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.
As winter approaches, nights are longer and days are shorter, colder, and darker. In late October the leaves begin to fall. In the perennial border, leaves and stems begin to die back. The grass turns yellowish green before going brown and dead. Annual plants die completely. Winter is a stripped down time for trees and…
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…
Recently we hosted a weekend preached retreat here at the Hermitage. In setting up times for lectures and discussions with Sr. Donald Corcoran, our presenter, it happened that we left long blocks of free time for people. There were long stretches of free time early Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, again in the evening, and also…
The past few months have been a time of challenges for us at the Hermitage, as well as challenges for our country and for the world at large. Challenges are everywhere. How do we respond? Or do we perhaps just react? Spring 2022 Newsletter in PDF
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? Fall 2019 Newsletter in PDF format (1MB)
PRAYER, AGAIN How often do we turn to prayer? When we are in crisis, or in any kind of need? Or are we able to bring our deepest fears, hopes, hurts, and dreams to God? Do we even believe it’s OK to do this? Spring 2023 newsletter PDF
