A Monk is NOT a spiritual 'superman'.
He is - a very ordinary person.
It is only that God has given him
the grace of a 'vocation',
Now this gift of grace may be described as
a divine 'invitation' or 'attraction',
and it usually begins to make itself felt
only gradually and vaguely.
Even he who is receiving it
can be very uncertain about it.
It is by living his Christian life in real earnest
that a person allows this divine call
to grow stronger and more compelling.
But what fosters its growth most of all
is to pray about it.
If you think you might have a vocation to be a monk,
seek advice preferably by contacting a monastery.
If you can answer 'yes'
of the following questions
there is a real possibility
that you might have a vocation
Do you want―
to give your whole life to God?
Even though you might not be able
to understand fully what that means―
is that what you feel?
Do you want―
to draw closer to God?
to respond as fully as possible
in making your life all that He wants it to be?
to love Him with all your mind and heart and strength?
Do you feel that your present way of life
deprives you of time and energy
you would like to have
for prayer, wider and deeper reading,
Mass and Communion?
Would you like a way of life
designed under God's inspiration
and guaranteed by the Church
to help you in all these things?
The monastic life in the Cistercian Order
is centred around the community Mass
and the "Prayer of the Church",
and a daily arrangement of
spiritual reading and instruction,
private prayer
and work - principally farming by which we earn our living.
Cistercian monks follow the Rule of St. Benedict,
and live essentially. the same kind of life;
all have the same basic rights and duties―
both spiritual and temporal;
everyone is simply a member of a monastic family,
everyone is simply a monk.
Do you think you could fit into such a family,
and such a way of life?
Are you prepared to withdraw from the world?
to get down each day to regular periods of prayer?
to live in an atmosphere of silence?
to try to develop the habit
of turning your mind and heart to God?
To whom more is given, from him, more is expected.
Therefore, a monk is NOT
running away from life's responsibilities,
in fact, by his vows, he is undertaking
a far greater obligation to strive throughout life
to grow in likeness to Jesus and so draw closer to God.
He is undertaking the responsibility
of developing a ready willingness
to accept to the fullest
the share God wishes to give him
in the Redeeming Passion of Jesus Christ.
The sacrifices asked of human nature
by the monastic life are great,
but God is not outdone in generosity.
The reward he has promised, even for this present life,
is a hundredfold.
A peace and contentment that the world cannot give;
a sense of playing a part
in the life and growth of the Church;
a sense of personal fulfilment―
of living a truly meaningful life
of union with God's will, of security in his love.
A monastery is NOT
a sad and miserable place.
It is a peaceful place, a happy and cheerful place.
Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
We do not take a Vow of silence.
We have a Spirit of silence
This spirit of silence however,
is rightly regarded as
a special characteristic of the Order,
since, in one way or another, it covers the whole day.
Nevertheless, during our normal day,
there are many times when a monk may speak.
Education to at least school-leaving age is necessary.
But 'common-sense' is what is required
rather than 'intelligence'.
There is ample scope however,
for the satisfaction of any intellect,
in the study of philosophy, theology, etc..
if one is so inclined.
A monk does NOT have to know Latin―
the liturgy is sung in English.
We do not practice extremes of fasting and austerity.
Although our life is austere,
any normally healthy man is quite able for it.
And though we do not eat meat and the diet is plain,
it is sufficient in quantity and quality.
A Cistercian monk is not cut off absolutely
from his family; they may visit him
three or four times a year, and,
for serious reasons, he may visit them at home.
A Cistercian monk is not confined
to a narrow enclosure; his work takes him out
into the fields and woods of the monastery.
Finally
the contemplative' life means
aiming at a spirit of recollection
and is best described as :
a growing habit of seeing all things in life
as God sees them,
and of acting always in harmony with His divine will.
It is―
a gradual surrender of one's every thought and action
to the secret influences of the Holy Spirit.
Let us now close by adding that
a vocation has the nature of a 'seed'.
It will grow and come to fruit
if we care for it.
It will fade and die away if we neglect it.
God will not insist, it is a free invitation of love.
Only a free response of love can satisfy it.
For further information please write to Father Abbot (Vocations),
Sancta Maria Abbey, Garvald,
http://www.nunraw.org.uk.
