Are monks necessary?

[Jon_S_1]

Not to ignore the rest of your excellent post, nor to be snarky, but:

What could be better than that? How about actually seeing, experiencing, and knowing *God *in the noise, glitter, and experiences of normal life? The Incarnation. I’m afraid of dualism here.

Perhaps that’s too Franciscan for those who “leave the world”.

If I may say so, that is lack of faith in God. He was perfectly capable of sustaining the Universe during the time of the Old Covenant and then of the Church for centuries, without a monastic structure.

By the way, in the apologetics for monasticism, don’t forget about the Deacons of Acts, and the fact that the Apostles had to pray rather than serve tables. That dichotomy - together with Martha & Mary - is very interesting.

No not at all. God uses his people and interacts with us. Saying that the world would be a much worse place without the prayers of faithful Christians says nothing about Gods sovereignty.

God had Noah build an ark. He has monks (and all Christians for that matter) pray . Prayers like these make the world a better place.

 

[Virga]

“God would uphold all things and His Holy Church regardless of monks and nuns.”

Technically, God doesn’t need us to do* anything*. God doesn’t “need” anyone to pray to sustain the world as you say. True. Just like He really doesn’t “need” us to go out and feed the poor. He could literally zap food into our mouths if He so desired it.

So to answer your question on whether monasticism or contemplative life are necessary. No. But then you could say many things are unnecessary if you use that sort of logic. God didn’t need to appoint a pope or priests, He could have just stayed and told us what to do. God doesn’t need men and women to fulfill vocations of being parents to fulfill conjugal relations to produce children… as evidenced by one known example. God doesn’t need us for anything.

“If I may say so, that is lack of faith in God. He was perfectly capable of sustaining the Universe during the time of the Old Covenant and then of the Church for centuries, without a monastic structure.”

In my opinion, it’s the opposite. No one here claims that the power of prayer comes from us humans. We pray and God answers them, because He loves us. It is trust in the fact that God cares for us and is willing to listen to our requests.

God can certainly do what He wants, and He’ll do what is best for us either way. Yet as shown in the Wedding at Cana and the parable in Luke’s gospel about the man knocking on the door, God hears us, and He does take action.

Contemplative saints may well have given us our deepest understandings of the spiritual life, but what is navel-gazing and theory compared to living the Gospel among the poor? Do the spiritual writings of monks talk about living so intimately with God that earthly boundaries fall away? If so, is this not an attempt to make Heaven present on Earth, negating the true Heaven beyond? We cannot make utopia here. We also can’t directly see God here, regardless of ecstasies. We shouldn’t fool ourselves.

I don’t think any of the saints who experienced ecstasy would ever claim they were trying to attempt what you have described. If anything, the saints would be screaming not to place too much importance on these things and they would explain that these experiences are gifts from God.

The point comes back to the active lives of our Lord Jesus Christ, St. John the Baptist, Elijah, and all the true heroes of God. Why is life-long silence and solitude God’s will for anyone? This is the question I’d love an answer to - especially from the Church and the Saints.

Are you suggesting that none of the canonized saints who were contemplatives were “true heroes” as you put it? As for God’s will, who knows exactly? Sometimes, I think God could have made life a lot simpler. I mean really, why He had to let cockroaches and bed bugs come into existence is waaaay beyond me, but that’s just my human brain and logic telling me what should make sense. All we can do is to trust in God’s institution of the Church, which does recognize contemplative life as a true vocation.

Like you said, I don’t think we should elevate anyone to the point where it seems like we look down on other vocations. However, I think it’s important in general not to compare vocations at all. As pointed out earlier, vocations are a call from God. If we believe that God calls someone to the contemplative life, then I think we should trust that God knows what is best for that person.

In a nutshell though, we all have the same vocation. We are ALL called to be saints to put it bluntly. Pope Francis is called to be a saint, my mom is called to be a saint and the serial killers in prison are called to be saints. However, each one of them will have a different way of reaching this path.

