The Cloister

Lecto Devina

This icon of Jesus and the Beloved Disciple hangs in that part of the monastery where the monks who are new to monastic life live and work. The icon is for these monks a vision, a manifestation, of the deepest sense of their vocation. The monk comes to Jesus as a needy disciple, his hands open to receive all that the Lord can give; and Jesus accepts him with great tenderness. With the arm that embraces the disciple, the Lord presents also the scroll of his Word, wherein are held all the mysteries of his knowledge and love of the Father. The Lord will gradually share these mysteries with his disciple. With his other hand the Lord indicates the Eucharistic mystery to which he invites his disciple. Thus, Word and Sacrament are the means whereby the monk will be given access to the heart of Jesus, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col 2:3). The Lord himself is clothed in red as a symbol of his taking on our humanity; in blue, as a symbol of his eternal Wisdom. This eternal Wisdom is already reflecting on the red garments of the disciple who comes to Jesus. The throne of eternal Wisdom on which the Lord is seated is set up in the heart of the monastery, which forms the backdrop of this icon. From their lives in this particular monastery, the monks of Mount Angel hope to enter ever more deeply into the heart of Christ.

A Special Call

Jesus calls each of us to be his disciples. Some, however, receive a special call to "leave everything" and follow Christ living as monks in monasteries. Although Christian monks and their monasteries have been around for almost as long as Christianity itself, it seems that every so often certain questions about monastic life need to be answered anew.

Who Are the Monks?

Monks are men who hear Jesus' call today and respond to it in a radical way. They separate themselves from the world to live in a place called a monastery giving themselves to the task of following Christ and seeking God through a simple life of prayer, work and community life. Their goal is to attain eternal life in the Kingdom of God after death and to serve Christ faithfully in our world today. The leader of the community is the abbot, so called after the Hebrew word for "father" which is "abba". Thus, the monastery under the abbot's care is called an abbey. Founded in 1882 by Benedictine monks from the ancient Abbey of Engelberg in Switzerland, Mount Angel Abbey in the beautiful Willamette Valley of western Oregon is a monastery with some fifty resident monks. An additional sixteen monks live in a dependent priory, Monasterio de Nuestra Se–ora de Los Angeles in Cuernavaca, Mexico. In. addition, there are also ten to fifteen monks in advanced studies, parish and hospital chaplaincy work. There is a total of eighty monks in the community. The monks of Mount Angel range in age from 22 to 85 and come from many different backgrounds. Many come as young men seeking a richer spiritual life in community. Others come later in life after having already pursued a different career. There are also monks who were already ordained priests when they came to the monastery. Although men over forty years of age are not usually encouraged to apply to the monastery, in actuality, any physically, emotionally and spiritually sound single male of the Roman Catholic faith who feels called to the religious life might be a potential candidate for the monastic life at Mount Angel. Each applicant is judged on his own merits.

What is a Monk's Life Like?

The monastic life at Mount Angel follows a traditional Roman Catholic model including the maintenance of enclosure or cloister and the wearing of the monastic habit. The community identifies itself as Benedictine because it observes the Rule of St. Benedict. In this Rule, St. Benedict says "Let nothing be preferred to the Work of God," that is, the Divine Office. At Mount Angel all the Hours of the Divine Office are chanted in common. Throughout the day an atmosphere of quiet prayer and reflection prevails throughout the monastery.

Life for the monks at the Abbey is a gentle and regular rhythm of prayer and work. The monks gather in the church six times each day to pray together. While the daily celebration of the Eucharist is the center and high point of the monastic liturgical life, the monks also pray the Hours of Vigils, Lauds, Midday Prayer, Vespers and Compline together, filling the day from rising until bedtime with prayer.

At other times a monk will spend time in private prayer, meditation and prayerful reading in the quiet of the monastery. "Lectio divina," or prayerful reading, is an especially important part of monastic life. A monk will spend a couple of hours per day in lectio. Talking and the use of television, radio, CD or tape players, telephone, the internet and the like are limited to certain times and places and done in such a way as to maintain a prayerful quiet in the house and in the soul of the monk. This doesn't mean, however, that the monks are isolated individuals without friends who neither talk nor laugh nor play. Friendship, recreation and conversation are important parts of community life.

