The monk lives as an angel in this world – detached from material goods and with a spirit that is in a constant state of prayer.
At least that’s the ideal.
The reality is that attaining to the ideal requires an amount of work that most of us cannot bear. Not many people will attempt the monastic life, and far fewer people will stick with it.
The life of a monk is far from easy. I’ve had young men ask me about joining a monastery because they hoped to sit around all day reading and having deep talks with others. But the monastic life is far from a vacation. In this article, I want provide you with what the daily life of a monk looks like and how you can prepare yourself for it.
A Day in the Life of a Monk
Every monastery differs regarding their schedule and exact duties. I’ll write here about what I’ve witnessed, which will give you an idea of what a monastic’s daily schedule might look like.
4:30am – Wake up. 5:00am – Morning church services. 7:30am – Coffee and morning prayers in your cell. Silence until 9am. 9:00am – Morning work period begins. 12:00pm – Sixth Hour and lunch. 1:30pm – Work period resumes. 5:00pm – Small vespers then dinner. 6:30pm – Evening services (which can be anywhere from one to three hours). 8-9pm – Retire to your cell, read, pray, sleep a bit, then start over the next day.
Ten Ways to Prepare Yourself
If you looked at the above schedule and thought, “With God’s help, I think I could do that,” then please read on.
In addition to the obvious (going to all the church services you possibly can and going to confession regularly), I also recommend the following ten steps:
Talk to your father confessor. Obedience is of the utmost importance in the life of a monk. If your spiritual father doesn’t think you’re ready for it, then you should be obedient. It takes a whole lot more than excitement or new-convert zeal to last more than a few months in a monastery.
Begin living a monastic schedule. You may have to work up to these things over a period of a few weeks or months, but here’s the goal:
Mornings: Wake up every morning at 5am and begin a prayer rule consisting of either Matins or a mixture of services (1st and 3rd Hours, one or two Kathismas, and the Morning Prayers from a prayerbook). Here’s an online Horologion to help. You should aim for an hour of prayer. Also, read a chapter from the New Testament or at least the daily scripture readings. If you eat breakfast, it should be something light.
Lunch: Complete the 6th Hour and then eat.
Evenings: Complete the 9th Hour and then eat dinner. Clean up and then begin your evening prayers: Small Compline and/or Vespers, a Kathisma, and the Evening Prayers.
Reading. If you have any downtime in the evenings, do some edifying spiritual reading that focuses on the monastic life and repentance. The modern works of St. Paisios, St. Joseph the Hesychast, and others are a good place to start. Also, The Arena by St. Ignatius was written for monastics. If you finish those and are looking for more, you can find a monastic reading list here.
Eating. You should begin eating like a monk, which means no more meat and sticking to the fast rules strictly. It also means no overeating. Eat just enough that you’re no longer hungry. If you’re unable to keep a monastic diet, or you don’t really ever fast, then you may need rethink becoming a monk.
Serving. A monk lives in constant service to his monastery and abbot. You can begin practicing a life of service in your church. Clean the toilets, mop the floors, clean the windows, clean liturgical items (with a blessing), and stick around after coffee hour to clean up. If you live at home with your parents, treat them as your abbot and eagerly perform any task they give you with “Yes, sir” or “Yes, ma’am.”
Visiting. Begin visiting monasteries that interest you. Spend a few days to a week there and see what the life is like. Before you visit, let them know you are interested in the monastic life and are checking out different monasteries. They may be able to arrange for you to meet with a priest-monk so you can learn more and so they can get to know you.
Cutting distractions. As you can see from the suggested schedule above, you’re going to be quite busy. I made the above schedule with the working man in mind (or someone who is in school). If you decide to join a monastery, I would recommend you begin “detoxing” from the digital life now:
No gaming – Cut video games out of your life. You definitely won’t be playing those as a monk, and you won’t have time for them either if you’re keeping the above schedule.
No smartphone – You won’t be able to take your smartphone with you into the monastery. Don’t get rid of it yet, but buy a cheap dumbphone (example) and start using that instead.
