonging. In fact, I have natural disasters close access because suddenly, at last, friends who have told me (with some caveats) that times there’s respite. People get to be alone again. of disaster are their favorite times to be alive. The sense of clear purpose, mutual dependency, pride of place and digni- You don’t have to be a monk to be able to appreciate this. ty, even including a sense of mutual dread, can be an overall Many of my friends and neighbors testify as to how they experience that one longs to experience again and again. long for these moments of solitude and quiet brought on by weather or fire. The last time fire came down the coast to near my own home on Partington Ridge was during the latter days of the How can Big Sur offer this quality of experience to the Soberanes Fire. The backfires were in full swing along the greatest number of people? Is it even possible anymore coast ridge road above, and one night when the backfires with so many people vying for a finite amount of space? Will were about 1.5 miles away (about 2000 vertical feet above), the experience be a thing of the past? contemplation.com ~ 7 CL: If you could recommend a short list It’s an emotionally and physically of principles for best preserving Big Sur, When the Soberanes Fire struck Big Sur in taxing process—especially in what would that list include? And by July 2016, within three weeks the fire destroyed remote areas like Big Sur where “best preserving Big Sur,” we don’t mean 57 homes in the Palo Colorado Canyon area of access to destroyed homes is preserving the land alone or the com- the coast. As residents quickly learned, the loss often very difficult. munity alone, but rather preserving Big of a home is just the initial blow. Sur in such a way that it can continue to But then Christian Aid provide exactly the kind of experience you Before a family can rebuild—or think of rebuild- Ministries—an Amish and describe above. ing—all the burned remnants of what’s been lost Mennonite non-profit organiza- must be sorted through, cleared, and removed. tion that ministers to physical Magnus: An important ‘principle’ that and spiritual relief efforts around comes to mind for us living in Big Sur the world—quickly organized an is humility—a humility that’s required extended volunteer effort. For in order to honestly convey a message four weeks, Christian Aid Minis- of preservation and restoration, a tries volunteers from around the humility born out of the recognition west would travel down to the that while living in the very place camp CAM established at Glen you strive to preserve and protect, Deven Ranch and from there you need to be humble lest you be would fan out to help residents perceived as being self-serving and clear burned cars, twisted metals, insincere. and molten glass, and sift through and remove all the other “debris” I myself do feel humble in the face of of beloved burned homes. the Big Sur landscape with its chang- ing moods and occasionally less-than- subtle drama, and I also recognize, like I said above, that speaking of preser- Christian Aid Ministries vation while living in the midst of the very beauty you want to preserve, you I had tears of gratitude today can very easily be perceived as just For the many hands that worked together wanting it all for yourself! To clear that which the fire did not devour… For the many hands that reached out to take ours. I have wrestled with this and have I had tears today for the green concluded that it is in fact the people For the new beginnings For the new growth at the bottom who live on the coast who have been of every blackened madrone and manzanita. its greatest stewards; the most per- ceptive when it comes to noticing the I watched as a home full of memories disappeared incremental changes and the ones As ash and metal into bins and wheelbarrows and dump trucks. who’ve often given a strong voice to I felt the relief I saw in the eyes of my friends the idea of preserving the wild and As the world opened up and light fell upon clean earth again. rustic character of the coast. Residents Life coming back into the faces as there is room now to imagine… have a ‘baseline’ they remember by which they can compare new devel- Tonight my mind is filled with the faces of the volunteers. opments. This is why we are still here They came and carried and hiked and shoveled and laughed having something precious to be pas- And teased me about my driving. A gentle young man with bright blue eyes drove the bobcat. sionate about. If it hadn’t been for the He spoke with me about healing many individuals and groups on the Finding a path to a better life for himself. coast being ‘ever vigilant,’ we might not All day long he moved from one pile of debris to the next have such untrammeled beauty to still Covered in dust and ash in endless repetition. care about. Each of us has a purpose. It is very difficult. At times I feel like all Each of us can make a difference in the life of another. of us people should just leave Big Sur Our differences do not need to separate us. alone, move out, close it down, just Kindness is an inherent quality. let it be by itself for its intrinsic value. Then I think better of it and realize Jerri Masten Hansen grew up on the Big Sur coast where she still lives. She’s that people are part of what makes Big the daughter of the late poets Ric and Billie Barbara Masten. A mosaic artist, wife, Sur so special. So as long as humility mother, and grandmother to two beautiful girls, Jerri’s devotion to her Palo Colorado and gratitude prevail and underpin community and to the coast is deep. She helped organize bringing Christian Aid the effort, we will see “a Coast Wild Ministries to her community shortly after the Soberanes Fire hoping it might help and Lonely” for a long time to come. begin the healing process. 8 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage After the Fire

