Camaldolese Hermits of America Camaldol e Tidings New Camaldoli Hermitage Big Sur, California Volume 15 Issue 2 Summer 2009 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is presently placed in the sacristy of the monastery chapel. A ceramic piece, it is the work of the artist Angelo Biancini and was brought over with the monks when setting off from Camaldoli, Italy, to establish a foundation in the United States of America in 1958. The halo contains a strikingly vibrant rendition of the symbol used for centuries by the Camaldolese monks.
2 ~ Camaldol e Tidings Prior Knowledge Father Raniero Mary the Mother of Vocations In my family were my parents, two brothers, one sister, and me. I am the youngest THE BABY! My brothers and sister say that I am spoiled; I always respond, Well, if I am (for I don t even know what being spoiled means), I surely did not make myself that way, so you must have made me so! That usually keeps them quiet. Anyway, one of my early childhood memories is praying the family rosary. Every evening after supper all of us would gather in the family living room and together pray the rosary. In the month of May and October, I would be the one who would put together a Marian Altar in the living room with a beautiful statue of Mary, which I would crown. On the altar would be candles and flowers. Such prayer and devotion, I believe, nurtured the vocation that I now live in response to God s call and love. In those early years it seems that Mary was the one who nurtured the vocational movement within me even without my knowing it. Mary s own life is a beautiful witness to God s call and one response. Mary responded to God s call even though she did not fully understand (Luke 1:26 38). Mary pondered, wondered, meditated, and contemplated the life of Jesus from the time of his infancy and onwards (Luke 2:15 20, Luke 2: 41 52, and Mark 3: 20 35). Mary stepped back from those who came to her and sent them to Jesus (John 2:1 12). These moments and events in Mary s life and vocation are also important for us. In our vocation, we, too, must surrender not only ourselves, but also our desires to understand and control; and then we follow God s grace and movements deep within our being. We won t always understand or be able to know or figure out the whole plan. In fact, most of the time, responding to a vocation involves trusting each step, one at a time, as it unfolds. Or it is a matter of seeing God s hand at work in hindsight, after the fact of each step unfolds. All of the above is especially true when we discover the contemplative dimension of our life which is present This is the discovery and awareness that God is inviting each one of us to follow God into the more, the mystery, the unknown of God where our life becomes full and complete. within each one of us. This is the discovery and awareness that God is inviting each one of us to follow God into the more, the mystery, the unknown of God where our life becomes full Prayer Schedule Weekdays: 5:30 am Vigils 7:00 am Lauds 11:30 am Eucharist 6:00 pm Vespers Sundays and Solemnities: 5:30 am Vigils 7:00 am Lauds 11:00 am Eucharist 5:00 pm Vespers and complete. I believe this is the final goal of all vocations, of all life. And how exciting it is because it is beyond all our imagining; it is the consciousness of the Incarnation happening within each one of us the divine becoming human, the human becoming divine. Each one of us, then all of us, become One with God; and God becomes one with each one of us, and then with all of us (John 14:23, Ephesians 3: 14 21, 1 Corinthians 3:16). May Mary continue to both model and nurture our personal vocation as it moves us into the fullness of life with God. And may Mary intercede for many vocations to our way of life here at New Camaldoli. Camaldolese Tidings is published by the Camaldolese Hermits of America for our friends, oblates, and sponsors. Publisher Father Raniero Hoffman, OSB Cam. Editor Brother Bede Healey, OSB Cam. Development Director Robert J. Allen Public Relations & Design Susan Garrison If you have questions or comments about this publication, please address them to: New Camaldoli Hermitage 62475 Coast Highway 1 Big Sur, CA 93920 (831) 667-2456 Fax: (831) 667-0209 E-mail: monks@contemplation.com or visit us on the web at:
