Monastic live is actually pretty varied. There are orders large and small, in cities and in the countryside. It can vary from your traditional idea of a monaste

Monastic live is actually pretty varied. There are orders large and small, in cities and in the countryside. It can vary from your traditional idea of a monastery to a shared house where people all work jobs but live a communal life. A good friend of mine was a monk in Atlanta; they have a house in a suburban neighborhood that you would be hard pressed to identify as anything other than a traditional family home from the outside. They had about 8-10 men in their order living under an Abbott, most working professional jobs. If this is something you are interested in, many of the larger monasteries also function as retreat centers and welcome visitors. There's one about 45 minutes from me [0] that I have visited a few times and stayed for two nights once as part of the marriage preparation courses my wife and I did before getting married. You can have a chance to get a feel for what life is like for the brethren, even for only a few days. [0] https://www.stbernardabbey.com/ https://www.stbernardabbey.com/