How to become a monk?

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How can I become a monk? I am have a college degree and am getting a masters in education. But I really want to detach myself from this world. Forget family, friends, and all my possessions for a while. I think it would be really cool to be a monk for a year.

Besides I need a stable job that is slow pace and doesn’t have much expectations on me. I can not work fast at anything. So my options are either teaching or to be a monk. I have worked as a substitute teacher for over 2 years now and its the best job for those who can not fit well into jobs that require you to work fast with a lot of stress.

Do Monks get healthcare? With so many Americans not having healthcare that would be a plus. I really prefer slow pace jobs. I have a laidback personality and tend to to like to do things slowly in life thats just the way I have always been. Its not a trait many employers like , but its the way I function.
 
If you are sincere about being a monk, you should visit a monastery and talk to the vocations director. Perhaps go on a retreat. I’m not concerned that you don’t have a vocation to be a monk, for that is for you and them to figure out. I don’t think that anyone who has a vocation to be a brother or sister will have a lazy life, though. You will be rather busy, in prayer at various times of the day, and in labor, reading, and whatever you are assigned to do, some kind of teaching aspect perhaps?
 
Do you like teaching? Check out a Benedictine monastery. The first college I attended was a small Benedictine college in Washington. The mother house is St. John’s in Collegeville, MN.
 
I always thought that the perfect thing if my husband ever passes away and the children are grown would be to become a Trappist nun. The ones that make the chocolates. You could spend your day in prayer and chocolate and loose, flowing habits. Sounds heavenly!!:rolleyes:
 
Sublime_Prince said:
How can I become a monk? I am have a college degree and am getting a masters in education. But I really want to detach myself from this world. Forget family, friends, and all my possessions for a while. I think it would be really cool to be a monk for a year.

Besides I need a stable job that is slow pace and doesn’t have much expectations on me. I can not work fast at anything. So my options are either teaching or to be a monk. I have worked as a substitute teacher for over 2 years now and its the best job for those who can not fit well into jobs that require you to work fast with a lot of stress.

Do Monks get healthcare? With so many Americans not having healthcare that would be a plus. I really prefer slow pace jobs. I have a laidback personality and tend to to like to do things slowly in life thats just the way I have always been. Its not a trait many employers like , but its the way I function.
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You don’t get to become a monk ‘‘for a while’’. It takes years to become a monk, after which a lifelong vow is taken. I know it wasn’t your intent but by suggesting that you can become a monk for a year you are likening monasticism to a holiday camp or retreat and trivialising a noble vocation.

Some monasteries allow short term visitors to live a monastic life alongside them, but, as was posted before, you can’t become a monk without being a Catholic.
 
LDNCatholic said:
You don’t get to become a monk ‘‘for a while’’. It takes years to become a monk, after which a lifelong vow is taken. I know it wasn’t your intent but by suggesting that you can become a monk for a year you are likening monasticism to a holiday camp or retreat and trivialising a noble vocation.

Some monasteries allow short term visitors to live a monastic life alongside them, but, as was posted before, you can’t become a monk without being a Catholic.
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Some important points are made in this posting. Becoming a monk, if it follows the same process as becoming a nun, requires a year as a postulant. This is a time of discernment when a decision is made by the aspirant and/or community about whether or not the person has a call to religious life.
After a year of postulancy, the person becomes a novice. During this formation period of 3 or more years, the person learns more about the community and their way of life. It generally takes seven years from entry until final profession. Becoming a monk or nun is not a way to run away from the world or a person’s problems. It has often been stated that entering a monastery is “not a running away from, but a running to.”
The person who enters a monastery may be called upon to do manual labor, or anything else that is required by the community. Thomas Merton describes bailing hay in the heat of a Tennessee summer. There is further study for those monks who aspire to the priesthood.
Some communities have oblates who continue to live in the secular world while adhering to the values of the community.
Being a monk is not a job. It is a sacred vocation, a way of life.
 
Our Maronite church gives the opportunity to live as a monk for a period of time in a sacred valley called Wadi Qadisha where real monks have lived and live now…but this is in Lebanon…if you got a maronite church near you, check if there is such opportunity…
 
inJESUS said:
Our Maronite church gives the opportunity to live as a monk for a period of time in a sacred valley called Wadi Qadisha where real monks have lived and live now…but this is in Lebanon…if you got a maronite church near you, check if there is such opportunity…
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Even non Catholics?
 
LDNCatholic said:
Even non Catholics?
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well there aren’t many non-Catholics here and we don’t have the contentions created by protestantism in the West so i never heard a ruling on this matter…but i wouldn’t think it’d be a problem since it is just an experience of monastic life for a certain time …i guess every Christian has the right to live the spirituality of the Maronite monastic life if he is interested in it…it;s a total history by itself, a total different spirituality than 19th century protestantism and am sure protestants will appreciate and feel and go back in time to the roots of Eastern Catholic spirituality.
 
Ah, seems my opinion resembles the Pope’s:

In the East, monasticism was not seen merely as a separate condition, proper to a precise category of Christians, but rather as a reference point for all the baptized, according to the gifts offered to each by the Lord; it was presented as a symbolic synthesis of Christianity." (Pope John Paul II: “The Light of the East”, no. 9)

“. . .always seek what is good for each other and for all. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes. 5:16f)

here are pictures of where the experience occurs:

mari.org/JMS/october99/The_Maronite_Hermits.htm

i wouldn’t want any Christian to miss such experience.
 
