July 11th: The Feast Day of Saint Benedict

Many paintings epict the image of Saint Benedict.

 

 July 11th is the Feast Day of Saint Benedict.

It is believed he died on March 21st (today's date).

Geum urbanum, also known as Wood Avens, herb Bennet, Colewort and St. Benedict's herb (Latin herba benedicta), is a perennial plant in the rose family (Rosaceae).

In folklore, Wood Avens is credited with the power to drive away evil spirits, and to protect against rabid dogs and venomous snakes. It was associated with Christianity because its leaves grew in threes and its petals in fives (reminiscent of, respectively, the Holy Trinity and the Five Wounds).

THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT

St. Benedict was born in Nursia, Italy, in 480 A.D. At age 17, he was sent to Rome for his liberal education, but he became disgusted by the dissoluteness rampant in the capital of the Empire, the he chose the call of God to a better and higher life.

He then decided to withdraw to the fastness of Subiaco about 40 miles east of Rome to live a simple life in a cave. Soon he was discovered by sheperds and the fame of his holiness rapidly spread.

Soon other men who wanted to profit from his example and teachings joined him. The number of his followes increased tremendously that Benedict had to build no less than twelve monasteries in the vicinity to house them. However, each monastery having twelve monks and an abbot to rule it, was personally directed by Benedict.

Among the monasteries he founded was the Monastery of Monte Cassino which still exists today. Here he wrote the Holy Rule for Monks. St. Benedict died in 547 A.D.

The Holy Rule was adopted by the monasteries in the empire of Charlemagne. From the seventh century until the emergence of the Friar Orders in the thirteenth century, monastic life was the only form of religious life in the West. It was the strongest civilizing force in Europe during the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages. In 1964, Pope Paul VI named St. Benedict "Patron of Europe".

THE HOLY RULE OF ST. BENEDICT AND ORDER

The Holy Rule of St. Benedict is the constitution of monastic life. It establishes the structure and government of the monastery, organizes the life of prayer, work, study and discipline, and exhorts the monk to seek God. Aside from brevity and breadth of scope, the Rule is characterized by moderation and adaptability.

Ora et Labora - Prayer and Work – summarizes the Benedictine monastic life: a balanced, discipline life of prayer and work in community. St. Benedict did not specify a particular apostolate for monks. Throughout the centuries, Benedictine monks have been engaged in liturgy, scholarship, education, the arts, and missionary and pastoral work.

Benedictine saints include St. Augustine of Canterbury; St. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany; St. Ansgar; St. Adalbert; St. Gregory the Great and St. Gregory VII, two outstanding popes; the Venerable Bede, who wrote the first history of England, and St. Anselm, philosopher and theologian.

Religious in general take the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. However, Benedictine monks take the vows of obedience, conversion of life and stability. The last vow is distinctively Benedictine. By it, the monk binds himself to a particular monastic family for life. The stability of the monk insures the stability of community life.

When he wrote his Rule, St. Benedict did not have in mind an "order", that is, a widespread, centralized organization that we know today. He simply wrote a rule for monasteries. The Benedictine Order is actually a loose confederation of 26 congregations, which are in turn, federations of autonomous monasteries.