We live in a world that is very connected. People can chat with each other across countries from their computers. Such technology would baffle people of previous centuries. In a digital world where everyone and everything is connected it is even more difficult to fathom why someone would choose to become a Monk. The first reaction that one might have to a friend or family member wanting to be monastic would be why? Then if the pious person could explain their reason, there are two other thoughts that fester. One is that this loved one who wants to be man of the cloth is wanting to escape this modern world and will miss out on the fruits of the future. The next thought that creeps into the caverns of the mind is that this wannabe monk is throwing away a chance to have a family. What could be more important than family?
Well God. Blunt delivery that it maybe, but choosing to be chaste to serve Christ in a small community of the same kind of people is a higher purpose. Jesus said "there are eunichs that born eunichs, eunichs who are made eunichs, and then there are eunichs who choose to be so to serve their Lord." (Matthew 19:12). One might ask, how can it be healthy to deny the impulses such as breeding and the natural desire for family? Well here is a surprise secret. Those who abstain from sexual relations of any kind are smarter than those that do. Now do not mistake my meaning, I am not trying to seel Monasticism as an IQ booster. You could choose to be chaste and not join a monastery. It is scientific fact that sexual release, especially for men dulls their wits and make their faculties fog. This is so well known that it is referenced and mention frequently by Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory television show. Even sports teams are not allowed to bring their wives or girl friends to a big game because the coach needs the men focused and ready to conquer.
Choosing to a Monk is not about abstinence. Being a monastic is to devote your life to prayer. Monks and their female counterparts nuns are required to chant prayers daily and to say the mass. Being a Monk is to bridle your flesh to the zenith, to deny the carnal desires, to limit your food in take via fasting and thus curb gluttony, to abstain from drinking liquor save for the Eucharist, and to labor in the fields and garden and clean the monastery. It is a grueling experience for the flesh and is a counterpart to joining the military, only your enemy is sin and Satan.
Monasticism is not all mortifying the flesh. It is being part of a community. Save for the silent orders of Monks, many monastic orders encourage members to develop friendships and close bonds. Like in the military, school, or work where you face the same obstacles, you develop companions. This goes along with when Jesus sent the Disciples out two by two. Sometimes you need someone there to comfort you or correct you. Without community it is difficult to take the log out of your own eye.
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| St. Francis of Assisi |
Franciscans, followed by the Benedictines, The Cistercians, then the Jesuits, and so on. Each religious order offers a different focus. The Augustinian Order, was more philosophical and tended the affairs of people in public, while Franciscans focused on being poor like Christ, and the Cistercians sought to improve themselves via manual labor. Some orders took vows of silence, others of poverty, and still others choose to be more active in the day to day lives of people. So if one does choose to be a monastic, they must make certain sure they choose the right order for them.
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| Claire of Assisi |
A woman may become a monastic by becoming a nun. The reason that monks and nuns are not to be in the same abbey is that it could lead to temptation and violations of the vow of chastity. For women who decide that they want to serve Christ and are either making a concicious choice to forsake having a family or are old enough that it no longer matters, becoming a nun is an answer. What we think of nuns is heavily influenced by our experiences with them and perhaps Whoopie Goldberg's performances in Sister Act I and II. I have personally met some very kind and loving nuns. Not all look gloomy or grime as the pictures appear.
Making the choice to be Monk of Nun is one of the most difficult choices in life. Most monasteries or abbeys have a potential monastic try it for two years before they advance and take the full vows. The choice to become a monk or nun is a life long one and once entered into is not easily exited. Have no delusions, to become a monastic is to be subjected to a boot camp that never ends. One who enters the office of monk or nun will be waging spiritual war via prayers, working hard cleaning, cooking, and cultivating. The battle against the flesh will also be more intense through self denial. Monasticism is not for the faint of heart, but it can be a path upon which the Lord can refine someone through the fires like silver.
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