Saint Joseph Monastery - Lucerne Valley

 “It’s okay to doubt. We don’t master God, and sometimes doubt plays an important role in our faith,” Brother Minh (pronounced Ming) said.

We were sitting in a very comfortable kitchen for visitors at the Saint Joseph Monastery in Lucerne Valley. I had just met the Cistercian monk a few moments before, and it was very easy to talk with him about all things, spiritual or secular.

Overview of Saint Joseph Monastery in Lucerne Valley

My friend, Paul, and I had traveled northward along Highway 247 in search of a place we had both watched on a YouTube video. We were hunting for a supposed abandoned nuclear launch pad located somewhere near the Sandwinder Gold mine.

What we learned was two things. Number 1: Don't believe everything on the internet. There was no missile silo standing anywhere near where we had traversed, searching for hours across the Mojave Desert. 

“Hey,” I said. “Why don’t we film a couple of buildings from Bodie and post them on YouTube and tell viewers that they are located in Holcomb Valley. That could be fun.”

I would not do that.

The second thing we learned on this new adventure was that in Lucerne Valley, not far off Highway 247, was a most beautiful place for meditation and worship.

“We often have many visitors come and spend time with us,” Minh said. “In fact, if people come here, we will offer to celebrate a mass with them, no matter the time of day.”

The Cistercian order, to which all nine current resident monks belong, is a very old part of the Roman Catholic Church. The name for the order comes from the place it was founded, the Citeaux Abbey in France, in the year 1098. The monks follow the beliefs of St. Benedict - embracing a life of manual labor, contemplation, prayer, and spiritual pursuits.

Minh smiled. “For us, monk means to pray and work.”

And these monks have worked since the monastery opened its doors 17 years ago in a secluded canyon in the Mojave Desert. All the work seen, including the multitude of buildings, storage sheds, beautiful intricate concrete walkways, pagoda-style sitting areas located everywhere, and the multitude of carefully handcrafted sculptures, was all done by the monks.

“Now, we do have volunteers that assist us, but most of the work is done by the monks here,” Minh stated.

Prior to meeting Brother Minh, Paul and I had spent an hour walking around the grounds of the monastery, taking in the elaborately paved walkways leading the visitor to dozens of statues of Jesus Christ and Saints.

One trail, rather steep and long, wound up a small hill, and every few yards was a sculpture indicating one of the Stations of the Cross - that’s Catholic speak for the 14 stations that point to key events of Christ’s passion and death on the way to Calvary, including his burial.

One of the many hand made statues at Saint Joseph Monastery 

I remember those stations very well from attending St. Catherine’s Elementary and then Notre Dame in Riverside, California.

All the monks are part of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Vietnam, and Minh has been a resident at the monastery for 13 years.

“Do you ever get bored?” I asked.

“Yes, we are bored sometimes, and being human, we’re not always happy, but always peaceful. Happiness is short, but peace is long-lasting and from God.”

Paul brightened up. “I’m happy when a cold beer is near, but not so much when it’s empty.”

“But peace is knowing that there are more at the store,” I said.

Minh smiled. “Exactly.”

It was interesting sitting with Minh in the coolness of the kitchen, just talking. He was cheerful, at times funny, and at other times, serious.

Brother Minh and John R Beyer

I asked him about the turmoil in the world and how everyone in our country seems so divided against one another.

“When people fall away from God, we divide and only think about ourselves. But with God we learn to love others, and perhaps love ourselves a bit more.”

He was one smart and spiritual guy, this Brother Minh.

“If a person smiles at you while walking by, how does it make you feel?”

“Better,” I said.

“Imagine if we smiled more and complained less?” Minh replied.

Our discussions continued, and while we sipped on bottles of cold water (yes, water), we moved into the idea that more and more young people seemed to be moving toward a more heartfelt faith in God than in the near past.

“Do you believe there is a resurgence in young people coming back to church?” Paul asked.

“Yes, I think young people are looking for something,” Minh said. “They are tired of social media, trying to keep up with one another, and then learning that most things they are hearing are not true. There’s a lot of emptiness out there in people’s hearts, and they are looking for true answers to fill that emptiness. God is doing that for them.”

I found it strange that this monk would know about social media. 

“We keep up on modern events,” Minh smiled. “It's hard to assist others if we do not know what is going on.”

The monastery currently encompasses 300 acres of land, with plans to increase to 600 acres, a nearly one square mile of respite from the outside world.

We were given a tour of the chapel, which was actually designed by a Buddhist Monk and has the entry in the image of praying hands - it is a masterful work of art that visitors pass through on their way to services.

The gorgeous chapel at Saint Joseph Monastery in Lucerne Valley 

The public, all denominations, are welcome to the daily masses, and as stated earlier, the monks will have a mass or prayer services for visitors whenever the need or desire arises.

The monastery is easy to find right off of Highway 247

These monks are true men of their word when they state they are here to serve their fellow citizens in search of peace and harmony.

Before leaving, Brother Minh said, “We will never fully understand God, even the angels don’t understand God, so how can we? And, that is fine - that is faith.”

For more information: http://www.saintjosephmonasteryca.org/

John can be contacted at: beyersbyways@gmail.com

 

            We just want to wish everyone a Ghoulish 31st!

Travel with fellow goblins while scaring your neighbors, it's the right thing to do.

The Sad Tale of the Hollywood Sign

I’ve been asked more than once, if I believe in ghosts. Well, what is the definition of a ghost?