1 2 A few sparks from It was months later when I first an illegal campfire walked the scarred area with ignite a hot summer a friend who lost almost everything.

and years of drought The winter rains had washed that explode into away the ash, and nature began The Amish and Mennonite men and a raging inferno. to heal as it always does, women of Christian Aid Ministries worked joyfully and steadfastly by day. A wall of fire overwhelms grasses and wildflowers and devours fifty homes returning, leaves on in our canyon. the few surviving trees.

After the fire we stayed away Tibetan monks spend weeks out of respect for the fire and meticulously constructing our neighbors who lost everything. a mandala from thousands

The artist, a lifetime of journals, studio, of colored sand grains finished and unfinished work, that will be dismantled, sands swept into the sea. And every night after dinner they would the musician, guitars, mandolins, gather together for prayer and song. decades of musical notations, The monks intoning others, the usual household contents, impermanence, impermanence artwork and moments of a life. when you are empty, wait.

Joni Mitchell sang cause I’ve seen some hot hot blazes come down to smoke and ash speaking about a human relationship Dennis Maloney, poet and translator, but here it is the land scoured by fire, is the author of a number of volumes hills with a layer of ash, trees contorted of poetry, including most recently in shades of grey, black, almost white, Listening to Tao Yuan Ming (Glass Locals (and friends beyond the coast)— Lyre Press, 2015) and Empty Cup (a whether they’d been directly impacted by bilingual German/English collection looking like a sudden snowfall the fire or not—immediately pitched in with published in Germany in 2017). The creative, hardworking, ongoing, sometimes in mid-August. Now they sift Things I Notice Now is forthcoming spontaneous, and sometimes meticulously through the debris, what from MadHat Press in fall 2018. Dennis planned volunteer relief efforts to help with is also the editor and publisher of the temporary housing, food, clothing, cleanup remains of a life, widely respected White Pine Press in work, and rebuilding. sparkling shards of glass, Buffalo, NY. He divides his time between glittering like jewels. Buffalo and Garrapata Canyon in Big Sur. This pattern of volunteerism, generosity, and community spirit is one we’ve seen repeated in many other communities struck by fire and flood in the past two years.

And there were many generous, creative fundraising projects as well—often work- ing hand in hand, as often happens on the coast, with the generous and intelligent leadership of the Coast Property Owners Association.

As Magnus Torén says (page 7), a “sense of clear purpose, mutual dependency, pride of place and dignity” often arise in a healthy local community struck by disaster.

Physical help is a Godsend. And loving, emotional support renews hope. -CL Reflections on Fire and Flood

New Camaldoli Hermitage­—Autumn 2016 The intense As Pope Francis’ Laudato Si calls to largely neglectful hearts, rains beginning initially gave me a sense of relief, because we continue to see the frequency and intensity of fire and they interrupted a dry spell that was becoming drought. I flood events increase. Climate modeling suggests that have to admit I enjoy the rain anyway, especially for my expe- these exceptional, devastative acts of nature are the new rience of tropical monsoons while staying in our communities normal. One moment in time separates us from the way in India and Brazil. The occasional moments of thunder and things were supposed to go to the new reality we must lightning also suggested tropical weather patterns. now learn to cope with. Sacred scripture brims with these themes as the Lord remains close to the brokenhearted. Then came the slides, and I reminded myself of the Italian proverb: “Non ogni mal’ vien’ per nuocere”—not every ill Dave Hallowell, husband and father, holds a PhD in Cognitive comes to do harm.” The “ill” was the massive geological Science in Education and is an oblate of New Camaldoli Hermitage. event: slides that kept moving over the course of months, a harm in terms of the local economy, of which our book- store and retreat facilities are a part. New Camaldoli Hermitage—January 2017 As Fr. Cyprian and I trudged knee-deep across the mud that covered Highway One last January, I kept thinking of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower. She taught me that choosing to fast or renounce something can be a beautiful act for God. Joyfully accepting a fast thrust upon you is much more difficult and much more beautiful.