No YouTube or social media – Cut out the hours of scrolling, watching videos, arguing on Twitter, and whatever else. Try to begin accustoming yourself to life without the internet.
Paying off debt. You’ll need to be debt free. Most monasteries are struggling just to feed their monks and take care of their everyday necessities. They certainly can’t afford to pay off your student loans, credit cards, or any other debt. Even if you do everything that outline here but have student loan debt, they’ll probably ask you to come back when you’re debt free.
Insulating. Isolation is unhealthy, but you should begin to “insulate” yourself with those who edify you spiritually. You’ll need to cut out partying and any other behavior that is unbecoming of a monk. “Aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands,” (1 Thes. 4:11). If you don’t already work or go to school, find a job or volunteer somewhere, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”
Cutting bad habits & preparing mentally. If you smoke or drink, you’ll need to begin cutting those things out. If you need counseling or support for anything from substance abuse to childhood trauma, I would strongly suggest you begin working on those things now. Hardly anyone finds sudden healing in a monastery. You drag all your spiritual and mental baggage into the monastery, but without the distractions of the world to help you cope. What that means is you’ll find the monastic life significantly harder if haven’t begun to deal with your issues now.
Bonus Tip. After publishing this article, a priest friend of mine offered a piece of advice that he’s seen work well for those who plan to go the monastic route: don’t talk about it. Don’t tell others in the parish (other than your priest) so that you don’t become prideful. Let it be a surprise to everyone. The inverse can also happen: after time you either fall in love or you realize you’re not cut out for the monastic life. If you’ve spent months or years telling everyone that it’s your plan, you’re going to feel awkward or embarrassed when it doesn’t work out.
One Step at a Time
By making the above list, I’m not attempting to discourage anyone. But I am attempting to disillusion those who think of the monastic life as a fun vacation with church services. I strongly encourage you to keep the life outlined above (we can call it “The Pre-Monastic Rule for Modern Man”).
You don’t have to do everything all at once. Perhaps, if you normally wake up at 7:30am, you’ll want to back it up to 6:30am, working your way towards 5:00am. If you cut digital distractions out of your life early on, then you probably won’t have much issue getting to bed at a reasonable time so that you can wake up early. It’ll be hard and you’ll be tired, but that’s both the monastic life and married life with children.
What If I Fail?
So, what if you try to do all the above for a few months and fail? First, that’s not a bad thing. The monastic life is extremely difficult. If you give the above “rule” a serious try for a number of months, then there’s a near 100% chance that you’ve become a better person for it. You’ll have consistent morning and evening prayer rules, you’ll fast more, you’ll learn to serve others, you’ll detox from the digital life (at least partially), and you’ll come to know yourself better (which largely entails knowing your shortcomings and limitations). In that sense, you didn’t fail at all.
Knowing yourself is part of the purpose of monasticism. We come to know Christ more deeply first by knowing ourselves. When we know ourselves, we begin to see our sinful habits that distance us from God and (if we choose) we can begin working on those things. Even if you don’t become a monk, incorporating some of these things into your life will make you a much better Christian and future husband or wife.
Final Thoughts
This world needs more monks (and clergy – but that’s a different essay). However, the monastic life is exceedingly difficult and sacrificial. Those who wish to go into it should know what they’re getting themselves into. Not only do you have to battle yourself – your inner monsters and your past – but you also have to battle the demons. The diabolical powers hate everyone, but they especially hate monks. A good monk is actively saving himself, and in the process, lifting everyone up to heaven around him. That’s the last thing the devil wants.
So, be prepared to fight, to fail, to fall, to struggle, and then to get back up and keep going. I’ll give the final word to my former spiritual father, Archimandrite Panteleimon (memory eternal!) from a private conversation we had many years ago:
There are some men who enter the monastery and are moved to tears by the services. Everything is just so beautiful to them, and they feel like they’re floating through it all. Then there are others who feel nothing. But they persevere in prayer, in obediences, and in the church services despite being tired, their back hurting, and their feet hurting. The latter ones are the men who stick with the monastic life in the long run.
Archimandrite Seraphim (Panteleimon). May he rest with the saints!
