The Earth is home to all creation, to be lovingly cared for by us in communion with the Divine Friend. Praises be to the Creator of the cosmos! With grateful hearts, let us give thanks! What other return can we give to the One, Who continues to gift us with life? When we open our heart to the Friend, when we live with compassion and kindness, we walk in beauty! We come to know the Divine Guest, Whose companioning Presence is ever with us.
The truth of the hermitage comes down to paradoxes. It empties us so we may be filled; its simplicity is a luxury, and we go there seeking solitude so we can better serve God's people ... Whether we serve as parents, as pastors, as missionaries, as teachers, as peace-makers -- there is a monk in all of us. To get in touch with the silence of God is necessary for everyone. The hermitage allows people to get in touch with that silence. That does not mean the touch only happens here. But it can be refreshed here. It can be strengthened.
