Monastic: of or relating to monks and or monasteries.
A monk (Greek: μοναχός, monachos) is a person who practices religious asceticism,
living either alone or with any number of like-
In the Greek language the term can apply to men or women; but in modern English it is in use only for men, while nun is used for female monastics.
Although the term monachos (“monk”) is of Christian origin, in the English language it tends to be used analogously or loosely also for ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds.
The term monk is generic and in some religious or philosophical traditions it therefore may be considered interchangeable with other terms such as ascetic. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable with terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as cenobite, hermit, anchorite, hesychast, solitary.
The word "vocation" comes from the Latin vocare, meaning "to call"; its usage before the sixteenth century, referred first to the "call" by God to the individual, or calling of all humankind to salvation, particularly in the Vulgate, and more specifically to the "vocation to the priesthood,” which is still the usual sense in Roman Catholicism. Martin Luther, followed by John Calvin, placed a particular emphasis on vocations, or divine callings, as potentially including most secular occupations, though this idea was not new.
The idea of vocation is central to the Christian belief that God has created each person with gifts and talents oriented toward specific purposes and a way of life. Particularly in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, this idea of vocation is especially associated with a divine call to service to the Church and humanity through particular vocational life commitments such as marriage to a particular person, consecration as a religious, ordination to priestly ministry in the Church, and even a holy life as a single person. In the broader sense, Christian vocation includes the use of one’s gifts in their profession, family life, church, and civic commitments for the sake of the greater common good.
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St. Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict around 529.
Used as a noun, the term denotes members of a monastery, the Benedictines. By extension it is sometimes applied to other adherents of the Benedictine spirituality, for example, "Benedictine Oblates".
During the next fifteen centuries many more communities were founded, not only for monks but also for nuns, first throughout Europe and eventually also other areas of the world. Eventually the Order of St Benedict emerged. In addition to those communities, a number of other independent monastic groups were founded on the Rule of St Benedict, and so are also Benedictine. These include the Congregation of Cluny, the Cistercians, and the Trappists. Benedictine communities are primarily found in the Catholic Church but several Benedictine communities exist within other Christian communities, though small in number.
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the monks of Assumption Abbey
in Richardton,
North Dakota
Fr. Terrence Kardong, OSB
Monk of Assumption Abbey, Richardton, ND.