Besides I need a stable job that is slow pace and doesn’t have much expectations on me. I can not work fast at anything. So my options are either teaching or to be a monk.

As a monk and former teacher, it sounds to me like you don’t have a realistic idea about either monasticism or teaching.
 
LDNCatholic said:
Some monasteries allow short term visitors to live a monastic life alongside them, but, as was posted before, you can’t become a monk without being a Catholic.
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Not necessarily. In the US, I know the Lutherans have a monastery for men in Michigan and the Methodists have one for women in Minnesota. And of course the Taize ecumenical community in France is quite famous.

I wonder if the OP would be interested in the New Monasticism movement - they might be easier to work with for a temporary duration. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Monasticism
 
PAX

Becoming a Monk 101…

PRAYER -
  • Why do you want to be a monk or brother?
  • What’s calling you to this vocation?
  • Listen with your mind, heart & Soul to God’s voice.
    Benedictine Discernment is best done from a pure heart and well formed reason. It is undertaken with the help of the Holy Spirit, wise counsel from faithful people, and utilizes one’s own God-given capacity to discern. It has been said that the three signs of a true vocation are: 1) desire, 2) ability, and 3) call.
    In discerning a call to the monastic way of life one should feel a longing deep within one’s soul to follow Christ in all His purity, poverty, charity and radical commitment to fulfilling the will of our heavenly Father.
    Reasonably good physical and mental health are required so as to endure the daily challenges of monastic prayer and work. Even though the fasts and vigils are quite moderate at Mount Angel Abbey, the trial may be found, not in their severity, but in engaging these and all the monastic disciples with zeal day after day for the rest of one’s life. Perhaps the greatest ascetical practice of Benedictine monasticism is to live in community with true charity.
    Obedience, along with charity and humility, are values at the heart of the monastic way. These virtues allow us to pray and work in a recollected peace which is the fruit of a personal encounter with Christ. The monk strives to hear the Word of God and respond whole-heartedly. When one hears the call of Christ to “Follow me,” one responds as did the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Fiat,” “Yes, let it be done unto me according to Thy Word” (St.Luke ). A man can finally be certain of his vacation when Christ says “yes” to him through the voice of the Church.
    The life of a monk is not for everyone. It is a rigorous life of prayer and work, lived out in community, and it is not without its daily challenge. But for those called to it, the monastic way is a joyful and fulfilling life. If you think that you are ready to give up your “own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord,”
Reasearch -
Peace & Prayers
mike osb oblate
 
Sublime Prince;:
How can I become a monk?
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Discipline. Lots of self-discipline.
(If you don’t have the self discipline to recite all 150 Psalms, prior to going to sleep, you don’t have the self-discipline to be a monk.)
I think it would be really cool to be a monk for a year.
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Some monasteries — both Christian and non-Christian — offer individuals the opportunity to live as part of the monastery community for a period of time. Part of their expectation is that the guest will fully participate in everything that they do. This includes such things as getting up at 3.00 AM for morning prayers.

Such “opportunities” do come at a price. Expect to shell out up to US$10,000 per night, as a donation to the monastery. (There is no correlation between the expected donation, and the “luxuriousness” of the place.)

The less commercially orientated the monastery, the more likely it is to examine the intent, commitment, and character of the individual, prior to allowing the individual to stay with the community.

The less secular the monastery, the more likely it is to have a set of “steps” where in one can decide whether or not further commitment is beneficial to both sides.

The more “closed” the monastery, the less likely it is to allow in somebody who has stated that they only want to be in the community for a year or so.
Besides I need a stable job that is slow pace and doesn’t have much expectations on me.
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To quote somebody who was both: “There are fewer expectations for a Selous Scout, than there are for a monk.” (This monk also considers that the USMC Basic Training instructors are “pathetically lax, and irresponsible”, in their unwillingness to enforce military rules and regulations, and generally fail to discipline the ranks.)
Do Monks get healthcare?
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As a general rule of thumb, no.
Note: This is based on my experience, which has mainly been with non-Catholic monasteries.

xan

jonathon
 
I think you have to be Catholic first.

**Not necessarily. There are both Episcopal and Lutheran Benedictines, and several Episcopal religious communities.

And don’t forget Orthodox ones, of which there are many in the USA.

BTW–how does your having a girlfriend fit into all this?

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=264945**
 
BTW–how does your having a girlfriend fit into all this?
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No clue and we are talking about getting married. So umm she kind of wonders what I am thinking too.
 
hello if anyone is lebanese maronite christian and has any idea about the rules and regulations for admittence to a monestary as an apprentice monk please reply b/c i dont have much time to ask about it maybe someone here can help me thanks in advance
 
humblespirit said:
hello if anyone is lebanese maronite christian and has any idea about the rules and regulations for admittence to a monestary as an apprentice monk please reply b/c i dont have much time to ask about it maybe someone here can help me thanks in advance
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Best place to ask would be the ‘‘Eastern Catholicism’’ sub-forum.
 
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