“If you only knew what God is offering…”
The Spirit of Our Order
The monastery is a school of the Lord’s service where Christ is formed in the hearts of the sisters through the liturgy, the abbess’s teaching, and the fraternal way of life. The organization of the monastery is directed to bringing the sisters into close union with Christ. Through God’s Word, the sisters are trained in a discipline of heart and action to be responsive to the Holy Spirit and so attain the purity of heart which leads us to contemplation. The sisters seek God and follow Christ under the guidance of the Rule of St Benedict and the abbess in a stable community that is a school of mutual love. Since all the sisters are of one heart and one mind, they have everything in common. By bearing one another’s burdens they fulfill Christ’s law, participating in his sufferings in the hope of entering the kingdom of heaven.
The sisters follow in the footsteps of those whom, in times past, God called into the desert to engage in spiritual warfare. Living in solitude and silence they aspire to that interior quiet in which wisdom is born. They practice self-denial in order to follow Christ. Through humility and obedience they struggle against pride and the rebellion of sin. In simplicity and daily labour, they seek the blessedness promised to the poor. By generous hospitality they share with their fellow-pilgrims the peace and hope which Christ has freely given.
The monastery is an expression of the mystery of the Church, where nothing is preferred to the praise of the Father’s glory. Every effort is made to ensure that the common life in its entirety conforms to the Gospel, which is the supreme law. The sisters strive to remain in harmony with all the people of God and share their active desire for the unity of all Christians. By fidelity to their monastic way of life, which has its own hidden mode of apostolic fruitfulness, the sisters perform a service for God’s people and the whole human race. Each community of the Order and all the sisters are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.