St. Benedict of Nursia
Waldtraud
This feast is celebrated in nearly every country of the world. St. Gregory
the Great's Dialogues provide us with the only biographical details of the
Patriarch of Western Monasticism.
Benedict was born at Nursia (Norcia) in central Italy about the year 480. He
had a sister, Scholastica, who may have been his twin and was dedicated to
God from her birth. As a young man he went to Rome to study and was
accompanied by his nurse. She was probably sent to be his housekeeper.
In Rome he was repulsed by the wickedness of his companions and fellow
students. He determined to leave, took his nurse and traveled to Enfide, a
mountain village about thirty miles north of Rome. He led a very quiet,
prayerful and virtuous life there. Not long there, Benedict quietly left
without even his nurse knowing about it.
He next went to a cave in the rocky mountain area of Subiaco some fifty
miles from Rome. Befriended by a local elderly monk, Romanus, Benedict
received the sheepskin habit of a hermit and lived a life of silence and
solitude, prayer and asceticism in his lonely cave. He was fed by the
kindness of Romanus who would let down his bread on a rope, so inaccessible
was Benedict's cave.
He lived this life for the next three years. Attracted by his holiness,
monks from a nearby monastery at Vicovaro prevailed upon him to become their
abbot. Benedict's holy and austere life proved unpalatable to them and to be
rid of him, they tried twice to poison him. Not wanting them to have the sin
of murder on their souls, Benedict left this unruly band and returned to the
eremitical or hermit life.
News of his holiness brought many to seek Benedict and his way of life.
Eventually several small monasteries of twelve monks each, with a superior,
were built. Again the devil tried to destroy the work of God. St Gregory
tells us that a jealous priest sent St. Benedict a poisoned loaf of bread as
a gift. However, God intervened and a raven flew in, took the bread and flew
off to dispose of it. This is why in sacred art St. Benedict is often
pictured with a raven. When this was unsuccessful the priest sent in naked
dancers to lure the monks out of their monasteries. Benedict decided to
leave in order to end the persecution.
He went to Monte Cassino in the Campana area halfway between Rome and
Naples. Here he built two chapels on the site of a pagan ruin and dedicated
them to St. John the Baptist and St. Martin of Tours. Thus was the
beginnings of the now famous Benedictine Monastery at Monte Casino. Here
Benedict changed from small monasteries of 12 each with a superior, to one
monastery governed by a prior and deans under an Abbot's supervision. It is
believed that it was at this time that his now famous Rule was written.
Benedict did not concern himself only with his monks. He had guest quarters
built for the many who came to seek his counsel. He was also available to
the people in the surrounding areas. Through his prayers the sick were
cured. He distributed food and necessities to the poor and he did what he
could to help any in need who sought his aid. He often foretold coming
events including his own death which occurred about the year 547. His sister
Scholastica died before him, but both are buried at Monte Cassino.
Pope St. Gregory the Great wrote about Benedict's life and miracles in the
2nd and 3rd Dialogues. Many books have been written about him, both fact and
historical fiction. The greatest book however, which reveals the true spirit
of Benedict is his "Little Rule...for monks."
Perhaps the best way to characterize St. Benedict would be to say that he
was a man of peace and moderation or balance. He believed that the only
really important thing in life was to live the best we are able according to
God's Greatest commandment, "You shall love the Lord your God with your
whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul and your whole strength
and...love your neighbor as yourself..." His rule is filled with the "how
to" of doing this. The virtues of humility, obedience and charity shine
through all the chapters of his rule.
His only question of any prospective member of the community was, "What do
you seek?" And, the only answer our hearts can give must be, "I seek God."
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Various Martyrs of the Faith
At Monte Cassino, the birthday of St. Benedict, abbot, who restored and
wonderfully propagated monastic discipline which had almost perished in the
West. His life, which was glorious for virtue and miracles, was written by
Pope St. Gregory. A totum duplex feast.
At Catania in Sicily, St. Birillus, who was ordained bishop by St. Peter.
After he had converted many Gentiles in Sicily to the faith, he died
peacefully in extreme old age.
At Alexandria, the commemoration of the holy martyrs. At the time of the
Emperor Constantius and Philagrius the prefect, they were slaughtered when
the Arians and heathens stormed the churches on Good Friday.
On the same day, the holy martyrs Philemon and Domninus.
At Alexandria, blessed Serapion, hermit and Bishop of Thrnuis. A man of
great virtues, he was driven by the fury of the Arians into exile where he
died, a confessor of the Lord.
In the territory of Lyons, St. Lupicinus, abbot, whose life was noted for
the glory of holiness and miracles.
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The third sorrowful mystery prayer of the Eucharistic Rosary, to be offered
before the Blessed Sacrament:
The Crowning with Thorns, offered for moral courage and love of
humiliations:
O King of glory! crowned with thorns and proclaimed in derision king of the
Jews by brutal soldiers who ignominiously spit upon Thy adorable face, Thou
fallest a victim to the sins committed by pride; in the Blessed Sacrament
also Thou bearest a crown of ignominy made up of the many acts of
irreverence, contempt, hypocrisy, and vanity committed by Christians in Thy
sanctuary.
O loving King! overwhelmed with insults both in Thy passion and in the
Sacred Host, we adore Thee and we beg of Thee, through the intercession of
Thy holy Mother, the grace of mortifying our self-love.
Imprimatur: + John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York, Sept 19, 1908.