Let's face it: you've come here to find something. Jesus encourages us to discover our vocation in this life: "Seek, and you will find" (Lk. 11:9).

Perhaps that something which you seek is, really, a someone. Perhaps that someone whom you seek is God calling you deeper into the mystery of his love in service to his Holy People. The fact of the matter is that we're all called to build up the Kingdom of God, but monastics have a special role to play in building up the Kingdom. 

Monasteries are not relics of a by-gone era. Monasteries are not spiritual retirement homes. We're not a men's club. We're pioneers of a new humanity—at least, we can be if we want to be. So how do we do it?

St. Rafael Arnaiz Barón, OCSO, once said that "everything is simple and straightforward." In the spirit of simplicity, here's a straightforward presentation of what our Cistercian tradition has to say about our role in the Church and in the world: 

Simple and straightforward enough? We strive to be the best of what humanity has to offer. We strive to live fully the royal Law of Love and to wholly devote ourselves and order our lives toward this noble pursuit. We seek to live the love we proclaim and to transform the world, starting with the transformation of our own hearts. We seek to be whole.

These all seem like lofty pie-in-the-sky ideals, but they're really not. These are attainable down-to-earth realities that are rooted in our very hearts and in our very being because the Kingdom of God is in the midst of us (Lk. 17:21). 

Our life is "a confession and a sign" of the Holy Trinity, who, himself, is a communion of Persons and "whose mystery is held up to the Church as the model and source of every form of Christian life" (Vita Consecrata 21). We, too, are a communion of persons, created in his image and seeking ever more to grow together into his likeness. We strive to be a sign to the Church and to the world that human fraternity is possible and necessary. 

Our life is a "conscious and careful cultivation of fraternity" (Fratelli tutti 104). God loves our humanity. He delights in it so much that he became one of us and calls us his brothers. We need men who are in love with our sacred humanity who desire to build up a vibrant community, vivified and animated by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit. Humanitas is a core monastic virtue. This is the tradition of our Cistercian Fathers, who struggled so much against an archenemy of our times: neo-Gnosticism. Loving our sacred humanity means embracing our humanity as a precious gift which is given its fullest expression in the power of Jesus Christ's Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. 

Our life is one which strives to love God, neighbor, and self simultaneously. This noble task is also a difficult one, but we believe in the power of our grace-filled calling, and we believe that our calling can and must contribute to the transfiguration of a world which breeds hatred and hostility toward humankind. Equally important to community development is the development of each person within the community. Solitude, in the proper context of community, offers the opportunity for personal development and development as persons. Authentic solitude, which always possesses an ecclesial dimension, is a powerful remedy for the individualism and isolationism which plague our society. 

Our life is a life for people committed to continuing formation as disciples of Jesus Christ. We know we are not perfect, but we walk alongside one another in the pilgrimage toward perfection in patient perseverance. Conversatio morum (conversion of life) is one of our monastic vows and one which engages the whole person—body and soul (heart, mind, and strength (Mk 12:30))—in a dynamic transfiguration, our little ways of life "no less than the great" (Ps 115:13). We commit ourselves to this continuing formation through our monastic horarium (schedule) of liturgy, labor, and lectio divina (prayerful reading, or sacred study). We seek to live a balanced life and to continually correct all of our life's imbalances. In this way, we can focus on the parts of us which need healing, all while giving life to the whole person. 

In the words of the Prophet Isaiah: "LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you are our potter: we are all the work of your hand" (Is. 64:8). Like clay, we must all be continually formed by the loving hands of God our Father. Liturgy, labor, and lectio are the ever ancient, ever new ways God gives us to remain close to him throughout our days.

"Genuine care for our own lives and our relationships with nature is inseparable from fraternity, justice and faithfulness to others" (Laudato Si' 70). We are conscious of our duty as the People of God to be faithful stewards of the gifts and natural resources which God has entrusted to us. With our 2,300 acres of sacred land, we are the largest privately-protected greenspace in the metro Atlanta area. Our Cistercian tradition calls us not only "lovers of the brothers" but also "lovers of the place," and our mission to find more sustainable ways of living is one we take seriously and want to take more seriously. The "full development of humanity" requires an "integral ecology" (Laudato Si' 62) which unites all the aspects of our life in service to humankind. Living more sustainably means working together with the people of the world to protect the environment and offer opportunities for people to encounter God's creation, working together with scientists and medical experts who value our health and well-being, and working together to find better ways to combat the culture of waste which dominates the ethos of our society.

God's "wagon tracks overflow with abundance" (Ps. 65:11). As stewards of God's abundant gifts, our monastery food bank works closely with the Atlanta Community Food Bank to end hunger in our local communities. Our world-famous and newly-renovated Abbey Church is a "house of prayer for all peoples" (Is. 56:7). Our retreat house offers people from around the world a place to rest, reflect, and renew. Our family-friendly Monastic Heritage Center offers over 80,000 visitors per year an educational and cultural opportunity to encounter Cistercian monasticism and the Catholic faith. We are the gateway to the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, a 30-mile protected greenspace allowing the Atlanta community opportunities for hiking, biking, fishing, and recreation. Our monastery is teeming with diverse flora and fauna; around our campus, we cultivate numerous wildflower gardens and an organic vegetable garden, where we enjoy the fruits of our labors. Part of our mission to care for the living also involves our care for the dead; Honey Creek Woodlands is one of Georgia's only "green burial" cemeteries, where we provide low-cost, environmentally-friendly death care to people of all faiths and none. 

In all this, we strive to live more simply and more beautifully, serving one another in gratitude for all the gifts with which we have been entrusted.