There is a long tradition in Benedictine monasticism from Chapter 48 of the Rule of St. Benedict that requires the monk to receive a book from the library to read through during the days of Lent. The Abbey of the Genesee continues to follow this practice and some of their lenten reading suggestions can be found on their web site. A blessed Lent to one and all.
July 11 marks the day the Catholic Church remembers St. Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-c. 547), the author of The Rule, the most formative document in western monastic history. What we know of Benedict owes largely to his biography, written by Pope Gregory the Great in his Dialogues(c. 593), where, in keeping with traditional hagiographic literature, he is depicted as a great miracle worker.
Benedict’s signifigance endures in his Rule, a brief document of some 15,000 words, which was to become in time the normative text for Christian monastic life in the West. Much has been written about the humanity of Benedict’s Rule, and this is certainly true, as can be seen when comparing Benedict’s text to the Rule of the Master, an earlier text which Benedict adapted and which is by comparisson more harsh and less forgiving of human frailty. It has endured for 1500 years, and that is testimony enough!
So much has been written on the Rule that it is impossible to summarize here. If you can locate a copy in a local library, there is an excellent article in the recently published Encyclopedia of Monasticism, edited by William Johnson, which includes a brief but good bibliography. One of the problems for english speakers is that most of the scholarly commentary has been done in French and other languages. Still, this is beginning to change, especially with the recently published Benedict’s Rule: a translation and commentary, by Terrence Kardong, OSB, the foremost American scholar on the subject. I highly recommend the CD-ROM The Rule of St. Benedict Library: primary and secondary sources, Scott Raines, editor.
What could be sweeter, dearest brothers, than this voice of the Lord, who invites us? Look, the Lord in his devotion to us shows us the way to life. Therefore, let us belt our waist with faith that leads to the performance of good works. Let us set out on his path with the Gospel as our guide so that we may be worthy to see him who called us into his kingdom.
Kardong, Terrence G., Benedict’s Rule: A Translation, Prologue, vs. 19-21. (Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press) 1996.
St. Benedict, one man following his call to seek God in the monastic way, and living in a time of great stress and societal upheaval, became a catalyst for the transformation of Europe through his Rule for Monks, a small document that has changed history.
