Author |
Message |
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 1:01 pm
I'm going to check this one out tonight.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 1:05 pm
Five men struggling to find their way make the choice to give up the good life ... for a life of good. A former gang member, a recovering alcoholic, a cynic, a former Marine and an aspiring Episcopal priest take a leap of faith and join a Benedictine monastery for 40 days. For the duration of their stay, these five men of varied backgrounds and faiths agree to the monastery’s strict rules and regimen of prayer, study, reflection and manual labor set out by St. Benedict 1,500 years ago — a regimen that the monks believe, if followed correctly, can transform lives. The Monastery offers unprecedented access into the lives and rituals of 30 Benedictine monks, and follows these five courageous men as they attempt to bridge the divide between the ancient values of monastic life and modern struggles of secular life. Filmed at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in northern New Mexico, The Monastery offers a rare glimpse into a closed community that follows an ancient discipline. The group is guided by Abbot Philip Lawrence, who pairs each participant with a monk as a mentor to share their experiences and daily struggles. Each of the five hour-long episodes follows the men as they struggle with the rigors of monastic life. Shot as an observational documentary, The Monastery is an unusual and powerful series that details the men’s spiritual journeys in a genuine and authentic format. Throughout their 40-day experience, the men have private video cameras to record their heartfelt thoughts, reactions and revelations. Will 40 days and 40 nights in a monastery effect life-changing results for these five men struggling to turn their lives around? Tune in to TLC on Oct. 22 at 10 p.m. ET/PT to watch their journey — and maybe to begin your own.
|
Nickovtyme
Member
07-29-2004
| Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 2:14 pm
I thought about checking it out too.
|
Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 2:43 pm
I've already got it set on the DVR.
|
Whoami
Member
08-03-2001
| Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 2:47 pm
Looks interesting. I'll have to see if I can make room on the DVR.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, October 22, 2006 - 6:00 pm
I'm definitely going to record it.
|
Cablejockey
Member
12-27-2001
| Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 9:42 am
I found this show by accident and couldnt stop watching. The men are all different, with their background and problems. I wonder if they will get anything out being there. That one young guy--Alex--seems to hate being there after a week. The monks all seem very down to earth and 'normal'.
|
Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 3:15 pm
It was interesting. I don't think many of the men will get much out of it. I do have a question, though, if anyone knows the answer. What are monks about? If they are closed up in a monastery and spend a lot of time being silent, what good are they doing for the world? Is it just for their own spirituality?
|
Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 3:27 pm
Twinks: valyermo I haven't seen the show, don't think its the same monastery but Saint Andrew's Abbey is a Benedictin monastary and may have some answers for ya. St. Andrews is pretty close to us. Every year they have a fall festival, food, entertainment, and they sell a lot of crafts. They've been doing it for, oh heck close to 50 years. My step father's family went every year and when we were kids he'd take us. Can't tell you much about the monks other than the few we talked to seemed like fairly nice men. The first year we went I remember my step father stopping to talk to one in particular and me and my sister wondering out loud why he was wearing a dress. We were fairly young, lol. Poor David looked like he wanted to crawl into the ground and lecture us at the same time but I remember the monk being kind and not upset by our question. Haven't been in years, though last month sis and I were gripping to each other because our local paper never mentioned their festival coming up til it was over and they wrote up a story about it.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - 3:33 pm
Ienjoyed it.
|
Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - 6:53 pm
Thanks for the link, War! I'm glad they help others in the community. Cool.
|
Cablejockey
Member
12-27-2001
| Sunday, November 12, 2006 - 8:35 am
I was sorry to see that one of guys couldn't take the monastary life any longer and quit. It was the Iraqi veteran who lost a leg. He was one who could have gotten a lot out of the experince. I hope they tell us what became of everyone after the show is over.
|
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - 12:30 am
He was very young, probably just not ready for this.
|
Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Wednesday, November 15, 2006 - 8:01 am
That's for sure. He was young and immature and wouldn't have ever "gotten" it even if he had stayed. I think its better that he left so the others can get on with it.
|