St Benedict

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St Benedict; Patron of Europe
Topic Started: Monday, 25. May 2009, 17:30 (71 Views)
KatyA	Monday, 25. May 2009, 17:30 Post #1
Administrator Posts: 5,199 Group: Admin Member #6 Joined: September 26, 2006	At 4.30 p.m. Saturday 24 May, having had lunch at the Italian abbey of Montecassino, the Holy Father met with the monastic community there and greeted those responsible for organising his visit. He and the monks then walked in procession singing the "Laudes regiae" to the basilica of the abbey for the celebration of Vespers. The ceremony began at 5 p.m. and was attended by Benedictine abbots, monks and nuns from various communities. Having been greeted by Dom Pietro Vittorelli, ordinary abbot of Montecassino, the Holy Father pronounced his homily. He began by recalling how over its history the abbey has been "destroyed and rebuilt four times, the last following the bombardments of World War II sixty- five years ago. ... Montecassino, like the ancient oak planted by St. Benedict, has been 'pruned' by the violence of war, but has grown back stronger than before". St. Benedict abandoned everything to follow Jesus and, "incarnating the Gospel in his own life, became the initiator of a vast movement of spiritual and cultural renewal in the West", said the Pope. Referring then to the account of St. Gregory the Great, who explains how St. Benedict "was 'raised aloft' by an indescribable mystical experience", the Holy Father highlighted the fact that the saint "received this divine gift not to satisfy his intellectual curiosity but so that the charism God had granted him could reproduce in the monastery the life of heaven itself, recreating the harmony of the creation through contemplation and work. "Rightly so, then", the Pope added, "the Church venerates him as an 'eminent master of monastic life and as a 'doctor of spiritual wisdom in his love for prayer and work'. ... St. Benedict was a shining example of sanctity and indicated Christ to his monks as the one great ideal to follow. He was a master of civilisation who, while presenting a harmonious and balanced view of divine needs and of man's ultimate goal, remained well aware of the requirements and reasons of the heart, teaching and fomenting true and constant fraternity so that, in the interplay of social relationships, a unity of spirit capable of building and nourishing peace should not be lost". The Holy Father went on: "It is no coincidence that the word 'Pax' welcomes and visitors at the door of this abbey", which "stands as a silent admonition to reject all forms of violence and build peace: in families, in communities, among peoples and in all humankind". Following St. Benedict's example, "monasteries have, over the course of the centuries, become lively centres of dialogue, of meeting and of beneficial fusion among different peoples, brought together by the evangelical culture of peace. Through work and example, the monks were able to teach the art of peace, giving tangible form to the three elements identified by Benedict as being necessary to conserve the unity of the Spirit among mankind: the cross, which is the very law of Christ; the book, in other words culture; and the plough, which stands for work, mastery over matter and time". He continued: "Thanks to the work of monasteries, divided into the threefold daily commitment to prayer, study and work, entire peoples on the European continent have known real liberation and beneficial moral, spiritual and cultural development, being educated in a sense of continuity with the past, real activity for the common good, and openness to God and the transcendental. Let us pray that Europe may always appreciate this heritage of Christian principles and ideals which represent such an immense cultural and spiritual resource. "This is possible", the Pope added in conclusion, "but only if we accept the constant teaching of St. Benedict: ... that seeking God is man's fundamental task. Human beings do not realise themselves fully, they cannot be truly happy, without God. ... From this place where his mortal remains lie, the patron saint of Europe still invites everyone to continue his work of evangelisation and human promotion". Following Vespers the Holy Father venerated the relics of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, buried behind the major altar of the basilica. full text of speech