I saw two signs that, for me, outweighed the harm. The first was the steadiness of the community in the face of the geological and economic disruption. The monastic brothers and many of the support staff stayed on the property, and the monks opened up to the opportunity that temporary isolation gave us, in order to deepen our sense of God’s Spirit in our physical solitude. The second sign was the overwhelming generosity of so many people, of greater or lesser means, who offered help in many ways. Their generosity was both humbling and encouraging. I believe that all of us monks were deeply moved and we renewed our commitment to live the life to which God has Choosing to fast is obviously an integral and time-tested called us. For this we give thanks. Christian practice. Yet we must recognize that the privilege to choose your own fasts puts us at risk for being ab- Father Thomas Matus, OSB Cam sorbed into our culture’s penchant for hyper-individualist self-expression: choose your own spiritual adventure! Stop when it gets hard! Santa Barbara—December 2017.It was almost Christ- mas as I watched news coverage of fire ravaging my home The “Little Way” of St. Therese is the way of accepting the region of Santa Barbara. When we fled the region late little (and big) renunciations that are forced upon you by one night, we watched with horror as 50-foot-high flame your situation. And not just accepting, but welcoming and tornadoes climbed the local mountainside in a gigantic loving those challenges. Counting it all joy, even when a ring. Nervous Tolkien references to Mordor and Mt. Doom solid month of rain leads to landslides that block the roads blithely punctuated otherwise silence. Since then, we have that knock out the phones. watched with grief as friends and community members lost their homes. We grieved the deaths associated with this I had the honor of being at New Camaldoli during that fire, and prayed for a miracle to relieve California of the period of isolation and unpredictability last year. And I can exceptional conditions our lack of earthly care has brought say that none of us would have chosen that devastation. upon us. Still, the fire raged. No one would choose to lose their main income stream, to have to ration water and fuel. No one would choose to 10 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage Reflections on Fire and Flood Reflections on Fire and Flood

slog, by foot, across the muddy rocky remains of Highway food lost, we were disrobed of any delusion that we could One on the way back home from visiting a dying friend. But get out of this alone. At first no one could reach us, and that was the fast that was chosen for us, and I believe that our lives of solitude and prayer intensified as we became we observed it joyfully, with God’s help. castaways on a deserted island. Our simple lives were made even simpler—praying, encouraging each other, Hunter Link is an oblate who lives in Virginia. He works in a teaming up to repair damage and refocusing on the cabinet shop and lives in a Christian community that draws spirituality that led us all here. When help came, we were primarily from the Mennonite tradition. almost disappointed at the interruption of silence.

Rich Veum has been the bookstore manager at New Camaldoli New Camaldoli Hermitage—Summer 2016 The Hermitage since 2013. He is a beekeeper and writes a blog about Soberanes Fire marched slowly from its starting point 40 his life in Big Sur at www.medium.com/@richveum. miles north of the Hermitage to within just a few miles of us, before turning away and eventually being extinguished. Each sunrise was tinted with eerie colors as the smoke shielded Sky Farm Hermitage, Sonoma—October 2017 Fire is more and more of the a transformational element—be it the fire that lights a sun. And each after- candle transforming darkness to light, the fire in a wood noon brought more stove changing the chill to warmth, or a massive uncontrol- bad news of line-jump- lable fire changing life as we know it. Outer fires remind ing flames. Although us of inner fires: anger, love, inspiration. Both can alter the monks had lived existence in powerful ways. through several fires and been evacuated We have pondered fire daily since last October 9 when, at least twice, we all in the middle of the night, we were awakened and told felt a sense of growing to leave immediately. We left not having any idea of what tension as the remains was going on, thinking we were still somehow in control of trees and neighbors’ only to find the word “apocalyptic” rising to consciousness. houses drifted down Everything was burning. The hills glowed orange with flames upon us in the form of shooting high to the heavens. The air filled with ominous ashen flakes. I’d never smoke, and people were dazed as they gathered pets and seen such beautiful belongings. Clearly, we were not in control. and curious sunsets, painted by the smoke Gratitude followed from vast fires, and I with the news that realized that even in destruction there is a certain terrible though it burned up beauty. to the doors, all the hermitages had Then, just six months after the last of the flames were survived. Then came smothered, Big Sur was hit with torrential downpours that a time of grief for all broke highways and bridges. From the north, a bridge the loss of life and connecting Big Sur to the outside world collapsed into a nature—mourning had begun. That is its own form of silence and stillness. Rain followed and soon out of the black earth came perfectly formed green life spreading every- where! It transformed Sky Farm Hermitage into “The Shire.” And it transformed our initial gratitude into a constant awareness of blessing, a deeper connection to the many friends whose love kept us going, and a deeper renewal to which we say Amen.

