tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85151869788724537372024-03-19T01:47:48.711-07:00Notes from Stillsong HermitageStillsong Hermitage is a Catholic Hermitage (Canon 603 or Diocesan) in the Camaldolese Benedictine tradition. The name reflects the essential joy and wholeness that comes from a Christ-centered life of prayer in the silence of solitude, but also points to the fact that contemplative life -- even that of the hermit -- spills over into witness and proclamation. At the heart of the Church, in the stillness and joy of God's dynamic peace, resonates the song which IS the solitary Catholic hermit.Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comBlogger2099125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-79355294557566970952024-03-17T23:30:00.000-07:002024-03-18T00:13:19.395-07:00Looking Forward to the Feast of Saint Joseph: Icon of Man in Search of Justice Mediated by the Will of God (Reprise)For Tuesday's Feast of St Joseph, I wanted to repost something I put up a couple of years ago because it reflected an important step in my own appreciation of St Joseph.[[Friday's readings (December 2015) focused on the coming of the One in whom justice will be done and creation set to rights. Jeremiah speaks of this in terms of the Davidic line of Kings --- a line that often profaned and Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-90166046800426166402024-03-15T01:49:00.000-07:002024-03-16T20:14:27.568-07:00Canon 603 Hermits: How Important is a Background in Religious Life?[[Dear Sister, I was wondering if Canon 603 works better for those who have been in religious life before living as a hermit? I was thinking that those who have been in religious life before already know a lot, have developed a solid spirituality, and may have less to change or let go of, if you know what I mean. Have you worked with former religious who want to become hermits? Do they make Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-54508120031020247652024-02-25T13:14:00.000-08:002024-03-01T10:18:25.884-08:00Eremitism and Eucharistic Spirituality, Pointed Questions (Reprise)[[Dear Sister Laurel,How is it that hermits reflect the centrality of Eucharist in their spiritual lives if they do not attend Mass daily? I heard you remark in another context that you didn't attend Mass if solitude required otherwise. My understanding is that religious are required canonically to attend Mass daily if that is possible, and you yourself say on this blog that Eucharist is the Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-25703413435590511082024-02-24T18:08:00.000-08:002024-02-24T18:08:36.975-08:00Second Sunday of Lent: On Jesus' Transfiguration and Learning to See With New Eyes (reprise)Transfiguration by Lewis BowmanHave you ever been walking along a well-known road and suddenly had a bed of flowers take on a vividness which takes your breath away? Similarly, have you ever been walking along or sitting quietly outside when a breeze rustles some leaves above your head and you were struck breathless by an image of the Spirit moving through the world? I have had both happen, and, Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-76968223840238654362024-02-21T17:56:00.000-08:002024-02-27T18:04:37.471-08:00Feast of Saint Peter Damian by Genevieve Pasquier Who is Peter Damian, Monk at the heart of Church's 11th-century reforms?A Camaldolese monk, advisor to multiple popes, and author, Peter Damian life's greatest battle was the reform of the Church, particularly combating the clergy's licentious waysBy Geneviève Pasquier at La CroixFebruary 21, 2024Born into poverty in Ravenna, northeastern Italy, in 1007, Peter, the youngest of six, Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-19941228026533539482024-02-21T07:12:00.000-08:002024-02-21T07:12:22.034-08:00Feast of Saint Peter Damian (Reprise)Today is the feast of the Camaldolese Saint, Cardinal, and Doctor of the Church, St Peter Damian. Peter Damian is generally best known for his role in the Gregorian Reform. He fought Simony and worked tirelessly for the welfare of the church as a whole. Hermits know him best for a few of his letters, but especially #28, "Dominus Vobiscum". Written to Leo of Sitria, letter #28 explores the Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-20550654162760905442024-02-17T19:52:00.000-08:002024-02-18T10:05:40.472-08:00On Assisting Others to Write Liveable Rules of Life[[ Dear Sister Laurel, do you assist people in writing their Rule for c 603?]]Great question!! The answer is, "yes and no" or maybe,"not quite". Let me explain. I believe that writing a liveable Rule requires experience of living as a hermit and, more and more, defining one's life in terms of Canon 603. As I have written in the past, the aim is to help engage the candidate for profession under c Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-39675577763064231942024-02-17T05:51:00.000-08:002024-02-17T15:03:35.612-08:00On the Portrait for the Seville 2024 Holy Week Poster: Where is the real Blasphemy and Obscenity?A new poster for Holy Week in Seville, Spain has caused an uproar. My