Camaldolese Communications By Fr. Robert Hale, O.S.B. Cam. High tech breakthroughs at the Hermitage! We have a new phone system that accepts calls from outside as well as intercom messages; it offers the possibility of forwarding calls, saving calls, making conference calls you name it. The system makes it easier for retreatants to make reservations and for callers to leave messages for specific monks. Over a short period of time, this will save us significant money, which is no little consideration in these hard times! As if that were not enough, we have a new computer scanning system in the guest house/book store/gift shop. The new system will enable us to scan and record the precise cost and nature of a specific product or retreat offering; it will then provide us with a precise inventory of what has been sold and what remains in stock. So this also will save us money while saving precious time for our dear retreatants and other customers. So far the rains have been adequate and not destructive of our road or Highway One (let us keep praying!), and the flow of retreatants and guests has been steady. It is such a consolation to continue to greet old friends and new and to share our prayer and the beauty of the place with retreatants and guests. We also have had some longerterm monastic guests: a Trappist monk originally from Hong Kong and currently stationed at the Cistercian Abbey in Georgia; and a German Benedictine monk who has spent years in their monastic communities in the Holy Land. They very much enriched our understanding of the challenges of monastic life, and of Christianity in general, in China and the Holy Land. Let us pray for these important areas of the world, their peoples, their Christian believers, and their monastics. Brother Ivan, of the General s Council, paid us a fraternal visited and offered a wonderful overview of the Camaldolese Congregation, our recent Consulta (which some of our Oblates attended) and Camaldolese formation. Some of us have continued our outreach to our Oblate groups and others through conferences and meditations. Thus Bede offered a quiet day to our Oblates and friends in the Santa Cruz area, and a group of Oblates drove down from the Bay Area to join them. Daniel offered a retreat to the Benedictine monks and nuns of Pecos. I journeyed to Incarnation Monastery in Berkeley to offer a quiet day to their extended family of Oblates and friends. Camaldol e Tidings ~ 3 In an ecumenical outreach I visited a Presbyterian parish in Fresno to give three talks on prayer; their minister is journeying towards Oblature. I also returned to the Newman parish in Berkeley to give a talk on our Camaldolese life; this was done in the context of a beautiful concert that their choir kindly offered, with all donations going to the Hermitage. In return, we have been enriched spiritually by the conferences of Fr. Scott Sinclair (an Oblate, a good friend of the community, and a professor of Scripture) on the Wisdom tradition of Scripture and monasticism. Please pray for our new Postulant and Novice Master, Daniel, who is currently in Rome for conferences on monastic formation. Pray also for our new Vocations Master, Isaiah, and for vocations to our life. And know always of our prayers for you. Preached Retreats and Weekends 2009 During the summer and fall of 2009, the following preached retreat weekends will be offered at the Hermitage. June 26-28: Yoga and Grace facilitated by Thomas Matus, OSB Cam July 24-26: Art as Theophany (focusing on the paintings of Emmaus O Herlily, OSB Cam) facilitated by Robert Hale, OSB Cam. August 28-30: The Marriage of East and West: The Vision of Bede Griffiths and Abhishiktananda facilitated by Cyprian Consiglio, OSB Cam September 25-27: Wisdom East and West facilitated by Bruno Barnhart, OSB Cam. November 6-8: God s Creative Power in Darkness and in Light facilitated by Andrew Colnaghi, OSB Cam, Arthur Poulin, OSB Cam, Toni Betschart, Oblate OSB Cam. Please call the Hermitage Bookstore for reservations: (831) 667-2456. We ask that you kindly register for only one Preached Retreat Weekend. If you would like to participate in another one, then ask to be put on a waiting list.
