‘Our Lord called me to seek him.’

June 1, 2023

By Brother Jerome Daignault, St. Benedict Abbey

June 1, 2023

A monastery is a place where God is sought. Yet I have always been terrible at seeking. As a boy, I even once forgot to look for my grandmother in a game of hide-and-seek. Nonetheless, this is exactly what God has called me to do.

When I first visited St. Benedict Abbey as a college student in 2013, I heard a call from Christ that I didn’t really understand at the time. I loved the liturgy, the fraternity, the whole daily life — but I couldn’t explain why I wanted to be here. Reflecting on it, I believe our Lord called me to seek him in the monastery by my prayer and work, and by charity to my brothers and our guests, ultimately to find him in eternity.

Christ sometimes seems to hide himself and call out so that I will seek him more eagerly, but often he is simply hidden by my distractions. Despite my forgetfulness, I am encouraged by his constant reminders and his promise: “Seek and you will find” (Mt 7:7).

Brother Jerome Daignault
St. Benedict Abbey, Still River, Massachusetts
Our Lady of Czestochowa Council 14757
Worcester

Father Christopher Murphy, Diocese of Providence.

‘Our Lord called me to seek him.’

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