Where Is Your Monastery? It Can Be Anywhere.

 As I read the lives of many Catholic Saints, I started to see a pattern. From Saint Therese, Saint Teresa Of Avila, Saint John of The Cross and many others I started realizing something. That even people in Monasteries and  cloisters Nuns all have the same issues and that is people.

You hear stories of people living the religious life in solitude that have the same issues and personalities we have out here in the world.

Nobody is perfect, we all have our imperfections, we are all guilty and nobody is innocent. I read the stories of some of these Saints in seclusion dealing with the same kind of people we deal with out here in the society. Egos, jealousy of each other, envy, hate, bitterness and all the other emotions we all deal with.

People are people everywhere no matter where you are.

You would think that living a life of seclusion that these personality issues would not be present. But they are present just like in the rest of us. So people in religious seclusion are not perfect and deal with the same issues we do. However on a smaller scale.

Instead of dealing with the masses like we do in our daily lives they just deal with maybe 10-20 people or so in the cloister or monastery. Same issues just smaller number of people to deal with.

They are set in seclusion to advance in their spiritual life and to serve GOD only. Some probably do very well and some fail miserably.

However we are all brought into this life to advance spiritually to make it back home to heaven.

Which brings to the point of all of this. Even Saint Francis De Sales said, “we can all become saints right where we are in life with whatever occupation we do,” Basically saying you don’t have to be a Monk or a Nun. Of course there are certain people who choose that life and that is fantastic.

However then I started realizing we can grow in our spiritual life anywhere at any time. One of the best spots in life and the hardest is a work. We spend 8 hours or more at work with people we would probably not spend time with outside of work.

Some people are annoying, hateful, greedy, self centered and the list goes on. And this is where most of our spiritual work can be done. At work is where the rubber hits the road. How do I treat people around me whom I particularly don’t like? 

This is the true test of your spiritual fitness.

So I now look at my job as a kind of Monastery where I can put into practice the faith I learn about in Church and in the readings I do about Saints and the faith. I can actually achieve peace and solitude at work which is no small task.

Everyone around me is a spiritual lesson and teacher. If I am having a bad day it is me who is not spiritually ready for that day. And there are some days when nothing can touch me or agitate me. It is not everyone around me it is how I am dealing with everyone around me.

So work has become the perfect place to grow spiritually. My own little Monastery.

It could be at work, running errands, at play, leisure or any other life activity.

Even better the world and life as a whole is a spiritual practice a sort of Monastery, where we are sent to grow spiritually.

So where is your monastery?