I know of several religious who go through doubts of asking whether they are doing anything in contemplative life at some point or another. It can be one of the many crosses that a religious can carry. It is an experience that teaches great humility.

Might I suggest reading St. Therese’s Story of a Soul if you haven’t already and learning more about the “little way”? She was actually very passionate and desired to be a missionary out there in the world, but she lived her life in Carmel doing very “little” things instead.

 

[Praedicare]

Thank you to everybody for replying without a condescending or patronizing attitude. I know that the contemplative saints are held dear by many people. It was never my intention to degrade anybody…

Somehow I’m not convinced about the contemplative life. Let’s imagine that the “New Law” is contained in the Sermon on the Mount, for in that Sermon a huge number of prescriptions came from the mouth of Christ Himself - God Incarnate. Where in that Sermon can we find a call to a special renunciation of the World, separate from the renunciation that all Christians must make?

You see, it’s easy to quote Luke 10:38-42 as a prooftext, but what is the overall spirit and meaning of the Gospel? I guess that’s my real question. Is the “monastic interpretation” of Luke 10 in harmony with the hermeneutic of the rest of the Gospel? Christ used many active metaphors and parables about life, living in the world, and going out to proclaim the Good News. Do monks proclaim the Good News? Do they enable others to proclaim it? Was it proclaimed perfectly before they existed? To the last one the answer is definitely “Yes”, given the example of the Apostles!

I am basically afraid that in pursuing a contemplative vocation I - and many others like me - give into a spirit of inactivity that is somehow against the Gospel. Yes, tilling the ground, doing carpentry, making wine, etc., is real “activity”… but is it a sanctification for others? We are not saved by focusing on our own salvation, but by loving the Other with our whole self. Monks do live for the other and sacrifice for the other, if they’re in community-focused orders like the Benedictines… but what about hermits and Carthusians? Perhaps it’s a moot point, since so few people are called to that level of asceticism… but still, I wonder how God can approve of such an inward thing, given the life and teaching of Christ.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

It is through the prayers and penances that the contempletives live everyday (far more strict than the active orders) that the contempletives pave the way for the holy spirit to soften the hearts of sinners to bring about their conversions.

 

[rasbat]

The culture seems to want to degrade any way of life that does not involve doing something. I mean this in the sense of having some concrete visible results come out of everything. I guess to me it seems as though even devout very religious people in this day and age can look at a monastery and the first thought popping into their minds is “yeah… but what do they do!?” This era has more need than any previous for those quietly devoted to a life of contemplation rather than action. To deny the validity of a life of prayer is to deny the efficacy and usefullness of prayer itself.

 

[phil19034]

adawgj, your words put my question into a good focus:

They really know how not to waste a day… but neither do dedicated bankers, policemen, or surgeons! We can all admire their hard work, but is the monastic stillness something that Christ approves of as a means for the salvation of souls and the recreation of the whole World? That is the question.

Is it a “Protestant” mindset to say that it’s better to work for the salvation of others than to “just” pray for them?

I fail to understand what the issue here is? Are you suggesting that perhaps it would be better for all priests to be the same? i.e. working in the parishes with the Laity? Why?

Why can’t a man be ordained as a priest and be employed as a physics professor at a major university, only celebrating private masses? If a priest can teach at a school or University, then why can’t some (who don’t have a calling to be a secular priest) live in a monastery? How is it different from lay people who decide to live off the land in the Australian Outback or live off their sailboat in the Bahamas? Personally, I would love to live off a sailboat, do small jobs for people in order to buy or barter for food & supplies, and be one with the sea. I would love a simpler life, but that’s not the life for my wife.

Not everyone is called to be a priest. And not all priests have the calling, skill set, or temperament to be in a parish or simply be with the laity.

We all have our purpose or calling.

am basically afraid that in pursuing a contemplative vocation I - and many others like me - give into a spirit of inactivity that is somehow against the Gospel. Yes, tilling the ground, doing carpentry, making wine, etc., is real “activity”… but is it a sanctification for others? We are not saved by focusing on our own salvation, but by loving the Other with our whole self. Monks do live for the other and sacrifice for the other, if they’re in community-focused orders like the Benedictines… but what about hermits and Carthusians? Perhaps it’s a moot point, since so few people are called to that level of asceticism… but still, I wonder how God can approve of such an inward thing, given the life and teaching of Christ.

