I was talking with one of the postulants here at Mount St. Bernard's Abbey. Whilst he is much younger than I am I found out we had something in common about our vocational journey. When we were younger we assumed vocation=priesthood. We did not know why someone would join a religious community, much less a monastery. We did not even know what questions to ask to try to make a determination
If you are a man or a women wondering if you could have a monastic vocation there are questions you can ask yourself:
Do I love Christ, and do I want to follow him closely?
Would I benefit from living with others trying to follow Christ in the same way?
What are my feelings about Liturgy: Mass and the Divine Office?
Liturgy is nice but there is more important work to do
Liturgy is nice, but let’s balance it with our apostolate
Liturgy is a way to offer God proper worship, and St. Benedict says we should prefer nothing to it.
The first answer I would say is a counter-indication of a monastic vocation. The second answer might be an indication of a quasi-monastic vocation or a vocation to a teaching monastery. The third answer is more along the lines of a more enclosed community.
I must run to Compline. I will post more on this topic tomorrow.
God Bless You.
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