Service Learning Assignment: Faith 2

San Miniato: Faith 2

During my visit to the church of San Miniato, my primary focus was not on one specific aspect of the church; but rather, the whole general atmosphere of the church. So, after soaking in the overall atmosphere of the convent, I wandered into one of the little shops on the side of the church and I was able to ask one of the monks some of the questions I formulated pertaining to the daily life in the convent. He explained to me that the monks spent the majority of their day engaged in prayer, and by majority, I mean 7 times a day; however, when the monks were not engaged in prayer, they were either tending to the grounds of the convent, or preparing various goods which they sell in or were der to support themselves.

Personally, one of the most interesting aspects when conversing with the monk was when I posed the question as to why he ultimately joined the monastery; and furthermore, why he chose to dedicate his life to this particular religious order, the monk explained that “for one to dedicate their life to religion, they must be called upon by a higher, or divine being; in this case, god; however, that changes between religions. The monk also explained how it was because the monks who belonged to this particular religious order were primarily focused on dedicating their lives primarily to prayer; whereas, monks who were members of other religious orders; in particular, Franciscan monks had a primary focus on going out into the community and preaching, in contrast with solely dedicating their life to prayer.