WHAT do you SEEK?

The question "What do you seek?" introduces the Cistercian ritual during which a novice monk receives his habit. 

Of course, the dialogue doesn't end there; these words are words which we can take up each day as—in the words of a Desert Father—we "make a beginning," constantly asking ourselves, "What do you seek?" 

While we seek God's mercy daily in communion with our brothers through our mutual prayer, work, and study, "What do you seek?" also leads us to ponder our dreams—our dreams for ourselves, for our communities, for our Order, and for our Church. 

Our Abbot General, Dom Bernardus Peeters, OCSO, reminds us that God calls to us through our dreams, just as he did through holy men from of old. "When we no longer know how to dream, it is as if the inner space within us where God speaks to us has dried up," he says. Are we living in the "dried-out stupor" of a dreamless life? What if we seek to dream together about our vocation to serve God and his Holy People? 

When God calls us "by name" (Is 43:1), we can confidently stand before him and say "Here I am!" (Gn 31:11), and we can dare to dream of our future, following his call to "get up" and "return to the land" of our "birth" (Gn 31:13)—the "city of God" in whom "all find their home" (Ps 87:3, 7).

Following God's call to dream together can be a scary thing. Joseph, a dreamer like his father Jacob, was hated by his brothers and derided as a worthless dreamer (Gen. 37: 8, 19). But Jacob held fast to his vocation; he wasn't held back by fear of the unknown. When our founding brothers came to rural Georgia in 1944 to build a "school for the LORD's service" (Rule of St. Benedict, Prologue), a lot of people probably dismissed them as worthless dreamers, too. But we're still dreaming here today, and maybe you're called to dream with us.

Oftentimes, it feels like God is pulling us into the unknown, into the fearsome realm of faith where all we can do is trust and hold on. That very natural fear is often precisely what vocations are made of, and that's why we have a process of discernment together. The fear of the LORD "is the beginning of all wisdom" (Prov. 9:10). But that's only the beginning. God, ultimately, calls us into a loving relationship with him and with one another, not one built on servile fear. 

Maybe you're dreaming about your future. Maybe your future seems uncertain and frightening. Maybe leaving everything behind to follow Christ more closely in the monastic vocation is a scary thing. You're not alone. It is frightening for most of us, but God offers us something better than fear: love.

As St. John tells us, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 Jn. 4:18). But love is never forced onto us. Love is always freely proposed; it is always a question: "Do you love me?" (Jn. 21:17). We can think of our vocation in very much the same way. God never forces our vocation onto us; our vocation is a free proposal, an invitation to join God in co-creating our future and living together in love. 

Our monastic vocation is all about love. Love is, after all, the "greatest commandment" (Mt. 22:36-40) and the "royal law" (Jas. 2:8). William of St-Thierry, one of our Cistercian saints, tells us that the monastery is not only a school of service but also a schola caritatis, a "school of love" (The Nature and Dignity of Love). Our sole purpose, William tells us, is to "cling" to God (cf. The Golden Epistle 14-16) with our "hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love" (Rule of St. Benedict, Prologue).

Sr. María Gonzalo-García, OCSO, reminds us that "God does not want virtue without passion." Our vocation is the greatest love story ever told. There are plenty of people in the world who waste their time trying to cultivate virtue without cultivating love, but authentic virtue is rooted in love and flowers into love. St. Paul makes clear that if we "have not love," then we have "nothing" (1 Cor. 13:1-3). This isn't sentimental; this is the crux of our very being, and monastic life exists to take love seriously and to make love a reality. 

We're not just dreamers. We believe in making our dreams a reality. That's why we're here: to continue the redemptive work of Jesus Christ together in love of one another.