Vocations - The Abbey of Gethsemani

Coming to Monastic Life – Getting Started

“What do you seek, my brother?”

The abbot’s question to the candidate for monastic commitment reaches and probes the depths of the soul. “The mercy of God and of the Order,” the newcomer responds. And so begins the work of a lifetime: searching, learning, discovering the meaning of mercy which transforms the heart of the monk into the Lord’s own image.

The tools of the contemplative’s craft are simple: prayer, work, study, community, silence, hospitality, love. Getting started and keeping at the tasks are graces only God can give. The monk recognizes this gift and strives to open to it generously, for he has met Jesus in his life. His mission, his service in the Church and the world is to follow Christ more closely and to find God at the center of life.

The workshop, the arena, where the monk immerses himself in the search for mercy is the enclosure of the monastery. When a person commits to this great venture of Christian discipleship, he finds the holy is revealed in the ordinary, the everyday, the authentic.

The Abbey of Gethsemani welcomes inquiries from Roman Catholic men considering a call to monastic life. A prospective candidate needs to be between 22 and 55 years of age and to have good mental and physical health.

“Every day I say to myself – today I will begin.” – St. Anthony of the Desert