Sr. Michaela Terrio began her monastic journey in 1973 as canyon, and to our south the gates of Highway One, at a Cloistered Poor Clare Nun where she remained for 17 years. Paul’s Slide, were slammed shut—effectively cutting us off She lived in India with Fr. Bede Griffiths, her spiritual father, from most of humanity. Our main sources of income and and made vows of renunciation as a Christian sannyasi in 1992. She has lived in hermitage at Sky Farm since 2003. contemplation.com ~ 11 Reflections onFire and Flood

Upper Rocky Creek, Big Sur—July 2016 The Soberanes Fire raged through Big Sur leaving in its wake ash, molten glass, and metal. While clearing the burn site of my own studio, grief unexpectedly began leading me along into new creative wanderings. Combing through ash I began finding beautiful fire-altered fragments of glass. What were once windows, jars of pigment, and oil lamps had become vibrant- colored jewels of golds and rusts that were already in the oaks and madrones and sunsets as well. While photographing the effects of the fire on the land, I found incredible beauty and starkness in the ash-covered earth and charred and tangled trees. It came to me that combining actual glass with the photographs would bring new life to the whole process. In some of the work I am layering a semi-transparent image of assembled found glass onto post-fire photographs. In other work I place the glass and other found items directly on the photographs. Debi Lorenc is a designer, photographer, and artist. She is also the design director of this newsetter. She recently retired from com- mercial work to focus on her own art.

La Casa de Maria, Montecito—January 2018 Montecito was not spared from the torrential rains and their aftermath fatal mudslides. The devastation in Montecito which all but destroyed the La Casa de Maria Retreat Center is, for me, difficult to see given that I retreat there regularly. La Casa is the place where I first met Fr. Laurence Free- Wildfires and other natural upheavals that once seemed like man in the rare, far-flung events now seem to line up one after another mid-1990s. It and near at hand. In the wake of the recent fires in Northern holds cher- California and the West, I keep in mind what Pema Chödrön ished memo- says, “...that things don’t really get solved. They come together ries for me and and they fall apart...” (See back cover for complete quotation). many others so this loss is deeply and profoundly felt. I first thought that sifting through ash was a personal idiosyncrasy but soon realized that transformation into art The meditation chapel, main building and offices were swept is a universal response to natural disaster. A potter in Santa away. The grounds were inundated with mud and debris. Rosa created pottery pieces from ash residents collected The process has just begun to clean and repair what is left from the remnants of the North Bay fires. “I just want people but the sense of loss will remain. Work has begun both to have something beautiful to hold from what they have externally and internally to deal with what is left. lost,” he said. From ashes to art. As precious as these places of retreat are, I am reminded that the true temples are found within. Retreat centers provide us with a place to focus on that interior journey. Doing so leads to loving God and loving one’s neighbor. I try to defineneighbor as everyone and everything outside my physical body, especially the environment, of which we are part. Honoring Mother Nature and respecting her pat- terns of weather, both beautiful and tumultuous, allow us to reflect on those times of good and bad in our own lives. If we can see the Divine in everyone and everything, we may better weather the storms of life…one moment at a time.

Ken Jackson lives in Huntington and is a member of the World Community for Christian Meditation.

12 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage Reflections onFire and Flood OBLATES We Got Through—with a Lot of Liminality and the Great Help from Our Friends Benedictine Vows Fr. Robert Hale, OSB Cam Mike Mullard, Oblate OSB Cam

