When anyone is newly come for the reformation of his life, let him not be granted an easy entrance; but, as the Apostle says, ‘Test the spirits to see whether they are from God.’" the Rule of St. Benedict insists. People can be motivated to enter a monastery for various reasons, not all of them admirable, and they are not always aware of their real motivation. It is necessary, therefore, to have a period of gradual initiation into a community. The novice master is urged by the Rule to determine "whether the novice is truly seeking God, and whether he is zealous for the Work of God, for obedience and humiliations." To live the monastic life as it should be lived is not an easy task and demands a high degree of personal maturity. Those who are fleeing from real life, from unhappy family situations, or from unhappy love affairs (romantic as that may be), or who just want to "try it out" generally do not help themselves or a monastic community by joining it. Only if a person "is truly seeking God" and willing to give of himself in that search with others will he able to become a monk.