Questions received

Is it possible to live a structured "Benedictine" life outside of the enclosure walls? (This question was asked on 20th January 2008)

Thanks for this interesting question. In one sense I think it is possible, but at a practical level I expect one of the reasons monks join monasteries is that they find they can't. It is, if you like, the reason for the enclosure. But more positively and hopefully, what makes the monk are not the walls outside him but what is going on inside him. That needs support, at the least the structure of a rule of life, which the Rule of St Benedict provides. But that is in some sense adaptable to circumstances. It has to be said that the full structures described in the Rule include a monastery with enclosure walls. But a more tailor-made rule of life based on the Rule is certainly possible. It is best to seek good advice in making one; and I would also say that some sort of external link with an actual Benedictine community would also be very helpful. This is often what becoming an Oblate of St Benedict provides.

Are there monks in the Church of England, or do they all come through the Roman Catholic Church. If you were of the Church of England but you felt the calling to lead the monastic life, would you have to convert to the Roman Catholic Church? (This question was asked on 12th December 2008)

There certainly are monks in the Church of England, and there are several monastic communities of different kinds you can find out about at the following addresses.

www.orders.anglican.org/arcyb
communities.anglicancommunion.org

So there is no need to become a Roman Catholic. In fact I think the general advice would be to keep the two questions distinct. If you are called to be a Roman Catholic, that is one thing, and there is a process of instruction available to help you; the question about how to serve God as a Roman Catholic is a separate one, which it is much better to look at once you have settled into your new 'home' as a Roman Catholic. I know that things are rarely that simple in practice, but pastorally it is a help to try to look at them separately.

Do you think it is a contemplative person that becomes a monk or nun or does becoming a monk or nun make a person become contemplative? (This question was asked on 14th November 2007)

It is rather a chicken and egg question. I think many people who are drawn to contemplative prayer (not exactly contemplative life as such) will find a natural interest in contemplative life - where the whole thing is rather organised to promote and express the sort of concern for the priority of God that a person who prays contemplatively is responding to. That is not, of course, to say that you cannot pray contemplatively outside an enclosed life. Nevertheless for that reason I do think that a person will thrive in contemplative religious life almost to the extent that they are able to open themselves to contemplative prayer. And I am sure that contemplative life will draw people who are really responding to it in that direction.

Why the Benedictine life rather than, say, Norbertine? (This question was asked on 11th November 2007)

This question can only be answered by actually seeing how they both work out in practice. The Norbertines are a renewal of the life of regular canons inspired by the Cistercian renewal of Benedictine life. So part of the answer is the difference between Benedictine monastic life and the more Augustinian and clerical pattern of community life of regular canons.

However, at least in the English Congregation, Benedictine tradition has itself rather accentuated the Augustinian and clerical themes that are present in the Rule, so the differences are less than you might think in theory! But in practice I expect you will find in Benedictine houses a rather more home-based conventual life, especially where the community work is rooted in education and study in various forms, as well as retreat work and hospitality. I get the impression (but I may be badly mistaken) that Norbertines have a more parochial commitment either at the Abbey or in parishes round about. But then again we too have parishes.

Another thing I guess may be liturgical. There is a specific monastic form to the liturgy of the hours, which can result in a considerable commitment of time and resources to its worthy celebration. But it is also true to say that a monastic liturgy often has a different kind of nobility to it than I understand the more elaborate forms of liturgical observance you can find in Norbertine houses. I suspect it may be put like this. In a Benedictine monastery, the liturgy of the word will be celebrated with a particularly solemnity, especially in the use of music and times of silence, but what actually happens on the sanctuary can be relatively simple - which is not to say it is not solemn - it is a different kind of solemnity, letting space and silence speak of the transcendence of the mystery.

So the answer probably does come back to the real difference between monks and canons. That is that monks are people who in the end are called to leave all to find God in solitude, even when living a life of prayer in community. A lot of monastic asceticism is directed to cultivating silence so that it can speak of God. Canons, on the other hand, are called to the priestly life of the local church and are at the service of the Church as members of a community of priests under vows.

