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 that does not change?
FEAR AND FATIGUE What a time we have all been having! What a challenging, difficult, demanding year! As if the pandemic were not enough, we’ve suffered through some of the worst fires in history in the West, and pummeling, unremitting hurricanes in the South and East. With all of this fatigue, and all of these…
GENTLENESS It is beyond evident that this long lingering pandemic has us all stressed in many ways. We react in different ways: irritability, withdrawal, escapism etc. I suggest there is still another way: the way of gentleness. Winter 2021 Newsletter PDF
THE VIRUS OF FEAR In this time of pandemic, most of us take great precautions to avoid catching Covid-19. Yet we can’t help but worry. So how do we combat this virus of fear, or how do we at least seek to cope with it? Summer 2020 Newsletter in PDF format (1.1MB)
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)
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…
STILL PRAYING What happens to us during our prayer time after we’ve been praying, day in and day out, for years? Perhaps we get tired. Or bored. Or just plain distracted, especially if we’re going through a busy time in our lives. If this happens to us—and it happens to all of us at some…