Our Camaldolese theme Last year, I presented an Advent retreat on managing the for this issue has some- liminal periods in our lives. What is liminality? The word thing of an apocalyptic comes from the Latin root, “limen,” meaning threshold, tone: “In Fire and Flood.” crosspiece, or sill. It is an ambiguous state, a transition And this last year has time, a bridge crossing over into a new reality. It can be indeed been for us…excit- a time of crisis and instability, or a time of waiting and ing, especially because expectation. Liminal periods can unleash a flood of of the massive rains that emotion or foment a fire of interior purification and caused destructive mud- growth. In daily life, a liminal period can be a pregnancy, slides on our vital “artery”, a serious illness, or the confusing period of adolescence. Highway One. For a short period we were cut off from the north and the south. Now The most common liminal periods occur twice daily. These the north is open as before, because of the replacement are the enchanted times of dawn and dusk, when the veil of the Big Sur bridge. And the south is accessible, but by between this world and the next becomes gossamer, the…interesting Nacimiento-Fergusson Road over the according to Celtic spirituality. This is, perhaps, why we mountains. So, we are breathing a sigh of relief, and pray- honor these special times with prayer: Lauds and Vespers. ing that the remaining months of the rainy season will, as The church reminds us that we live in the twilight between up to now, be moderate. what is dying and what is being born within us; between the “now” of Christ’s kingdom, and the “not yet” of his But this period has had its distinct blessings. Our monastic Second Coming. community was drawn closer in important ways of deeper fellowship and mutual commitment. And our faithful So how do I respond to the instability of my own liminal support team here also enabled the place to go on. As periods? I review my current state by looking at it in the Oblate chaplain, I have been particularly moved by the mirror of our three great Benedictine vows: stability, warm solidarity and generosity of our Oblates. Our former obedience and conversatio morum. They are my orienting Prior General, Fr. Emmanuele Bargellini, stressed that our virtues. They are the harbor lights that gently shine forth Oblates are our extended family. And that affirmation has onto the dark ocean pointing me back to safe anchorage. been demonstrated emphatically throughout these challenging months. We monks have been drawn closer, Commitment to stability of mind keeps me rooted in the and we feel closer also to our Oblate sisters and brothers, everlasting now so that my mind does not fly into the as well as to all our friends. Their intense prayers and future with worrisome thoughts, but remains in concern, their offering of help in so many ways, their equanimity. Obedience keeps me focused on walking day regular contact, through phone, letter, email, and Facebook, have let us know that they “have our backs.” Our Oblate to day in listening to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in my family now numbers well over 700 men and women, and life. Conversatio causes me to ask how I can grow from our wider circle of dedicated friends many more hundreds, this experience. How might reflecting on the Benedictine so we know that it will take a huge amount of floods and vows help you manage the liminal times in your life? fires to force us to budge from this beautiful Big Sur place, which is ours, and also theirs, also yours. Dr. Mike Mullard is a licensed psychotherapist and certified spiritual director living in Orange County, California. He has been a Camaldolese oblate since 2004.

Peer Mentors seek to help oblates and oblate postulants enter more deeply into the Camaldolese charism by being resources, guides, and companions on the spiritual journey. The Peer Mentors all have extensive lived experience of oblate life and can assist new or experienced oblates with questions about how to live out the oblate call. Peer Mentors are called by the monks from the larger oblate community and serve with the blessing of the Priors and Oblate Chaplains of our three California houses.

For more information, please contact: Mike Mullard ([email protected]) or Paula Huston ([email protected])

contemplation.com ~ 13 Upcoming Events

June 30 Lovers of the Place: Songs and Stories from the Hermitage An evening of readings, music and conversation with Fr. Cyprian and author Pico Iyer sharing moments, possibilities, and tales from the Big Sur coastline—and around the world. Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur

July 6–July 8 6th Annual Camaldolese Retreat Contemplation: The Body and the Natural World A weekend of prayer, fellowship and deepening our spirituality. Our keynote speakers this year are Fr. Michael Fish and Rev. Deborah Streeter who will explore the contemplative dimensions of our incarnational spirituality. St. Francis Retreat, San Juan Bautista

July 29 New Camaldoli Hermitage Celebrating 60 years We will celebrate the day with a festive Eucharist, open house and picnic, and a performance by renowned violinist Michelle Makarski.

For additional information please contact Jill Gisselere at [email protected].

