The early Church answered this vocation by living in community, praying together, sharing material goods, and performing acts of charity (cf. Acts 2:42-47). They experienced their lives as a way of putting into practice the life Christ wished for them. As the Holy Spirit continued to act in the Church there developed monastic communities in the deserts of Egypt and Syria, which emulated the earlier Christian communities. The traditions of these early monks and their attempts to give structure to their lives by Rules were given greatest focus by St. Benedict in the sixth century when he wrote his Rule for monasteries. It remains (aside from the Scriptures) the single most important document that shaped the development of monastic and religious life throughout Europe in the following centuries. Its longevity is a testimony to its great spiritual wisdom, balance, flexibility, and penetration of the Christian life. Benedictine monks and nuns are now to be found throughout the world, involved in various activities, but always trying to lead the life portrayed by the Rule adapted to the needs and conditions of the modern world.

A monk's life should have about it a continual attitude toward prayer, whether the monk is in church or busy at work. St. Benedict did not specify the type of work monks should perform, he stipulated only that they should earn their living by their own labors. Any kind of work that can be done in a spirit of corporate prayer and Christ-like love is proper to a Benedictine monastery. So, for example, it is very fitting that the monks of Portsmouth Abbey should maintain a school. Being so engaged, the communal and liturgical life of the monastery overflows into one of the most valuable contributions to the well-being of society. A school provides the type of fruitful work which enables the monk to avoid danger, sometimes associated with monasticism, of spiritual self-centeredness and a sense of elitism. Being employed in a task that is fully human, he is neither an escapist from his social obligations nor a cultivator of "a fugitive and cloistered virtue." From teaching and being responsible for the young, the monk may learn a unique form of selflessness which can be realized in the exercise of spiritual fatherhood.