Mount Calvary Monastery

Transcription

1 Mount Calvary Monastery Summer 2016

2 The Great Cross As you make your way up the driveway of Mount Calvary Monastery & Retreat House, your eyes will be drawn to The Great Cross. The cross was commissioned by Amy du Pont in She had traveled throughout Europe in search of just the right design for a 20-foot cross, deciding on a framework airy enough to let wind and light pass through it, but majestic enough to stand out. The bronze ornaments symbolize Jesus Christ s suffering before his crucifixion. Gunnar Thielst ( ), a local wrought-iron designer who had a studio in El Paseo, was delighted to accept the commission while he restarted his business after WWII s strict rationing of iron. Fr. Karl Tiedemann, the founder of Mount Calvary, worked with Thielst on the concept. You are invited to join us in celebrating Holy Cross Day on September 11. Open house at 3:00 p.m. with refreshments Vespers at 5:00 p.m. Please RSVP to or The Great Cross stood in the courtyard of Mount Calvary Monastery on Gibraltar Road from 1949 until On November 13, 2008, the Tea Fire consumed the buildings of the monastery. The Santa Barbara Noozhawk reported shortly afterward, What Thielst could not have known was that the iron he and his team spent months painstakingly bending and flexing would eventually be able to withstand a wildfire so intense in some places that even houses constructed with stone burned to the ground. Once the monastic community was resettled in its new home, a lengthy

3 process of planning and city permits, together with archeological findings, was undertaken. Eventually the cross was moved down from the mountains to its current site on Los Olivos Street. A blessing service for the Mount Calvary Cross was held in 2014 and opened with the obvious hymn choice, Lift High the Cross. The Great Cross remained in desperate need of cleaning and painting. The bronze symbols, blackened by the fire, needed to be restored and shined. Br. Timothy Jolley oversaw that part of the restoration, now completed. It is certain that Gunnar Thielst would be pleased to know that his family generously contributed to its current restoration. Once again the Great Cross stands tall, welcoming the many pilgrims who enter the grounds of Mount Calvary for a time of prayerful rest and renewal. Vincent Mazzucchelli recently gifted Mount Calvary with this beautiful illumination from Psalm 42. The original hangs in the monastery. We are delighted to share the illumination with our guests, and prints are available in our gift shop. Vincent, thank you again! Mount Calvary Monastery Issue 9, Summer 2016, is a free quarterly publication of Mount Calvary Monastery 505 East Los Olivos Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

4 What is a monastery for? People have been writing about this question for at least 1,650 years, if you date the beginning of setting and answering the question with the Life of Anthony by St. Athanasius shortly after the saint s death in 356. It is a very considerable body of literature! And it seems presumptuous to write more about it! A monastery is for creating a place and a style of life to allow both the monks and our guests to pursue closeness to God seriously. Anyone can do this anywhere, of course, and many people do it in their daily lives without monasteries and do it better than we do. Monks need to be with other people who want to do the same thing and so we try to create a place and a way of living to facilitate it. Maybe we need it because we are fallible, not especially strong, or because we are not very heroic and need mutual encouragement. At any rate, what we do is build places and styles of living that facilitate rather than hinder the pursuit of God. So what do monks do? We work. We pray. We study. We try to practice the Benedictine balance of all three. Everything about our life is supposed to lead us into God s presence, to encounter God. Our work makes this economically possible for us. Our studies prepare our minds for this encounter. But most of all, our prayer directs our hearts to God. Like Christians everywhere, we pray the Lord s Prayer, remember the needs of the world and others, turn to the Lord in joy and sorrow and contrition. We share the Body and Blood of Christ. We sit in silence to meditate and contemplate in the presence of the triune God. Just like every practicing Christian. But monastic prayer has another component, and it is what makes monasteries what they are. Several times a day we pray the opus Dei, the work of God. This is not especially personal. We recite the Psalms, listen to the Word of God, spend some silent time together in the presence of what we have recited and heard, and collect its themes in a prayer. For centuries this was done eight times a day. Many monasteries, in response to our clock-centered and work-centered culture, now gather four times a day. These services are laid out in advance: which psalms, which lessons,

