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Being a Monk Today
“Lord, open my lips,” says one of the monks, to which the others reply, “and my mouth shall proclaim Your praise.” These words which open Morning Prayer (aka Lauds) begin the monastic day. When Lauds ends and the abbot has given his blessing, the monks disperse. Some go off to work at the high school (Benet Academy) or the university (Benedictine University), some go to do work in the abbey itself, some go to do lectio divina or another form of private prayer, some do other chores and tasks. All will do some kind of work in the course of the day as well as pray some more. Yet in keeping with the words that start our day, whatever is done is to be a form of praise to God.
One of the Benedictine mottos is Ora et labora, “Pray and work!” Prayer rightly comes first in this injunction, for it is at the heart of the monk’s life. He has “left the world,” in order to seek God and to do the work of God, which work St. Benedict says is prayer. The recent mission statement by the monks of Saint Procopius Abbey puts it succinctly: we “seek God by a life of prayer.” The prayer that St. Benedict especially has in mind when he speaks of the opus Dei, “the work of God,” are the set times of prayer that make up the Liturgy of the Hours and the prayer of the Mass. At Saint Procopius Abbey, we therefore meet as a community to pray Lauds, Noon Prayer, Vespers, and Compline, as well as come together for the Holy Mass. During these times of prayer, we praise God and we also encourage one another in the spiritual life by our mutual presence.
In addition to communal prayer, each monk prays privately, including spending time with Scripture by way of lectio divina. Lectio divina is an ancient practice of monks that consists of prayerfully reading the Bible. Usually a paragraph or a few lines of Scripture are read in silence and reflected upon and thought about. From this, prayer to God arises and at times the monk peacefully contemplates the goodness of the Lord. Monks will take up other forms of prayer in the day (e.g., the rosary, adoration, etc.) but lectio divina holds a special place in Benedictine spirituality. Another important practice in the monastic tradition is spiritual reading – that is, reading a book by a spiritual master or any book that keeps the monk mindful of and helps him thinking rightly about the things of the spirit.
In his Rule for Monasteries, St. Benedict cites 1Peter 4:11: “that in all things God may be glorified” (ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus). This may be especially applied to the second half of the motto given earlier, the half that enjoins the monks to work. The monks of Saint Procopius Abbey have always been involved in apostolates outside the monastery walls; thus, they have worked in education and the ordained monks have helped in local parishes. The monks still do this work. Some teach, work in campus ministry, or work in administration at either Benet Academy or Benedictine University. These are the schools that were founded and are still sponsored by the abbey. Ordained monks also still help at local parishes in the Diocese of Joliet, especially by providing help for Sunday Masses. Some monks do work within the monastery walls. A monk, for instance, is assigned as guestmaster to oversee and take care of the guests to the monastery, while a few monks help as porters, that is, they greet visitors at the reception area. Another monk serves as infirmarian, to provide care for monks with health problems. Some monks, such as the abbot who is the superior of the monastery, work in the administration of the abbey. As said earlier, whatever is done is to be done in the praise of God, “that in all things God may be glorified.”
Work in a way takes up the materials that God has given us and tries to form them into something pleasing to God. God is therefore praised and glorified. But more than simply these materials, the monks themselves are to be formed into something pleasing to God by the monastic life itself. That life, as St. Benedict makes clear, is a life of ongoing conversion. St. Benedict even makes his monks take a vow of ongoing conversion called conversatio morum. He also lays out for his monks “the tools of the spiritual craft” (Rule chap. 4); these are the kinds of practices that lead to growth in holiness. The work of conversion does not require moving from place to place and, accordingly, St. Benedict prescribes a vow of stability, so that the monk belongs to one monastery his whole life. In that monastery, he is formed so as to become more pleasing to God. This formation happens especially through community life. Life in community has its supports, for example, the encouragement and good example of others as well as their constructive criticisms; it also has its challenges, for we are all sinners who need to learn better how to love our neighbor. Yet through it all the monk hopes, as St. Benedict writes, that Christ “may bring us all together to everlasting life” (Rule chap. 72). Finally, it should be said that this life in community is lived under the direction of the abbot. Obedience to the abbot as well as what St. Benedict calls mutual obedience is not always easy, but St. Benedict says it as crucial for growth in holiness and becoming ever more conformed to Christ, who was “obedient unto death” (Phil 2:8).
This conformity to Christ is perhaps that central element of the monastic life that people today, even Christians, especially fail to see. Many wonder what good a monk does. They wonder whether the monastic life with its focus on prayer is selfish, for is not prayer only for one’s own good? The answer to this last question is a categorical NO. The goal of prayer is to praise God by becoming pleasing to Him. In this way, the monk seeks to offer himself to God as an acceptable sacrifice. St. Paul wrote, “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1). He goes on to speak of being “transformed by the renewal of your mind” rather than be conformed to this world (Rom 12:2). That is the monk’s project: to be transformed in our minds (how we think) and in the work we do in our bodies, in order to become conformed not to this world but to Christ. Christ Himself was the most pleasing offering given to God and His offering worked the salvation of the world. When the monk participates in this offering, becoming conformed to Christ through prayer and the monastic life, then the monk contributes in Christ to the salvation of the world. “The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” (Jas 5:16).
There are many vocations in the Church and all are needed. Among them is the vocation of the monk. If you feel called to serve the Church and the world as a monk of Saint Procopius Abbey, contact Br. Guy Jelinek, OSB.
“As morning breaks, we sing of your mercy Lord, and night will find us proclaiming your fidelity.”
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