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| BENEDICT OF NURSIA |
The first step of
humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who
cherish Christ above all.
(Rule of St. Benedict 5:1-2)
PATRON SAINT OF STUDENTS
Benedict of Nursia or San Benedetto da Norcia was born in the year 480 and died 21 March 543 or 547. He is a Christian saint, honored by the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church as the patron saint of Europe and students.
ORDER OF ST. BENEDICT
Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Italy, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. The Catholic Order of St Benedict and the Anglican Order of St Benedict are of later origin and, moreover, not an "order" as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations.
RULE OF ST. BENEDICT
Benedict's main achievement is his "Rule of Saint Benedict", containing precepts for his monks. It is heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, and shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master. But it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness, and this persuaded most religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Benedict is often called the founder of western monasticism.
Seventy-three
short chapters comprise the Rule. Its wisdom is of two kinds: spiritual
(how to live a Christocentric life on earth) and administrative (how to
run a monastery efficiently). More than half the chapters describe how
to be obedient and humble, and what to do when a member of the community
is not. About one-fourth regulate the work of God (the Opus Dei).
One-tenth outline how, and by whom, the monastery should be managed. And
two chapters specifically describe the abbot’s pastoral duties.
St.
Benedict contributed more than anyone else to the rise of monasticism in
the West. His Rule was the foundational document for thousands of
religious communities in the Middle Ages. To this day, The Rule of
St. Benedict is the most common and influential Rule used by monasteries
and monks, more than 1,400 years after its writing. Today the
Benedictine family is represented by two branches: the Benedictine
Federation and the Cistercians.[16]
The influence of St
Benedict produced "a true spiritual ferment" in Europe, and over the
coming decades his followers spread across the continent to establish a
new cultural unity based on Christian faith.
EARLY LIFE
Benedict was the son of a Roman noble of Nursia, the modern Norcia, in Umbria. A tradition which Bede accepts makes him a twin with his sister Scholastica. If we accept the date 480 for his birth, we may fix the date of his abandonment of his studies and leaving home at about 500. St Gregory's narrative makes it impossible to suppose him younger than 19 or 20 at the time. He was old enough to be in the midst of his literary studies, to understand the real meaning and worth of the dissolute and licentious lives of his companions, and to have been deeply affected himself by the love of a woman (Ibid. II, 2). He was at the beginning of life, and he had at his disposal the means to a career as a Roman noble; clearly he was not a child.
Benedict does not seem to have left Rome for the purpose of becoming a hermit, but only to find some place away from the life of the great city. He took his old nurse with him as a servant and they settled down to live in Enfide, near a church to St Peter, in some kind of association with "a company of virtuous men" who were in sympathy with his feelings and his views of life.
On his way from Enfide, Benedict met a monk, Romanus of Subiaco, whose monastery was on the mountain above the cliff overhanging the cave. Romanus had discussed with Benedict the purpose which had brought him to Subiaco, and had given him the monk's habit. By his advice Benedict became a hermit and for three years, unknown to men, lived in this cave above the lake.The monk apparently visited him frequently, and on fixed days brought him food.
During these three years of solitude, broken only by occasional communications with the outer world and by the visits of Romanus, Benedict matured both in mind and character, in knowledge of himself and of his fellow-man, and at the same time he became not merely known to, but secured the respect of, those about him; so much so that on the death of the abbot of a monastery in the neighbourhood (identified by some with Vicovaro), the community came to him and begged him to become its abbot.
Benedict was acquainted with the life and discipline of the monastery, and knew that "their manners were diverse from his and therefore that they would never agree together: yet, at length, overcome with their entreaty, he gave his consent" (ibid., 3). The experiment failed; the monks tried to poison him. The legend goes that they first tried to poison his drink. He prayed a blessing over the cup and the cup shattered. Then they tried to poison him with poisoned bread. When he prayed a blessing over the bread, a raven swept in and took the loaf away. Benedict returned to his cave at Subiaco. From this time his miracles seem to have become frequent, and many people, attracted by his sanctity and character, came to Subiaco to be under his guidance. He founded 12 monasteries in the vicinity of Subiaco, and, eventually, founded the great Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino, which lies on a hilltop between Rome and Naples.
He died at Monte Cassino not long after his sister, Saint Scholastica, died. Benedict died of a high fever on the day God had told him and was buried in the same place as his sister. According to tradition, this occurred on March 21, 543 or 547. He was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared him co-patron of Europe, together with Saints Cyril and Methodius.
In the pre-1970 Roman Calendar, his feast is kept on the day of his death, March 21. Because on that date his liturgical memorial would always be impeded by the observance of Lent, the reform of the General Roman Calendar set an obligatory memorial for him on July 11, the date on which some monasteries commemorated the translation of his relics to the monastery of St. Benoit-sur-Loire in northern France. His memorial on March 21 was removed from the General Roman Calendar but is retained in the Roman Martyrology.
The Orthodox Church commemorates St. Benedict on March 14. The Anglican Communion has no single universal calendar, but a provincial calendar of saints is published in each province. In almost all of these, St Benedict is commemorated on July 11 annually all over the world.
Source:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Published:
July 11, 2015, 6:00 AM
September 10, 2013, 8:01 AM
