The Benedictine Tradition

The first monks were Christians who went to the desert to seek God in intense prayer away from the world. They lived as hermits. This way of living produced many saints, including St. Anthony the Great (251-356), considered the founder of monasticism. However, the reclusive life was not for all, and so, in the fourth century, a movement began for more formally arranged intentional monastic communities. Here, members lived a common pursuit of God and could practice charity with one another.

With more formal groupings came a need for a common rule of life, and monastic history during late antiquity was marked by the development of many monastic rules, including those of St. Augustine (354-430) and St. Basil (329-379). Among the many alternatives, St. Benedict’s Rule  was notable for its practical wisdom, its balance and its spirit of tolerance.

It became popular among monks because it was both livable and because it helped people find God. Eventually, it became normative in the West, and St. Benedict  (480-547) is considered the founder of Western monasticism.

Benedictine life today varies in its form from monastery to monastery, and this is the way it should be. Benedictine commitment is local, and monks have a sense of being called not just to be sons of Benedict, but to be monks of a particular house.

Monks make their vows to a certain monastery and pledge their stability there. Conseqently, each monastery develops a bit differently, depending on its location, history, mission and membership. 

Nevertheless, certain activities define every Benedictine monastery. First among these is prayer. At the heart of a monastic vocation is a desire to know and love God. The monastic life is designed to foster this relationship. Monks gather several times daily to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and for Mass. Time and seasons are made holy by the celebrations of the liturgical year.

Monks also engage in private prayer, particularly lectio divina or holy reading, and other forms of personal devotion. It is also common for monks to participate in regular spiritual direction with a senior who helps lead them to God.

Another important aspect of Benedictine life is community. Monks live in fraternity and strive for a life of charity. Benedict uses the images of family, and school, and even military platoon to describe the monastic life, because he means for his monks to approach things as members of a group, looking out for and learning from one another, and helping each other reach a common goal. He devotes much of his rule to the dynamics of relationship. The monks seek God together. It is a common endeavor.

Seeking God is never separate from serving the Church. Despite stereotypes of monasteries as isolated retreats, the reality is that monks have always been engaged in outreach. The establishment of a monastery is a consecration of a particular place and community. From this center, monks work outwards, praying for the world and spreading the Gospel as writers, teachers, preachers and through other kinds of ministry. They also welcome people into spiritual renewal through the monastic practice of hospitality. Much of Europe, for example, was evangelized by Benedictine missionaries, and the tradition of outreach continues today wherever a monastery is found. Monastic life is sometimes characterized as ora et labora, which means prayer and work. In addition to apostolic activity, there is the simple work of daily living to be done. Washing dishes, cooking breakfast, cleaning the church and tending the garden are very important for maintaining the community.

Also, many monasteries have operated farms or cottage industries to help support themselves. Work has an important place in the monastic lifestyle. St. Benedict explains that the tools of the monastery are to be treated like “sacred vessels of the altar.” Ordinary tasks become ways to seek God and serve one another. Many Benedictine abbeys have adopted educational apostolates, such as high schools, colleges and seminaries, as their main line of work. The rich heritage of Benedictine educatio most certainly finds its roots in Benedict’s mandate that monks should spend a good portion of each day reading.

The original monastic schools developed simply in order to teach the monks themselves to read, but they soon developed into cultural and learning centers for their surrounding communities. Over the centuries, more than a few monks have been at the forefront of scholarship, but it is important to note that, for the monk, academic pursuits lie within the greater context of the spiritual life. The love of learning is an aspect of the desire for God.

Visitors to Benedictine monasteries often observe that these places are serene and beautiful. They are so for a reason.

Beauty is an aspect of God and therefore a real monastic value. Medieval monks saw their monasteries as images of heavenly Jerusalem and saw works of beauty as a form of evangelization. Contemporary monasteries are witnesses against cultural forces that insist on the quick and cheap, striving instead for quality. This value can be seen, for example, in monastic art, architecture and liturgy.

Ultimately, Benedictine monks are people who have been called to a deep and prayerful relationship with Christ and who have chosen to seek and serve God as part of a monastic community.

The community, the monastery, exists not for itself, but for the glorification of God and the communication of the Gospel. In the words of the late Fr. Adelbert Buscher, OSB, “The existence of a monastery and of individual monks should be an affirmation of the supremacy of God, the divinity of Christ and the primacy of the spiritual.”