OUR LADY of the HOLY SPIRIT
Vocations
✥ OPEN to the SPIRIT! ✥
Peace be with you!
Thank you for visiting our vocations website! The Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit is a dynamic and spirited community of twenty-eight Catholic monks living in Conyers, Georgia, who are part of the global Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, commonly known as the Trappists.
We believe in the power of deep, contemplative prayer, and we pursue it wholeheartedly by following the Gospel of Jesus Christ as expressed in the Rule of St. Benedict. In relative simplicity, silence, and separation from the dominant culture, we balance the practices of prayer, study and work. Our deep interior life, distinct daily rhythms and shared spiritual journey become a continuous prayer of love—to God and for the world.
We love our life and want to share it with others!
✥ Wholly ordered to contemplation. ✥
PHOTO: Johnathon Kelso of The Georgia Bulletin
Empowered to seek God together and to offer our lives for the restoration and renewal of humanity, we encounter beauty, joy and transfiguration through the Holy Spirit in a life wholly ordered to contemplation. We embrace meaningful paradoxes: silence that deepens our prayer and study, work that strengthens our hearts and minds, and separation that nurtures our vibrant communities. Ours is an intentionally ordinary life that makes room for the extraordinary—grace from God and our brothers and sisters that stirs immeasurable gratitude.
Deep interior life.
A Cistercian monk seeks to let go of daily
distractions in order to free the mind
and heart for deep contemplation.
Our activities and attire are simple and
humble. Our grounds are profoundly
silent save for purposeful speech,
spirit-filled song and the sounds of
nature. We maintain decided degrees
of separation from the outside world—
so that we may continually renew
ourselves and the world through prayer.
Distinct daily rhythms.
Cistercian life balances the
spiritual, intellectual and physical with
a life of steady rhythms. Days are
punctuated with frequent prayer and
worship, the study of sacred texts, and
simple, honest work that sustains our
earthly mission. Each activity enriches
the other, keeping our hands, hearts
and minds fully alive—so that we are
always ready to listen and respond to
God’s call.
Shared spiritual journeys.
Cistercian communities bring together
people of diverse ages and
backgrounds who share a deep desire
to know God, discern his will, and
to give ourselves over to his love.
We grow in friendship, support each
person’s ongoing formation and
well-being, and draw inspiration as we
encounter the presence of Jesus Christ
in community.
Are you being called to Our Lady of the Holy Spirit?
If prayer is your way to touch the world, you should consider a vocation to Cistercian life.