We become aware through our living how far away from God we meander in our life. And like the child, who we are, we develop, have, a form of homesickness for God, we miss Him, we know we have been away, and our attraction to Him, to return, grows and we turn to the thought of vocation as a way of going home where He is. He summons us in this way, He calls us in this way. It is a good and happy experience.

Likewise, when we are close and in love with Him, our thoughts turn to "How can we be with Him all the time?" Then we think: "What would it be like if I could be with Him all the time? How can I do that? Where can I go?" And we turn to the thought of a vocation, as a way of going home. He summons us. He calls us. We are happy.

Again, we see Him, and, there is just something about Him, we cannot explain it. We enjoy it, the experience. There is something about this Person who is good and kind, loving and caring, protecting, helpful, who seems to bring out the best in us. Yes, we want to be friends if you will, we want to spend time with Him, we want to go where He is; we want to go home. We hear the faint sound of His call in the dark of the night. We are pleased and happy.

We want to obtain God. It is not a search. It is our life’s goal. It is a purposeful act as directed by God through His revelation of Himself as the One God to the Jews and His Rule for living, the written and oral law. And through Jesus, His Son, our Lord and Savior who revealed Himself to all of us in the promise of His Father and the fulfillment of the prophecies and taught us the completeness of the Law and revealed new things to us, redeeming our sins through His blood, the direction continues. We are to obtain salvation. We can only obtain God by the grace of God; but only we can also loose Him.

And we find this attraction in many, many, many people of all sizes and shapes, a rainbow of colors and personalities, of various gifts and skills and ages. But He knows our needs are interdependent and thus we need Community, we need each other. He made us social beings. "Where two or more of you gather together in My Name, I will be there also." We are a people; a family of Catholics. Benedictine Catholics.

Now, God knows this interdependence has great expansion. This is why there is attraction to other vocations. Some people like mechanics, others agriculture, others mathematics, medicine, carpentry, history, law, plumbing, real estate, counseling, military, selling, manual labor, philosophy, teaching, flying, driving and on and on; all are needed. What is more, people have the ability to do these things and if they are fortunate people get do the things they like. They are happy. Those who do not grow must eat, and those who grow need medicine, and a mechanic. All need and want God whether they know it or not. You may be called from one of these lay vocations into the religious life; it happens all the time

 This is why one is attracted and called to one of the lay vocations and another is attracted and called to a religious vocation. Those not called to a religious vocation, for the better good, have the same attractions to God but find their way home differently. They have a dual purpose. You know, by the Grace of God and our acceptance of that grace, there go I.

Putting the Spiritual Life first, to meet the need and want to obtain God, the need and want of His love and His permanent presence, St. Benedict wrote the Rule which if followed, over time, willingly, deliberately, and with seriousness of purpose and dedication will bring men in all three states of attraction to obtain God, obtain salvation; and in Community, assist and be assisted in the same by our brother monks. Pursuing God personally, but with the Abbot and a brother monk just around the corner.

Yes, we give up some of what some may at first understand as personal freedoms and possessions. But when we give something up freely, are we really giving it up? Is it really a sacrifice? Who has done something for you which has cost them something? What have you done for another which has cost you something? Have you done something willingly though it cost you? And have you not paid this cost at times over a long period and then found out This thing you are paying for is a good thing, it is worth it though you did not know it at first? This giving up has many names, we can call it self-denial, but most often the traditional word is "Asceticism".

 So you enter a Benedictine environment where you willingly agree to give up certain freedoms and responsibilities, to be relieved of them, to be trained in Community, if you will, in a way of life proven for 1500 years, for many, to be the way for them to obtain God, as monks, as priests or brothers. You are given different responsibilities all with the same goal. Gradually you gain the acuity and the wanting to not be bothered by superfluous things and dedicate yourself to your new way of life, the Mass, the Sacraments, prayer and work, fellowship and those new responsibilities. And as your asceticism grows, you detach more and more from that from which you have been relieved and likewise are able to concentrate and dedicate yourself more and more to obtaining God, to holiness.

St. Benedict, the master of the monastery, understood this. He created the Rule, what we now call The Rule of St. Benedict. The Rule of St. Benedict is a way of life so that each man may begin to better put on Christ and to do so better and better as his life as a Benedictine monk progresses. This Rule became a model for all time.

St. Benedict knew, as you do, how the mind works. With nothing to do, the mind wanders and starts to think about all matter of things, some good, some not very good. The mind thinks about its problems, all the world problems. Things about which you can do nothing but talk, things you cannot fix and things you will not trust to others, and yes also about enjoyable things as well, but many of which do not add sustenance to your soul. None, of which, is helpful to your goal, to obtain God, to obtain salvation. We also do things not helpful and are distracting to obtaining God and salvation and possess things of the same character.

It may sound strange or contradictory to say that we might not want to do what we willingly devoted ourselves to do. But the body sometimes does not want to get up in the morning, but it does anyway; it gets tired sometimes and wishes to rest but goes on anyway; does not feel like praying but will; does not like a particular task that must be done but it does for the better good; has friction with another body but puts on Christ and tries to act like Christ. The mind may not feel something is the better thing to do, but it requires the body to do so because you made a promise of obedience, it is not your decision, you may not always know all the facts, it may not be your responsibility to know the facts. This willingness and habit, this becoming accustomed to and making and overcoming these daily challenges is also part of asceticism. They are good things to do and you conclude they are worth it for the life you have chosen so as to be closer to God. You are at peace.

Unless the thing is morally wrong, as the Church teaches, you do these things, just like you do at your job now. Only you have an even higher responsibility to do the very best job you can. Those superfluous worries and problems we talked about, trust in God that it is the Abbot’s job by right and those who may have responsibility over you, to worry about such things. If you are called upon to worry about such things, start then, not now. With respect to these many things of the world in the lay life which you do not need but you wanted at one time, the process of moving you completely away from these things to that of God, which you now really want, need and may struggle to have, is also called the process of asceticism.

This ascetic process is essential to being able to better put on Christ and to do so better and better, and better, becoming more perfected in the obtaining of God in the intimate, one-of-a-kind experience with God, just between Him and you, unique from any other person; doing so better and better as your life as a Benedictine monk progresses.

 After you understand the Benedictine life, have lived it and are trained in its way of life, and both agree you are well suited for the life, those new responsibilities we talked about are matched to you and the needs of the Abbey from among those other attributes God gave you. But these responsibilities are parts of the whole to which you willing give yourself up.

A challenge to put on Christ, yes; more for some than for others. Are you insulated in a sense from this age, yes, but man remains the same from age to age, each generation is born anew? Obtaining God is not passed on from generation to generation, millennia after millennia as if it were the family farm. But as the means of growing food and the improvement of the means of growing food find their way from century to century for the benefit of all, the means of obtaining God, obtaining salvation and its understanding are passed on.

 So if you long for God and are attracted to Him because you have been away too long, are deep in love with Him and want to be with Him all the time, or again, you see Him, and, there is just something about Him you cannot explain. You want to spend time with Him, you want to go where He is; you hear his call in the night and you want to go home; the Benedictine life may be your religious vocation, your means to your goal. Let us know. Come and visit, stay awhile; come more than once. Be sure. Be not afraid. Learn about this means God has provided through St. Benedict.

For a virtual tour, go to: ST BERNARD ABBEY

For more information on Benedictine life, write, call or e-mail: Brother Mark Worsham, OSB, Vocation Coordinator, 1600 St. Bernard Dr. Se, Cullman, AL 35055, (800) 722-0999, ext. 137, e-mail: stbernardmonastery@yahoo.com