Today we celebrate the Feast of the Father of Western Monasticism: Benedict of Nursia. He was born in 480 and lived to be 80 years old. He never became a priest but from his youth he desired to retreat from the world and its overwhelming sense of immorality to seek the solitude and spiritual refreshment of the countryside and the monastic life. He easily attracted followers to his own style of monastic living and thus initially set up 12 monasteries which he ran under a written rule based on those of previous monastic writers such as Basil, Augustine and various desert fathers.
His rule emphasized authority and obedience; stability and community. The monks' primary occupation was to give glory to God by praying the Divine Office in common, complemented by the reading of sacred texts and manual labor of various kinds. Benedict insisted that an abbot should be elected by all of the monks and that he should be wise, discreet, flexible, learned in the law of God and a spiritual father to his community – just as he was. The flexibility of his Rule allowed it to be adapted readily to the needs of society, so that monasteries shaped by it became centers of scholarship, agriculture, medicine and hospitality.
Benedict's most famous monastery is that of Monte Cassino, near Naples, Italy.
Our readings today speak of the spirit of Benedict's Monasticism: treasure the words of God's commands which come to you; turn your ear to wisdom; incline your heart to understanding; call on intelligence so to understand "the fear of the Lord" – for this is the beginning of true spiritual wisdom; then you will understand rectitude, justice and honesty. This was the work of the monk: the use of intelligence to ask for fear of the Lord which would lead to wisdom and understanding of the things of God.
The gospel passage reassures each and every monk – and all of us who are called to be at least partially monastic in our own ways – those who have given up everything to seek God, to find him and to keep him by giving him away in good works – will be rewarded a hundredfold in eternal life! This is a guarantee!
Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name. I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears! Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
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