| Benedict of
Nursia (July 11th) was the founder of monasticism in the Western world. Born
ca. 480, he was educated in Rome during a
period when the city was overrun by various barbarian tribes. It was a time of
great political instability and breakdown of general order. This experience
exercised a defining influence upon Benedict's personality and character for the
rest of his life. By the time he reached adulthood he was so distressed by the
city's style of life and so disgusted by the immorality of society that he left
Rome ca.500 to become a hermit monk. He settled on a hillside above Lake
Subiaco, about forty miles west of Rome. Gradually, a community of 120 disciples
formed around him. Benedict's need for stability and order led him to organize
them into groups of ten, all living a common way of life for twenty-five years.
Between 525-530, there were
some serious disturbances within the community (probably incited by a jealous
local priest), causing Benedict to move. He took a small group of his monks to
Monte Cassino (midway between Rome and Naples) where he established another
community. There, ca.540, he composed the final version of his famous monastic
Rule for a monk's daily life. Benedict died at
Monte Cassino ca550. The vision and flexibility of his Rule resulted in
monasteries becoming centers of scholarship, agriculture, and medicine. Never
ordained, and not intending to establish a formal religious "order," Benedict
nonetheless strongly influenced the development of the Church throughout history
and thus the development of Western civilization itself. |
