Christian monasticism has been around for centuries, over one thousand five hundred years, in fact. It has waxed and waned with the passing of time, with high points and low, good times and bad. Fewer today are choosing the monastic path than fifty, seventy or eighty years ago. Communities today tend to be smaller and often older than in the past.
Some might ask: is there a future for the consecrated religious life, and specifically monasticism?
There is no reason to believe that monastic life is coming to an end any time soon, and that those who live it, young or old, should continue to be faithful in seeking God, to persevere and never lose hope in God’s abiding presence, through thick and thin, day in and day out.
Saint Benedict asks that his monks hear the words of Psalm 94 every morning at the beginning of Vigils: “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.”
There is the essence of every vocation, inside or out of the cloister: being attentive to the God who has called us to life, and thereby finding the meaning of life. Choosing to follow God makes all the difference and there can be no better path to take.
Greetings and prayers.
Abbot Christian and the monks
