Re-Monking Life for 2012

If you know me very well, you know I take a lot of stock in the value of the monastic life.  It's not by chance that I'm a vowed member of a Benedictine Order.  I know there's a lot we Christians can learn from simply observing the life lived by monastics like the Benedictines, Carmelites, and Trappists (not to mention many others).  So, I thought I'd write my New Year's post with the monastic life in mind.  What's 2012 going to look like for me?  Well, to put it simply, I hope to "re-monk" life a bit.

I plan to eat like a monk.  If you're familiar with Benedictine monks, they basically eat a vegetarian diet.  In chapter 39 of the Rule of St. Benedict, Benedict outlines how much food each monk should receive.  Why does he go to the trouble of defining how much food a monk should receive each day?  He tells us in these words:  "For nothing is so inconsistent with the life of any Christians as overindulgence.  Our Lord says:  Take care that your hearts are not weighed down with overindulgence (Luke 21.34)."  With that in mind, I hope to eat better foods and only what my body needs to work as it was designed to function.  In other words, I shouldn't eat every yummy thing that happens to pass in front of me. 

I plan to read like a monk.  You're probably wonder what I mean by that.  I'm talking about continuing the practice of Lectio Divina ("Divine Reading").  Those in the Benedictine tradition of monastic life set aside time every day to not only read the Scriptures, but to sit with them.  Meditate on them.  Hear what God may be saying to them through that particular passage of Scripture.  

I plan to pray like a monk.  What do I mean?  I mean I plan to continue praying the divine office each day.  There has been no spiritual discipline that has transformed me more.  It's by no mistake that Benedict instructs his monks to pray the Psalms throughout the day and night.  He says in chapter 16 of his rule, "Therefore, we should praise our Creator for his just judgments at these times:  Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline; and let us arise at night to give him praise (Ps 118[119]:164,62)."

If you've never tried it, I'd highly suggest giving it a shot.  There are lots of great prayer books that will lead you step by step through the divine office each day.  One of the best for the beginner (and even the more experienced) is Phyllis Tickle's The Divine Hours.

I plan to work like a monk.  I like the way St Benedict writes about this in chapter 48 of his rule.  "Idleness is the enemy of the soul.  Therefore, the brothers should have specified periods for manual labor as well as prayerful reading."

Did you catch that?  He just mentioned work and prayer (lectio divina) in the same breath.  He believed there should be adequate time for both.  Balance is the key here.  Monks work hard whether they teach at a local seminary or, in the case of the Trappists, make fruitcakes and other delicious food items to sell.  So, I hope to work hard and to do it as "unto the Lord" all the while making time to read Scripture and pray.

I could go on and on with this.  This isn't necessarily an exhaustive list but does cover some of my goals for the coming year.  I have work to do in almost every area of my life.  I can always be a more loving person, a better husband, more hospitable, more generous, etc.  However, I think all of this can be summed up in the words of Scripture in John 3:30:  "He must increase but I must decrease." (John 3.30 ESV).  Now, that's a good goal.

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Excerpts taken from The Rule of St. Benedict, Timothy Fry, O.S.B., editor, The Liturgical Press, 1982

Comments

[MamaKat]

this is a great list!!!! not too far off from my own. :)