Common life is essential for us. St. Dominic placed it at the head of all observance. Unanimity is the goal of our common life and also nourishes that life. Called by God, we come to the monastery to seek God in common. Joined together by the Spirit and not by any natural affinity, we desire to live together in mutual love with oneness of heart and mind in God. This kind of life actualizes our following of Christ and expresses anew the apostolic spirit of the first Christians in Jerusalem (Acts 2:46; 4:24). Our oneness is rooted in the powerful love of God. We live the same observances, the same rule, and make the same profession of vows. We are one in a common prayer, one in the truth sought and savored in study. We share a common table and foster mutual understanding and sisterly communion by various forms of recreation. At the daily Eucharist, which is the source and center of our life, we celebrate the mystery of God’s communion with us and are united in a bond of charity. We are one in mind through obedience and one in our responsibility to strive for the common good. We long for that unity which is an integration of self through ever greater conformity to Christ, a oneness of will and purpose with our sisters in community, and ultimately union with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
