During the ten centuries of the Middle Ages the monastic movement went through periods of decline and renewal. Rudnick pointed out that monasticism was a good reflection of the church’s health. When monasticism prospered, so did the Roman Catholic Church; when it declined, the church suffered.3 Monasticism developed through four stages of religious life: 1. Eremitic monasticism (hermits). 2. Cenobitic monasticism (communities). 3. Monastic orders (practical, organized, related to other monasteries).