When we become
the creation in God’s
garden that we were
meant to be—a difficult
getting-your-hands-dirty
process—we find peace
and fulfillment and joy.
“
TRAPPIST MONKS AT ST. JOSEPH'S ABBEY
TRAPPIST MONKS live a contemplative life of prayer and work. St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts is open every day for all who wish to visit and pray with them.
The monks say, “We care about beauty. Our liturgy is
beautiful. Our buildings are beautiful. The products we
make to support ourselves are beautiful. As monks our vow
of stability deeply roots us in the place we live, and the quality of our life manifests itself in our surroundings. Gardens
are just a natural consequence of the love of our life.
“The brothers at St. Joseph’s Abbey have gardens scattered in a dozen places around the monastery. The gardens
are also not confined to a single idea of what a garden
should be. Sometimes they are just a simple stand of tiger
lilies or the reliable rows of our apple orchard. At other times
the garden is a profusion of color, shape, and texture that
constantly changes if one keeps a close eye on it throughout
the warm months. Perhaps the brothers’ favorite garden is
the one where sweet corn, melons, and heirloom tomatoes
grow. From that garden the work of our hands and the fruit
of the earth become the beauty within us.”
THE FOUNDERS of the
Trappists described
themselves as pulchritudinis
studium habentes—that
is, those intent on beauty,
the beauty of holiness, the
beauty of God.