To me, it simply sounds like a contemplative vocation may not be for you. But that doesn’t mean it’s not for others. Also, I would argue that contemplative monks do help spread the Gospel. How? (1) by their example to others (2) by spreading what they learn to others - Monks often become very good at prayer and often teach others how to pray (whether it be visiting priests or lay people) (3) also people learn from the journals of these monks. While every single monk may not personally contribute something tangible to world, as a group, they do. Their collective wisdom gained in the monasteries are passed up through their superiors and then given to the Church.

I hope I’m make sense (I know this is a bit of a ramble).

God Bless.

BTW - if it wasn’t for the Benedictines, the world wouldn’t have Dom Perignon!

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

I fail to understand what the issue here is? Are you suggesting that perhaps it would be better for all priests to be the same? i.e. working in the parishes with the Laity? Why?

Why can’t a man be ordained as a priest and be employed as a physics professor at a major university, only celebrating private masses? If a priest can teach at a school or University, then why can’t some (who don’t have a calling to be a secular priest) live in a monastery? How is it different from lay people who decide to live off the land in the Australian Outback or live off their sailboat in the Bahamas? Personally, I would love to live off a sailboat, do small jobs for people in order to buy or barter for food & supplies, and be one with the sea. I would love a simpler life, but that’s not the life for my wife.

Not everyone is called to be a priest. And not all priests have the calling, skill set, or temperament to be in a parish or simply be with the laity.

We all have our purpose or calling.

To me, it simply sounds like a contemplative vocation may not be for you. But that doesn’t mean it’s not for others. Also, I would argue that contemplative monks do help spread the Gospel. How? (1) by their example to others (2) by spreading what they learn to others - Monks often become very good at prayer and often teach others how to pray (whether it be visiting priests or lay people) (3) also people learn from the journals of these monks. While every single monk may not personally contribute something tangible to world, as a group, they do. Their collective wisdom gained in the monasteries are passed up through their superiors and then given to the Church.

I hope I’m make sense (I know this is a bit of a ramble).

God Bless.

BTW - if it wasn’t for the Benedictines, the world wouldn’t have Dom Perignon!

There was also a few hundred years ago a very holy contempletive nun who during one of her estcasies, bilocated to some place that hadn’t been visited by missionaries yet and taught the indigenous people there the faith and the need for baptism, so that they sought after a priest at one of the missionaries several hundred miles away to come and set up a mission and baptize their people as the nun who flew over their land to visit them taught them.

 

[Virga]

Every order may have a particular charism. Some help the poor, and some focus on education. Others may work at nursing homes for example.

The charism of contemplative orders pertains to prayer for and with the Church. For every moment of these men and women’s lives, they will live with the goal of staying in constant prayer in order to serve God and others.

Yes contemplatives live a more hidden life, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t contributing. God uses them in ways we cannot imagine. The works of St. Teresa of Avila and the Little Flower for example, which have no doubt influenced many people in their faith, were actually written because they were instructed to under obedience. They didn’t really want to write books about their interior lives, but at the time did so because of obedience and belief in God’s guidance.

For one, Bl. Teresa of Calcutta was greatly affected by St. Therese’s story. She actually chose that name because of St. Therese. Even her order the Missionaries of Charity, which is more known for their apostolic work with the poor and needy, has a contemplative branch. You can read in her writings about how much she believes in the importance of prayer and personal relationship with God, which fuels one’s love for others.

I think we should remember that all orders and vocations make up the Church.
The Church has many different parts, but we all serve God in helping each other. Contemplatives do that through prayer, not just for themselves but for everyone.
However, it has become common thinking that seeking an intimate interior union with God as through prayer somehow detracts from loving others.

