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The following extracts are from the Constitutions of the English Congregation (1986)

The life of a Benedictine requires a continual return, under the impulse of the Holy Spirit and guidance of the Church, to the Gospel, which is the source and chief guide of all Christian life, and also to the original inspiration of the monastic life, which is summed up in the Rule of St Benedict.

All should respect the right of others to silence and solitude, and restrain all speech and noise at the times and places indicated by the rules of the house.

While seeking through silence to avoid evil, monks [and nuns] should not neglect opportunities to use speech for good purposes, to bind up wounds, to share the burdens of daily life, and to encourage and support one another. For these reasons there should be various forms of recreation, according to the custom of each house.

The opening of one’s heart to a spiritual father [or mother] is an integral part of the monastic tradition. The sacrament of reconciliation should be used often and fruitfully in this context, for the forgiveness of sins and as a divinely appointed means of conversion and reconciliation.

Since the Eucharist is the centre of the Church’s liturgy, the common celebration of the Eucharist is the centre of the monastery’s life: in all our monasteries the conventual Mass is to be celebrated daily.

Let all the monks and nuns of our Congregation devote at least half an hour to private prayer each day.

The life of the monastery is to permit and encourage the faithful practice of lectio divina. Each monk or nun is to devote at least half an hour to it on days when there is no conference.

The Abbot [or Abbess] shall take care lest the monks [or nuns] who undertake any work should become so overburdened that prayer, lectio and participation in the life of the community should become difficult or impossible.