Activities and Visitors from all the places in the world where there are Camaldolese monasteries; our friends and neighbors Ken and Rosa OCTOBER Harlan closed their restaurant at Lucia Lodge and offered us their annual Christmas meal; we had a quiet, beautiful Frs. Thomas and Cyprian along with Fr. Andrew and celebration of Christmas. Br. Bede were at our motherhouse, Camaldoli, for our General Chapter; Bryan Lei began his postulancy with us; JANUARY we voted to accept the transfer of stability of Br. Ivan from Camaldoli to New Camaldoli, in residence at Incarnation Our Prior General Alessandro Barban was here to preside Monastery in Berkeley. over Cyprian’s reconfirmation to continue as prior of New Camaldoli for a full six-year term. We had a wonderful NOVEMBER gathering of the brothers from north and south and a good sharing at a chapter meeting, followed by a small but joyful Cyprian performed a benefit concert in Phoenix; we held celebration the next day on the Feast of the Conversion of St. our annual Open House coordinated by Jill Gisselere; the Financial Advisory Board held its tri-annual meeting at Paul. Two of our employees, Jill Gisselere and Tim Tippery were married after a long engagement. Congratulations! Monastery of the Risen Christ; Br. Benedict made a home trip to Philadelphia; Br. Joshua also spent time with his family, who live locally; we held a poetry seminar on the FEBRUARY poetry of Emily Dickinson. Ten members of our Advisory Board met here the weekend of February 9–11: Chris and Debi Lorenc, Valerie Sinkus, DECEMBER Greg Giuliano, Lisa Benner, Richard Schaper, Rob and , and . Cyprian helped offer an oblate day on Interreligious ValJean Albright Ree Rickard, John Marheineke , began his observership on February 15, the Dialogue and Ecumenism with Fr. Stephen and Paula Doug Herbek Feast of Our Lady of Comfort; two novices from the Order Huston at Monastery of the Risen Christ; we had a session of the Holy Cross, and spent a week- on the psychology of aging with Dr. Barry Hayes; there Br. Peter Br. Charles end with us; , who was a postulant here a few was another poetry seminar with our oblate Aaron Maniam, Doug Herbek years back, has returned and reentered the formation featuring his own poems; our oblate Jackie Chew offered us her annual piano concert, this time focusing on music program at the beginning of Lent.

14 ~ New Camaldoli Hermitage MARCH Several brothers from Berkeley and San Luis Obispo were here for a chapter meeting on the Solemnity of St. Joseph, at which voted for a new local prior for Incarnation Monastery in Berkeley, after a good discernment process with the brothers there. Based on the consultative vote of the community, Prior Cyprian named Br. Bede Healey to serve in this ministry; we endured another “atmospheric river” in the first days of spring, with only minor mudslides and rockslides and no more damage to our fragile road; we had a simple but solemn Holy Week, Triduum and Easter as usual.

APRIL The Four Winds Council met here on the 11th, with mem- bers of the Esselen tribe, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and Esalen Institute present, along with monks and oblates of the Hermitage.

What the Monks Are Reading

Br. Bryan: The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser and Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Gospels of Matthew by Thomas Aquinas Fr. Cyprian: The Experience of God by Raimon Panikkar and Dunstan by Conn Iggulden Br. Doug Herbek: Mary in the Documents of the Church by Paul Palmer, S.J. and In Solitary Witness: The Life and Death of Franz Jägerstätter by Gordon Zahn Fr. Isaiah: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand and The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis Fr. Robert: The Awakened Heart by Gerald May and To Light The quarterly newsletter is published by the a Fire on Earth by Bishop Robert Barron Camaldolese Hermits of America for our friends, Fr. Thomas: i am Through You So i by David Steindl-Rast oblates, and sponsors. and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan Director: Father Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam Br. Timothy: The Holy Longing by Ronald Rolheiser and Editor: Lisa Benner, Oblate, OSB Cam Field of Compassion by Judy Cannato Associate editor: Chris Lorenc, Oblate, OSB Cam Design: Debi Lorenc Staff Submissions Development: Jill Gisselere Jill Gisselere: A Dress the Color of the Sky by Jennifer Irwin Photo credits: Grace McManis, Spiritual Direction and Meditation by Debi Lorenc: front cover, pages 3, 4, 8, 9 right column, Thomas Merton and A Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck 11 right column, 12, 13, 15 right column, and back cover Jim Weston: The Shack by William Paul Young and How to Aaron Patch: Page 5 and 15 left column Love by Thich Nhat Hanh Brendan Shave: Page 10 left column K.O.A.D. (Known Only as Dano): Page 10 right column Rich Veum: Page 11 left column (top) Kyle Evans: Pages 7 and 11 left column (bottom)

If you have questions or comments, please email [email protected].

New Camaldoli Hermitage 62475 Highway 1, Big Sur, CA 93920

contemplation.com ~ 15 “We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come to- gether and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.”

–Pema Chödrön