The Purpose and Practice of Monastic Vocation

The Purpose and Practice of Monastic Vocation

The monastic vocation can be called a "mystery" and in two senses of

the word.

Primarily - divine mystery is a reality proceeding from God, at once

hidden and revealed, expressing in its essence something of the grace,

wisdom, peace and fruitfulness of God.

Monastic consecration - a mystery akin to the sacramental mysteries of

the Church, in which an inner change is affected through an outward

ritual or symbol and from here becomes a wellspring of Divine energy.

Apostolic orders

· Dominicans

· Jesuits

· Salesians

· Daughters of Charity

Contemplative orders

· Redemptorists

· Benedictine Monks

· Benedictine Nuns

· Carmelite Nuns

Benedictines

Benedictines - The Benedictines are the oldest monastic order in the

West, founded by St. Benedict of Nursia (c.480-543) in the 6th

century. Benedict founded several monasteries, but he spent his last

years at the monastery at Monte Cassino.

St. Benedict creates a strict set of rules which all of the members of

the order were supposed to follow.

These are the rules:

· Once you have entered a monastery you must stay there until you die.

· All monks must take turns working in the kitchens and waiting at

table.

· Monks must remain busy, either with manual work or in study and

prayer.

· Monks must remain silent unless they have to speak.

· The Abbot must be a father to his community.

· The Abbot must hold meetings with all the monks to decide monastery

business.

· The Abbot's orders must be obeyed without argument.

· Every monk must take a vow of chastity.

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...Rule of St. Benedict.

Opus Dei

This means "the work of God", this is the term which monks use to

refer to their principal activity - When praying they prefer to sing

the psalms. Prayer is the actual work of the monk, they also meditate

and pray for the world.

Lectio Divina

The purpose of lectio is to continue our search for God, to feed and

invigorate this search and to give depth and meaning to our prayer in

common.

Work

St. Benedict suggests only a few criteria for judging what is

appropriate work for monks:

(a) That no work is too menial;

(b) That it should be done as far as possible in the monastery;

(c) That any monk who begins to think that his work is bestowing a

special benefit on the monastery should be moved quickly to something

which is less likely to encourage his pride