As a subculture, cloistered monastic nuns live hidden from public view by choice. Once a woman joins the cloister and makes final vows, she is almost never seen and her voice is not heard; her story is essentially nonexistent in the historical record and collective, public history.
From interviews conducted over six years, Abbie Reese tells the stories of the Poor Clare Colettine Order, a cloistered contemplative order at the Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford, Illinois. Seldom leaving their 25,000-square-foot gated enclosure, members of this community embrace an extreme version of poverty and anonymity - a separation that enables them to withdraw from the world to devote their lives to prayer. This removal, they contend, allows them to have a greater impact on humanity than if they maintained direct contact with loved ones and strangers.
Dedicated to God explores individual and cultural identity through oral history interviews with several generations of nuns, focusing on the origins and life stories of the women who have chosen to become members of one of the strictest religious orders. But the narrative is also one of a collective memory and struggle against extinction and modernity, a determination to create community within the framework of ancient rules.
The author's stunning photographs of their dual worlds, religious and quotidian, add texture to the narrative.
This artistic and ethnographic work highlights the countercultural values and dedication of individuals who, at incredible personal cost, live for love of God and humanity, out of faith in what cannot be seen, and with the belief that they will be rewarded in the afterlife.

GRACIAS SENOR JESUS, POR ESE SACRIFICIO DE AMOR QUE HAS HECHO AL MORIR EN LA CRUZ PARA RECONCILIARNOS CON EL PADRE, GRACIAS SENOR JESUS. CIERTAMENTE NO HAY PALABRAS SUFICIENTES NI QUE LLENEN LA MAGNITUD DE GRATITUD QUE DEBERIAMOS TENER POR ESE SACRIFICIO DE AMOR QUE HAS HECHO POR NOSOTROS; POR ESO, DANOS LOS DONES DEL ESPIRITU SANTO PARA CONOCERTE, AMARTE Y ENTENDER TU PALABRA; Y ASI QUE A TRAVES DE LA DONACION DE ESOS DONES, PONIENDOLOS AL SERVICIO DEL PROJIMO, PODAMOS DEMOSTRARTE LA GRATITUD QUE MERECE TU GRAN AMOR. OH SENOR JESUS CON LA FUERZA DE TU AMOR, CONCEDENOS LA DICHA DE SER AGRADECIDOS CONTIGO PARA PODER ESTAR JUNTOS EN LA ETERNIDAD. AMEN

This account of the life of St. Ignatius, dictated by himself, is considered the most valuable record of the great Founder of the Society of Jesus. It gives an insight into the spiritual life of St. Ignatius detailing his conversion, his trials, the obstacles in his way, the heroism with which he accomplished his great mission. Few works in ascetical literature impart such a knowledge of the soul.