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>Carthusian monk

The contemplatives

The Carthusians devote their lives entirely to prayer and the search for God in the secret of the heart. Their mission is to remain with the Source, in the name of all. They intercede for the Church and for the needs of the whole world.

Their lives are balanced around three axes:
silence, solitude, remaining in the cell;
the common prayer of the Church, three times a day, as well as some fraternal encounters;
their own liturgy, adapted to their lifestyle and their small number.

The material life

The Carthusians may have “left the world”, but they are not withdrawn from the human condition common to all; they must therefore supply all the needs of a life characterised by poverty and austerity.

Each community is economically autonomous and generally assures its subsistence by agricultural or artisan work, and also by Mass offerings. However, at the level of the Order, there is a system of equalisation by which the richer houses support the poorer, in particular through the revenue generated by the fabrication of the liquor of Chartreuse.