The Eternal Novitiate

This post was first published on Fr. Bjorn's personal blog, The Tiniest Hermit.

Hosea, chapter 2, verse 14:

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her."

Many people question what would lead a person to live a monastic life. The above passage pretty much sums it up for me; the sweetness of my Creator's voice in the silence of my heart outweighs any burden that the monastic way of life could place upon me.

A sincere monastic knows that they do not come to this way of life as a perfect person. I stumble, fall, and lose my way on a regular basis. It is only through the grace and mercy of my Creator that I am able to get back up, dust myself off, and continue on the narrow path that leads me to salvation.

I have been a monk in one form or another for 11 years now. Although I have made my lifelong profession of vows, I still consider myself a spiritual novice. I still have much to learn in the school of God's service; I must learn how to love more, pray more, be kinder and show more generosity to those around me. 

I have these and many more lessons to learn, and it will probably take the span of my lifetime and more to learn them. It is my hope that through adherence to my Rule of Life, a sincere thirst for generosity and love, and the help of my brothers and sisters that I will arrive at my death changed for the better.