...on the edge of the desert, mountains, woods...

Following this brief outline of the beginnings of the community, we can say a few words about how the community that has taken shape at Bose in the last thirty years understands itself as sharing in the monastic tradition.

The monks and nuns who have been present in the church from the first centuries have been men and women who, in order to live their Christian vocation as a radical commitment, have felt the need to seek solitude, to live at the margins of society and of the visible church, even at the cost of being marginalized. A monastery is usually in the desert, mountains, or woods... in one direction there is the city, at a reasonable but not extreme distance; in the other direction there is uninhabited space, silence and solitude. The monk looks toward the city and the church and remains in contact with them, never separating himself but expressing his complete solidarity through his prayer and intercession. He sometimes addresses a word or gesture to the city and church, or addresses them through his silence; but much of the time, in order to protect what has been entrusted to him, he finds it necessary to turn toward the desert, giving the impression that he has turned his back on the city and the church. But this turning away is in no way a gesture of disrespect: it is simply a sign of his thirst to return to God, in silence and attention.