Q. What is a Monk?

First and foremost, a monk is a human being. He is a human being who, for his own very personal reasons, has decided to devote his life to prayer and serving God.

But he can't just become a monk. First he becomes a postulant. Postulancy is a trial period where the individual stays in the monastery for 3-6 months, living and working alongside the monks so he can gauge whether monastic life is for him.

The last thing a monastery needs is unhappy monks who wish they were doing something else! So this Postulancy period is a great way of making sure that being a monk is really what the man wants in life.

If he decides after his Postulancy that he still wants to be a monk, he becomes a Novice and is clothed. This means he is allowed to wear a habit and become more like a monk.

His Novitiate may last anywhere from 12 months to 2 years and once it is over the Novice is invited to make his temporary (simple) vows for three years or more. If all goes well, he then makes life long (solemn) vows and some monks go on to be ordained as a Catholic Priest as well.

The monk makes three vows. Obedience: living in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, accepting the guidance of the abbot and community. Stability: staying with the community for life. Conversion of Life: poverty and chastity.

Women who would like to become nuns go through a similar process. However monks and nuns live in apart in separate monasteries.

Q. Why would anyone want to become a monk?

A man decides to become a monk because he feels he has been called by God but, beyond that, there is no single answer to this.

Monks may have fought their own personal demons in their old lives and seen this as a mark of strength which made them realise that they wanted to serve God and become a monk.

Or a young man may have grown up knowing that he wanted to be a monk, just as some children grow up wanting to be a fireman or greengrocer.

However, most monks can remember quite clearly the moment they decided that they wanted to devote their lives to God as part of a monastic community. Like most people can remember where they were when they proposed or were proposed to. It's a defining moment.

Remember, lots of monks were lawyers, accountants, salesman, entrepreneurs or even soldiers. They were regular people like you who have opted to make this extraordinary transition to monastic life.

Q. What do Monks do?

Monks pray. A monk is in a constant state of prayer, expressed in whatever he's doing. Whether he's sleeping, eating, working or in church, monks never stop worshiping God, because God is in absolutely everything they do.

The monastic day is structured with six church services, or offices, which the monk must attend. The first is Matins at dawn, followed by Lauds, then after the morning's work there is a short time for Midday prayer. In this monastery, Mass is in the late afternoon, followed by Vespers in the evening and finally Compline last thing at night.

And it's in these services that our monk will give thanks and pray for those most deserving of God's attention at that time. For example the sick and the poor.

Monks also pray through meditation, an inwardly-focused state of stillness primarily done on one's own. They also do Lectio Divina or sacred reading, where they read the bible in a slow, thoughtful and considered way, absorbing the text and contemplating its true meaning.

When Monks aren't in church, praying or meditating, they have a monastery to run. A community of men, religious or otherwise, can't run itself.

So there is work to be done in the gardens, in the kitchen, washing clothes, maintaining the church and the monastery, as well as the pastoral work of the parish, the school and looking after visitors. It's very hard work, and requires a tremendous amount of discipline to make sure everything is done.

Q. Do Monks have any spare time?

Being a monk is a full-time job. Plus you don't get weekends off, so it's seven days a week.

However monks do get time to themselves. Monks like to walk and read. Some monks like to keep fit by jogging and playing football. Some monks have golf handicaps and enjoy pub lunches. Often monks will travel to other monasteries for holidays or stay with their families for a rest.

Being a monk is not easy and every so often the monks need to get away from it all and recharge their batteries.

Q. What kind of sacrifices does a Monk have to make?

This is difficult question to answer. On the surface, a monk gives up his everyday life to follow God. So he no longer watches television, works or goes drinking with his mates. He has decided to live within a monastic community and must obey the rules of the monastery and those of St Benedict as laid down in The Rule of St Benedict, written 1,500 years ago.

Possibly the greatest sacrifice a monk makes, from an outsider's point of view, is his right to take a wife and have children. He must also refrain from any form of sexual activity if he is to remain pure.

Technically monks live in poverty, so they are not permitted unnecessary possessions. You don't see monks driving around in flash cars for example. Monks don't have money of their own but are given 'pocket money' if they need to leave the monastery.

In this day and age, it's difficult for monks to forego everything, so they need to approach life in a modern way, whilst staying faithful to the traditions of their faith.
As a monk, you're probably not short of all sorts of invitations to go out but these need to be weighed carefully in order to protect the monastic life.

Q. Do Monks get lonely?

Everyone is capable of being lonely. Everyone is capable of feeling down and a bit low. We all have good days and bad days. And if monks were happy all the time, we'd think that a bit strange.

However, the monastic community is a family and a monk views his fellow monks as his brothers. Not to mention the one-on-one relationship he has with God!

So when a monk is feeling lonely or down or depressed there are plenty of people to turn to.

Q. Can monks give up?

Occasionally a monk decides that he no longer wants to be a monk and can return to a life outside. If this happens he cannot return. Monastic vows are not something which should be taken lightly, or something an individual can dip in and out of.

However, the monastery is not there to hold people against their will. An unhappy monk is not good for community living and if he gets to a point where he feels he cannot continue he is free to go and seek fulfilment elsewhere, if he receives a dispensation from the Church authorities. .

Q. What is an Abbey?

An Abbey is a monastery with more than 14 monks. Less than 14 monks and it's called a Priory.

Q. What is an Abbot?

An Abbot is the elected head of the monastery. He is elected for a term of eight years and can be re-elected. He is elected in a secret ballot where the monks vote for the monk they think is best suited to leading the monastery.

Q. Do monks sleep in cells?

Yes they do. A monk's own personal room or space is called a cell and this is where he sleeps and reads and studies away from the Church. The cells are contained within the monastery. Benedictine monks like those at Worth have freedom of movement around the monastery and can go out of the monastery with permission.

In some monasteries, however, the monk will spend virtually all of his time in his cell. The Carthusian monks at Parkminster, for example, have very little contact with each other and the vows of silence are strictly observed. Even their food is delivered to the individual cells through a hatch in the wall, and the monk eats alone at designated times, as well as praying alone behind closed doors.

Q. What is the Bible?

The bible is a very long and intricate document written and adapted over many centuries. In itself it is a history of the world from Creation to Apocalypse.

So if you haven't got time to read the whole thing in your lunch break, why not kick off with our "Bluffers' Guide to The Bible" to get a feel of what The Old and New Testaments are really about. (see Bible for bluffers)