5 which prayer, how much silence. This might seem to leave little room for the movement of the spirit, but anyone who does this kind of prayer knows that the spirit is moving in the mind and heart, but in a special way. One of the oldest Christian theologies of Scripture is that all of the Bible is the Word of God: what God is actually saying to the world, as complex as that is. If we want to come close to what God is saying to us, Scripture is the place to go. And the way to do it is to listen. What monks do is set our own concerns aside and listen to Scripture unfiltered. No preacher or teacher or commentary. Just the words of God. The Word of God. We allow ourselves a great privilege: speaking the Word through our own mouths when we recite the psalms. Hearing the Word read by one of us. As though we are worthy to say the psalms and as though we are worthy to read the Word, to be the mouth by which it enters the world and the ears which are ready to listen to it. In monastic tradition the psalms are the very thoughts and prayers and reflections of Jesus himself, Son of Man and Son of God. When we recite them, we are inviting the resurrected Jesus to enter us, to utter his thoughts and prayers and reflections through us. It is a kind of incarnation, if we let it happen. And if we do, we are putting ourselves close to God. Benedict begins his Rule with a pregnant word: Obsculta. Actually, Benedict begins with three words: Obsculta, o fili. Listen, O son. These words have a sequence, a causality. Listening to the Word creates a relationship. If we listen to the Word, if we make that Word our words, we will enter a new relationship. We will be sons. And daughters. So. That s really what monks do. Adam D. McCoy, OHC

6 Community notes br. Timothy jolley Br. Timothy Jolley moved to Big Sur in July to spend a year living as a hermit with the community at New Camaldoli Hermitage. The Order of the Holy Cross has a long-standing covenant relationship with the Camaldolese. Please keep Br. Timothy in your prayers. Br. Bob is now an Episcopal Priest On May 18, Br. Bob Pierson, OHC, was received as an Episcopal priest by The Rt. Rev d. J. Jon Bruno, Bishop of Los Angeles. The brief ceremony marked the end of a two-year process in which Br. Bob took courses in Episcopal Liturgy, Church History, and Polity at Bloy House, the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont. He met with members of the Diocesan Commission on Ministry in April, and they voted unanimously to recommend his reception as a priest. Bob s first Mass was on May 22, Trinity Sunday, and was attended by around 30 guests. Doug Stanton Doug Stanton joined the community as a Postulant on June 1. Doug grew up in Texas, trained as an architect, and practiced in Los Angeles and Oxnard before joining us. He has been a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Hollywood, and of All Saints Episcopal Church, Oxnard. BUILDINGS & GROUNDS One might assume that changes in the monastery is an oxymoron. Not so at Mount Calvary Monastery & Retreat House. With the amazing oversight of Br. Timothy, much of our unseen infrastructure has been upgraded. Air conditioning was installed in the main guest house and the chapel. The furnace in the chapel was replaced. The electrical supply to St. Mary s, Visitation, and the chapel was upgraded. The chapel was completely cleaned and painted. The old curtains were removed and replaced with shades. The chapel bell was repaired and given a proper clapper. The porch above the office door, damaged by water and termites, was rebuilt. Damaged windows were replaced in the refectory. The Great Cross was restored and the bronze symbols polished. Trees were trimmed we can see the ocean!

7 UPCOMING programs at mount calvary Monks Before Benedict: Basil, Augustine, and Cassian In this series of retreats, led by Br. Adam McCoy, OHC, we will explore the influence of three major monastic writers on the Rule of St. Benedict. Each includes an in-depth introduction, attention to how Benedict used each as a source, and the values each contributed to the Holy Rule. Basil of Caesarea Tuesday, October 25 - Thursday, October 27, 2016 Augustine of Hippo Tuesday, February 7 - Thursday, February 9, 2017 John Cassian Tuesday, May 16 - Thursday, May 18, 2017 Associates retreats We are planning two retreats for Associates in the coming year: The Fall Associates Retreat will be September 20-23, 2016, and will take inspiration from the book Sacred Rhythms: The Monastic Way Every Day, published by Abbey Press. The Spring Associates Retreat will be April 18-21, 2017, and will focus on A Risen Christ in Eastertime. This retreat will be a follow-up to this past spring s retreat, which used the book A Crucified Christ in Holy Week. Both books are by noted New Testament scholar Raymond E. Brown, SS, and are published by Liturgical Press. It s not too early to register for any of these retreats. Contact Melinda Carey, our guesthouse director, to reserve a space. Reaching us Phone: mtcalvarymonastery@gmail.com Website: Mailing address: Mount Calvary Monastery, P. O. Box 1296, Santa Barbara, CA In Your generosity, please Remember Us Your gifts and bequests help us to build a secure financial foundation for the future of our ministry. The legal name of Mount Cavalry Monastery is simply Mount Calvary. We are a religious corporation of the State of California. When making a bequest, please include our address so we are correctly identified.

8 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Mount Calvary Monastery P.O. Box 1296 Santa Barbara, CA Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Santa Barbara, CA Permit No. 139