first impression when I saw a close-up of its face and eyes was that it was beautiful and that in many ways, this is the Christ I know from prayer and the Scriptures. It represents a Risen Christ who is, perhaps, too young, and too European still, but the heart of this Jesus is very much the heart of the One who has accompaniedSr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-51727330192253313432024-02-17T03:47:00.000-08:002024-02-17T03:49:16.855-08:00Followup on Does a Rule Need to be Perfect: More on Writing Several Rules over Time (Reprise)[[Dear Sister, thanks for your reply to my question. What happens if I don't want to write more than one Rule and my diocese doesn't ask me to? What I have written so far seems fine to me and I can't see revising it. Besides I am not much of a writer.]]Good questions and similar to others I have been asked (another person said they weren't much of a writer, for instance, and wondered what then?).Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-72022325447071936392024-02-13T11:55:00.000-08:002024-02-16T14:01:50.098-08:00On Some of the Purposes of Lent (Reprise)I really love Sunday's Gospel, especially at the beginning of Lent. The thing that strikes me most about it is that Jesus' 40 days in the desert are days spent coming to terms with and consolidating the identity which has just been announced and brought to be in him. (When God speaks, the things he says become events, things that really happen in space and time, and so too with the announcement Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-63707561695222278382024-01-25T00:42:00.000-08:002024-01-28T01:50:53.889-08:00Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart
Ave verum corpus, natumde Maria Virgine,vere passum, immolatumin cruce pro hominecuius latus perforatumfluxit aqua et sanguine:esto nobis prægustatumin mortis examine.Hail, true Body, bornof the Virgin Mary,truly suffered, sacrificedon the cross for mankind,from whose pierced sideflowed water and blood:Be for us a foretaste [of the Heavenly banquet]in the trial of death!Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-36844124710508208022024-01-22T04:04:00.000-08:002024-02-18T09:39:52.583-08:00Fundamental Questions from a Reader in China Interested in Eremitical Life [[Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Praised be Jesus Christ! I am Chinese and live in China. I am seriously considering Eremitical Monasticism, now I decide to visit the Chartreuse in France. I was attracted to Eremitical life and Carthusian way of life by the examples of Desert Fathers. I found your blog by chance and I have to say your articles are great! It brings much edification and inspiration to meSr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-48046413367348241332024-01-22T03:44:00.000-08:002024-02-15T18:02:25.293-08:00Responses to Questions about Friends, Family, Wills, "the World" and Similar Questions[[. . .I've read some of your notes on friendships and the importance of them, but since you said only clients or your director ever come visit you, do you never have visits with friends? And I haven't seen any mention of family. I feel in an eremetical life it would be hard to see family, because they are such a connection to life on earth, memories, attachments, and not the looking forward to Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-72356232634393061952024-01-16T22:32:00.000-08:002024-01-20T16:58:36.426-08:00From the Desert Fathers and Mothers: The Hermit's Need for Human Relationships in Achieving Genuine Holiness (Reprise) [[Sister Laurel, you wrote once about hermits not separating themselves from people to pursue personal holiness, but I thought that was what being a hermit was all about. Could you address this question again or repost what you wrote?]]Sure, I can repost one of the articles I have written on this; I think it is the one you are asking about. It was based on two things, 1) a quote from the Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-67652090501429395892024-01-10T23:58:00.000-08:002024-01-14T18:25:50.371-08:00Why Canon 603?Hi Sister, I found the following questions written to another hermit but I couldn't find an answer anywhere. Could you answer them? Also, I especially wondered if there were no formal or institutionalized forms of eremitical life before 1983. The person writing this question seems to say there was only one traditional form of eremitical life until then and the 1983 canonical form is somehow a Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-20490279647320757452024-01-08T11:18:00.000-08:002024-01-08T11:18:37.889-08:00Feast of Jesus' Baptism (Reprise) Of all the feasts we celebrate, the feast of the baptism of Jesus is one of the most difficult for us to understand. We are used to thinking of baptism as a solution to original sin instead of the means of our initiation into the death and resurrection of Jesus, or our adoption as daughters and sons of God and heirs to his Kingdom, or again, as a consecration to God's very life and service Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-22813776208501958932024-01-03T16:28:00.000-08:002024-01-03T21:00:14.482-08:00Christmas 