The simple existence of a monk is succinctly defined in the order’s motto: Ora et Labora (“Pray and Work”).

The monks of Conception Abbey celebrate Mass daily. They eat together – often in silence – and they gather five times each day for the Liturgy of the Hours, services of prayer and Scripture reading. Individual “holy reading” or lectio divina – consisting of Scripture, theology and spiritual writings – is also a scheduled part of daily life.

As administrators and members of the faculty of Conception Seminary College, the Conception monks provide spiritual, character and academic formation for young men considering a priestly vocation. Through the Abbey Guest Center, the monks welcome guests to the Abbey and offer a wide array of retreats, tours, and youth programs.

They provide pastoral care in hospitals, religious houses and parishes in the Midwest.

The monks also tend the grounds of the abbey, care for 960 acres of farmland and orchards, work in development and finance and in the Abbey’s Printery House. They are historians, writers, scholars, teachers, musicians and artisans.

Read about a monk's day

No. Many monks are ordained to the priesthood, which means they can celebrate Mass and administer the sacraments. They are addressed by the title of Father. But there are also many monks that while feeling called to a monastic life do not experience the call to priesthood. They are addressed by the title of Brother. Some brothers eventually become priests, but it is not uncommon for a monk to remain a brother for his entire religious life.

Gaining acceptance into a monastic community is no easy task. It requires the approval of the entire community and the abbot and several letters of recommendation.

Then, a candidate becomes a postulant and must complete a probationary period that can last anywhere from a few weeks to a year, during which he lives and works with the community. And only then can he join the order’s novitiate, a year of intense training for monastic life.

Following that, the novice may ask to make his temporary profession – the initial vows – which last a minimum of three years, before the monk can make his final – “solemn and perpetual” – vows.

Abbey life is not romantic. It isn’t easy. But for the sincere monk, the rewards are endless.

Read more about becoming a monk.

Read more about monastic vows.

For more information, send inquiries via e-mail to Fr. Paul Sheller, OSB at monks@conception.edu

“When he is to be received, he comes before the whole community in the oratory and promises stability, fidelity to monastic life, and obedience. This is done in the presence of God and his saints.”
-Rule of St. Benedict 58:17-18a

The vows of a Benedictine monk

The monastic vows set forth by St. Benedict in his Rule are unique to the modern Church. Many believe that all religious and consecrated person take the Evangelical Counsels: poverty, chastity, and obedience, but these are more recent expressions of the radical call that Christ challenges his disciples to follow in the Gospel. The vows of a Benedictine monk most definitely include the Evangelical Counsels, but take on a rich and beautiful expression in Benedict's Rule and the way of life it has inspired.

Obedience
Obedience means "to listen intently," and this vow is undertaken in a spirit of faith and love in following Christ who was obedient to the will of the Father. It requires that a monk listens intently to the voice of God as it is manifested in the Sacred Scriptures and the teachings of his superiors.

Stability
This vow binds the monk in both body and spirit to the community of his profession for the rest of his life, where he serves under both a Rule and an Abbot.

Conversatio Morum or “Fidelity to the monastic way of life”
Conversatio Morum encompasses all aspects of the total self-offering of the monk to God. Under this vow are included the evangelical counsels: poverty and chastity, which commit the monk to a renunciation of personal possessions and embracing celibacy for the sake of the kingdom.