The unique significance of the monastic vocation is the humble and persevering search of God, incarnate in Christ Jesus, in the Holy Spirit.

This search finds concrete and visible expression in the monastery, situated in a solitary place: in a community gathered together by God, that. chooses to live according to the Gospel, as expressed in the Rule of St. Benedict and the Cistercian Tradition.

The Monastery becomes in such a manner a school of charity, where nothing is preferred to the love of Christ. The Cistercian monks or nuns give themselves entirely to God, who calls them to this way of life, living in obedience to the Abbot or Abbess and to their brothers or sisters. Conversion of heart requires them to take up every day the ascesis of humility in order to experience the joy of growth in love. Self-renunciation is expressed in the promise binding the brother or the sister for life to the monastic way as practised by his or her own community.

The absence of outside pastoral or social works and separation from the world allow all the members to dedicate their energies to the construction of a Church in miniature, where God dwells and shares his life with mankind.

Continual prayer, which is the fundamental charism of the monastic life, finds expression in the following elements:

• The celebration of the Eucharist: this sacrament of the redemptive grace of Christ, centre and summit of the Liturgy, unites the monks or nuns ever closer to God and to each other.

• The praise of God: the singing of the psalms raises to God in the name of the Church the petitions, desires, sufferings, and song of thanksgiving of all mankind. The hours of the day and vigils before sunrise, within the rhythm of the seasons of the Church’s year, converge in the unique celebration of the Mystery of Christ.

• An atmosphere of silence fosters vigilance of heart and helps each one to dwell in mindfulness of God, in communion with all the brothers or sisters.

• Lectio Divina: spiritual reading, meditated personally and shared and verified in community dialogue, aims to deepen knowledge and understanding of God's Word, the Mystery of Christ and salvation history, in which each person is involved according to God's plan.

• Manual work, always highly regarded in the Cistercian tradition, enables the community to earn its living and expresses at the same time an authentic solidarity with all workers; it colours the monastery's life-style of simplicity, poverty and hospitality. Work helps each person to grow in the gift of self and to advance in a responsible collaboration with his or her fellow brothers or sisters.

• The daily schedule: the entire monastic day is arranged to involve the whole person in the sole service of the will of God, in the very place which he himself has prepared for our joy and salvation.

As an image of the Church, the monastic community is a place of prayer and communion with the entire people of God, serving them in a spirit of humility as hidden apostles of Christ.