4 ~ Camaldol e Tidings Fr. Robert Hale Shares Love of God throughout Life When one considers the life of a hermit, a man who travels the world teaching, writing, and sharing, is not the first image that springs to mind. Yet Father Robert Hale, OSB Cam., one of the first members of the New Camaldolese Hermitage, has spent his life loving God and sharing that love around the world. Born in Denver in 1937, Father Robert came from a successful family who were devout Episcopalians and had high expectations for their children. His great grandfather was the second president of the University of Colorado; his grandfather an army general, his father was a respected attorney and his mother was a librarian. There was pressure to succeed and study, he explained. As it turned out, I loved studying. I also loved church and prayer. Rather early in Fr. Robert s life, he understood that he felt a tug between the realm of church and that of study and teaching. His father died and the family moved to Laguna Beach, Cal. One year in a class at public high school, his assignment was to perform a recitation. He recited from memory the parable of the prodigal son. It was a high moment for me, bringing together spirituality and study, he said. After high school, he attended Pomona College, majoring in religion. It was during that time of his life he became a Catholic through reading Thomas Merton and many other Catholic spiritual writers. My grades were good, but I was drawn to the contemplative life, he said. I read of the founding of this community (the Hermitage) and was interested. It was then he made his decision to become a monk of the New Camaldoli Hermitage. I decided I had only one lifetime, and I wanted to give it to God, Fr. Robert said. The Easter vacation of his final college year, he told everyone he was visiting the Hermitage on a brief retreat, but I resolved not to leave until they threw me out, he explained. Interestingly enough, they didn t throw me out. There was a wonderful professor at Pomona who thought I had freaked out. He was so appalled, Fr. Robert said. He told me he knows students who freak out and do crazy things under the pressure of final exams. He pauses. I was offended. I told him, I m not afraid of your final exams, so he brought them to me and I passed. That professor became a great friend to Fr. Robert and ended up teaching in Rome where Fr. Robert would himself study, then teach. In his own mind, Fr. Robert thought that it was the perfect time to cut neatly with academics. His vision of what he d do all day at the Hermitage? I thought I d pray all day in my room, coming out only for community prayers, he explained with a smile. His superiors had a different idea. They sent him to Rome to study for the priesthood at the Pontifical Benedictine College. The year was 1962, the wonderful year of Vatican II, with all the bishops of the world gathered with Pope John XXIII, he said. He went on to earn a master s degree at St. John s University in Minnesota, followed by a doctorate at Fordham University in New York. Then he was sent back to the Camaldolese Rome monastery where he spent the next few years teaching at the nearby Pontifical Benedictine College, where he had studied. He did that for several years, when he was asked to start an urban monastery in Berkeley. With help from the Episcopalians I d always kept that bond Incarnation Monastery was founded, he said. The monastery needed a way to earn money, so Father Robert taught a course at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley for many years called Contemplation and Action, which focused on combining ministry and prayer, the mind and heart. In 1988, Fr. Robert was called back to the Hermitage where he was prior from 1988-2000. I enjoyed that, though it had its tensions he smiled. During that time he wrote a diary-style book entitled Love on the Mountain about the monks life at the Hermitage, of prayer, work, and guest ministry. Over the years he also wrote two other books and over 100 articles in the area of spirituality. Fr. Robert continues with a busy but prayerful life. He give retreats, conferences, and is currently co-chaplain of the oblates. The oblates are a wonderful group who live in the normal world and are bonded in deep spiritual way with our hermitage, he said. He also ministers in receiving guests and retreatants. He describes the retreat facilities of the Hermitage as enabling a wonderful retreat ministry. People spend the day, two days, or weeks in silence, journaling and reflecting. Our main ministry is to witness to the loving God, to share our heritage, our spirituality, our being here with God in the beautiful setting of the Big Sur, Fr. Robert explained. After 50 years, I am extremely happy that I chose this way, he said. I am writing a manuscript now about the different models of God s love for us in scripture and in great Christian tradition of spirituality. These models include: God as loving father, loving mother, loving friend, loving brother in Christ, loving divine child in Christ, and even loving spouse. Fr. Robert concludes with a summary of his next book and life belief. God loves us all unconditionally and as we open to that love, in its amazing different modalities, we are truly blessed and graced.