“We love because he first loved us.
If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar;
for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 John 4)

People commonly use this passage as a way to point out that if we don’t love others, it means we don’t really love God yet. But what seems to be forgotten is that our love stems from his love of us. When we experience His love, it overflows in us so that we may share it with others. None of us have yet to fully experience how much God can love us, but every time we learn a little more, his love enlarges our own capacity for compassion. Nuns and monks seek this and the fruits of their prayers and penances are shared with everyone else, though we cannot measure it in a tangible way.

walburga.org/be_a_nun/contemplative-vocation/

Although the link above is rather short and speaks specifically of nuns, I believe it can be helpful for anyone seeking to understand a contemplative vocation.

Have you considered trying to contact any communities to speak with them? Many do allow visitors [or email/write a letter if you prefer ], and I’m sure they would be happy to answer questions. It might be helpful for you to hear from them yourself. Feel free to be honest with your doubts and questioning of this life. if they are humble and holy men/women, I think they will answer without offense.

 

[The_Question_1]

I just wanted to point out the important part a contemplative woman named Anna took in the life of our Lord in Luke 2: 36-38, “[36] There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, [37] and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. [38] Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” In my experience, even though the contemplative doesn’t go out into the world those in the world seem to come to them. They often act as a spiritual safe haven for the weary and share the gospel with their lives. Like Anna, even if they never leave the “temple” they continue to preach the good news (aka. gospel) to all who will listen.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Thank you to everybody for replying without a condescending or patronizing attitude. I know that the contemplative saints are held dear by many people. It was never my intention to degrade anybody…

Somehow I’m not convinced about the contemplative life. Let’s imagine that the “New Law” is contained in the Sermon on the Mount, for in that Sermon a huge number of prescriptions came from the mouth of Christ Himself - God Incarnate. Where in that Sermon can we find a call to a special renunciation of the World, separate from the renunciation that all Christians must make?

You see, it’s easy to quote Luke 10:38-42 as a prooftext, but what is the overall spirit and meaning of the Gospel? I guess that’s my real question. Is the “monastic interpretation” of Luke 10 in harmony with the hermeneutic of the rest of the Gospel? Christ used many active metaphors and parables about life, living in the world, and going out to proclaim the Good News. Do monks proclaim the Good News? Do they enable others to proclaim it? Was it proclaimed perfectly before they existed? To the last one the answer is definitely “Yes”, given the example of the Apostles!

I am basically afraid that in pursuing a contemplative vocation I - and many others like me - give into a spirit of inactivity that is somehow against the Gospel. Yes, tilling the ground, doing carpentry, making wine, etc., is real “activity”… but is it a sanctification for others? We are not saved by focusing on our own salvation, but by loving the Other with our whole self. Monks do live for the other and sacrifice for the other, if they’re in community-focused orders like the Benedictines… but what about hermits and Carthusians? Perhaps it’s a moot point, since so few people are called to that level of asceticism… but still, I wonder how God can approve of such an inward thing, given the life and teaching of Christ.

There is a long history of people retreating away to seclusion. Even before Christ. At least temporarily.

John the Baptist
Moses
Even Paul the evangelist for three years after the road to Damascus.
Perhaps you could say Jesus (first 30 years) or at least 40 days in the desert.

 

[Brendan]

Are monastics necessary?

At this point in Church history, the answer must be clearly in the affirmative.

This can be known as God has called such men and women to the monastic life for the good of His Church.

There might come a time where God gives no such call, in which case the role of the monastic would not then be required for the good of the Church, but that time is not now.

 

[OraLabora]

Is hiding from the world in perpetuity really God’s will?

I think I should point out here that monastics do not “hide” from the world. In my 11 year experience as oblate, I can assure you that monks are well aware of what goes on in the world. Moreover they do not live in isolation from the world. They do willingly enclose themselves, but it’s not absolute; at least not for men (women live in the Papal enclosure which is more severe).

