Temporary monastery

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Temporary monastery is the ability to live in a monastery for a period of a few days to a few weeks with the religious community . Such events are also often offered under the name of retreat days or retreat week (s), as they serve for inner contemplation.

Such possibilities have existed since around 1980 in some women's and men's orders , e.g. B. With the Dominicans and especially in Benedictine monasteries , who traditionally give hospitality a high priority. The Benedictine Rule says: "Guests should be received like Christ." In some monasteries there is a priest who is specifically responsible for the spiritual care of the guests.

The temporary experience of monastery life must be differentiated from the term “monastery vacation”, which is essentially assigned to so-called spiritual tourism . However, there is also some conceptual overlap and blurring, especially in the area of health tourism.

Motifs

The most common reason to take such a time of contemplation is the desire for reflection - often in connection with crises and professional or personal overload. In any case, immersing yourself in a different daily rhythm , times of meditation , stays in the monastery garden , a gentle conversation or simply praying the hours or singing with the monastery community can give decisive impulses.

Another reason is the desire for a more intense life of faith and the search for other forms of prayer . Occasionally artists also visit such monasteries in order to get closer to the future artistic path in peace and with new suggestions. There may also be health motives, but they are not in the foreground - except for adequate sleep and time. However, some women's monasteries combine their offers for health and wellness days with elements that partially correspond to the temporary monastery. It is precisely in this area that parallels to spiritual tourism lie .

From a religious point of view, there can sometimes be similarities with spiritual exercises or seminars of faith . In the Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmünster in Upper Austria, attempts are made to offer a new form of retreat by participating in monastery life as intensively as possible and by giving lectures on Benedictine spirituality . A new look at the liturgy and the adaptation of religious rules and experiences in one's own everyday life can also be a goal.

The temporary monastery can, but does not have to, serve the potential offspring of the order. However, it does happen that some monastery guests return later as a novice .

In summary, in addition to the change of scenery, the often unfamiliar silence and having time, there are valuable elements for the guest, private and choral prayer , opportunities for adequate and peaceful sleep, for reading and meditation as well as the friendly, engaging atmosphere, and, if desired, personal conversation .

Work in the monastery

Some communities also offer the opportunity not only to live in the monastery for a while, but also to work with it. One example of this is the Einsiedeln Monastery in Switzerland, which offers a volunteer service for several weeks each summer , which is aimed specifically at men between 18 and 25 and is also connected with spiritual impulses. With the project "Klosterzeit", the same monastery offers men between the ages of 18 and early 30 the opportunity to live and work in a Benedictine monastery worldwide for six to twelve months.

literature

  • Merten, René; Janisch-Horváth, Maria B .: Self-discovery: ten days as a guest in the Benedictine Abbey of Königsmünster. Der Andere Verlag, Uelvesbüll 2012.
  • Hopfinger, Hans; Pechlaner, Harald & Schön, Silvia: Economic factor spirituality and tourism: economic potential of the search for values ​​and meaning. Erich Schmidt, Berlin 2012.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Temporary monastery . Website of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ Time out in the monastery - in search of meaning . In: Die Welt , October 4, 2010. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  3. ↑ Guest in the monastery . Website of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  4. ↑ Melchers, Christoph B. & Moser, Patricia: Spiritual Tourism: Motives - Forms - Care of Tourist Brands, In: Hopfinger, Hans; Pechlaner, Harald & Schön, Silvia: Economic factor spirituality and tourism: economic potential of the search for values ​​and meaning , Erich Schmidt, Berlin, 2012, p. 9ff.
  5. ↑ Graf, Alexandra: Spirituality and Health Tourism, In: Hopfinger, Hans; Pechlaner, Harald & Schön, Silvia: Economic factor spirituality and tourism: economic potential of the search for values ​​and meaning , Erich Schmidt, Berlin, 2012, p. 207.
  6. ↑ Temporary monastery life ( Memento of the original from April 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Rhineland-Palatinate Tourism website. Retrieved April 13, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gastlandschaften.de
  7. ↑ Doors for tired souls. ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Retrieved February 2, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ekd.de
  8. ↑ Graf, Alexandra: Spirituality and Health Tourism, In: Hopfinger, Hans; Pechlaner, Harald & Schön, Silvia: Economic factor spirituality and tourism: economic potential of the search for values ​​and meaning , Erich Schmidt, Berlin, 2012, p. 207ff.
  9. ↑ Possibilities of being a guest . Website of the Benedictine Abbey Kremsmünster. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  10. ↑ Volunteer at Einsiedeln Abbey .
  11. ↑ Monastery time