ABSTRACT
Monastic work was originally born out of the immediate need to meet primary biological needs, such as food, clothing and, depending on the region, heating. According to Max Weber, the monk is the ‘human being who lives rationally, who works methodically and by rational means toward a goal, namely the future life’. The traditional contemplative life is punctuated by times of community prayer, personal prayer, work and rest. Tertiarisation is coming to the monasteries with less and less work related to the physical world. Developments throughout history have either given more weight to the priestly mission of monks or, on the contrary, have gradually relieved them of this role, depending upon the country. The link between parishes and monasteries, which becomes an economic link when the work of external pastoral care is a source of income for the community, is therefore in the process of change.