KatyA	Friday, 10. July 2009, 23:12 Post #2
Administrator Posts: 5,199 Group: Admin Member #6 Joined: September 26, 2006	In the fifth century, the young Benedict was sent to Rome to finish his education with a nurse/housekeeper. The subject that dominated a young man's study then was rhetoric -- the art of persuasive speaking. A successful speaker was not one who had the best argument or conveyed the truth, but one who used rhythm, eloquence and technique to convince. The power of the voice without foundation in the heart was the goal of the student's education. And that philosophy was reflected in the lives of the students as well. They had everything -- education, wealth, youth -- and they spent all of it in the pursuit of pleasure not truth. Benedict watched in horror as vice unravelled the lives and ethics of his companions. Afraid for his soul, Benedict fled Rome, gave up his inheritance, and lived in a small village with his nurse. When God called him beyond this quiet life to even deeper solitude, he went to the mountains of Subiaco. There he lived as a hermit under the direction of another hermit, Romanus. After years of prayer, word of his holiness brought nearby monks to ask for his leadership. He warned them he would be too strict for them, but they insisted -- then tried to poison him when his warning proved true. So Benedict was on his own again -- but not for long. The next set of followers were more sincere and he set up twelve monasteries in Subiaco where monks lived in separate communities of twelve. He left these monasteries abruptly when the envious attacks of another hermit made it impossible to continue the spiritual leadership he had taken. But it was in Monte Cassino he founded the monastery that became the roots of the Church's monastic system. Instead of founding small separate communities he gathered his disciples into one whole community. His own sister, Saint Scholastica , settled nearby to live a religious life. Benedict had the holiness and the ability to take this step. His beliefs and instructions on religious life were collected in what is now known as the Rule of Saint Benedict -- still directing religious life after 15 centuries. In this tiny but powerful Rule, Benedict put what he had learned about the power of speaking and oratorical rhythms at the service of the Gospel. He did not drop out of school because he didn't understand the subject! Scholars have told us that his Rule reflects an understanding of and skill with the rhetorical rules of the time. Despite his experience at school, he understood rhetoric was as much a tool as a hammer was. A hammer could be used to build a house or hit someone over the head. Rhetoric could be used to promote vice ... or promote God. Benedict did not shun rhetoric because it had been used to seduce people to vice; he reformed it. Benedict did not want to lose the power of voice to reach up to God simply because others had use it to sink down to the gutter. He reminded us "Let us consider our place in sight of God and of his angels. Let us rise in chanting that our hearts and voices harmonize." There was always a voice reading aloud in his communities at meals, to receive guests, to educate novices. Hearing words one time was not enough -- "We wish this Rule to be read frequently to the community." Benedict realized the strongest and truest foundation for the power of words was the Word of God itself: "For what page or word of the Bible is not a perfect rule for temporal life?" He had experienced the power of God's word as expressed in Scripture: "For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:10-11). For prayer, Benedict turned to the psalms, the very songs and poems from the Jewish liturgy that Jesus himself had prayed. To join our voices with Jesus in praise of God during the day was so important that Benedict called it the "Work of God." And nothing was to be put before the work of God. "Immediately upon hearing the signal for the Divine Office all work will cease." Benedict believed with Jesus that "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God' " (Matthew 4:4). This prayer, called the Divine Office, was to be chanted from the breviary at specific times of the day. If a monk could not make it to chapel, he was to immediately fall to his knees in the place where he in the fields, in the stable, wherever he was and perform the Work of God under the vault of the sky. There was nothing special about praying in a chapel -- or praying outdoors -- but there was something very special about the prayer. "We believe that God is everywhere," but "without doubt, we believe this is so especially when assisting in the Divine Office." The Church still believes Benedict's and considers the Divine Office the prayer of the Church. But it wasn't enough to just speak the words. Benedict instructed his followers to practice sacred reading -- the study of the very Scriptures they would be praying in the Work of God. In this lectio divina, he and his monks memorized the Scripture, studied it, and contemplated it until it became part of their being. Four to six hours were set aside each day for this sacred reading. If monks had free time it "should be used by the brothers to practice psalms." Lessons from Scripture were to be spoken from memory not read from a book. On Benedict's list of "Instruments of Good Works" is "to enjoy holy readings." This sacred reading, however, was a study in love, not intellect. Not just an exercise of the mind, it was an exercise of contemplation so that "our voices and hearts harmonize." Each word of God would soak into their minds, their hearts, their very souls, so that the prayers would spring up from the depths of their being, not just from their memory. "We realize that we will be heard for our pure and sorrowful hearts, not for the numbers of our spoken words." A heart was pure when it was empty of all but God's Word and our desire to remain in God's Word. In one story of Benedict's life, a poor man came to the monastery begging for a little oil. Although Benedict commanded that the oil be given, the cellarer refused -- because there was only a tiny bit of oil left. If the cellarer gave any oil as alms there would be none for the monastery. Angry at this distrust of God's providence, Benedict knelt down to pray. As he prayed a bubbling sound came from inside the oil jar. The monks watched in fascination as oil from God filled the vessel so completely that it overflowed, leaked out beneath the lid and finally pushed the cover off, cascading out on to the floor. In Benedictine prayer, our hearts are the vessel empty of thoughts and intellectual striving. All that remains is the trust in God's providence to fill us. Emptying ourselves this way brings God's abundant goodness bubbling up in our hearts, first with an inspiration or two, and finally overflowing our heart with contemplative love. Benedict died in 547 while standing in prayer before God.



