MONASTIC VOWS
STABILITY
The vow of stability is unique to monastic communities. This means that the monastery where the monk makes the profession is home for the rest of his life. Unlike other religious congregations, the monk belongs to a particular community. It is true that some monks are sent out to do work in parishes or abroad, but the monastery where they professed will always be “home”, and the community will always be their “family” to which they return from time to time. This aspect of the monastic life may be particularly attractive today. The vow of stability binds one to this community for life. In the state and change of contemporary life, many find such stability a source of strength and peace.
FIDELITY
Fidelity or conversatio morum, – “conversion of life”, means being faithful to the monastic way of life, being true to a single-hearted quest for God. It encompasses the other vows which all religious profess – chastity and poverty, although monks do not take them explicitly. Our life is marked by simplicity and holding what we have in common.
OBEDIENCE
“Obedience” in the Latin verb is “to listen”. By the vow of obedience, the monk undertakes to listen deeply to God, which is the fundamental conversation going on in our lives. That conversation primarily goes on in our listening to the voice of God in the Scriptures and in prayer, but often that voice of God is mediated in human relationships.
The monk undertakes to listen to the Abbot, who is believed to take the place of Christ in the monastery and to the other members of the Community. This deep listening sometimes tells us that we are not to do what is easiest or most comfortable for ourselves, but to think of the greater good of the community, or even what is better for ourselves, which sometimes we are slow to realise. This deep listening and responding is the living out of obedience.
