Mother Christophora - What Are Some Common Misconceptions About Monasticism?

mother Cristofori is the Abbess of the monastery of the Transfiguration in Elwood City Pennsylvania she's been a best there for over 30 years I was really glad for the opportunity to interview a monastic Abbess and I'm really grateful to mother Cristofori for her generosity so I hope you'll enjoy this episode from my interview with mother Christopher Oh [Music] well there are misconceptions certainly about monastic life it many of them start in our own families you can imagine in America where we have such a wonderful freedoms and such into almost infinite possibilities of things we can do with our lives if a young woman or young man comes home and wants to tell his or her parents that they've decided to become a monastic or they want to try monastic life and enter a monastery ah usually there is quite a panic quite a fear quite a number of fears on the part of the the parents or the families or even the friends what would be the first reaction will we ever see you again that might be one and that quite the answer to that would depend a bit on the monastery that the person is entering in our own monastery I I personally feel it's very important to keep a good relationship with our families because the family has suffered so much in our country I don't want to do more to make it suffer even more but I think keeping a relationship a good healthy relationship with our families is important another misconception might be that oh you're going to be very lonely there we're very bored there or why would you want to throw your life away those kinds of reactions that we get when we say we're entering a monastery and really the reality is is quite the opposite we're never bored because there's always something to do always something going on people coming or just the work that has to be done at the monastery so we never seem to get to the point of boredom we're certainly not throwing our lives away nor our talents nor our education on the contrary the reality is that usually God asked much more of us so if we come with some some talent like your Herman's ability to make this recording this DVD flick some skill or talent God will ask more of us so that we multiplied it's it's actually multiplied in the monastery they're not buried now for time there might be a time when for your own spiritual benefit the abbot or habits will not ask you to do the things that you're good at because he wants he or she wants you to learn and to grow in a different way but I think eventually those talents that we bring the education that we bring the parents sacrifices to send us through college and and all the money that went into that really it is not at all wasted it's it's it's just the opposite it's God calls forth so much fruit so many people come and and look to us and ask our help in so many ways that again any education and so on is is only multiplied and spread and called upon so so those are some of the misconceptions in the sense of the first reactions we get when we say we want to be a nun or a monk another reaction we might get people meet us in the public or a young you know young women coming to a monastery and summon I said well you're so beautiful why why did you do that why didn't you get married didn't you or maybe they think if they see that a very young beautiful woman comes to a monastery they think oh some some boy must have broke her heart you know she she just felt she's a she's a total failure she's gonna go join a join a convent but that's usually not the case and if that's the case then that person should should stay in the world and and find her her healing and not not tried to run away from that problem but certainly if if men in the world want a beautiful bride don't you think that our Lord who created all of us in His image and likeness also once young and beautiful and healthy men and women to offer themselves to him so it's not big we're here because we have a broken heart or we failed in the world those kinds of things will not be rectified by coming to a monastery then not be healed by coming to a monastery they have to be dealt with for what they are but we come to offer ourselves because we love God and we we being his his creature as his creation we want to offer ourselves to him well I've touched on some of the practical reactions that we might receive if we tell our loved ones that were going to a monastery and some of those misconceptions I want also to talk about the spiritual misconceptions that that often happen and and that would be for example this idea of obedience for going to a monastery would have to be obedience so you're going to lose your personality or you you will be able to think for yourself that might be a reaction people have and that is not the reality at all we don't lose our personality on the contrary through this monastic and spiritual struggle ongoing we we actually come to - we say we die to the old man so the new one can be born hopefully the we find out our true personality the the become more like God and become more like the person that God created us to be and that we can achieve and realize in him it's not that we can't think for ourselves that would be a great great tragedy and that should not not be the case we come to be nurtured we come to find God's will for ourselves so along the way we have some we have some guidance we have yes we do have obedience we have some some things that are superior our spiritual mother or father might ask us to do or not do for a while and this is again to nurture us um you think about a garden someone is is cultivating the plants watering them pruning pruning the plants fertilizing them all this is part of for our growth but the plant is still the plant and the plant is still unique so one rose on the rosebush isn't as different than the one next to it or where the two of the tulip is different than than the Daisy so God is looking for each of us in in the unique and said he created us to become who we are and become that beautiful person so we shouldn't disappear around the contrary we should really become more and more alive and find ourselves another misconception would be in in in that kind of that same way but maybe even farther people think that well if if you're going to a monastery you have to be obedient and someone's going to tell you what to do every moment and this it's going to be very controlling and again that's that is that is a misconception because in God's plan we should never control one another but we should do through love and respect and charity and goodwill and perseverance we should help you one another grow as st. Paul said is a pistol if someone's doing something wrong you who are spiritual correct such a one in a spirit of meekness less you yourself be tempted so along the way in in this life yes we tried to help one another grow by it may be sharing a way that maybe we had a fall maybe we had an experience that it was a mistake but it taught us a great lesson so we might want to just share that with someone and say well you know when I was your age I used to think such-and-such or or or tried tried such-and-such and boy was that a mistake so we can say that sort of thing but it's not there to control people it's there gently to guide and to correct through our own humility really through our own humility so there there is a fear and rightfully so that through monasteries or monasticism people will be very controlled and become somehow like robots are or puppets and and that that is not that should not happen whether between monastics or or god forbid between monastics imposing that kind of abuse on non monastics that's a great mistake and a great tragedy it's not meant to be that way you know God doesn't do that the church doesn't do that as such so we shouldn't do that to one another we should give one another always respect and then freedom and and so that they can really become who they are and and and find their joy and the Lord find themselves their true personality in the Lord so I know that they're there does exists on some fears maybe even based on experience that there's some controversy even between parish priests maybe there are some people from their parish will will go to a monastery and take all their advice from from the from the monastery the monastic priest and then they come back to the parish and they want to impose certain practices there at the parish or maybe certain practices in their marriage which may be appropriate in a monastery but not appropriate in a in a lay lay family and a family in the world so we have to be cautious of these of these things that we're not mixing mixing things up but again what would be what would be the the signs of good spiritual health would would be joy and love and respect and humility and not imposing our will on someone else to to to disarm them of their own personality or their or their own free will that God God has given us so we pray and hope and that that doesn't happen but that we teach by our own example by our own again by our own perseverance if we've made mistakes in our own life to correct them and and to offer this as a witness that no matter how far we fall God is always there waiting for us to return and always can return hi again I hope you enjoyed this episode from my interview with mother Cristofori please subscribe to get notified when new videos become available which happens every Friday and also if you would please leave a comment in the comment section below letting me know what you thought of this video have a great weekend and we'll see you next Friday

Channel: Protecting Veil

Views: 10,152

Rating: 4.9737992 out of 5

Keywords: Orthodox monasticism, Orthodox monk, Orthodox nun, Orthodox monastery, Christian monasticism, Orthodox Christianity, Mother Christophora, Ellwood City monastery

Id: vGBBj76cXVk

Length: 12min 7sec (727 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 15 2019