The monastic life of the 14 monks living at St. Benedict's Abbey is focused on Prayer. The bells of the Abbey church call the monks to community prayer five times each day. When the bell call, the monks stop whatever they are doing and hastily proceed to Church. This is as important as community worship. Contemplative prayer is silent prayer where the monk is in tune to the presence of God.
Spiritual reading is another important aspect of silent prayer.
This is a type of reading where the text is received as a personal message, as the things of God and not as an object of study. And there are many jobs to be done in a monastery. These assignments focus on the liturgy and the dining room or refectory. The monks also tend to the daily maintenance of the monastery. This includes work in the kitchen, the library, the bookstore, the post office, maintenance of the buildings or grounds, or serving the needs of the many guests and retreatants.