How benefactors sustain our Olivetan Benedictine community
The monks of Mother of the Redeemer Monastery live a prayer-centered life under the Rule of St. Benedict in the Olivetan tradition. Tucked into the bayou country near Plaisance, Louisiana, within the Diocese of Lafayette, our small community gathers several times a day for the Liturgy of the Hours, celebrates Mass together, and keeps the ancient monastic round of prayer, work, and study. Visitors from near and far come for silence, retreats, and a share in the Eucharist, and many ask how they can help sustain what they have found here.
Across the world, Catholics and other friends of monastic life look for ways to support communities they have come to love. In Australia, where the Catholic Church has a deep history and many parishes still keep close ties with religious orders, supporters often combine regular giving with bequests and gifts-in-kind. Although our monastery sits a fair stretch from Sydney or Perth, the bonds formed through prayer, correspondence, and visits cross the Pacific with ease. This article describes the practical paths by which benefactors, both near and very far away, can share in our life and work.
The heart of our daily life
The first way to support us is to understand what you are helping to sustain. Our days begin well before sunrise with Vigils and continue through Lauds, Midday Prayer, Vespers, and Compline. Between these hours we keep the manual work of the monastery: tending the gardens, maintaining the buildings, preparing meals, and welcoming guests. Every aspect of this rhythm requires steady resources, which is why regular benefactors matter so much.
A quick visit to our history page reveals how this rhythm came to be. Founded in the Olivetan reform of the Benedictine tradition and rooted in the local Church of Lafayette, our community has grown slowly, faithful to a calling that values stability and depth over expansion. Friends in Australia who appreciate this contemplative patience often tell us they find a kindred spirit here, even though our climate and culture differ from their own.
When you support us, you underwrite a whole way of life. Your gift keeps the chapel warm for daily Mass, provides bread and produce for the refectory, and supports the modest stipend that allows each monk to live simply without anxiety. In return, you are remembered in the prayers of the community, particularly during the Eucharistic celebrations offered for our benefactors.
Financial gifts that sustain daily life
Monetary giving remains the most flexible form of support. A one-time donation can fund an unexpected repair, a piece of vestment, or a new server for the refectory. Monthly giving provides the steady income that lets us plan the year: feed the community, heat the cloister in winter, pay the modest stipends of any employees, and maintain our vehicles for the twice-weekly trips into town.
Many Australian supporters give through direct bank transfers or recurring card payments, both of which are easy to set up from Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, or Hobart. For those wishing to leave a lasting mark, a bequest in a will provides security for the monastery's future, including the planned chapel expansion described elsewhere on our site. Australians are well known for this kind of long-horizon thinking, and the legal frameworks for charitable bequests are familiar to most solicitors and estate planners across the country.
Gifts-in-kind and practical support
Not everyone is in a position to give money, and that is where gifts-in-kind become valuable. The monastery has, over the years, received tools, kitchen equipment, plants, seeds, fabric for vestments, candles, and books. Some friends have even donated professional services such as accounting, web design, or carpentry. Each item, large or small, frees up a portion of the community budget for other needs.
A surprising number of supporters find deep satisfaction in helping us through our caring-for-the-land-our-monastery-s-gardens efforts. Sponsoring a particular bed of herbs, contributing toward a rainwater tank, or supplying pruning tools all find a home here. Because our climate in Acadiana is humid and our soil is particular, the gardening guide on our site offers practical ideas for friends who wish to contribute toward the harvest that fills our table.
Items that often find a welcome home at the monastery include:
- Liturgical supplies such as altar linens, candles, and holy water fonts
- Workshop and gardening equipment, including hand tools and gloves
- Kitchen staples in bulk: olive oil, fine flour, dried beans, and good coffee
- Quality books for our growing theological and patristic library
Prayer sponsorship and spiritual offerings
Financial and practical gifts matter, but our community is first of all a house of prayer. One of the oldest forms of support is the spiritual sponsorship: a benefactor asks the monks to pray for a particular intention, often over a long period or even for a lifetime. The community holds these intentions before the altar, at the Liturgy of the Hours, and in the private prayer of each monk.
Many friends who cannot travel to Louisiana keep the monastic rhythm in their own homes. Oblates and other laypeople pray Morning and Evening Prayer from their kitchens or studies, often following a simple daily structure. Some find helpful guidance in resources such as a brief prayer rule designed for laypeople, while others use the breviary itself. Wherever you are, joining your prayer to ours strengthens both your daily life and ours.
Simple ways to keep the monastic rhythm from home include:
- Praying Morning and Evening Prayer from the breviary or a phone app
- Setting aside a few minutes each day for lectio divina on the Gospel
- Offering one Mass a month for the community and its benefactors
- Writing to the monks occasionally to keep the bond of friendship alive
Each year we set aside particular days to pray for our benefactors by name, and we are happy to enrol friends in these intentions for anniversaries, recoveries, or the repose of a soul. To arrange such an enrolment, simply write to the monastery through the contact page.
Becoming a long-term partner
The most meaningful support often comes from those who journey with us across many years. Some of our most cherished friends have been giving for decades, while others have only just discovered the community and wish to begin a simple monthly arrangement. In Australia, many workplaces offer a payroll giving scheme that allows a portion of pre-tax salary to be directed to a chosen charity; supporters there have found this an easy way to commit to the monastery without disrupting their household budget.
Different forms of regular partnership suit different people. The following summary shows the main paths and what each tends to support:
| Type of partnership | Typical contribution | Primary use | Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-time gift | Any amount | Repairs, vestments, special projects | Single transaction |
| Monthly giving | Regular amount set by the donor | Daily sustenance, utilities, modest stipends | Ongoing |
| Planned bequest | Specific amount in a will | Chapel expansion, long-term endowment | Lifetime |
| Gifts-in-kind | Goods or services | Gardens, library, kitchen, liturgy | Variable |
Those who can visit us find their partnership deepened by the experience. A few days of silent retreat, participation in the Divine Office, or simply walking the grounds renews the heart and refreshes the sense of belonging. Information about retreats, the monastic schedule, and how to reach us in Plaisance is available on our visit-us page. We are easy to find, a short drive from Lafayette, and we keep a guesthouse for men who wish to discern a monastic vocation.
In every tradition, the contemplative life is upheld by the prayers and gifts of the wider faithful. While some communities draw spiritual nourishment from a single written source, as this Islamic tradition teaches, our Catholic Benedictine heritage weaves together Sacred Scripture, the Rule of St. Benedict, the liturgy, and the witness of the saints. Whatever your background, we are grateful for the friendship you extend to our small house.
Living the call together
Supporting our community is not a transaction but a vocation shared between monks and laypeople alike. Whether you live in Parramatta or Bunbury, in Sydney or Perth, your generosity finds its way to the refectory, the chapel, and the garden. Each gift, large or small, helps keep the bell ringing for Lauds and Vespers, keeps the bread on the table, and keeps the door open for the next guest seeking silence.
If you feel called to walk with us, begin simply: write a note, set up a small monthly gift, enrol a loved one in our prayers, or plan a visit when circumstances allow. Our oblates and our guestmaster will be glad to hear from you, and our community will remember you at the altar each day.
You can reach the monastery at any time through the contact details on our website. May the peace of Christ remain with you and your family, and may Our Lady of the Redeemer intercede for all our benefactors.