Hi, guys —
I have two questions which have a similar logic behind each so you can pick up any faults I present.
- Can one be a layman monk?
By this I mean that you live a normal life that a layman would . . . say become a policeman or lawyer or doctor, but practice what monks do:
- daily meditation
- virginity with no feelings of love except to God and the Church
- try to isolate yourself from society as to avoid sin
- give up all material positions except necessities, and
- help through charity.
I want to try to shoot to become a doctor as this is what God is calling me to be, but He is opening my eyes to a monk's life (as I would like to live like one except when working with the common man in curing diseases). It would be hard to practice both medicine and the functions of my priestly ordination but I do plan to read theology while I also study medicine.
Also, while this is not a denouncement of the faith, I see many parallels Jesus would appreciate in Buddhist monks.
- Would it be fine to pick aspects of their practice and life to follow as long as it does not violate the Catholic faith?
They practice severe humility where they reach a state of wanting nothing, and God asks for this of us: "The lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want." — Psalm 23
Of course the only thing we should want is to be with God and to follow Jesus's steps and to follow the Church, but I respect how they denounce everything that is earthly, and I find this, along with a few other things, honorable by them, and was thinking of looking up to the very serious Buddhist monks as inspiration on how to live a Catholic life.
I honestly think that by picking up how they live and our own faith, we can become a true Saint of God!
Joseph
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