What are the differences between Benedictine and Franciscan life? (This question was asked on 7th November 2007)

I cannot really speak with much authority about Franciscans, but I think the following
points might be relevant:
1. Benedictines make a big thing about the Liturgy - it is pretty formal in its
celebration, often with a lot of music and ceremony, and it takes a significant
proportion of the working day.
2. We probably get up earlier and go to bed earlier too. This is because we are
more enclosed and don't generally have commitments out of the house especially
in the evenings.
3. That raises the point about work. Franciscans and Dominicans etc. are not
monastic orders - so the cloister looms much less in their lives. And many Benedictine monasteries are heavily committed to manual work.
4. We are all religious, in the sense of taking vows - but the monastic vows are
not specifically poverty, chastity and obedience; rather the first two are understood
under the vows of stability and conversatio morum (living a monastic life of virtue).
This is more than just a technical issue. The Benedictine form of vows underlines
the community, or cenobitic, framework for living a consecrated life. In particular,
poverty is not something that you notice much in monasteries in this country or
around Europe. Monks believe more in common ownership and stewardship, as well
responsibility for the poor and needy. That includes a sense of personal poverty
too. On the whole Franciscans are very conscious of the more radical poverty of
their founder.
5. Benedictines generally put a high value on books and learning. Many Franciscans
are scholars too. But I don't think it is really part of their ideal in the same
way as with us.

Does the Abbot take into account the talents of an individual in assigning work or other responsibilities? (This question was asked on 7th November 2007)

As for skills and employment of them in a monastery, I hope that an Abbot would do what he could to find congenial work for an individual monk - and certainly I think a person's creative talents would be encouraged. But it is impossible to guarantee anything. In a monastery like ours, an aptitude for school teaching would probably be more likely to be 'used' than an aptitude for farming or gardening, simply because of the greater demands on our energies for pastoral work. But a person would have time for the garden or painting or poetry or whatever, and he would need to have some real hobbies and the like for weekends, holidays etc. since he will need to find his out-of-work fulfilment in the monastery too. Recreation is a spiritual exercise.

However the important thing is to feel you can entrust the whole of yourself to God and to the wisdom of the Abbot and community. It is surprising how all sorts of hidden talents can come forth in learning to live under the Rule by someone else's judgement. And often what feels like a total loss and a sacrifice is returned to you changed by the grace of rediscovering how to use your talents monastically in ways you never thought of before.

On the whole I think it is best not to think of monastic formation as a preparation to teach in a school. That is too worldly a wisdom. We need to learn the wisdom of the cross. Believe me, that is far more demanding and exciting.

When you meditate, do you sit in silence and just listen without thoughts or do you always have a text or a subject to think about? What is the difference between prayer and contemplation? (This question was asked on 5th November 2007)

Meditation could be a rather systematic reflection on a passage, thinking over various points for consideration. This is a traditional approach to meditation that would have been understood generally I suppose a hundred years ago or so. But meditation could also refer to a kind of prayer which, either with the help of a few words of scripture or not (they work a bit like a mantra), is simply sitting in silence – listening to silence might get it more clearly; waiting lovingly attentive to him for whatever God may have to say (which must be understood analogically). Very often I find people might start out with a few words to help them get focussed on silence at the right level, but then just stay quiet, listening. And there are a number of other kinds of 'exercise' that could help you get started in that kind of way.

How you distinguish between meditation in this sense of silent prayer and contemplation (and many people seem no longer to do so) rather depends I think on what kinds of distinction you are trying to make. An important one is to distinguish between prayer seen from our end, and what we have to do, as opposed to prayer seen (as it were) from God's end, where we are on the receiving end of his action in the Holy Spirit. At one time, the two kinds of thinking seem to have been put one after the other. I am sure they interact all the time, since prayer is a work of grace as well as the expression of our faith. But that would require a lot more to explain.

I was curious to know how many people come to Downside on average a year and stay; as the years go by do less people opt for this kind of life? (This question was asked on 24th October 2007.)

I am afraid it is very hard to generalise, especially given the small size of the community and the rather sheltered circumstances of the monastery's life - not to mention its rather specialised appeal (!). Two years ago we had two people came as postulants two years ago, one of whom has stayed into simple vows.
Over the last two years, we have had three young people stay here for one or two months for the experience of living in a monastic community. I believe this is something that can help people discern their vocation more clearly now that there are often few positive helps to do so in the world at large. Of course, if there is a monastic vocation there it will often take some time to mature, and some of these were from abroad, so I expect if they do take further steps it will be in their home countries.

I don't know if you have followed our website much. But two years ago we also started a more definite exercise in order to reach out to people who undoubtedly have vocations, but who either don't know much what to do about it or are unlikely to come across Downside. I believe that Downside has immense resources that need young people whom we have never really been in contact with to engage with and utilise for the good of the Church. I really believe that the Church needs monastic life and that monasteries just have never really known how to get themselves known. So we started the website properly and a series of vocations retreats.

The results of this have been encouraging. There are over a dozen young and youngish people who are in some sort of serious vocational contact with us, and have visited us. We have accepted three applications for the postulancy this year who, if all goes well, will become novices next summer. One and possibly two are in the process of applying for the following year.

