A Day In The Life...Of A Monk
6:00AM - Lauds (Morning Prayer)
6:45AM - Breakfast
7:15AM - Morning Nap
8AM - Work
12:00PM - Noon Prayer
12:15PM - Lunch
1:00PM - Afternoon Nap
1:30PM - Back to Work
4:50PM - Mass
5:40PM - Dinner
6:10PM - Reading
6:15PM - Recreation
7:00PM - Vespers (Evening Prayer)
7:45PM - Free Time
9:30PM - Bed
Among the many adventures following our neighborhood house fire, one was having the opportunity to stay at St. Procopius Abbey with Benedictine monks. Through a series of fun adventures and great conversations, we soon became close friends with the brothers, who had graciously opened their home to us.
During one weekend at the Abbey, I volunteered to help the brothers with their annual tailgate during Benedictine University's Homecoming Weekend. From the moment we began loading up the truck, I knew it was going to be a fun afternoon, as one of the brothers who was put in charge told me that he had never worked this event before (he had just joined the community in February of this year) and had absolutely no idea how to grill. We set up the tables and pop-up tent and then began to tackle the task of setting up the grill. It took us about 20 minutes to figure out how to set it up, even after recruiting help from some of the tailgating professionals near us.
Finally, we got it lit and began to set up the rest of the food. A few minutes later, we looked back at the grill and saw that it had erupted into flames.
Once the flames were extinguished, one of the brothers mentioned how flames seemed to follow me (oh, the irony!!). Since the grill was no longer usable, the brothers quickly took the uncooked burgers and hot dogs across the street to the Abbey, where they were cooked and brought back to the tailgate. The rest of the day was complete with laughter, delicious food, music, and fellowship with a few Benedictine University alumni and current students, who were quickly roped in with the mention of FREE hot dogs, burgers, and bowls of one of the brother's homemade chili.
While this was only one of the MANY adventures during our time at the Abbey, it was definitely one of the most memorable ones. Overall, I think my housemates and I definitely brought new energy into the Abbey through our crazy adventures, multiple instances of laughter (#neveradullmoment), "behind the scenes" Abbey tours, close bat encounters, and never-ending questions about monk life, and yet our stay at the Abbey definitely brought new energy into our lives, especially in our prayer lives. While we were there, we embraced the Benedictine way of life of "Ora et Labora," or "pray and work," alongside the monks, and we were reminded of the beauty and peace of praying without ceasing, as we are all called to do (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