Camaldol e Tidings ~ 5 God s Gift to You Listen By Robert J. Allen When you think of the New Camaldoli hermitage you think of CONTEMPLATION. This is God s gift to you and for the many that have been privileged to have personally visited, they understand exactly what I m saying. What a wonderful time of the year: Easter Season. In fact, St. Benedict had only two seasons on his calendar: Easter Season and Ordinary Time. Much like our life. We have much to celebrate and should, but it is the everyday or ordinary schedule that allows us to move from day to day without extra stress. One of my favorite stories in St Luke s gospel (24: 15-30) is that of the road to Emmaus. They were walking along conversing when Jesus drew near but they didn t recognize him. Much as we do on our own daily journey, Jesus is walking with us and we don t recognize him. After all, who are we that the Son of Man should be in our presence? We are all God s children and sisters and brothers of Christ. What we have is a gift from God, what we give is how we express our detachment from what owns us. Use your gift, time, talent or treasure to do God s will as you listen to his speaking to you. Please Send Us Your E-Mail Address! The monks of the Hermitage need your e-mail address. Why? There are many exciting special events and information for you to receive. Because postage is expensive, we would like to inform you of some things via e-mail. Please be assured, we will NOT share your e-mail address. Name: Address: City, State, Zip E-mail: Please remember us when making or revising your will. Our official name is: Camaldolese Hermits of America Our federal ID # is: 94-6050278 Have you noticed our new look? We monks of the New Camaldolese Hermitage are committed to being environmentally friendly. Visit us today! www. contemplation.com e n v i r o n m e n t a l b e n e f i t s s t a t e m e n t of using post-consumer waste fiber vs. virgin fiber 5 2,471 3 231 574
6 ~ Camaldol e Tidings The Gift of Silence at New Camaldoli Hermitage Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6:31 The following article first appeared in Catholic Perspective/Christian Issues in February. It is reprinted by permission. By Jennifer Prest Los Angeles is many things to many people. However, one thing I m sure we can agree on is LA is fast paced. Sometimes it seems our hearts and minds function very much like the 405 Freeway. We re constantly busy, our minds are congested with problems ahead and we feel like we re just not moving forward. I know I ve felt this way. And it s for those reasons that I decided to take a few days to visit New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur to seek out some of this much desired rest and quiet time with God. It was my first time visiting the monastery and I was a bit unsure of what tot expect. I arrived and was awestruck by the majestic beauty of the grounds. Nestled into the Santa Lucia Mountains and at an elevation of 1300 feet, New Camaldoli Hermitage looks out an endless view of the Pacific Ocean. I was assigned to my trailer that I would be staying in, and while its amenities were simplistic, it provided everything I needed. I was welcomed to join in on any of the prayers and services the monks led throughout the day, but out of respect for the monastic community and other guests, your retreat is requested to be in silence. I picked up a booklet in my trailer and begin to read the brief rule of Saint Romuald. He says to Put the whole world behind you and forget it. Watch your thoughts like a good fisherman watching for fish. Realize that you are in God s presence, and stand there in the attitude of one who stands before the emperor. I spent my time reading, praying, journaling, hiking, going to the beach, and allowing my heart time to unfold before the Lord. I nightly watched the sun melt into the ocean. It was as if God himself had used the heavens as a canvas of colors for me to marvel at. I was overwhelmed and taken over by it all. I d never experienced peace at this level. But beyond the beauty, there was the precious solitude of being still with the maker. A time of aloneness where I was able to hand over my worries, doubts and fears and let myself be cherished with a love that has no limits. It s hard for me to sometimes grasp that the God who placed the stars in place could love me. I see my flaws, He sees His child. What I anticipated to be a very long three days without my cell phone, Internet, and DVR, had now turned into an incredible retreat that ha flown by. I m renewed by the rest, thankful for the gift of silence and amazed by the awareness of the one we serve. Today I arrived back to the busyness that is LA, and as I enter into the city limits I feel different. I feel changed! Accommodations When Making a Retreat Two types of spaces are provided for retreatants; all are for single occupancy. The retreat house features a number of private rooms, each with a half-bath and personal garden overlooking the ocean. There is also an area with two private shower rooms and a common kitchen with various food items and where meals are picked up. In addition to the retreat house, there are five trailer hermitages located along the hillside below the retreat house. These spaces offer greater solitude and privacy. They include a full bath, small refrigerator, small counter-top gas burner for cooking, various food items for light meals and a sun deck. The main meal is picked up at the retreat house kitchen. Retreat rooms are generally reserved up to 6 months in advance, although cancellations sometimes free up space sooner. Trailer hermitages can be reserved up to 12 months in advance. Longer retreats are available in the trailer hermitages (two weeks is usually the maximum). On the first of each month, a future month is opened for reservations; (August becomes open in February, September in March, etc.). Suggested donation for the retreat rooms is $70 per night; trailer Hermitages, $80 per night.
