After graduation, I worked as an art therapist in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. I began to grow more interested in the “why’s” of my faith, reading numerous books, going to daily Mass and reciting the Liturgy of the Hours. Looking back, I can see that God was preparing me.

I was on a retreat when someone said I’d make a good religious. This was my ‘still, small voice’ moment. I met the vocation director of Holy Spirit Monastery, and I remember being taken by the joy he and his brothers exuded. They were very intelligent, but did not make a person feel small because of it. I was further inspired by the writings of the famous Trappist monk Thomas Merton, which had a profound impact on me. In time, I was led to pursue a vocation with the Trappist monks of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery.

Trappists lead a very cloistered life, combining physical work (baking and selling biscotti and fudge) with seven periods of group prayer throughout the day, as well as constant internal prayer. They pray through all 150 Psalms every two weeks, as a means to both stay connected to, and to pray for, the world. Manual labor has the same effect. Work is efficacious for the souls of the monks and for the world.

The structure of this life is very appealing to me. The monastic life is a sign and symbol to the Church, and to the world, that prayer is important, that it truly matters, and that it can change the world. The Trappists dedicate our lives to this. Yet, while cloistered, they have not left the world but are still very much a part of it. People come from all over to retreats at Trappist monasteries, drawn to the charism of prayer and work there. Spiritual direction is provided upon request to all who come seeking to grow closer to God.

As an artist, I’ve learned not to go against the grain. To make something beautiful, you must go with the grain. God is calling me to go with Him, to learn what it is to be a monk for Christ, to pray for others. My greatest joy and desire is that His will be done in my life. Jesus, I trust in you!