Powerofone	Saturday, 11. July 2009, 20:58 Post #3
Posts: 718 Group: Members Member #210 Joined: October 2, 2008	This is news to me. Why is it that Benedict, of all the European saints, should be the patron of Europe? Does anybody have any info on this?



KatyA	Sunday, 12. July 2009, 14:19 Post #4
Administrator Posts: 5,199 Group: Admin Member #6 Joined: September 26, 2006	St Benedict was declared Patron of Europe in 1964 by Pope Paul Vl Unfortunately I have been unable to find an English translation of his apostolic letter Pacis Nuntius. I did find this excerpt Pacis Nuntius �It is much appropriate that we celebrate St. Benedict, the abbot, as the announcer of peace, creator of unity, teacher of social traditions, and especially, herald of the Christian faith, and the founder of the monk lifestyle in the West.� (Apostolic letter of the Pope Paul VI) http://www.trencin.sk/en/27189 There is however an earlier document from Pope Pius Xll On St Benedict which offers some possible reasons why Pope Paul later saw fit to declare Benedict Patron of Europe: Quote: 28. If these norms, in virtue of which Benedict once illumined saved and built up the society of those turbulent times which was crumbling and even lead it back to better ways, be accepted and honoured universally today, then no doubt our age will be able to come safe from its terrifying shipwreck, make up its losses material and spiritual and adequately remedy its deep wounds. In an interview for Salt & Light TV, the Archabbot of Monte Cassino, Benedictine Father Pietro Vittorelli said: Quote: St. Benedict has always suggested that we proceed with evangelization of the territory. The Benedictines would found a small house, but around this house, which would slowly become a nucleus of interest because they would teach how to work the land, or they would teach plumbing techniques, or they would teach prayer, or how to read and write. All of this created a nucleus of interest that was filtered through the Gospel message, the message of Jesus Christ, and also the message of St. Benedict. A transcript of the interview can be found here Edited by KatyA, Sunday, 12. July 2009, 14:22.



Powerofone	Sunday, 12. July 2009, 20:40 Post #5
Posts: 718 Group: Members Member #210 Joined: October 2, 2008	I wouldn't wish to take from Benedict's achievements for a moment. But it occurs to me that many other saints, particularly from the dark ages, when monks from the Celtic countries re-evangelised much of Europe, would also fit the bill. Take St. Columbanus for example who founded monasteries in Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, Austria and Italy. Were his achievements any the less?



KatyA	Sunday, 19. July 2009, 14:50 Post #6
Administrator Posts: 5,199 Group: Admin Member #6 Joined: September 26, 2006	There are other patrons of Europe * Benedict * Bridget of Sweden * Catherine of Siena * Cyril * Methodius * Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) I've also seen St. Columbanus suggested as a suitable patron, but so far he isn't. Perhaps you should petition whatever Vatican Dept deals with such matters



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