What is life like in a monastery?

Answer 1

The monastic's followed Benedict's "Rule" or instructions. The instructions were 1. poverty 2. chastity 3. obedience. Monks or monastics spent their lives praying, attending services, and working int the monasteries. They attended 8 services a day.

Answer 2

The activities you mainly do as a monk in a monastary is working to keep the monastary running (Such as farming, raising livestock ex.), pray/go to Mass. There are occasional times where you play games such as soccer or Basketball.

Primarily, you pray and contribute to the monastary (Such as fixing things, painting pictures, making other types of art, cutting the grass e.t.c)

You should visit one day, the monks are very friendly, but don't go right indoors in the monastary, you probably need leave before doing so.

Answer 3

That depends if you look at it from a modern viewpoint, or if you try to see it through medieval eyes.

From a modern point of view it was a repetitive, lonely, boring and humiliating life without access to family or friends, with the same kind of routine every single day, with the same kind of food served at every meal, with few opportunities to even speak to another person, where every sin must be admitted and punished, where possessions, ambition and all thoughts of "self" did not exist. Very few modern people would be able to live that lifestyle for more than a few days.

From a medieval viewpoint, it was devoting oneself entirely to God, putting God first and self last, giving up the world and living apart and secluded from the sins and temptations of life. It was a step on the ladder to a place in Heaven; it was a secure, safe and enclosed environment with a guaranteed bed, work and food (which could not be said for many people outside the precinct); it provided sanctuary from temptations, guaranteed medical treatment, education and a feeling of community - even if speech was not permitted at certain times.

Lack of sleep was a major feature of the life of any monk. They went to bed immediately after the final service of each day (Compline), at around 8.20 pm. They got up again, having slept fully dressed, to go into the church for Matins and Lauds at around midnight or 2 am. Then back to bed and up again for washing and preparing for the first daylight service (Prime) at around 6 am. Then there were more services around every 3 hours; in between were periods of study and work.

Each monk was permitted to have one religious book from the library per year and he was expected to not only read it but understand and interpret it - and apply its teachings to his own life. Work periods might be spent in the kitchen, bakery, brewery, gardens, tending bee skeps or fish ponds, writing in the scriptorium, assisting the infirmarer in the infirmary, the cellarer in the stores or the hospitaller in the guest house - or any of many more tasks. Tasks were allocated on a weekly basis, so each monk would rotate among many different types of work.

Whatever he was doing, when the bell for a church service rang he must leave it immediately and hurry to the church choir and take his place in seniority order.

Every mistake, every time he was late or fell asleep in a service, every broken or lost item, every evil thought must be confessed each day at the Chapter meeting, in front of the entire community. The punishment was often harsh, but must be accepted without argument.

In the 12th century there were often more men wanting to become Benedictine monks than there were places available. Religion meant far more to people then than it does today - it was real, certain and unquestioned.