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Our
Mission | Origins | Our
Vision | Contact
| Products Scroll down to bottom of the page to see the archives of previous homilies. About Monastic life…our vision:
"Christ at table with the Multitudes" The Monastic life has but one rule, the Gospel of Jesus the Christ, and one goal, that we each attain the end for which we are created. The nuns of New Skete are disciples of Jesus the Christ and strive to live the Christian life as fully as possible. We seek to live simply and authentically together, united by the practice of mutual love and compassion. In so doing we intend to make the reign of God present among men and women today. By our mutual love and understanding as children of the same God, we hope to demonstrate the possibilities open to everyone of living in peace and harmony for the benefit and welfare of all. We hope that all who come our way will find in us a source of inspiration and encouragement to seek the will of God and to respond to grace, striving to grow in wisdom and wholeness. We intend to make tangible and real the way of life that Jesus taught us, in a manner that is meaningful to our contemporaries. We aim to be responsive to the prophetic character of our vocation, which from the very beginning of monasticism in the desert of Skete, has made monks and nuns responsible not only for attaining the end for which they are created, but for that of all God's people. As heirs of these primitive Christian monks and nuns, we want to live in harmony with their spirit, especially that of the Eastern monastic fathers and mothers, adapting our own everyday life from tradition; we hope to show in our own lives the perennial nature of Orthodox Catholic monasticism, especially for contemporary America. Though the emphasis may vary in monastic life at different times and places, our life emphasizes the liturgical offices of each day. Every aspect of our life receives impetus and nourishment from the daily and seasonal celebrations of the church. We live in union with the praying church. Our worship seeks to edify, to inspire, and to raise us all to that reality for which we were made. In accord with the simplicity which characterizes monastic life, we earn our daily bread by our own hands. As all the fathers and mothers of the monastic life have taught and practiced themselves, so do we value and esteem this work. We find in work a time-honored means of self-discipline and growth. Monastics strive for enlightenment and wisdom. We seek continuously to grow in knowledge and understanding. Therefore we continue from day to day, to study that which deals directly with monasticism and the spiritual life, in general, as well as that which may be less directly concerned with our life. For knowledge is simply the threshold of wisdom. Each individual also prays in the secret of her own heart, in the privacy of her own cell. Personal prayer is cultivated with the simplicity and freedom of the children of God. Like all else, personal prayer benefits from the choral worship of the entire community and nourishes all other aspects of our lives. To this end, we foster a spirit of silence and recollection. We hold in special esteem the virtue of hospitality. Though our own means are limited, we extend to all who come our way the basic courtesies of Christian charity and hospitality. When necessary, we are ready and willing to provide whatever may be asked of us, insofar as it is within our power to do so, in a friendly and cheerful way, and with respect and compassion. What we do to others is what we do to Christ, mindful always that we are sisters of all. In conclusion, we trust that our life of prayer, work, and study, in the rhythm exemplified by the desert fathers and mothers and all other monks and nuns since, will bring us to our goal while having added to the life of the whole church in general. By living our monastic profession, we contribute to the work of salvation accomplished by Jesus, toward the healing and unification of all things. In the end, may we all share in the reign of God, having risen from death and entered into the glory of transfiguration.
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