BAQA Deafened by the voice of desire you are unaware the Beloved lives in the core of your heart. Stop the noise, and you will hear His voice in the silence. Imitating others, I failed to find myself. I looked inside and discovered I only knew my name. When I stepped outside I found my real Self. (Rumi, Rubaiyat #181, 77) Risk It All By Following the Light The following are excerpts from Father Cyprian s Easter message. In my work and study I often run into some broad sweeping criticisms of Western Christianity. (And I must admit, I m getting a little tired of it, always being the one to defend Western Christianity!) One of the criticisms is that Western Christians are too focused on our cult of the dark night and all our Sturm und Drang, as opposed to other mystical traditions that seem to be bursting with light and serenity. I ve even read criticism of a master of the spiritual life such as Gregory the Great for dwelling too much on the pain and effort of the approach to God, and focusing too much on how the soul has to fight its way out of the darkness that is its natural element. Maybe that s true historically we have often fallen into the trap of getting caught up in Good Friday and forgetting about Easter Sunday but only up to a point. We have to remember, for instance, that St John of the Cross wrote his mystical verses about the dark night while he was trapped in a prison cell, and put there by his own brothers; and that Gregory the Great was forced into the papacy while the Roman Empire was collapsing, the Emperor had abdicated, Rome was infected with famine and pestilence, floods and earthquakes, Greeks and the barbarians were invading, and he had to take over, when all he wanted to do was be a simple monk. There actually was a lot of storm and stress. The amazing thing is that either of them continued to hope at all. So we could also say the opposite is true too in our modern era, as I ve heard it said, that the dark side of modern popular spirituality is that there is no dark side to modern popular spirituality. It s easy for us to talk about light and serenity while we sit sleek and well fed in hot tubs and air-conditioning, when the lot of many in our world is great darkness, innocent, unmerited suffering and abject poverty. Even without tremendous suffering (if anyone can possibly avoid it), still in the course of our lives, in the course of the evolution of our consciousness, in the course of our coming forth from God like a word shouted across the span of the sky, we accumulate layer upon layer of persona, layer upon layer of habit, layer upon layer of compulsion and enslavements, not to mention layer upon layer of innocent cultural conditioning. And all those things can, and often do, hide our real self. At some point it all has to go, whether we are Buddhist, Hindu or shamans; every tradition teaches this. This is the grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies. If there is a perennial philosophy, a sanatana dharma, then surely this is one of Jesus contributions to it. That if that grain falls into the ground and dies, if the husk of our being is shucked off, it will yield a rich harvest, something new will be born, our real self hidden in God. Jesus story impels us to believe that our fundamental being, our real self cannot be annihilated, even if the husk is shucked off by abject suffering or by the subtler but no less profound progressive stripping that is the invitation of the spiritual life. *** And I am suggesting Jesus resurrection as the ultimate baqa, surviving the abject suffering of his body, his physical being; and surviving also the stripping of all the layers of his psyche, everything he held dear, anything he could have possibly held on to as a self-identity; and even of his spiritual being, his own sense of union with God. He comes bounding Camaldol e Tidings ~ 7 back, the Song of Songs says, Leaping the mountains, bounding the hills. *** In other words, nothing gets left behind. And that begins already now. The destination of humankind [is] to the joint participation in the future salvation, but it starts right now here on earth, and so it has to be put into practice here and now in every dimension of our human existence. This is what it means to be an Easter people. We get it all back enhanced, but we only get it back after we ve let it all go, risked its annihilation, after the dark night. And so John of the Cross says, Now that I no longer desire them, I have them all without desire. Perhaps this is what we haven t accented enough, the baqa the revival of our vivified enhanced humanity, even in this life. As hard as it is, we simply must believe that there is a freedom here in this way, this stripping away of all that obscures our real self, this kenosis of Jesus, in this discovery of divine presence the love of God at the heart of our own being. When we stray off the path, or when we are tempted to despair of our progress even after many years of struggling, when we are feeling as if we have made little progress, Easter reminds us that we simply must believe that in following the way of Jesus, this is where we are led, to our own hearts, to our own enhanced humanity, to this truth, the truth of who we truly are and that is the truth that can set us free. *** We have to do it at some point in our lives at the final moment perhaps, stand naked and poor before Ultimate Reality, and face the god of death. So we may as well do it now. Because of Jesus, the god of death doesn t have to be named Satan, anymore; he s no longer the tempter, because Jesus story tells us Death no longer has the victory, Death doesn t really have any sting, because our real self hidden in God cannot be annihilated.
