Merry Christmas  The mystery of the Nativity is often shrouded and overrun by the noise of the world and our own weakness and sentimentality. Maybe, it is most appropriate to say very little on or about this great feast, only that the next eight days, this octave of Christmas, are days which are best spent in the winter silence, gazing intimately on the mystery of the Word made flesh. Merry Christmas and happy new year.      If fall could be described as anything it would be temporal - evanescent - the splendor of nature's last show of color before its winter sleep was, for the third year in a row, a beautiful one.  This morning was hazy with a high humidity that was barely distinguishable from the fine rain drops. The pungent smell rain wetting the bone-dryness of the earth lingers. If it were a little foggier, it would remind me of a day I spent working in an orchard after the summer ‘help’ had gone back to school. Sighing with relief, it was finally possible to get something done. The day’s work was peel the horticultural tape off of young apple trees which had been grafted and remove any dead scions. It was a slow dreamy kind of day that remained dark and hazy, cool and rainy. One can really loose track of time.
Hiding behind the anonymity of the screen is much more comfortable than putting yourself out there, but sometimes it is necessary to step out into the light. About a year ago, Brother Richard handed the responsibility of the website over to my care, and since making some updates, there have been several inquiries about vocations to the eremitical life in general as well as to the Hermitage of Saint Joseph. While it was so good to see interest and hear from different people, I could not help but to be just a little disappointed that they were all men, but how was anyone supposed to know that the vision of the future Laura is to be of both brother and sister hermits living in separate housing? I was told to introduce myself, and I dragged my feet for a while...  We are not angels, stop it with these pious pictures. I am chopping onions. We are all grateful for the continued blessing of God, support of the Archdiocese, and the hard work of Brother Richard who was ordained to the transitional diaconate on May 11, 2024, and ask for continued prayers as he makes his way toward the priesthood.  In 1542, after months of suffering a debilitating illness, Saint Teresa of Jesus was miraculously healed and attributed this healing to the intercession of Saint Joseph and she turned to him as her spiritual father throughout her life stating that: “To other saints, Our Lord seems to have given power to succor us in some special necessity, but to this glorious saint (I know by my experience), he has given the power to help us in all things. Our Lord would have us understand that, as he was subject to Joseph on earth—St. Joseph, bearing the title of his father and being his guardian, could command him—so now Our Lord in heaven grants all his petitions.” In 1562, she founded the first discalced convent bearing the name Saint Joseph, entrusting the reform to his care.
Congratulations to Brother Richard for his installation as a lector in October and admission to candidacy for the Transitional Diaconate and to the Ministry of Acolyte, this past weekend. We all look forward to his ordination to the diaconate in the spring of 2024 and to the priesthood in 2025. Almost 12 years have passed since our website has been updated. Little progress has been made on the construction site, but truly, God’s ways are not our ways, and His timing is certainly not our timing. Life is bittersweet, however, and while the brick and mortar remains in disrepair, other foundations are being made. Brother Richard is currently in seminary formation and, God willing, his ordination to the priesthood will take place in the spring of 2025. The trailer pictured in our archives has been removed and two houses nearby have been converted into cells, one of which has a chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved and Mass is offered on special feast days. All of the hermitages are currently occupied and the prospect of converting the “Big Building” into more "cells" and communal spaces including a larger chapel, has not been abandoned, but the road ahead is a long one which will require much planning and even more help from God. We hope to make regular updates either seasonally or as events unfold in this little corner of the world. Until next time, please enjoy some photos of the beauty that surrounds us in our daily lives. |
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