I am very much considering joining a monastery in order to live a somewhat solitary life but with others who have the goal of living a simple and dedicated life for God. I want to live honestly and as sin-free as I can. I understand fully that salvation does not come from works but from belief in Jesus Christ and being reborn in the spirit. I just struggle heavily with sin, and believe that a life with minimal distraction would be a very good thing for me. I am only 18 and live in Texas, I don’t know what I need to do in order to become, I suppose it would be called, a monk. If anyone has information on what the requirements are and where I might go to fulfill this desire, I would very much appreciate it.
Do you belong to an Anglican church? If so I'm sure your rector could direct you appropriately. Given you're young and appear to be a little uninitiated in these things, I feel it worth highlighting just how solitary a monk following a first order rule is in the modern world before you go seeking down this path and find information oddly sparse. The monastic life has always been solitary, but in todays globalised world it can appear to be a lot more so. I would expect there to only be a handful of Anglican monks within each order in the US, and for some orders you may be the only monk following that rule in your entire country. For those orders with a community not all of them will be 'cloistered' (live in a monastery). This isn't unusual, but it will be a lot more visible how solitary your pursuit of a monastic rule truly is given how connected the world is today. I'm sure your rector will give you solid advice, but generally speaking I'd suggest you reach out to a monastery for a retreat and get a feel for what it truly means to follow a given rule. See if this "life free of distraction" is deeply meaningful to you - spiritually and personally. As for what specific advice we could give you on this forum, we would need a hint first on where to look. Do you have any feelings on what monastic order you are being called to? The vocational pathway for each differs, and the lives they live differ even more. I'm assuming you're male, so the orders available to you within the Anglican tradition are: Order of St. Benedict/The Holy Cross: A superficial glance tells me that the monasteries in the US are in New York, California and Michigan. This is from a quick google, so there may be others. Cistercian Order: They are uncloistered in the Anglican Communion, but there is a non-denominational monastery in North Carolina if that Benedictine tradition calls to you. I also assume some Anglican Cistercians cloister in Benedictine monasteries, but I don't know much about the American situation. Dominican Order: It would appear in the US the Order is centralised under the "Anglican Order of Preachers". I cannot find any Dominican monasteries in the US. Society of St. Francis: The Society of Saint Francis website tells me there are three monasteries in the US - two in California and one in New York. All three are urban monasteries, it doesn't appear there is a Franciscan hermitage in the US (although urban does not mean it's not solitary). Vincentian Order: Anglican Vincentians are dispersed, and I'm not sure if there are any Vincentians in the US. Society of St. John the Evangelist: The US monastery is based in Massachusetts. EDIT: In my googling I've also discovered another Anglican order - the Order of St. Cuthbert. It does not appear that they have a monastery. Of course one can always follow a rule, and become a monk without living in a monastery. There's plenty of spiritual fulfillment to be found outside a cloister.
Very good, I suggest that you reach out to your local bishop and see what options you have.. I hear that in Fort Worth the diocese is very large and has strong relationships with several monastic/ascetical communities, so you should be in good hands
We are in the world, but we are not of the world. You're feeling the dissonance. I would recommend spending at least 2-3 years working a secular job and finding ways to serve your fellow man in your off hours, before actually entering monastic life. It will give you valuable experience and perspective. Just my 2 cents.
Anglican monasteries are fairly unsuccessful in the US. I know lots of monks but few monasteries. There's one in Newport News, Virginia and one in Michigan. I think there's one under construction in Kansas. There was one in Florida but since brother Monty died last year, I'm not sure of the status of that place.
I do not think a monastery would accept you. I believe they would say your reasons for joining are wrong. If you have problems then you must face those problems. A monastery is not a place from which to hide from them. Any monastery, indeed any religious community, is going to be looking at you to see if you have a genuine vocation to their community and that you're willingly and freely answering that vocation.
Raised a Welsh Baptist, I became, at the age of fifteen, a Catholic; and remained one for over fifty years. For ten years I was a professed member of the Carmelite Third Order I spent a year with the Carmelite Friars at Hazlewood Castle in Yorkshire (now a hotel); and over a year with the Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey in Leicester, testing a vocation (I was a regular visitor to the Abbey for around seven years before this, and knew the community well). It became clear that life in a religious order was not my calling, and so I became a husband and father (as the Abbey Secretary said to me: ‘Our novitiate is a seedbed of good Catholic marriages!’). I look back at my time with the Carmelites and Cistercians with great affection. Even though I no longer share their doctrinal beliefs I admire their spirituality, and their honest convictions; and their way of life – especially that of the Cistercians. Three comments made in this post deserve especial praise. The first (by Rexilion): ‘I would recommend spending at least 2-3 years working a secular job and finding ways to serve your fellow man in your off hours, before actually entering monastic life. It will give you valuable experience and perspective.’ In my day, this was a requirement, not only for the cloistered Orders, but also for all other Religious Orders and Congregations. An eighteen-year-old – with limited experience of adult life – would not meet this requirement. However, practices may well have changed. This is something you would need to check out. The second is from PDF: ‘I do not think a monastery would accept you. I believe they would say your reasons for joining are wrong. If you have problems then you must face those problems. A monastery is not a place from which to hide from them.’ The Trappist Thomas Merton wrote: ‘The first and most elementary test of one’s call to the religious life – whether as a Jesuit, Franciscan, Cistercian or Carthusian – is the willingness to accept life in a community in which everybody is more or less imperfect.’ (‘The Seven Storey Mountain’). For sure, there are less occasions for sin in a monastery than exist in the ‘world’; however, one does not join a religious community simply to avoid sin. One joins in order to love and to serve God in a particular manner, according to the specific Rule of that Community. The third is also from PDF: ‘Any monastery, indeed any religious community, is going to be looking at you to see if you have a genuine vocation to their community and that you're willingly and freely answering that vocation.’ Absolutely. In my day, one was required to spend at least a year in the Community, living its life to the full. There is a two-way assessment process: They assess you; and you assess them, and their way of life. No vows are taken, and one is free to leave (or to be asked to leave) at any time. I suggest you first decide what Community attracts you, and then contact their nearest Abbey. If it has a guest-house (and it almost certainly will) then contact the Guest Master, and arrange a short stay – say, a week or so). While you are there, ask to speak to the Novice Master; and be sure to discuss your feelings fully and openly. Depending on how this goes, ask if you can join the Monks at their daily Office (be prepared to attend the Church at around 3am each day!); and if you can help out with basic chores (cleaning, for example). This may not be possible on a first visit; but on subsequent visits, the chances are good. Several visits will give you an appreciation of the life. Speak with the Novice Master on each occasion. For sure, he will speak of you to the Abbot – who may well meet you himself. Keep in mind your age. And be prepared to visit the Community over several years. If things go well, you may – eventually – be invited to join the Community as a Postulant. I hope this helps.
