Jesus needs souls who listen to him in silence.
Saint Rafael Arnaiz

 

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Our Lady of the Angels Monastery is a community of Trappist-Cistercian nuns. Our life is wholly ordered to contemplation. We journey together towards an ever closer personal union with Christ, through mutual care, a balanced life of prayer, work and study, according to our Cistercian tradition, in communion with the Church and in intercession for the world.
From the Monastery

WASTING OUR LIVES?

What would you say if someone told you that being a contemplative or cloistered nun is simply a way of wasting your life? This is a common remark frequently heard by the young women who are discerning God’s call to our way of life.

What do we do at monasteries or, more concretely, at this monastery? Mainly, we pray and work; as it is usually said, “ora et labora.” But in all we do we try to listen to God; we seek him by learning to listen to his quiet voice, and as we learn we try to help others to do the same. Is this worth it?

Just imagine, a good friend comes to visit. You can do many things for him or her, but what is the main gift you can give? Your time, time to listen with the ear of the heart for all that matters the most: joys and sorrows, hopes and regrets. So, don’t you think God also deserves to be listened to? God sent us his only Son, his Word, into the World, but so many claim to be too busy to listen to him.

Am I wasting my life, then? Maybe I am in some way, just as Jesus said, “Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:25). What about you?