Beginning Your Own Interior Monastery

Why would anyone want to leave his comfortable life to join a monastery? Thomas Merton provided an insightful response in his autobiography The Seven Storey Mountain. Here was a bright young man with a promising future as an academic and writer who gave up everything to enter Gethsemani Monastery in 1941 to become a Trappist monk. He wrote: “The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions of other men!” Instead, “it was God alone that I was supposed to live for, God that was supposed to be the center of my life and of all I did.” The monastery for him “is a school---a school in which we learn from God how to be happy. Our happiness consists in sharing the happiness of God, the perfection of His unlimited freedom, the perfection of His love.”

I wonder how he would have commented in today’s world where we are bombarded by information and are slaves to technology that allows us to multi-task in every waking moment. We know within seconds what is happening on the other side of the globe and can respond instantly to someone’s message. Yet, are we better off now with more choices and less time to do them? Can we take time from our busy lives for God?

The difference between a monastery and secular life is that the former is centered on uniting with God through prayer and a daily routine. Secular life is often more centered on ourselves and other people, even for dedicated Christians if we are truly honest with ourselves. In my life, I am lucky to find a few minutes to set aside for prayer, read inspiring books or work on the 12 Steps. A few months ago, I was in a state of absolute exhaustion. My doctor ordered me not to work for a day as a result. It was a scary feeling and a wakeup call. Last week, I had surgery which was a second wakeup call. Although I have prayed many times and tried to surrender, I still feel like I am barely surviving through one crisis after another. Maybe, God is telling me that I need to spend more time with Him.

It is not possible to pack up my bags and head to Gethsemani like Thomas Merton. I am strongly committed to my family and career. My house is also chaotic so I cannot realistically adopt a monastic schedule. However, it can be possible to find moments each day to spend with God, create a routine and slowly build an interior monastery. Here are some ideas:

1) Adopt daily contemplative or centering prayer at a regular time which means sitting in a quiet place and emptying your mind of all thoughts to experience the presence of God. Repeating a word helps to achieve this state.  Centering prayer groups advise to do it twice a day for 20 minutes each time. This has been unrealistic in the past so my goal will be once a day in the morning for 10-20 minutes and before reading any emails or Facebook. A good website that discusses this prayer is http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/.

2) Tell myself to slow down during the day especially when I am moving too fast. (A priest in Obregon, Mexico wrote this wonderful piece of advice to conserve peace in your soul).

3) Journal and do some spiritual reading each night.

4) Continue to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet at bedtime and say a 3:00 prayer as much as possible. (My work computer is set up to send me a reminder at 3pm). The divine mercy prayer uses the rosary and was started by St. Faustina who had numerous visions with Jesus during her life.  It focuses on praying for God's mercy for people or places.  (See http://www.thedivinemercy.org/ which provides a comprehensive explanation).  It is also believed that requesting God's mercy is most effective at 3pm when Jesus died so this is the reason to pray at that time.  An alternative prayer (especially for non-Catholics) would be to simply think about people who need God's mercy and pray for them.  I will do this when I go to bed late or am rushed for time.

These are baby steps to a more disciplined, spiritual life. Certainly, attending church more often, going to adoration and living simply can be added, but it is best to do a little at a time. I welcome suggestions from anyone who has taken similar steps. As construction of monasteries took many years, building up this interior monastery will take patience and time.  The goal of a deeper relationship with God is worth the sacrifice.