If we only let people see that we are living upon a truth,
and loving it, they will soon catch the life.

What draws men to monastic life? What calls us to give our whole lives to seek God here, in this place, with this group of men, in vows that bind us for life? There are many answers, and yet a common purpose has led us to this life as the way that God has called us to love. Read more about what makes us love this life.

We join the psalmist who said, “One thing have I asked of the Lord; one thing I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the fair beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple” (Ps 27:5,6). A desire to know, love, and serve God is at the heart of every vocation to the religious life.

“How shall I repay the Lord for all the good things he has done for me?” asks the psalmist (Ps 116:10). Gratitude fuels our love for God and our service to our neighbors. Giving thanks is an essential quality of every Christian life, and of every true vocation to the religious life.

Our regular gatherings for common prayer are an essential part of our life. Days punctuated by regular offerings of worship and praise remind us that our lives revolve around God; we can easily forget this when distracted by our own desires. Worship orients our life towards God.

Silent spaces give us opportunity for individual prayer, and the chance to draw near to Christ. The icon of the Beloved Disciple leaning on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper has a special place for us, reminding us that we can share this same intimacy with Christ through prayer.

We expect, through these divine encounters, to be transformed and to be made more into the image and likeness of Christ. Most of us have come with the hope of growth in freedom from the world of sin and into union with God. Conversion of life is our desire and our goal.

The rewards of life together are significant. Most of us have grown into deep friendships here, have found like-minded men committed to similar values, and have discovered a place of freedom where we can be ourselves, and where we experience what it means to be loved by others.

We find in this life freedom from many of the responsibilities that others bear. Because we share all things in common, we find an availability to be "men of the moment," responsive to the movements of the Spirit in the present age and the purposes of God in the world.

We offer ourselves in the service of Christ’s Church, and of the world that God has made. Religious life gives us opportunities to serve Christ, in meeting the needs of our brothers, our guests, and those we encounter outside. We come to serve, just as Christ did.

We work and pray for the sake of others, preaching and teaching the gospel, and offering our prayers on behalf of, and in union with, all people. Preaching and leading retreats are central ministries for the community, and all brothers are trained in offering them.

Many of us have found here a life that suits our personality, temperament, and gifts. We recognize in this life an opportunity to become the person we God has created us to be. We are challenged by its demands, but we rise up to its challenges with hope for who we can become.

Finally, there is the sense that our coming to this life was not all our own, but the beckoning of God’s grace. “You did not choose me, but I chose you” (Jn 15:16). We rely on the sense that God has desired this for us, and that “the Lord will make good his purpose for [us]” (Ps 138:9).

We have chosen this life as our way of loving God above all and loving our neighbors as ourselves. For us, it is the way that beckons most strongly. To live this vocation faithfully requires embracing it daily, renewing our purpose and our hope, and relying on God to give us all that we need.

We've shared with you some of the reasons we came to SSJE, the desires that tugged at us and the lives we dreamed of living. Want to know more about what keeps us here? We invite you to start a conversation with us. We'd love to tell you more about what we've found.