Religious Communities

One major practise within the community is valuing silence. The monks are mainly in silence throughout the whole day, during prayer and work and are only allowed to speak to others for a short period of time. This is because it not only assures solitude for the monk for private intentions but also opens the mind to inspiration from the Holy Spirit and keeps the monk fully concentrated on God alone and listening to his word.

Another practise in the community is silent prayer. This is done 3 – 4 times a day privately and usually lasts for about 30 minutes to an hour each session. It gives the monks a chance to pray for themselves and others and more importantly to reflect with God. They do this to build up and develop their relationships with God and they renounce themselves to be with God, as they believe that this is their vocation. In time they will resurrect from the dead and will eventually reach God in his kingdom.

Another practise of the community is the reflection of scripture. This is known as Lectio Divina (Latin divine lecture), and this involves the monks spending some time every day reading and reflecting on the words of scripture. Some Monks read and reflect with God while others use the time to pray and speak heart to heart with God, bringing before him the hopes and sorrows of the world. Again this builds up the relation between God and the monk so that they are able to become closer together. It is also an imitation of what Jesus did while he was on earth over 2000 years ago; this helps them to understand exactly what Jesus wants them to do.

Another practise within the Community is the liturgical prayer. The monks lay aside their various day to day tasks in order to come together and give their undivided attention to God to praise and give him thanks. The prayer usually consists of psalms, hymns, readings and prayers. They do this as they believe that together with the Eucharist (the source of Christian life), and the whole Church, these times of prayer have a philosophical effect on the monk’s union with God. Through liturgical prayer they sincerely seek God and gradually find and become closer to him. They eventually become part of the whole church and are able to aid others through their prayers.