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Becoming a Monk/Vocations
Do you really seek God?
If the answer is yes, then you have made the first step towards both the sincere practice of Christianity and, perhaps, the particular expression of the Christian life known.
What is monasticism?
It is a response, found in various religions under diverse forms, to the human need to stand apart from the frantic pace of the world and explore instead the ultimate meaning of existence. By clearing away the ephemeral clutter of life, the monk hopes to find God — or, rather, allows God to find him.
What is Benedictine monasticism?
Those who follow the monastic way of life as set down in the sixth-century Rule of St. Benedict are called Benedictines. The Benedictine monk engages in the quest for God under the guidance of an abbot, or spiritual father, in a community of like-minded individuals to whom he makes a permanent commitment and with whom he spends his life in prayer and work.
What makes Benedictines different from other Religious Orders?
Benedictines are distinctive from other groups of religious men and women. They do not have a central system of governance, since each house is autonomous. They dedicate themselves to a specific monastic community and remain with the community for life. In their quest for closer friendship with God, they promise obedience to their abbot and to the Rule.
The outstanding characteristic of Benedictine life is the experience of communal living, whereby persons of varying temperaments and talents work and pray together with mutual concern.
What is St. Procopius Abbey?
We are a Benedictine monastic community, founded in 1885 and located in Lisle, Illinois, nearly thirty miles southwest of Chicago. Numbering nearly thirty-five men, we strive to come closer to God through our prayer and our service to the Church, especially in our educational apostolates at Benedictine University and Benet Academy (a college-preparatory high school).
How does one know whether one has a monastic vocation?
St. Benedict begins his Rule with the words, “Listen, my son, to the precepts of the Master; incline the ear of your heart.” One discovers one’s calling in life by opening oneself to God in prayer and listening for His response; often a priest or other spiritual adviser can be of assistance in discerning God's will. Not everyone has a vocation to the monastic life; if you do, God will offer you the means to recognize it.
“My God stands by me, all my trust is in him.”
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