"Wanted: A few good women"

• "Must be able to totally give of themselves and say "no" to the ways of the world.
• "Candidate must be willing to turn away from home, family, possessions, the prospect of marriage and children--and she must be totally ready to lose her own will.
• "She must be prepared for long hours of manual labor, service to community, and--above all--be willing, indeed desire to pray, pray, pray.

"In fact, most in the world see the life of a cloistered nun in just such terms. But to the heart that is called to serve the lord in a contemplative life, these are not things to despise, but things to embrace!

"We desire to help our troubled world by a life of prayer;
pray to, commune with, and live in the presence of our loving God;
live solitude in the midst of community life;
and be a hidden leaven of grace in and for the world."

from the website of Carmel of Port Tobacco

(in La Plata, Maryland - site of the first Carmelite monastery in the United States)