"You, follow me" Jn 21:19
“In the eyes of Jesus, image of the invisible God,
the radiance of His Glory,
is the depth of an eternal and infinite love
that reaches to the very roots of our being.
The person who lets himself be grasped
can only abandon everything and follow Him.
Source: Vita Consecrata 18
Such is the monk.
He aspires to unite himself with Christ by having the same feelings
and the same way of life.
Jesus Himself is the foundation of every monastic vocation.
Mary is His first disciple.
© Icon of ChristArtisanate Monastic Family of Bethlehem
Every monk and nun wants to live the Gospel at Mary's school
Let yourself be looked at by Jesus,
to look at Jesus as Mary looked at him,
listen to Him as she listened to Him,
obey Him as she obeyed Him,
keep His Word as she kept it and,
like her,
let ourselves be transformed by the divine Light.
With Mary,
we learn from Christ to dwell in the Holy Trinity,
to contemplate and celebrate her
and to do His will.
© Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir/Artisanate Monastic Family of Bethlehem
We let ourselves be taught by the way she welcomed the angel’s greeting at the Annunciation:
“I greet you full of grace. The Lord is with you (Lk 1:26)”,
and to respond to God’s call:
I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your Word (Lk 1:38)”.
In this way, we share in the Virgin Mary’s life of faith, hope and love during her earthly life, and in her eternal beatitude today in heaven.
Since the origins of our monastic family, we have received and recognized the Virgin Mary as our Mother, Foundress and Prioress.
In order to obey Christ in the manner of His most “perfect disciple”, we choose to live in union with her, personally and communally