February 3 - The Rule

February 3 – The Rule

And you think we have nominal Christians now? Oh, there’s nothing new under the sun.

Christianity was one of those popular things to do. There were a bunch of people who said they were Christians simply because that was the religion of the day. Consequently, those who really felt the call of Christ on their lives had to separate themselves from the world.

There were hermits and communities that had developed – ascetics living in self-denial. All of these various groups had developed throughout the entirety of the Roman Empire.

Benedict was born in Italy, traveled to Rome to study but was soon disgusted with the immorality of this ‘Christian’ city. He left to become a hermit. People trusted him and brought their sons to him to learn about being a Christian. So much of this was happening, he had to become an abbott of a monastery. But, Benedict was a bit severe. One monk even tried to poison him because he was so strict.

He left. But, he also learned. He learned that while disciple was good, you sometimes had to allow for the frailty of humanity. Around 529, Benedict moved to a remote area, destroyed a pagan temple and built a monastery.

This might not have been a big deal, but he had big dreams for this monastery and the life that would be lived there. He wrote “The Rule” for governance. He wanted his monastery to be self-supporting and self-contained. They had workshops and fields. He wanted a safe place for his monks away from the immorality of the world. Everything they needed, they would provide for themselves.

He also understood that monks might not know exactly what they wanted right off. He gave them a one-year trial. If he wanted to be a monk after a year, he would take the vows which would separate him from society: poverty, chastity, obedience.

The Rule had seven services each day – worship was important. There was also private devotions and prayers for those outside the monastery. Every monk was required to be involved in some type of manual labor.

He wanted to make monastic life available to the ordinary man, encouraging people to not be fearful of the severity of the life he offered. This monastery became a haven in the midst of a chaotic world and Benedict’s RULE continues to guide monasteries.

One other piece of trivia: Benedict’s twin sister Scholastica founded a convent near his monastery.