As an example our abbot is a renowned musician and goes go out to give concerts. Several years ago the former oblate director took a handful of oblates on a tour of French and Italian monasteries. I sing in a Gregorian schola and for years we were directed (outside the monastery) by the abbey’s choirmaster. I’d pick him up at the abbey, drive him to our rehearsals or Masses where we sang, and drive him back.

A monk is not hiding from the world but rather lives detached from the world in that he attempts, with the support of community, to let the seeking of God be his driving force, rather than seeking worldly attachments. Monks seek a different relationship with the world than the one we, who live outside the enclosure, necessarily must live. To an extent as oblate I also try to reduce my attachment to the world and seek detachment within the cloister of my heart, but obviously I cannot be physically enclosed like a monk as I am a husband, father and professional (my happiest time, professionally, was when I worked from home for about 4 years, when I could live a quasi-monastic existence).

On a more practical level perhaps you are aware that Benedictine monasteries do in fact provide spiritual direction to the laity; anyone in fact who turns up and asks for spiritual help, regardless of his or her creed or faith or lack of faith, seeks it. Countless addicts and troubled people have been set on the path to healing by their contacts with monks. While monks do seek detachment from the world through the enclosure, they don’t seek to cut off all contact with the world. One of the most important aspects of the Rule of Saint Benedict is the concept of monastic hospitality where everyone who enters the front gate of the monastery is to be greeted as if Christ Himself was walking through the gate; and that applies even to non-Catholics.

It is through this hospitality that monks fulfill every Christian’s obligation to evangelize; but monks do not, on the other hand, proselytize. They help the laity who enter the guest house find what they’re looking for, be it just a few days of peace and tranquility, spiritual direction to deepen their faith, or someone to listen to their troubles and help them get sorted out.

I myself benefited from this when my marriage hit very troubled water some years ago. If it wasn’t for one of the monks (in fact our oblate director at the time), I doubt my wife and I would still be married. I am extremely grateful to him because the past 5 years have, as a result, been the happiest of our marriage.

So in short monasteries are very necessary in both a practical and spiritual manner. Even protestant communities that tossed out monasticism at the reformation are taking a second look. On a recent trip to Scotland, my wife and I were seeking a B&B in Edinburgh, and we settled on a very small and new Anglican benedictine community that was attempting to restore some Benedictine spirituality in that part of the world; there are also full Benedictine monasteries in Anglicanism now as well. An oblate that I met at the World Oblate Congress some years ago was a Protestant (female) pastor from the Netherlands. Even Calvinists can apparently find some inspiration from Benedictines!

 

[Luigi_Daniele]

I think I should point out here that monastics do not “hide” from the world. In my 11 year experience as oblate, I can assure you that monks are well aware of what goes on in the world. Moreover they do not live in isolation from the world. They do willingly enclose themselves, but it’s not absolute; at least not for men (women live in the Papal enclosure which is more severe).

As an example our abbot is a renowned musician and goes go out to give concerts. Several years ago the former oblate director took a handful of oblates on a tour of French and Italian monasteries. I sing in a Gregorian schola and for years we were directed (outside the monastery) by the abbey’s choirmaster. I’d pick him up at the abbey, drive him to our rehearsals or Masses where we sang, and drive him back.

A monk is not hiding from the world but rather lives detached from the world in that he attempts, with the support of community, to let the seeking of God be his driving force, rather than seeking worldly attachments. Monks seek a different relationship with the world than the one we, who live outside the enclosure, necessarily must live. To an extent as oblate I also try to reduce my attachment to the world and seek detachment within the cloister of my heart, but obviously I cannot be physically enclosed like a monk as I am a husband, father and professional (my happiest time, professionally, was when I worked from home for about 4 years, when I could live a quasi-monastic existence).

On a more practical level perhaps you are aware that Benedictine monasteries do in fact provide spiritual direction to the laity; anyone in fact who turns up and asks for spiritual help, regardless of his or her creed or faith or lack of faith, seeks it. Countless addicts and troubled people have been set on the path to healing by their contacts with monks. While monks do seek detachment from the world through the enclosure, they don’t seek to cut off all contact with the world. One of the most important aspects of the Rule of Saint Benedict is the concept of monastic hospitality where everyone who enters the front gate of the monastery is to be greeted as if Christ Himself was walking through the gate; and that applies even to non-Catholics.

