Work
"They are truly monastic when they live by the labor of their hands"
Rule of St Benedict, ch 48.
“Work, especially manual work, has always enjoyed special esteem in the Cistercian tradition since it gives the nuns the opportunity of sharing in the divine work of creation and restoration, and of following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. This hard and redeeming work is a means of providing a livelihood for the sisters and for other people, especially the poor. It expresses solidarity with all workers....”
Constitution 36 of the OCSO.
Ananda Matha Ashram has a small property with a vegetable and floral garden, a small production of coffee and pepper . Our work includes what is necessary to any household : cooking, cleaning, building maintenance but besides our daily house chores, our main work consists in packaging spices and different products cultivated biologically in order to prepare them for exportation.
When we work , we are linked to everyone throughout the world. In our monastery, manual work is very important. It consists of a simple or modest tasks that allow us to support our conmmunity but also that may help people who are in financial straits.
A work that is well done, that is done with heart, carried out in joy and consideration of the others...that all brings us closer to God , to Jesus who led an ordinary and modest life as a carpenter for 30 years. A life of work, of prayers and human relationships, a hidden life even though He was God's Son.
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