Like most monastic movements, the first Cistercians drew inspiration from the early Jerusalem Christian community where no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own but they had everything in common. To this end, they would sell all their possessions and lay the proceeds at the feet of the apostles. In our efforts to do likewise, let us not forget that the greatest gift we bring to our Cistercian communities is not any material possessions we might bequeath to the community, but rather ourselves along with any gifts and talents God has blessed us with. However, the real and additional challenge is to render this gift of ourselves complete by becoming all that God has created us to be. This, in turn, calls forth the difficult and painful task of ongoing and thoroughgoing conversion and transformation into Christ. Until this happens we will still be withholding a possession and calling it our own, instead of gifting it to the community so that we truly have everything in common.
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