People ask: Why are you so strict? Why are you not going out at night-time like other religious? Why are you not smoking and drinking, like everyone else? Why don’t you wear fashionable clothes? Why are you praying in the daytime and saying the rosary daily? Why aren’t you gambling and eating in expensive restaurants? Why aren’t you like ordinary jpeople? Why are you not attending all the church celebrations? Why aren’t the priests preaching and saying Mass in a way relevant or pertinent to the people? Why are you not eating meat during Lent and advent? Why are you not eating meat on Wednesdays and Fridays? Why is there an observance of the order of the day when you have to rise in the morning at a certain time and go to bed in the night at a certain time?

The answer to all those questions is that we live a monastic life — in our prayer life, our community life, our order of the day, and our apostolic work.

In Missionaries of the Poor, monasticism has a new look. Our religious institute is a new form of monasticism that answers Vatican II’s call for the renewal of religious life.

In Vatican II the church gave room for young communities such as ours. Room for new energy and new life, silence, prayer, and study groups, new spiritual and liturgical music, expression of local culture and local language. There is a place for simple and small communities among the poor, which are prayerful and stress the Eucharist in the Blessed Sacrament.

OUR MONASTICISM

We are men who are seekers of the spiritual life and who live together as a monastic family. We live under a rule (our constitutions, regulations, and rules). There is a common order of the day — a strong horarium. We live together in a religious house. We share prayer, worship, and meals. And work. We fast and abstain. We live lives of purpose, self-control, and discipline.

Monasticism gives us a discipline, an order of the day, prayer, and the liturgical life set out, and community life set out. However, while our way of being and acting is protected by our rules, our life is family-like, not constitutional.

An orderly life is essential to our community life. At the same time, there will be times of emergency that require extraordinary charity and creative activity, especially since we work in the ghetto. Such moments can be disruptive, and so we must remain recollected and strongly united with one another. There is a rhythm to our lives with valleys and peaks.

Our monastic life is ascetic. Strictly speaking, we are not of the line of pure contemplatives. However, we are of the line of pure contemplatives insofar as asceticism is part of our life. Our asceticism is to attempt to live within the kingdom of God at all times.

We live simple, austere lives. As part of our ascetic tradition, we do not smoke or drink. We have a few clothes, which we wash ourselves. Our feelings and passions are curbed and controlled. We seek penances. Our silence — not speaking during specific hours, in the early morning, and late at night — is an ascetic practice. Our staying home at night is an ascetic practice. Our living a disciplined, orderly life in an ascetic way of Christ-like character.

We are not caught up in styles or fashions. We are not caught up in the pursuit of higher degrees. We are not caught up with the language of the world, and the concerns of the world as other people are accustomed. We do not pursue materialism, ambitions, pride, or the desire for power and pleasures of the world.

The moment we talk about obedience (not my will, but thine, be done) — the moment when we talk about chastity or celibacy, having no woman or sensual pleasure, the moment we begin to talk about poverty, not wanting the riches of the world — we are talking about asceticism.

At the same time, even as we are ascetic, we celebrate the beauty of God’s creation, in our gardens, for example. There are gardens at each of our monasteries and, where possible, at our apostolates. Our chapels are places of beauty. We celebrate the glory of God in our music. Profoundly, as we seek to live a simple life, we lay down our lives for one another and the poor, we find beauty and joy in the cross.

Very Rev Father Richard Ho Lung is founder of Missionaries of the Poor, 87 Hanover Street, PO Box 8525, Kingston CSO, Jamaica.

Tel: (876) 550-8987. Email: mopfounder81@gmail.com

Web: www.missionariesofthepoor.org