Dearest Friends of Sky Farm, Peace and blessings!
Each Summer we come asking for your support to maintain Sky Farm Hermitage and as each project is undertaken we thank each of you for your continued generosity. We hope you can help us with our projects once again this Summer.
We’ve recently been struck by the description of solitude from Michael Collins, who 50 years ago piloted Apollo 11, circling the moon for 28 hours, absolutely alone in space and at times completely out of communication. He writes: ”Far from feeling lonely or abandoned, I feel very much a part of what is taking place on the lunar surface.” Sometimes retreat guests come anticipating they may feel lonely in solitude, but instead they experience a deeper connectedness with God, themselves and the world we live in.
About the earth Collins said: ”The thing that really surprised me was that it projected an air of fragility. And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.” His short clip describes earth as sparkling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57CDqSh5HXc
He continues: “I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of, let’s say 100,000 miles, their outlook would be fundamentally changed . The all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument suddenly silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified facade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied.”
Silence and solitude foster this understanding of unity in ourselves and in our world, so we hope you will continue to help us care for Sky Farm Hermitage.
Thank you and may God’s grace be with you always,
Sr Michaela, Br Francis and Dr John Trapani, Jr.