Monastic Work

The center of a monk's life is the important ministry of prayer and of Christian witness given through religious community life. Mount Angel's principal apostolic works are operating a Seminary College and School of Theology; a Retreat House and a Library.

All kinds of work are valued and shared as a community. A wide variety of occupations are practiced. in the monastery, and many monks are engaged in several at the same time. There are the more physical jobs with the kitchen, grounds, laundry or farm; the desk jobs of management and administration; the people-contact jobs of teaching and counseling; the artistic pursuits of music, painting, woodworking, calligraphy, graphic arts and also the spiritual occupations of preaching, sacramental ministry and pastoral care.

Admission and Formation

Men who are considering a monastic vocation are encouraged first and most importantly to pray for guidance and then to discuss their calling with their confessor and/or spiritual director. It is no small thing to leave everything to follow Christ. Then they should contact the Director of Vocations at the Abbey to arrange for a visit to Mount Angel to observe the monastic life at Mount Angel, get to know the community a bit and pursue further discussion on possible admission to the seminary or monastic community.

The program of formation at Mount Angel includes seminary affiliates, postulants, novices and junior monks. High school graduates up to 21 years of age without a college degree would normally begin as affiliates and attend the college seminary until they have reached the age of 21 or completed their college degree. They would then enter the monastery. Men 21 and over who demonstrate readiness for the monastic life would enter the monastery directly as postulants. Each man's case is evaluated on its own merits.

The regular date for beginning the postulancy is July 10th. The postulancy will last until September 7th of the following year. It is a period of time for transition, prayer and discernment. Postulants wear a simple monastic tunic and participate in the life of the community. At the end of this time, if accepted by the community, a man will be invested as a novice and begin a one-year novitiate.

The novitiate is a year of continued prayer, discernment and trial as well as study of the important elements of monastic life: the Rule of St. Benedict, Monastic History, the Psalms, and Liturgical Spirituality. A novice wears a tunic and a scapular without a hood.

Monastic Vows

At the completion of the novitiate year, on September 8th, the Nativity of Mary, the novice professes simple vows of obedience, conversion of life and stability in the monastery for a period of three years. These vows include the traditional vows of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, as well as a special commitment to live out one's life in the particular monastery of the monk's profession. The monk takes a new name at this time and is invested with a scapular which includes a hood. Now as a junior monk, the monk continues his formation for three years while living the monastic life. He will continue to study the Rule of St. Benedict and also the classical monastic literature of the Desert Fathers and other spiritual works.

At the end of the juniorate, a monk makes a solemn profession in which he reiterates the monastic vows of obedience, stability and conversion of life. Now these commitments are made for the remainder of the monk's life. The new senior monk is invested with the cuculla, a monastic choir robe and the final piece of the complete monastic habit. He is now a full and equal partner in the monastic community.

Priests and Brothers

Some monks are ordained priests; some are not. Those preparing for the priesthood will attend seminary classes; those not pursuing orders might also study or else they will be given other work in the monastery. A decision on whether or not to pursue Holy Orders is one which is made by the abbot in close consultation with the monk and the Monastic Formation Council. Ultimately it is the abbot who calls the monk to Holy Orders and requests that the bishop ordain him. Unless a man enters as an ordained priest, he would not be ordained until he is a solemnly professed monk and has completed the seminary course of studies. Regardless of whether or not a monk is ordained, he has equal status in the community.

Am I Called?

The life of a monk is not for everyone. It is a rigorous life of penance, prayer and trials through living in community, but for those who are called, it is a happy and fulfilling life. If you think you might be called to be a monk of Mount Angel Abbey please contact

Fr. Joseph Nguyen, OSB
Director of Vocations
One Abbey Drive
Mount Angel Abbey
Saint Benedict, OR 97373

Telephone 503-845-3226
E-mail abbeyvocation@mtangel.edu