Per Merriam-Webster -  A disembodied soul especially: the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness.

Well, that wouldn’t be Casper would it? 

So, I’m not sure that I believe or disbelieve in ghosts. I’ve seen, or thought I’d seen, things that I can’t really explain. On a bet, when I was a teenager, I spent the night sleeping in a cemetery in the city of Corona. It was supposed to be haunted by a spectra by the name of Mona. I never saw an apparition, and only learned one thing from that experience. 

Teenage boys are stupid.

But, being a researcher, I do have some gadgets that are quite prevalent on those ghost hunting shows, like The New Reality, Ghost Adventures, The UnXplained, and I’m Frightened Just To Be Here (ok, I made that one up).

And those gadgets the professionals use would be: a digital voice recorder (so there is proof of you screaming hysterically when encountering a ghost), an EMF sensor (no idea, but it sounds cool), Ghost Box (in case you catch a ghost, I guess), camera with night vision (duh), an infrared thermometer, and a box of pampers (just in case you encounter a real ghost).

An activated Ghost Box with a ghost

Now that I was prepared to do some serious ghost hunting – actually ghost locating, since I’m not much into hunting – I had to find the first place.

Ah, with all the mention of television series, why not start in Hollywood? And what better place than the Hollywood Sign?

The Hollywood sign was not intended to be an advertisement for the film industry. Actually, it was an idea to advertise a housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. An area less expensive than the homes located closer to the studios.

As the brochure stated, “Hollywoodland, a superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills.”

The sign went up in 1923, by home builder Harry Chandler, who contracted with the Crescent Sign Company. The original sign read, Hollywoodland, and each letter was 50 feet tall and 30 feet wide. They had to use mules to haul up the steel support beams – wow, mules. How quaint.

Chandler believed the sign would be only up for about a year and a half but after ninety-seven years, it’s still there – just missing the last four letters.

Hollywood had become a household name around the globe by the late twenties, and what better tool to use reminding all cinema fanatics of the flash and dash of movie town then a huge sign. In the early forties, the word ‘land’ was removed from the original sign.

It is by far, one of the most iconic visual advertisements of the film industry anywhere on earth, not just Los Angeles.

Millions of people view it in person, commercials, documentaries, television series, and films yearly. It is one of the most photographed places in the United States, and you can hike to it.

But is it haunted? Supposed to be, and it’s truly a sadly tragic story.

A beautiful young English actress by the name of, Millicent Lillian ‘Peg’ Entwistle, had immigrated to America to find work in New York City. At first, there were some minor roles in the theatre, but soon directors realized how talented this Peg Entwistle truly was.

The beautiful actress, Millicent Lillian 'Peg' Entwistle

In fact, a very young Bette Davis, saw Entwistle perform in the 1925 play, The Wild Duck, and told her mother, that someday she would be as good as the 17 year old Entwistle. For the rest of her life, Davis would often mention that it was watching Entwistle that made her yearn for the acting career which made her so famous.

Entwistle stayed in New York working Broadway until 1932. It was midst of the great depression and theatres were closing down due to lack of audiences. She moved to Hollywood the same year and picked up some roles in theatres here and there.

As with many actors, she was discovered by Radio Pictures (RKO) and soon had a studio contract in hand.

Her first, and sadly, only film credit was a supporting role as Hazel Cousins, in David O. Selznick’s film, Thirteen Women.

However, most of Entwistle’s parts were removed, ending up on the editing floor, and she was devastated. On top of that, the studio cancelled her contract.

At the tender age of twenty-four years – she believed her dreams were gone. And, on September 16th, 1932, Peg Entwistle decided there was nothing left to live for. She climbed the hills above Hollywoodland, climbed a ladder to the top of the ‘H’, and jumped to her death.

A sensational suicide in the tabloids

So, on this 93th anniversary of that tragic day, I decided to see if this young actress still haunted the hillside, as so many people have sworn she does. 

Ghoulish, perhaps, but if I didn’t see her ghost, the least I could do was say a prayer for a young girl who gave up too early.

Getting to the Hollywood sign isn’t that difficult. There are numerous hikes, some moderate and some not so moderate. I chose an easier route and drove through the neighborhood of Hollywoodland – yes, there actually is such a neighborhood, with modestly priced homes for the likes of Saudi princes.

I drove along a winding narrow road up into the hills behind Hollywoodland – there was sign that stated the road was only for locals. Being a native California, now a Nevadan, I believed that still made me a local.

The path leading to the Hollywood sign

After parking, I located an access route to one of the main trails, which was surprisingly crowded with people hiking up that trail. They were huffing and puffing, as well as sweating. I felt great - an air conditioned drive can do that for a person. 

The view was spectacular.

And, when I looked at the large white sign on the hillside, I felt saddened to think a young woman, was so distraught that she felt the only option left was to leap off the letter ‘H’.

I didn’t bother telling the others around me about the history of the sign. They were laughing and taking dozens of selfies and group photos with their phones. 

No reason to spoil their day with the sorrowful story of Peg Entwistle

There is still another twist to Entwistle’s death. The day after she committed suicide, a letter was delivered at her residence, with an offer for an upcoming film. She was to play a young woman driven to suicide.

Spooky! 

For further information: https://www.hollywoodsign.org/history/a-sign-is-born

                                        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peg_Entwistle