Situated in the outer Brisbane suburb of Ormiston, overlooking Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay, is our Carmelite Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Founded in 1927 from the Carmel of Dulwich Hill, Sydney, the Brisbane community lived for 38 years in what was once ‘Auchenflower House’ until funds could be raised and a suitable site located for a regular monastery. At that time Ormiston was renowned as the ‘salad bowl’ of Brisbane. Though the surrounding farms of luscious red strawberries, succulent grape vines and tomatoes have disappeared, the red volcanic soil remains, enabling us to grow some of our own fruit and vegetables.

Our community of twenty sisters lives a simple lifestyle of prayer, silence and poverty, in the spirit of St. Teresa. Bonded together by our common ideal of a life of intimate friendship with Christ, we strive to embrace all people in our prayer. We believe that the love we show to one another builds up not only the community, but has an influence far beyond the confines of our monastery.

Prayer is the central focus of our life: Eucharist, Liturgy of the Hours, two periods set aside for quiet solitary prayer, spiritual reading - all of this overflows into the other activities of our day. Although removed from many of the happenings and pressures of modern life, we make a determined effort to inform ourselves of significant issues of social justice affecting the lives of people today, so that we may hold in our hearts their pain, anguish, cares and concerns. The spacious grounds, with tall gums and sweeping lawns, make it easy to find quiet spots for prayer and reading, and we sometimes enjoy walks together koala spotting, or listening to the variety of bird songs. We have real reason, then, to thank God for having guided us to such a place of peace and beauty, which is so conducive to contemplative prayer.

Work, preferably simple and manual, done alone and in silence, fosters the interior awareness of God. We place our gifts and talents at the service of the community, earning our living by baking Altar Breads and making candles, particularly those for liturgical use. Domestic tasks, small scale printing, handcrafts and gardening keep us otherwise fully occupied. Whatever its form, work brings us close to God who is ever creative. It unites us with Jesus, who worked with His own hands, and is in itself a form of asceticism requiring self discipline and generosity. Moreover, hard work connects us in solidarity with the poor.

Young women inspired to dedicate their lives to God in our Teresian Carmelite way of life spend a lengthy period of at least six years in initial formation. Before being accepted into the community as a postulant, a person may spend up to three months in a live-in experience. The time of formal training begins with the reception of the Carmelite Habit and white veil. Sisters study scripture, liturgy, basic theology and Carmelite spirituality, and receive personal help in human and spiritual development. In December 2001, one of our sisters made her final commitment, taking vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.