Necessary qualities for monastic life

Many individuals who enter monastic life are not prepared for the fact that monastic formation implies that one’s spiritual and psychological life must change and grow. No matter how mature the individual is before he enters the Monastery, he invariably finds his maturity being challenged by the demands of the schedule, of communal charity, of the degree of silence and solitude, of obedience, of humility, and of deepening his spiritual life according to the teaching of monastic tradition. There will be a culture shock upon entering the Monastery. Many become disenchanted with monastic life when they come face-to-face with it. Either they expected to find a community of “angels”, perfect in every way, floating around on clouds, or they wanted a life of “greater mortification”, self-imposed, of course. Without a basic willingness to be taught, indeed, to start all over again from the beginning, as it were, the new member will find himself in a constant state of inner conflict as he struggles to hang on to his habits of praying, his spirit of independence, his self-will. etc., which are incompatible with, and a hindrance to, the new life he has chosen. But if the desire and good will are present in the new member, the period of monastic formation will be fruitful for the attainment of a deeper level of faith, inner freedom, and joy.