Notwithstanding ever changing current events, a monk’s life has essentially remained unchanged. Life in a community is both a benefit and a duty, because the community is the actual situation where the monk can find God in every brother and in every event. Life in a community is thus never separate from a life of prayer. We can even say that life in a community is by definition a life of prayer, because ‘the prayer of life’ is found in the community of brothers.
Hence the area where the brothers meet as a community is the praying area of the monastery. The moment of community par excellence - the moment of communion - is the Eucharist celebrated in the praying area: the Meal that the Lord invites us to every day.
The Meal of the Lord continues in the table community of the refectory. After the praying area and the chapter, the refectory is the third area where the community gathers as a whole. During the meals, the brothers form a large family. The food is simple but enough is served and the meals are nutritious. They are mindful of the word of Saint Benedict: “Keep your body in good health in order to be able to serve your Creator so much better”.
During the meals there is a reading from a book. At the same time as the physical fare, the monks are fed the spiritual food of the word. Generally religious, social and cultural subjects are read.
Just as in a large family, “the brothers have to serve each other in love”, according to the word of Saint Benedict: “we meet Christ in every fellow man”. Above all the sick and the elderly “are served as Christ in person”. Did Christ not say “I was sick and you came to see me”? Saint Benedict commands the monks to believe that Christ is present in every brother.