2023 - New Year's 2024 and the Canticle of the TurningI have posted this in the past at points when I have experienced something in the day's liturgy that speaks directly to me in a way that lets me know God is present and active, and intimately so. I have written in the past that my spiritual director and I have been doing a particular kind of inner work that leads to the healing of various forms of personal woundedness. There have been moments in Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-29306957271767972362024-01-01T15:27:00.000-08:002024-01-03T15:59:56.836-08:00New Year's Day 2024Some will remember posts on the two Greek words used to speak about newness, particularly kainetes or kaine which refers to the qualitative newness that comes when God heals, renews, and gives us a place to stand in God's life. It contrasts with the form of newness (neos) that is used to refer toa situation like getting a new pair of shoes --- something that is new today and old Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-67902170502229177562023-12-27T16:10:00.000-08:002023-12-28T14:05:59.256-08:00Born in Littleness and Vulnerability: Jesus, God-With-UsCelebrations of Christmas this year have been bittersweet, both in the larger conflict-fraught world, and here at Stillsong. Many parishioners at St P's have been searching for ways to participate, to worship and celebrate liturgies, and hear homilies that are truly life-giving. Some have gone to other parishes, and others attend Mass some Sundays at a nearby college. All but a few of our small Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-24120210759795284792023-12-23T16:20:00.000-08:002023-12-23T17:23:34.567-08:00A Lullabye for the Infant Jesus I spoke with a Franciscan friend this afternoon about Christmas plans. She shared that, partly to mark the 800th anniversary of St Francis and the Creche, her house was using the above carol (and the same version) to conclude their evening prayer. Susan believes that trumpets are more suited to Easter; for Christmas we need lullabies!! I love the Celtic sound and the minimalist Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-71756186328488001342023-12-17T03:25:00.000-08:002023-12-21T17:16:45.549-08:00Gaudete Sunday and the Sacrament of Anointing (Revised) Each year on this Sunday we celebrate the Anointing of the Sick; we did NOT do so this morning. I missed it for I am always really moved as we each come forward and stand in a semi-circle in front of the whole assembly while facing the altar as the priest moves to each of us, lays on hands, prays, and then comes to each of us again anointing us on forehead and hands. I ordinarily come Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-24202711560872005472023-12-10T14:55:00.000-08:002023-12-13T17:02:00.292-08:00Second Sunday of Advent: Waiting Upon God in HopeDuring the past month, I have been reading NT Wright's, Into the Heart of Romans in preparation for Bible study on the book of Romans. Wright's work is an intense "deep dive" into the 8th chapter of the letter, the heart of the book and perhaps the most sublime piece of all Paul's writing. I am anticipating this study being full of surprises and challenges for our class, especially in two areas: Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-64780457662248224162023-12-02T23:52:00.000-08:002023-12-02T23:53:44.699-08:00First Sunday of Advent (Reprise)All good wishes on this first Sunday of Advent! "Adventus" is a season where we prepare to see the surprising ways God works in our lives, where we are especially cognizant of the choices that allow God to be active deep within our own hearts and within our larger world; it is where we learn to look more closely and attentively at everything within and around so that we Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-75089922106019234832023-11-07T21:42:00.001-08:002023-11-07T21:48:51.474-08:00Miserando atque Eligendo: A Mercy That Does Justice as it Creates a Future (Reprise)Quite often this blog is a way in which I work out theological positions, especially in terms of the nature and charism of eremitical life, the relation of Gospel and Law (often canon law!!), or of mercy and justice. In reflecting on Friday's readings from 1 Sam and Mark I was reminded of Pope Francis' jubilee year of Mercy and of his coat of arms and motto: Miserando atque Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8515186978872453737.post-51939476620804776912023-10-20T10:30:00.005-07:002023-10-20T10:31:43.998-07:00St Paul of the Cross (reprise)Several years ago I did a reflection for my parish. I noted that all through Advent we sing Veni, Veni, Emmanuel and pray that God will come and really reveal Godself as Emmanuel, the God who is with us. I also noted that we may not always realize the depth of meaning captured in the name Emmanuel. We may not realize the degree of solidarity with us and the whole of creation it Sr. Laurel M. O'Neal, Er. Dio.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16778315136881531384noreply@blogger.com