http://tjustinreadsmith.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/is-it-really-a-flaw/ The Scripture, the Sacraments, the Spirit - Anglican Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:25:15 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 http://tjustinreadsmith.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/is-it-really-a-flaw/#comment-36 Carl McColman Sun, 11 May 2008 11:25:36 +0000 http://tjustinreadsmith.wordpress.com/2008/05/10/is-it-really-a-flaw/#comment-36 Yours are excellent questions. Since I am not a monk I can't speak for the monastic community, but my sense is that monasticism has always had a tension between the "singleness" and the "communal" aspects of the life. Benedict, in his rule, is quite harsh in his criticism of monks who shirk the responsibilities of communal life. The monk I spoke with, as recounted in the blog post you've quoted, seemed to understand the "single" aspect of being a monk very much in terms of a vocation to celibacy. He didn't see a contradiction between celibate singleness and communal living: in fact, to him the difference between being an eremite (a celibate hermit) and a monastic lay precisely in the communal dimension of the monastery. I should hasten to add that this particular monk was not in any way opposed to neo-monasticism, he just felt that it represented an a-historical use of the word monastic. But this would hardly be the first time in the history of the church (or humanity!) that a meaning of a word has evolved, and of course the "neo-" prefix keeps everyone honest. Yours are excellent questions. Since I am not a monk I can’t speak for the monastic community, but my sense is that monasticism has always had a tension between the “singleness” and the “communal” aspects of the life. Benedict, in his rule, is quite harsh in his criticism of monks who shirk the responsibilities of communal life. The monk I spoke with, as recounted in the blog post you’ve quoted, seemed to understand the “single” aspect of being a monk very much in terms of a vocation to celibacy. He didn’t see a contradiction between celibate singleness and communal living: in fact, to him the difference between being an eremite (a celibate hermit) and a monastic lay precisely in the communal dimension of the monastery. I should hasten to add that this particular monk was not in any way opposed to neo-monasticism, he just felt that it represented an a-historical use of the word monastic. But this would hardly be the first time in the history of the church (or humanity!) that a meaning of a word has evolved, and of course the “neo-” prefix keeps everyone honest.

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