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A review by katieraegordon
The Hermits of Big Sur by Paula Huston
5.0
A fascinating historical narrative of the founding of New Camaldoli in Big Sur, CA in the late 1950s, on the precipice of global transformation in the Catholic Church. The story begins in the early/mid 20th century politics and fascism of Italy (where Old Camaldoli is), to the evolution of the order taking on an American foundation and adapting the charism to a new context.
This is both a political and personal account of the stories, the monks, and the papal documents that shaped their community. It is honest and touching, as well as informative about the Camaldolese three part charism of community, solitude, and outreach. Ultimately, it reveals this community's living and recent examples of what it means to be a monastic -- both hermit and cenobitic, monk and pilgrim.
This is both a political and personal account of the stories, the monks, and the papal documents that shaped their community. It is honest and touching, as well as informative about the Camaldolese three part charism of community, solitude, and outreach. Ultimately, it reveals this community's living and recent examples of what it means to be a monastic -- both hermit and cenobitic, monk and pilgrim.