What is it like to be a monk?
Monks believe in their religious purpose. It is a quiet, introspective life.
Vigils, lauds, terce, sext, none, vespers and compline are the seven “hours” of the liturgy of the hours or opus Dei (work of God) as St. Benedict called it in his Rule. But these don't really add up to seven hours; it's probably closer to three. The backbone of these services is the 150 Psalms, sung or recited according to a two-week cycle.
Monks can earn their living by making cheese, fruitcake, and bourbon fudge. Those with particular talents -- musicians, artists, gardeners, craftsmen -- will probably have a chance to use them, based on the needs of the community in which they reside. It is the abbot who assigns work.
It's a quiet life, this life of the monk.
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