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Coming to Monastic Life Getting Started
What do you seek, my brother?
The abbots 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 Lords own image.
The tools of the contemplatives 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
Contact us at gethvoc@juno.com
See also Vocations Placement |