Two Life-Lessons From Four Days in an Abbey

Every moment can be for us a time to learn and grow, and every experience can be an enriching learning occasion. The four days that I spent recently at an abbey turned out to be immensely valuable in terms of life-lessons for me. It is truly amazing how much one can learn in such a short span of time!

In this article, I would like to share two major life-lessons that I gained from my stay in the abbey. The first of these is: Be joyfully content with where you are at present.

The 25 or so Sisters who live in the abbey belong to a congregation whose members are also known as ‘cloistered’ nuns.  In other words, they are meant to remain cloistered inside their abbey’s compound for the rest of their life (although they are free to leave the abbey for good at any time if they no longer wish to be part of the congregation). They are meant to have renounced all attachment to the world and to be fully devoted to God and to leading a quiet, contemplative life.

In addition to the standard vows that other nuns in their faith tradition take—of obedience, poverty and chastity—these Sisters have also taken the vow of what is called ‘stability’. In other words, they have voluntarily vowed to remain 'stable' in one place: the compound of their abbey. They must adhere to this rule till the end (though they may step out of the compound in case of an emergency, such as serious illness or the death of a parent). Only two among them, referred to as ‘externs’, are permitted to go out of the compound, for things like shopping or to meet other such needs of the abbey.

Now, for many of us who take travelling, even just down the street where we live, as something normal and necessary and perfectly unremarkable, remaining confined to one place for more than a day, leave alone for the rest of one's life, might seem virtually impossible, but not so for these Sisters. The nuns I met exuded such peace and joy that it was amply evident that they were happy and content with the lifestyle that they had chosen, which included remaining within their abbey's confines. This reminds me of the fact that it is through the journey within, which these Sisters have vowed to undertake, and not simply by going someplace without, that true joy, peace and contentment can be found.

For someone like myself, who was once addicted to travelling and who still wishes to see the world, this was an astounding learning experience. I came to know that it is indeed possible, at least for some people, to be joyfully content spending the rest of one’s life in a single place! Of course, such a cloistered life is not meant for everyone. It seems that only some people who may have a special, Divine calling for it may be called to take it up.

A second great learning experience for me from my stay in the abbey came from the seriousness with which the Sisters there take the motto of their congregation, which, in English translates as ‘Prayer and Labour’. The Sisters’ daily routine is regulated by, and centred on, regular prayer. They pray seven times a day, starting from early in the morning till before they retire for the night. Their prayer-life also includes meditation, scripture-reading and singing hymns in a style that, if I am correct, is drawn from a centuries-old classical tradition of chanting from early medieval Europe.

The Sisters take the second half of the motto—Labour—with equal seriousness. They spend a significant part of their day engaged in manual work within the abbey’s sizeable compound—working in the fields (where they grow fruits, vegetables and coffee), the bakery, the dairy, the candle-making unit or the vineyard. Some of the produce from these units is consumed by the Sisters, while a portion is sold, which brings in income that helps meet the abbey’s expenses.

Watching an elderly Sister, almost 70 years of age, dressed in her nun’s habit and toiling in the fields in the scorching sun was a very inspiring experience. So, too, was the lively conversation I had with another elderly nun, busy at work in the bakery.

The Sisters follow a fixed routine, of prayer and labour, day after day, year after year (on Sundays, and perhaps also on special Feast days, though, they do not engage in the routine physical work). They truly live up to their congregation’s motto that asserts the need for both prayer and work and also underscores the value of physical labour and of earning one’s bread through one’s own efforts. This was a second major learning experience for me: All of our life’s various essential dimensions and needs—including of the body, mind and spirit—should be taken care of, and in a harmonious, balanced manner.

If I were to put my mind to it, I suppose I could come up with several more valuable life-lessons that I learnt during my recent stay at the abbey. For now, though, these two precious ones, that I’ve outlined here, should, I think, suffice!