It is through this hospitality that monks fulfill every Christian’s obligation to evangelize; but monks do not, on the other hand, proselytize. They help the laity who enter the guest house find what they’re looking for, be it just a few days of peace and tranquility, spiritual direction to deepen their faith, or someone to listen to their troubles and help them get sorted out.

I myself benefited from this when my marriage hit very troubled water some years ago. If it wasn’t for one of the monks (in fact our oblate director at the time), I doubt my wife and I would still be married. I am extremely grateful to him because the past 5 years have, as a result, been the happiest of our marriage.

So in short monasteries are very necessary in both a practical and spiritual manner. Even protestant communities that tossed out monasticism at the reformation are taking a second look. On a recent trip to Scotland, my wife and I were seeking a B&B in Edinburgh, and we settled on a very small and new Anglican benedictine community that was attempting to restore some Benedictine spirituality in that part of the world; there are also full Benedictine monasteries in Anglicanism now as well. An oblate that I met at the World Oblate Congress some years ago was a Protestant (female) pastor from the Netherlands. Even Calvinists can apparently find some inspiration from Benedictines!

Perfect, fratello!!! Best of all, I GET YOUR SIG!!!

 

[Lamentation]

Monasticism is not necessary to the Church. There have been times when there was no Monasticism. There have been times when civil authorities (I’m looking at you, France) closed and consolidated Orders into something not recognized by the Church.

Your impression of monastery life is uninformed. BBC did a very interesting “reality show” called The Monastery in which five men (selected from hundreds of volunteers) go to live in a Benedictine monastery for 40 days (TLC did a similar show at a monastery in the US desert).

The participants agree to leave all ties to their former lives and live according to the vows of the Order. The BBC wished to do this series to see if the centuries-old contemplative life has anything to offer modern society. The participants are not religious (one of them is in advertising, and is producing trailers for a sex chat line).

If you would like to see an unprecedented (and accurate) peek behind the cloister wall then you might want to have a look. It’s an entertaining and enlightening program. You can get started with Episode 1 on YouTube here.

Well, that was a very interesting religious experience. Thank you for sharing that program with us.

 

[The_Question_1]

And there are some Trappists out here in Oregon who support themselves by making the finest fudge you could ever imagine, so Yaaaa for the Trappists!

I just wanted to say that it’s actually the Brigittine’s that make the fudge, the Trappist’s make fruit cake.

 

[nunsuch]

People may find this book of interest:
amazon.com/Taste-Heaven-Guide-Drink-Monks/dp/1585427187/

 

[bobballen_18]

I just want to comment on a couple things. First, it seems as if you are wondering if (contemplative) monasticism is basically not having trust in God, since basically their reason for existence is praying for the world, aiding in the salvation of souls.

A few other posters have made it clear that, no, God does not NEED anything. If you follow this line of thought, you’re basically claiming that all prayer is useless; basically saying what’s the point of praying if God already knows what’s going to happen? Well, the important thing to realize is, yes, God already knows what’s going to happen, but in His Divine Providence, he knows what could happen in any possible situation. One of those possible situations is that someone’s prayers affects the outcome. No, God didn’t need this to happen, but he chose to allow something to happen or not happen through the grace of someone else’s (or the actual person’s) prayers. I think it’s just that God wants us to draw us all closer to him through prayer, so he allows it to have positive effects on us. Otherwise, prayer would be useless and we would not be left with much else at all to grow in our relationship with God.

I don’t know if that helps at all, but that was the main thing I wanted to say. I think another important factor is that one cannot be expected to do everything. Yes, if one reads the New Testament, especially the Gospels, it is easy to get the impression that in order to spread the Gospel, one has to be actively “doing” something. But the fact of the matter is, we are not all perfect, and we cannot all do it all. Every person has their unique gifts, and those who have similar gifts can band together to help each other grow. I think this is basically what contemplative monasticism does. They have their own gift and their own unique calling to live an example of a holy life committed to God through prayer and work. God does not give every single person the same skillset - not everyone is capable of yelling from the rooftops the Good News!!!

