Monk?

Why do some people become monks? Well, simply put, they have a desire to live life out in a monastic way; they choose to live monastically over and above all the other options available to them. This, though, is a bit like saying the color black is dark; it doesn’t say a whole heck of a lot.

Something happens inside all of us when we come in contact in one form or another with the “it” we’re meant to do, though “do” really isn’t the right verb at all. It’s really who we’re meant to “be” that emerges into consciousness and sends a hum of energy throughout our being when we “see” it for the first time. It happens to all of us when we meet our true love - we know it beyond words; there is no adequate description of it that can be made to others, nor, in the end does there need to be, because if the encounter is real others will see it too and experience the resonance of a person in love.

And monks are lovers, and are called to love unconditionally - God. That something that vibrates within, as if a perfectly still surface of water were suddenly alive with ripples sent out from a center point touched with the tip of a finger, is experienced in different circumstances by men and women “called” to be monks. It might occur while reading a book, walking alone in the woods, sitting at the beach looking at the water rolling in; it could begin by the touch of a word someone might say…at church, at the dinner table, at work. It could happen suddenly or more like a slow, incessant “something” within that simply cannot be ignored. Wherever or however it happens it is a question that needs answering, a pull that won’t stop pulling, a yearning that demands a response.

The classic idea of vocation says we are called by God and we are free to respond or not to respond, and this is so. However, it is so much more beautiful and unfathomable than any formulation can put it, no matter what God speaks us to be, including that of monk. Everyone reading this has or will experience, God willing, their own singular call; it’s woven into the fabric of human destiny. Most won’t experience the pull to live monastically; however, some reading this just might… It’s my guess you know who you are, or at least suspect it.

My suggestion? Pray and be open to God’s invitation even if it scares you to even think about it. The way will be open if you really want to know the answer. Blessings!