Founder of Western Christian Monasticism
St. Benedict (480-547)
Frustrated by the lack of discipline, Benedict left his school in Rome and lived as a hermit for three years. His holiness inspired an abbey to ask him to lead them. He wrote the Rule of St. Benedict and founded twelve monasteries. He could read consciences, predict the future, and stop attacks by the devil.
This holy man’s influence one the world can never be overestimated. He inspired thousands of young men and women in later generations to give their lives to God and gave his name to several popes in the 460 years since his death.
Benedict is often referred to as “the founder of western Christian monasticism”. His real name is Benedict of Nursia and he was a son of noble origin in this area in Umbria, Italy. Tradition has it that Benedict was studying for court as a noble in Rome but left his studies at the age of twenty to find some peace away from the great city. He, along with his maid, travelled east to the small haven of Enfide just 50 km from the city.
After a discussion with a local monk - Romanus - he was given a monks habit and taking Romanus’ advice became a hermit in a nearby cave…unknown to the locals. He spent three years as a hermit with Romanus stopping by occasionally with some food. Yet word of this holy man spread in the local monastery so that when their abbot died Benedict was asked to take over. He knew it wouldn’t work and before long the monks tried to poison him and he returned to the cave. Each time they tried to poison him by food or wine something would happen to stop him from tasting it just after he blessed it. These were the first of what would be a life of miracles.
He would later found 12 monasteries in the valley and lived the remainder of his days in a thirteenth… growing in the presence of God.
Over time monasticism became the Christian ideal until the 17th century when the faith was directed towards the priesthood rather that the monastic life. Benedict is now the patron saint of all of Europe and Benedictine monasteries are still vibrant when other such institutions suffer from materialism. He has a real place in the history of the Church and…, by the looks of it…,the future too.
Wednesday, July 11th, 2007 and is filed under Thoughts & Questions.
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