Monk's Corner
Episcopal News Service. June 15, 1978 [78169]
The Rev. Roy E. Waywell, OHC
"They devoted themselves to the apostles' instruction and communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. A reverent fear overtook them all, for many wonders and signs were performed by the apostles. Those who believed shared all things in common; they would sell their property and goods, dividing everything on the basis of each one's need. They went to the temple area together every day, while in their homes they broke bread. With exultant and sincere hearts they took their meals in common, praising God and winning the approval of all the people. Day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved!" (Acts 2:42-47).
I suppose that if any one part of Scripture were used to give authority for the Religious Life it would be the above passage from the Acts of the Apostles. Being a Christian is a community affair. It is not possible to be a Christian and be separated from the Church. In the primitive Church this communal aspect of being a Christian was obviously, as now, expressed in common worship, in coming together for the Eucharist and for the prayers.
But also, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, it was expressed in the sharing of property and goods with each other and taking meals together. Today, most Christians do not have the opportunity to live the communal life of the primitive Church, to break bread together daily and to share their goods and property. But we still have this communal aspect in our common worship. The new rite of the Mass, with lay people taking a more active and proper part in the celebration, emphasizes that the Mass is something that Christians are doing together.
So Christians today of all kinds, with different ethnic backgrounds, and differing points of view politically (and sometimes theologically), come together as a community to worship together and share some of their life together. We join with each other in our common pilgrimage, worshiping Our Lord and serving Him in all people. Christians are called to holiness which is wholeness of life, called to become the person God created each of us to be.
Now what has all this to do with the Religious Life, you may be asking. Well, it has a great deal to do with it, because the Religious Life is a microcosm of the life of the Church. The Religious Life is the life of prayer in community. That is the primary business of the Church: worship in community. So in monasteries and convents the primary business of monks and nuns is the daily recitation of the Divine Office (that is, Matins and Vespers and the lesser offices), the celebration of the Eucharist, and time for meditation and prayer in private.
Arising out of this work of prayer, many Religious communities express their commitment by running schools or retreat houses, nursing, working among the disadvantaged or as missionaries; but these works are secondary to the primary work which is the worship of Almighty God in community and praying for the needs of the world.
Most monks and nuns make vows, or promises. In the Order of the Holy Cross we make a threefold vow. We promise obedience. In making the promise of obedience, we are promising to obey all lawful commands of our Superior and others in authority, and to obey the mind of the community. As well, it means an obedient offering to God in praise and thanksgiving all of creation, and an obedient willingness to give self away for the sake of Our Lord. In order to do this we must be willing to learn to know our real selves and become the person that God created us to be so that we can offer that self, that person, to Him.
The vow of poverty means that we hold all of our money and property in common and share in the goods of the community. It also means having reverence for creation, and not misusing the world which God has given into our hands.
In making the vow of celibacy we promise not to marry; but this means also a promise to hold in reverence every human being, because in every person is the image of God and we have been called to love and serve all people.
There are all sorts of people in the Religious Life. Ethnic and cultural backgrounds vary, points of view on many subjects differ. And as the Church struggles to live with itself amidst all its differences, so does a Religious community; for it is a microcosm of the life of the Church.
If you want to know more about life in a Religious community, the best way to learn is to visit one. The Anglican Communion has had monks and nuns for over a hundred years; find out from your parish priest the Religious communities in your area. At most Religious Houses, guests are always welcome. Go for a visit; share for a while in that microcosm of the Church, and in the daily life of prayer in community.