By Dewey Weiss Kramer

Before visitors to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit reach the turnoff from highway 212, they will perhaps notice a sign “Hay for Sale.” Driving up the magnolia-lined approach, they might see some Black Angus cattle grazing in the fields. After parking, they walk through the gate house and will pass the gift shop. Once inside, they discover, in addition to theological books, handsome sand castings, rosaries and handkerchiefs made by Conyers monks, along with racks of fragrant “Monastery Bread” baked on the premises.

A few steps past the gift shop they see a small greenhouse filled with hanging baskets, herbs and monastery-made planters for sale. A few more steps and there is a larger green house full of bonsai trees on display and for sale.

Cattle, bread, artwork, plants, bonsai, hay – add to this the stained glass workshop – and it seems Holy Spirit has an active business life along with its contemplative life. Correct. And not long ago an article in a major newspaper was devoted specifically to the success of the business aspect of the monastery. The author referred to Holy Spirit’s work as a “mini-conglomerate,” stressing the diversity of its financial enterprises.

While it is true that many Cistercian houses support themselves primarily from just one major occupation, Conyers does have several revenue-producing activities. But, as will be shown, the term “conglomerate” is misleading. The monastery’s business acumen is not, however, surprising, for labor has always been part of the contemplative, monastic tradition.

ORA ET LABORA

Benedict was following earlier monastic rules of life when he legislated a lifestyle with a balance of liturgical prayer (mainly psalms, the “opus dei”), private prayer and medication on Scripture (“lectio divina’), and manual labor, with about equal time per day allotted to each. The insistence upon manual labor as an intrinsic part of the life had three main sources. First, work is an ascetical exercise: it expels idleness. Second, it recognized an obligation toward neighbor: the monk should not be a burden on others, and he should also give alms to the needy. Finally, earning one’s own living while in the service of the Lord follows the example of the apostles. All three reason are integral to the prime concern of seeking God. Ideally, while working the monk continues to pray, medicating upon the “lectio” and the Divine Office, and this ideal is expressed well in the Benedictine watchword of “ora et labora” (pray and work). Work is transformed into prayer, into work.

The Cistercian founders of the late 11^th century re-emphasized the commitment to manual labor. This was done both as reaction to developments within European Benedictine monasticism whereby the monk’s “work” was conceived of almost solely as liturgical prayer, and as reaffirmation of the spirit of poverty and the apostolic life. (The Trappist reform of the 17^th century upset the original balance of the Rule and the Cistercian Founders somewhat by over-stressing the ascetical and introducing the penitential aspect of work, an emphasis which has been recognized in the past decades as inconsistent with the original spirit of the Order.)

Monastic “business,” then, is conducted not in and for itself, but as part of the whole monastic vocation. It should help the monk to serve God and neighbor, not the profit motive. For this reason the term “mini-conglomerate” cannot adequately describe the work of Holy Spirit. The business concerns must remain subservient to the religious mission. Perhaps for this reason, too, the mood at the monastery remains peaceful; the “market place” does not intrude.

AN EVOLUTION

In keeping with Cistercian and Gethsemani traditions, it was assumed that Holy Spirit would support itself mainly through agriculture. But when they sent a soil sample to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and asked what crops could be grown profitably, the answer came back “bricks.” The monks turned to other sources. They set up a dairy, raised pigs, chickens, beef cattle, rabbits. Except for a small herd of beef cattle, these original occupations have been phased out over a period of years because they were too time – or manpower-consuming. They have been replaced by diverse occupations in response to changing needs and talents.

Although the evolution has been toward traditional monastic occupations – foods, arts, crafts, gardening – and they reflect the present era’s concept of work as self-expression, they are also the overflow of the communal life. For instance, the monks had been baking bread for their own use and that of their guests long before they started producing it commercially. But when the dairy business was phased out, it proved a suitable replacement as “bread-winner” for the community.

REACHING OUT

One of the monks who had been most responsible for the dairy production came from a farm background and recognized that the land was suited for hay. Now some of his customers report that their horses refuse any other hay. Brother attributes the superiority of his product to its being grown for the love of God, not profit!

The bonsai trees grown at Holy Spirit, a favorite with visitors and a major revenue producer, started simply as a display item, so that visitors might have something to see in addition to the church building. Repeated requests to buy the miniature trees finally led to their production for sale.

When the monastery church was under construction, there was not enough money for expensive stained glass windows, so the monks decided to learn the craft themselves. They sought out a stained glass maker, mastered the basic techniques from him and started to work. When in the 1950s Atlanta’s first suburban Catholic church was planned, its pastor – a friend of the community as so many of the diocesan priests by then were – requested the monks to craft two windows for St. Thomas More. That done, the requests started coming in and continue to this day.

Also important for revenue is the monastery gift shop with its good selection of books and liturgical art. Many a stranger to the monastery, or to Catholicism, has become a friend thanks to the generous attention paid by the monks working there.

Last week’s article noted that Holy Spirit’s abbots have encouraged their monks to grow personally as well as spiritually. The diversity of occupations is a vital part of this direction. The businesses have developed largely out of individual talents and initiative. And individual monks are able to choose that occupation which best suits their temperament and can best further their gifts.

“Ora et labora.” Whether bread, or a sand casting, or a luxuriant hanging fern, something of the “prayer of this monastery is present in the products of its labor,” and those who buy them share in that presence. Dom Frederic’s dream of a vital witness to the Catholic faith in Georgia is being realized in the prayer and work of the monks of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit.

(This series of four articles marked the 40^th anniversary of the Trappist Community, which was founded in Conyers in March 1944.)