SILENCE: Resistance and Refuge
We are always aware of noise around us, sometimes even in a place like the Hermitage. But when we do silence those cell phones, turn off the gadgets, and unplug ourselves—at least temporarily—from the noise and commotion, what do we find?
TRAUMA I’m sure that everyone reading this has heard of the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. One of the immediate effects is fear. For those closely affected, fear of another random, irrational happening may linger for a long time, perhaps even for life. Grief is another aftereffect: we grieve for those we lost, for the…
Recent events in the Middle East, especially in Egypt and elsewhere, have inspired and exhilarated the entire world. What an amazing and transformative outpouring of courage, tenacity and hope we have all witnessed on our TV, computer and cell phone screens! What an example of heroism, persistence, and patience. What a remarkable and incredibly peaceful…
SHELTERED What do we do when everything seems to be so challenging? How do we keep going? Spring 2025 Newsletter in PDF format (3.6MB)
CHANGE “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” runs an old folk wisdom saying. This saying has never seemed so profoundly true as today. So many things change today: a new president in the White House, the seasons, the death of Pope Francis, and the new pope, Leo XIV. Is there anything…
WATCHING One of my favorite times is very early morning, shortly after I awake, when I sit in my ‘cell’ (monastic term for my room) and watch the clouds go by. My moods and emotions may not only reflect the weather outside, they are in fact the face of the weather inside. Spring 2021 Newsletter…
HARD Have you ever gone through a time in your life when everything seems hard? When nothing goes right? When it seems as though God is far, far away, and though you call out for God, there seems to be no response? Winter 2019 Newsletter in PDF format (1.3MB)