How many will actually stay even for long is another question. The conventional wisdom is that even 50% survival rate to profession (after one year's novitiate) is good enough. That raises questions about selectivity at the outset, but I really do think it is impossible to predict too much - there are too many factors involved at a very personal and spiritual level, let alone extrinsic ones. The important thing is that people who are seriously concerned about seeking God actually give it a real go.

It is also important to accept that many people may have a vocation to try their vocation. The kind of certainty that you need to make a go of things only ever comes with the attempt to try things out. It is true fewer people give it a go, but they are often better motivated, and more generous in their readiness to make personal sacrifices for the sake of the Gospel.

I am very interested in the monastic way of life but being in my early 20s feel that I would not be taken so seriously as slightly older men? (This question was asked on 21st October 2007)

The twenties are a very good age to be thinking about monastic life. You would certainly be taken seriously, though I hope you can laugh at yourself! It is true that vocations often seem to come from people in their early 30s, and our youngest monk (at the moment) is 35, but one or two in their 20s have been expressing a desire to try their vocation at Downside, as well as one or two who are still at school.

I know that age differences like this can seem a big thing for younger people, more so than for older ones, but I really think that we are a very welcoming community and everyone gets a lot of respect and kindness. What is important is that a person is able to begin a search for God in the monastic way. So the important thing for each of us is not our age, so much as the fact that we know we are in the midst of brethren who are fellow travellers on the monastic path, who can give us support and companionship on the way.  

I find many people profess to be a Christian inside the church but behave differently. I also have difficulty accepting the different denominations. Why have so many? Either you believe and go to church or you don't believe. I have very strong views that everyone should be accepted at church regardless of who they are and faith should not be separated into different denominations. What do monks think of this? (This question was asked on 23rd September 2007)

I rather sympathize with your problem. It would be a great help if people were more hesitant in expressing judgements and when they did not over-generalise them. A result of this kind of problem over the centuries has, of course, been that the Church has fragmented - and that is definitely not what Christ wanted. In fact many communities are sincerely trying to heal the divisions - though others feel that this is much less important than getting people into their kind of church and sharing their kind of views.  However the only way forward is through sincere discussion, which includes disagreement, in order to reach the truth. Truth will always, like God, be greater than our little minds, however wise and loving we are; but we also believe that our minds grow in our attempt to reach the truth. The real problem is when people refuse to discuss, and condemn. I think there is generally something going wrong there.  But we are not saints and not super-wise; and we are certainly not patient. This means we end up with a Church (and churches) that look rather like the ones you seem to have come across. And very few of us can really say we are much good at practising what we preach, even if we can get quite good at putting on a good show. But then that is the sort of people Jesus was dealing with all the time. It is why he says he came, to save sinners. It is just as well we have to put our faith in him. And because he promised to be with us until the end of time, we can put our faith in the Church too - but not because of any virtue of our own, only because of what we let him do through us. Try to be patient and ready to understand. Keep a sense of proportion and a good sense of humour. We all need forgiveness. And trust that you have a contribution to make.

Why does the Rule of St Benedict remain such an important legacy from the early Church? (This question was asked on 13th July 2007)

To attempt a short answer, I would say three things. First, the Rule of St Benedict is a kind of wellhead for a much earlier and more diffuse monastic spirituality. The value of this tradition of wisdom would take a long time to go into, but you can get an idea of the point from books about 'desert spirituality'. One is Henri Nouwen's 'Way of the Heart', or Rowan Williams' 'Of Silence and Honey Cakes'. 

Second, the Rule combines this monastic wisdom with a sense of community life and worship which led to the construction of the kinds of monastic buildings we see around the country so often in ruins as well as in many of the great Cathedral churches of England. Over the Middle Ages Benedictine monasteries became closely involved in the development of Christian Europe by education and missionary work, as well as other cultural activities, and agriculture. The Rule sees a close (if critical) relationship between itself and local society. 

Third, the Rule provides a framework for ordinary life which is an excellent way to learn how to connect prayer and life, as well as discovering a balance between personal and public prayer, between silence and the language of worship.  

Do you believe God can change time? (This question was asked on 22nd September)

This is a fiddly question, and I think a lot depends on the context that gives rise to it. If God creates time and space and the material order, and if God himself is outside of time and does not change, but is always and eternally himself, I don't think it makes sense to believe that God can change time. It would mean he himself changes, creating one thing and then another. And I certainly don't believe God can turn the clock back. One of the things about creation is that we have to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions. There could be no morality otherwise. But I certainly believe, for the reasons give above, that God always enables good to come out of evil, that he gives new chances to redeem time. I think that is the really important thing. For me, it is what salvation and the Gospel of Christ are all about.  

