Bernadette Roberts (1931–2017) was a

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

and contemplative in the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

tradition.

Biography

Bernadette Roberts was born in 1931 in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

to devout Catholic parents. She entered the Monastery of

Discalced Carmelites The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbreviation, abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catho ...

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...

when she was seventeen in January 1949. After eight and a half years of monastic life, Roberts left the cloister and entered the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

where she was a pre-medical student for three years. After studies in Utah she returned to her parents' home in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, California, and obtained a degree in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

. She taught physiology and

algebra Algebra is a branch of mathematics that deals with abstract systems, known as algebraic structures, and the manipulation of expressions within those systems. It is a generalization of arithmetic that introduces variables and algebraic ope ...

at Our Lady of Loretto High School in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

for four years, where she met and married a fellow teacher, with whom she had four children. Roberts went on to obtain a

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

credential in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, and opened her own Montessori school in

Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: Kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in Montana and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at ...

, in 1969. In her Montessori school, Roberts repeated all of Piaget's cognitive (developmental) experiments with children. In 1973 she obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in early childhood education from the University of Southern California. In 1976, Roberts's husband left her and the children, after which she obtained a church

annulment Annulment is a legal procedure within secular and religious legal systems for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning alm ...

. Between trying to earn a living, raise her children, and helping out with grandchildren, Roberts had a very busy life. For the last forty years she annually made extended retreats with the Camaldolese Monks on the

Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from th ...

in California. She often said that "

Camaldoli Camaldoli () is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Poppi, in Tuscany, Italy. It is mostly known as the ancestral seat of the Camaldolese monastic order, originated in the eponymous hermitage, which can still be visited. The name was derived from ...

is my only true home on this earth." Roberts died in 2017 in her home in Southern California in her sleep.

Spiritual life and experiences

Roberts extensively chronicled and described her life and spiritual journey. Her book ''Contemplative: Autobiography of the Early Years'' presents an account of her early family life and spiritual experiences. Her spiritual journey after entering the cloister is described in ''The Path to No-Self: Life at the Center''. This book includes descriptions of her experience of the "Dark Nights" and of the state of "Union," as spoken of by various Christian mystics. After years of life in union with God, Roberts described an event she calls the experience of "no-Self" in ''The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey''. The book only covers a two-year period after the events described; however, Roberts has further elaborated on the context of this event. After the first publication of ''The Experience'', Roberts was invited to speak around the country, to present her talk, "A Passage Through Self," that uses a series of circles to illustrate the spiritual journey. For the last 30 years Roberts gave annual retreats entitled "The Essence of Christian Mysticism," in which she presented the essence of Christian mysticism as Trinity, Christ, and Faith. Her last work was ''The Real Christ (2012)''.

Works

The following is a list of books, and recordings by Bernadette Roberts: * ''The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey''. State University of New York Press (Revised Edition 1993); * ''The Path to No-Self: Life at the Center'' (1985). State University of New York Press (New Edition 1991); * ''What is Self?: A Study of the Spiritual Journey in Terms of Consciousness''. Sentient Publications (2005);
''The Real Christ''
Bernadette Roberts (2012)

Bernadette Roberts (2007)

Bernadette Roberts (2004)

Bernadette Roberts (2012, DVD)

Bernadette Roberts (1987, DVD)

Personal life

Roberts shared four children with former husband Ron Danko: Mark, Marcel, Melanie, and Michaela ('Kayla'). She had seven grandchildren. Throughout her later years Roberts resided in Santa Monica, California, then briefly in Laguna Beach, California, where she died in 2017, one year after she was diagnosed with

ALS Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

.http://bernadetteroberts.blogspot.com

Notes

References

External links

''Bernadette Roberts'', a website with information on works, DVDs and retreats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Bernadette 1931 births 2017 deaths 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns American Roman Catholic writers American women religious writers Carmelite mystics Christian contemplation Date of birth missing Former Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Place of birth missing University of Southern California alumni University of Utah alumni