No Fixed Abode

We watched a fascinating television programme last called The Monastery. Five everyday blokes had signed up to spend something like 6 to 8 weeks living in a Roman Catholic Monastery. The monks live by the Rule of St. Benedict; sort of a guide to life, living in community (and or a monastery) and to many it holds a treasure of spiritual wisdom. To watch the, in various cases, profound experiences of these everyday guys fitting into and becoming part of the community was captivating. You could see these people interacting with God for the first time or for others it was like a personal revival of exploration into the spiritual life. I was astonished to see simple scenes where quite clearly the Holy Spirit was at work on people. Then there was the witness of these individuals, stating honestly that the monks’ simple way of life and commitment to the Disciplines had created space and opportunity for them to open themselves up to an inward journey in search of their self identity, and ultimately to find God.

Tony came in, taking time off from his job in the soft-porn industry, as a non-believer. To listen to his testimony that he woke up one morning not believing but reaching the end of that day “now believing in it, whatever ‘it’ is”, was ace. Tony has been back to visit the monastery on several occasions since leaving.

‘I go through life as a transient on his way to eternity, made in the image of God but with that image debased, needing to be taught how to meditate, to worship, to think.’ Donald Coggan