Do you need an educational background to become a monk: after all a monastery is a school of the Lord’s service? (This question was asked on 17th March 2007)

Not in the normal sense. A monastery is a school where monks learn to serve the Lord in whatever way that may be. At Downside we do have a school, and a monk who was able to work there would find it an excellent way to grow in the knowledge and love of God - it is a real asceticism too. But it is not the only thing we do, and many communities do very different things than teach.

On the other hand a monk does need some education for his own spiritual profit. A monk should feel at home with books, and want to read them to grow in his knowledge of the faith and his ability to share that faith with others. But it all depends on his natural talents. Not everyone can be a Thomas Aquinas.

Do you think the values and spiritual practices that underlie monastic life - humility, obedience, contemplation, community etc are those that a wider society could adopt - or does this require too much personal sacrifice to expect non-monks or nuns to readily accept? How could a political party or community leaders help their communities to see that your way of life is valuable outside the walls of a monastery? (This question was asked on 23rd February 2007)

This is a very profound question. In principle I would want to say ‘yes’: these monastic values are there because they take us to the heart of human flourishing, which is what any society should seek to promote. Yes, too, they demand a lot of sacrifice; but that is part of flourishing: we do not hear much nowadays about the sacrificial demands of patriotism, to take an extreme case.

But, as I guess you have suspected, there is another side to the discussion. First, a monastic community is a voluntary association (founded, of course, on life time commitments). This means that everyone in it basically agrees on the values and wants to participate in promoting them at whatever cost to themselves.

Second, a monastic community is a far simpler society than in the big, wide world. It is more like an ancient city state, where people can pretty well know each other and know each other’s capacity to contribute to the goals of that society, and those goals are pretty well understood and shared by all, and are more immediate than the way we might be able to describe the ultimate goals of a contemporary civil society. So it is much easier for monks to organise the entire enterprise and undertake to realise its achievement.

Moreover a monastery, whatever its other commitments will have an extremely simple goal in the worship and pursuit of God; everything is subordinated to and dependent on that. It would be, I think, very hard to have such a radically simple goal in civil society – even if there were no problems about religion – because civil society has to address so many other aims at different levels too.

The third problem derives from this. Modern society is typically not a religious or theocratic society; since the Middle Ages there has been a tendency to distinguish the secular and the religious, and even in the most Catholic of worlds to separate the secular and the religious power. Since the French Revolution (and before, I expect) this division of powers has become quite radical, even pitting the two against each other. And then there is the modern phenomenon of multi-culturalism. This is not unproblematic, but it is a major issue that modern society has to address. Some even see it a virtue to the extent that fundamental religious values are believed to have no part to play in civil society at all.

So the answer to your question is not a simple one. My last point though is that a major problem contemporary politics needs to address is the promotion and revival of a sense of community, of common hopes and aspirations, a common ethic and shared understanding of virtue – I also think it needs to retrieve a real sense of respect and reverence for people that comes from a religious sensibility (people of different faiths do not seem to have the problems getting on with each other when their religious life is alive and active). A monastery does demonstrate what it can take to bring people together and live as one heart and mind. I agree with you that there might well be something politicians can learn from that – and the rest of the population as well.

I would like very much to try and adopt Benedictine Spirituality into my every day life. This is sometimes difficult with working and all other family and community commitments. Can you suggest ways in which I can make the Rule part of my daily existence? (This question was asked on 6th February 2007)

For monks, prayer goes hand in hand with a working life in community. It is actually a very busy and demanding life, so it is not just praying. The valuable thing is finding how it all fit s together into a coherent and fulfilling whole. People often talk about balance, which is part of it, but it is hard work.

Prayer is all-important to make our life make sense as a search for God and a desire to live our lives thankfully and generously. Prayer has a routine side to it – like most relationships. But normally when people reckon they are bored, it says more about the person who is complaining than anything else. I discussed the matter of routine and boredom in another response some months ago, dated July 4th 2006. The thing that matters is realising that the routine is a source of life.

Don’t you ever get bored, just praying? I know it is good to praise God, creator of heaven and earth. But don’t you wish you could do something else? (This question was asked on February 5th 2007)

It would take a very long answer to deal with all the possibilities. The best thing would be to get a copy of the Rule with some simple and sensible notes and slowly read the section appointed for each day (or a suitably short piece) every day, and let it start you thinking how it addresses you and how it invites you to reconsider your outlook. The other suggestion I have is that you try to build some simple but regular pattern of prayer into your day (even if it is while washing up or whatever), and especially that you find out about Lectio Divina.

There are some short books on Benedictine spirituality that can help orientate you, and you could explore resources aimed at Oblates. Oblates are generally people very much like you, who try to live out their everyday lives in the spirit of the Rule of St Benedict. But above all find simple things you can do, and don't get depressed by what you cannot manage - and be flexible - find something which will work most of the time, something you can keep coming back too, even though there are days when you are not really in control!