Reflection, not reaction.

Residential Internship Program for Graduate Students & Seminarians for an academic year

Reflection, not reaction.

Residential Internship Program for Graduate Students & Seminarians (Sept-May)

SSJE's Monastic Residency program invites you to experience something truly unique.

So much of life today is spent in reaction mode. A constant barrage of news cycles, notifications, likes, and advertisements interrupts us, asking us to react quickly (and perhaps thoughtlessly) to the latest thing. We move along to an ever increasing drum beat – and so many of us feel beat down by the relentless pace of contemporary life. As we are pushed along from school to university toward a career, there can be little room left for asking big questions, developing a sense of ourselves, or listening to discover a larger purpose.

Such inner transformation is a central aim of the monastic life in the church. As we attend to our conversion in Christ and grow in love for God and one another, we trust that this monastic way is shaping us into deep reservoirs, to be used by the Spirit for the sake of the world’s healing, wholeness, and reconciliation.

We are stewards of an ancient tradition engaged with the contemporary world; its joys, it's sorrows, and its hungers.

We invite you to journey alongside our community for nine months, to learn practices and skills with enduring value:

Worship. Silence. Stillness.

Reflection. Prayer. Discernment.

Community. Listening. Hospitality.

2024-25 Academic Year Application will open in Winter 2023

Monastic Residency Program

This nine-month, residential internship is for students in any field of study, of all genders, aged 21 or older who are enrolled full-time in programs of study at local graduate schools & seminaries. Three to five residents form a small community living, praying, and working alongside our community of fifteen monks just outside of Harvard Square, bearing mutual witness to one another’s growth.

The anticipated time commitment is twenty hours per week, including time spent in worship, at meals, in work assignments, and in meetings. The program includes full room and board, a monthly allowance, and scheduled time off. We understand the rigorous demands of graduate programs and the flexible scheduling this can sometimes require. If you are uncertain about whether the program may be a fit for you, don’t hesitate to reach out for a conversation.

Commitment to the Christian faith is an expectation, though we warmly welcome applicants from a variety of Christian traditions as well as those who may be new to faith.

Click here for the Expectations and Requirements for this Residency

Can't see the full application form below? Click here

Questions: Contact residency@ssje.org