Finally, going back to the concept of prayer. A few other posters have mentioned this, and this is another important thought I had: it is amazing how much we underestimate the power of prayer. I’m as guilty as anyone else in this matter. I have heard countless stories, through books about saints, through people in my life, who have either prayed for another person, or prayed for certain things for their spiritual benefit, and who have found out later in life that a particular person prayed for a certain outcome in a certain situation! So this relates to what another poster said - we can never know exactly the effect of a contemplative monk’s (or nun’s) prayers do for not only the world, but each of us individually. I am 100% sure that for every person who finds out another person’s prayers were the reason a particular thing happened, there are tons and tons of others who never know that another person’s prayers affected things that happened in their life. I bet when/if we find out after death which people were instrumental in getting us to Heaven (if we make it there), we’d be really surprised. I bet the group would include tons of nuns and monks, among those others whose prayers had a positive effect in our lives. Who knows how things would have gone if any one of those people had NOT prayed for us at a particular time! How great is the power of prayer!

I must say, I’m lucky to have a sister of mine as a contemplative sister!!!

 

[HisCross]

Believe it or not, the monastics engage in evangelization. For starters, their music inspires people of every background, and reflects the sacredness of God. Monks have also preserved and copied the scriptures for centuries, as well as safeguarded the sacred.

Evangelization occurs when people visit monasteries/convents and are offered hospitality. Even non believers and protestants stay out of curiosity/needing a quiet place and end up coming to the Church. For those people, there may have been no other way they would have come in contact with the mass, or a deep experience of God.

The Benedictine monks of Norcia Italy brew beer, and I remember seeing an interview about how they engage in evangelization this way. They have tastings at their brewery where people of all walks come, and they engage in hospitality and eventually conversations begin about God.

So here is a question for you, how do the saints in heaven benefit us and the world? They no longer belong to the world, but to God the Father through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit. However, their prayers benefit us, do they not? They are still connected to us through the one living Body of Christ, which is the Church.

Lets be honest, how many lay/bishops/priests follow what Christ said in Matthew 19:21, (also in Luke and Mark)? “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money[c] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Christ goes on to say in verse 23, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Maybe for monks, this is their way to heaven. They certainly give up their possessions and live to follow Christ in word, spirit and deed. Lay do this as well, that is however their vocation and is different. We all have our calling, Christ all longs for us to be with him, so how can we say it is unnecessary for these men to be monks when it will in fact lead them to Christ, and will subsequently lead others? Yes, it is not the only way to Christ, but we are all called to different lives in the same faith.

Are musicians necessary in the Church? No, but they inspire, just as the monks inspire through their music, writings, hospitality, and care for the sacred. This inspiration leads you places, and for some that is to God.

The monk is a statement to the world that Christ is worth it, to give everything you are, everything you have, everything you will ever be, to him. The monk is a symbol of what is to come, the complete unity with God in heaven. There is wealth to be had in this that is great. It isn’t better or worse than other vocations, it is just different.

 

[Brendan]

The Benedictine monks of Norcia Italy brew beer, .

I have few bottles in my fridge as we speak. My choice this evening, however, is the Chimay Grand Reserve.

So yes, we DO need monks

 

[HisCross]

I have few bottles in my fridge as we speak. My choice this evening, however, is the Chimay Grand Reserve.

So yes, we DO need monks

Exactly! Beer is extra refreshing knowing it came from Catholic monks. There is a certain aura about it.

I have yet to try Nursia, lucky you! How did you get your hands on it, might I ask? I’ve heard of Chimay, I’m sure that is another good choice. I’ve had Westmalle Tripel, not bad. You certainly get a bang for your buck with an ABV of 9.5%.

I can just see this thread turning into a monastic beer conversation.