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Quiet Time with God


New Camaldoli Hermitage, formerly Immaculate Heart Hermitage, is a rural Camaldolese Benedictine hermitage in the Santa Lucia Mountains of Big Sur, California that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The hermitage was founded in 1958 by two hermits from Italy searching for a site that combined solitude and natural beauty. It is located at an altitude of approximately 1,300 feet (400 m), and is approached by a winding two-mile road, which gives the visitor a clear view of the spectacular landscape.


__Daily Life__
Approximately twenty monks live and work at the hermitage. Each monk lives in a small cottage, called a "cell," which is divided from its neighbors by a high wall, and includes a small garden. Weekday prayers begin with vigils at 5:30 A.M. and conclude with vespers at 6 P.M. Labors include a guest ministry, retreats, a bakery, a book store, cooking and writing.

The rugged and striking beauty of the site is not without peril. Route 1--the famed Pacific Coast Highway, which provides the only access by car--has been closed for months at a time by mudslides, and portions collapsing. The hermitage was spared from destruction several times by forest fire; in 1999, the monks were ordered to evacuate as the fire grew closer. El Niņo rains, high winds and continuing seismic activity have further damaged buildings. The hermitage is now in the process of rebuilding several older buildings in need of repair.

__Hidden Heaven__
The monastery is hidden away from this secluded part of Big Sur, by following the narrow lane winding lane to the hilltop, then opening up to the shangrila on a big terrace at the end. Once you are up here there is none, or any soul around. The air is still and complete quiet, the surrounding is not a sound heard. Open the door quietly to come inside, and be greeted by the Trinity. Walk and make no noise. The ambiance is still and quite. No one here. Only God.

Outside within distance walk there are benches lonely hanging at the edge of the cliff overlooking the far distance of the Pacific, when the fog rolled in as of today, it looks like a mystique painting of the ancient Zen masters who go up the remote mountains searching Wisdom and Truth.

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Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
Psalm 46:10

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