By Natashya Fernandez
“You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognise the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.” Thomas Merton
For software programmer Paul Forster, life could not have been going any better.
Born and bred in Melbourne, his life was one that everyone would have wanted.
But there was one thing that kept coming back to him – God’s calling.
In an interview with The eRecord, the newly professed Benedictine Monk details how he could no longer neglect what was happening in life, his move to New Norcia, the only monastic town in Australia and why when God’s hand is at work in your life, you just don’t keep putting it off.
Dom Paul Forster made his Simple Profession as a Benedictine Monk on Thursday 29 June 2017 at the Holy Trinity Church in New Norcia among some 60 people including his family and friends from Melbourne.
Dom Forster said life has a way of dealing different cards to people, after heading back for the second time to Western Australia in 2015.
“I must say, I can see God’s hand at work in the direction he has led me.
“From my comfortable existence in Melbourne, I chose rather to head off 2000 miles or so to an outback location, away from family and friends.
“When one chooses a path in life and is committed to it, God starts to work in many ways to assist in such a process. Life puts forward many choices.
“Yet it was only when I started to put God first rather than my own interests, that the path became strangely clearer.
“Strangely enough it is here that I do find my home.
“God is present at New Norcia. I can see it in the everyday encounters with the monks, in the quieter moments, in the recounting of past stories during recreation time,” Dom Forster said.
During the period of discerning his vocation, Dom Forster said that there was a deeper sense of something more that God was asking of him; a void that left him wanting, an unfulfilled desire.
Growing up in Melbourne with his older brother, he said life could not have been happier.
But what struck him most came after finishing high school, when he saw how many others were incredibly poor and often without opportunities to have a better existence.
“Looking back, it was these years that were a turning point in my life. I started to see other people, not as competitors, but rather as children of the same God who had blessed me and my family,” Dom Forster said.
2013 was a defining year for him as it was the start of something special that stirred a yearning in his life.
“I didn’t fully appreciate the depth and wisdom around Monastic Life. I knew very little about St Benedict and even less about the desert outback of Western Australia.
“As I immersed myself in the history of Monasticism, reading a lot of books about the Desert Christians and Cassian and Evagrius and St Benedict himself, I could no longer ignore the possibility.
While the passing of his dad in 2014 led him to confront his own demons and realise that life is temporal, he realised that God could no longer take a backseat in his life.
“He wanted to be front and centre and my will would have to learn how to settle for second place,” Dom Forster said.
Since making his Simple Profession, Dom Forster explained that first and foremost his role is to live the life of a monk at New Norcia Monastery.
“By taking a Vow of Stability, I choose to live under the Rule of St Benedict and the Abbot and monks here at the Monastery.
“I began my time of Postulancy on 25 January 2016.
“This is where the candidate takes more seriously, the way of life at the Monastery and becomes involved in the regular program.
“This ended up being for around six months and officially started what is termed a Novitiate on the 28 June 2016.
“My Simple Profession is for a period of three years, whereby I profess to live the Vows of Stability, Obedience and Conversio Morum or conversion of life which includes living a celibate lifestyle and in poverty.
“This notion of conversion of one’s life has deep significance in the Benedictine Tradition and is also reflected in the clothing that is symbolic of this commitment one makes.
“After the three years of temporary profession, one makes what is termed Solemn Profession or final vows, what is generally seen as a commitment for one’s life,” Dom Forster explained.
While daily life varies from time to time, he said that he has many roles at the Monastery.
“In trying to follow St Benedict’s mission, I take on whatever role is required at the time by the Monastery. This is a large part of our service to the brethren.
“There are many facets that make up New Norcia, so it is important that we don’t lose the focus of keeping God at the centre.
“I help out with the tours through the town or assist the groups and guests. We also run a number of programs including spear-throwing, boomerang art, bush tucker walks, European Space Agency centre displays and the list continues.
“Recently, I have taken on the Sacristan role, so I am involved in the preparation for daily Mass, Church maintenance, Oratory setup and cleaning around the Monastery buildings.”
Having found his vocation, Dom Forster said that only by giving religious life a try that we can truly start to appreciate what it is all about.
“It is not to have our own interest at its core, rather if it is God who is calling you then, at least I found, the only reasonable response would be to visit and experience it for yourself,” he concluded.