Free for God Alone
In this series of blog posts, we explain and illustrate our monastic life as
cloistered Dominican Nuns who are “free for God alone.”
“Rejoicing that they can fulfill the design of the Creator and be associated with the work of the Redeemer, the nuns should readily give themselves to work with all their powers of mind and heart as well as their gifts of nature and grace.”
-Book of Constitutions of the Nuns
of the Order of Preachers
Work takes on a slightly different character in the monastery than it sometimes has in the world outside, where speed and efficiency often take priority. Giving our whole heart and abilities to our work is an act of love for our sisters, as well as a participation in the creative goodness of God, as our Constitutions point out. Usually, a sister is assigned to something she has a certain talent for, although often new talents are discovered when taking on new responsibilities. While our meals may not be expensive or fancy, the Sisters who cook them live out well the exhortation of our Constitutions to give themselves to the task “with all their powers of mind and heart as well as their gifts of nature and grace” – it can be amazing what creative ways the Sisters come up with to prepare a delicious meal!