8 ~ Camaldol e Tidings Keeping A Listening Heart Within The World: Reflections On Camaldolese Monastic Vocation By Father Daniel Manger, OSB, Cam. (Novice Master & Postulant director at New Camaldoli Hermitage) Camaldolese Monastic life is a particular manifestation of the Holy Spirit; it searches within a life-long conversion process so as to honor in solitude and in community living an attitude of active listening to the Word of God as a disciple. Camaldolese monasticism is a contemplative life pattern based upon one s gratitude in the experience of God s generosity toward one personally and in so many other manifestations that accompany the monk or nun providentially. One learns to listen by way of recognizing God s mysterious communication within and around one s daily life; one therefore honors the One who is communicating. The activity of contemplative listening becomes the most important of labors and is based on faith in a God who wants to be known. The monk or nun knows by faith that God is one who wants to disclose his grace-filled presence to everyone; and coming to know God is the revealed Life, Way and Truth for us. A contemplative listening heart is keeping company with the Lord of Life as Mary of Nazareth kept company by pondering the mystery present in her heart in faith. This resulted in God becoming present to us in the Christ. This wisdom within each monastic, which is cultivated slowly by the work of the Holy Spirit, arouses our attention to greater wisdom through the capacity of desire that is discovered to lie within a listening heart. Every aspect of Camaldolese Monastic life attempts to support the emergence of such wisdom and knowledge of God s active presence, or of God s silence as a wordless word in one s life. The practices of meditation, sacred reading, liturgical prayer with the community, and one s personal prayer in solitude along with work and recreation become the classroom in which monastics learn the means and ways of holiness, of living companionship together with the Gospel life. The total self-donation of one s life to this does not inhibit the possibilities of giving God gratitude by loving others, in the course of living the Camaldolese spirit. Rather, living in community and solitude, the Camaldolese mission is to put back within a global culture a listening heart to God, in gratitude and intercession, with the witness of the monastic hope, in reconciliation and charity, so that God s future must become our today. At the heart of the monastic are questions. For example: Is God s future becoming my today? Is a relationship with Christ necessary for my full human maturity? Do I want my maturity to terminate in full union with God in love? Am I willing to go out into the desert of my desires in patient waiting for God s joy in love? Do I want to share this sojourn with others in the good times and in the difficult times of living? Do I recognize my weaknesses and do I desire God to display inner healing and forgiveness in my life? Many of the accounts of Christ calling disciples in the gospels underline these same questions that the monastic intentionally wants to answer with a lifetime of ongoing conversion. The vows that are taken obedience, poverty, chastity, stability eventually are only the beginning; they become a means to that which the contemplative practices facilitate through self-disclosure of one s life to the service of the Holy Spirit and through enabling the Spirit within to receive a larger pallet to develop in expressing love, hope and joy-filled faith in the future of God s design. One does not have to be a strict introvert to respond to such a call from God and become a monk or nun in the Camaldolese way; in fact, it helps to be a mix of both introvert and extravert. Monks and nuns respond to this vocation from all sorts of personal backgrounds and life experiences. The pallet that God uses is varied; a monk or nun has to be willing and capable of living within a diverse community. Communion in the Camaldolese spirit is a gift of God in a diversity that is organic and life transforming. Camaldolese monasticism is not a static conformity; rather it is a dynamic means of conversion and of loving as Jesus taught us to love God, one another, and our selfhood in the Call to holiness. Camaldolese life is diverse in that it manifests a love for solitude, community, and an evangelization that flows from the exchange of this threefold good that St. Romuald imparted to the Church. It is my hope that some of you reading this short article on Camaldolese monastic life will consider it in your prayer; ask God and ask the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and of St. Romuald for the gift of this vocation either in someone you know or in your own life.