thank you all for your replies. I will take each of your comments into consideration. I have another question, and I hope this is not rude: why do the Anglican churches have people dressed up in capes and hats and treated like they are something more than human? I hope that is not a rude question
However — if we look beneath what he posted on the surface, our brother is trying to find escape from the world; temporary, its true, so not a genuine call to lifelong monasticism, but nevertheless a real and genuine (and valid) hope to silence the cries of the world and achieve inner peace, before he heads back out… and I believe various religious communities have a residence programs; where a weary traveler may come and stay for a few months; so you just have to inquire and ask, I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility
Not at all; they are only human, but we just have reverence for the function of The Church, which they serve in our lives
How could the clothing issue be a rude question? It's a question I once asked my rector! (Come to think of it, he might not be an ordinary mortal, since he enjoys drinking Guinness Extra Stout. Who can stand that stuff?? ) Well, look, they have to wear something, right? (I mean, we wouldn't want them to show up naked. ) In choosing what to wear, the clergy see value in dressing differently than the laity to signify that they have dedicated their lives to answering the call of full-time service (i.e., "ministry") to a community of Christians. I have never gotten the impression that Anglican clergy are trying to present themselves as "more than human" (although when I was growing up in the Roman church I definitely did get that impression). It's more like they're saying, "We've been called and set apart by God for a leadership position, and we dress differently so everyone can tell who we are." It was a long-time custom, too, for people to wear their "Sunday best" when going to church because they "go to visit God at His house", and the clerical garments are the cleric's "Sunday best" clothes. (Nowadays folks show up in jeans, shorts, you name it... and even some Protestant pastors wear jeans and a polo shirt... but it wasn't that way prior to 40-50 years ago.) I don't think they're trying to say, "We're better and more holy than you," although they do want to say, "I was summoned by God to this job, and in recent centuries this particular garb has become the customary and traditional uniform for people who do this job, so I wear it." A good portion of Anglicans expect to see their rector wear that sort of stuff, and they don't want to disappoint the parishioners. My rector told me that he wears the clerical collar when out & about for the simple reason that it serves as an invitation for ministry opportunities. He (and the deacon, too) often have people come up to them and start asking questions about God, asking for prayer, etc. He says the collar is a huge 'door opener.' Actually, our rector (who is an archdeacon btw) usually wears a plain white alb with cincture (rope around the waist) and stole (scarf-like thing). On special days like Easter Sunday he'll wear a nice cope, but he does so reluctantly because he gets too hot with it on. The acolytes and chalice bearer will don a black cassock and white surplice, and they're ordinary folks too. When I was asked if I'd like to be a chalice bearer I replied no, I don't want to wear one of those frilly looking white things. It must be my RC experiences getting in the way.
A couple of brief articles on the vestments. From a low perspective: https://www.saintpauls.net/what-are-the-anglican-vestments/ And high: https://www.moosoneeanglican.ca/anglican-vestments-clericals-explained/ In a high church ordination service their will be an acclamation at the presentation of each piece of the ordinands attire and the presentation of the Gospel (for deacons) and the Bible and Chalice (for priests) and the crozier/staff (for bishops).
I can only answer questions people pose. It is not for me to try and guess what their underlying reaons may be. The OP asked about becoming a member of a monastic community. Nonetheless, as acceptance as what many monasteries call an alongsider is not guaranteed I am not sure he'd be accepted for that. Monasteries do not see themselves as places in which we can run away from the world. However, he can, of course, apply to monasteries for this purpose. There is no harm in him asking.
That's actually one of the original purposes for monasteries and monasticism. Many of the Desert Fathers and early monks were sent into the desert to become monks because they couldn't stop sinning in the outside world (a number even wrote that they ran away from the world to the desert). Now modern monasticism has developed and gone far beyond "escaping the world", but avoiding temptation and moving away from the world are still valid parts of monasticism. I'd go as far as saying they are key elements to a growing monastic vocation.
Try this link. It's UK based, rather that USA, but well worth a look. It is possible (maybe even probable) that American Cistercians follow the same practices re. Membership, etc. I suspect that is the case. https://cistercianorder.com/me-a-cistercian/
Then an aspirant presenting themselves with those reasons is going to find himself keep being told, 'no'.