FEAST DAY – JULY 11
In our modern world, we talk
fast, we travel fast, and we even pray fast. Have you ever attended rosaries where people
seem to say the words at breakneck speed -- apparently more worried about finishing before
Mass starts than savoring each word? Our impatience to get to the end, our focus on
completion rather than process is a real danger in reading Scripture when every word is
from God and has a power all its own. Benedict knew that power because he took the time to
let it work within him.
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 unraveled 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.
After almost 1500 years of
monastic tradition his direction seems obvious to us. But Benedict was an innovator. No
one had ever set up communities like his before or directed them with a rule. What is part
of history to us now was a bold risky step into the future.
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.
First came the lectio,
reading the Scripture until a phrase was found that inspired the person to stop. Our
natural tendency would be to read the phrase and think about what it means, what it has to
do with our lives and then move on. But that was not part of sacred reading.
The next step was to memorize
the phrase, repeat it over and over and over from memory without reading it, without
thinking about it, just repeating it, until it seemed to be coming from the heart not the
voice, until the power of the Word of God could take over.
When the phrase had lost all
meaning except that power, the person would fall silent, still not thinking, but letting
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit speak about the meaning in the heart. And finally the
person would sink into contemplation, going beyond the voice, beyond the intellectual
understanding, to sit in the presence of God in the divine 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.
Name
Meaning
blessed (= benedict)
Patronage
against nettle rash, against poison, against witchcraft, agricultural workers. coppersmiths, dying people, erysipelas, Europe, farm workers. farmers. fever, gall stones, inflammatory diseases,
Italian architects, kidney disease,
monks, nettle rash, people in religious orders,
poison, schoolchildren,
servants who have broken their master's belongings,
speleologists, temptations, witchcraft
Representation
bell; broken cup; broken cup and serpent representing poison; broken
utensil; bush; crosier; man in a Benedictine cowl holding Benedict's rule
or a rod of discipline; raven
Prayers to Saint Benedict
Admirable Saint and Doctor of Humility, you practiced
what you taught, assiduously praying for God's glory and lovingly
fulfilling all work for God and the benefit of all human beings. You know
the many physical dangers that surround us today, often caused or
occasioned by human inventions. Guard us against poisoning of the body as
well as of mind and soul, and thus be truly a "Blessed" one for
us. Amen.
*
* *
Glorious Saint Benedict, sublime model of virtue, pure
vessel of God's grace! Behold me humbly kneeling at your feet. I implore
you in your loving kindness to pray for me before the throne of God. To
you I have recourse in the dangers that daily surround me. Shield me
against my selfishness and my indifference to God and to my neighbor.
Inspire me to imitate you in all things. May your blessing be with me
always, so that I may see and serve Christ in others and owrk for His
kingdom.
Graciously
obtain for me from God those favors and graces which I need so much in the
trials, miseries and afflictions of life. Your heart was always full of
love, compassion and mercy toward those who were afflicted or troubled in
any way. You never dismissed without consolation and assistance anyone who
had recourse to you. I therefore invoke your powerful intercession,
confident in the hope that you will hear my prayers and obtain for me the
special grace and favor I earnestly implore. {mention your petition}
Help me, great
Saint Benedict, to live and die as a faithful child of God, to run in the
sweetness of His loving will, and to attain the eternal happiness of
heaven. Amen.
Prayer for the Gifts to Seek God and Live in Him
Father, in your goodness grant me the intellect to
comprehend you, the perception to discern you, and the reason to
appreciate you. In your kindness endow me with the diligence to look for
you, the wisdom to discover you, and the spirit to apprehend you. In your
graciousness bestow on me a heart to contemplate you, ears to hear you,
eyes to see you, and a tongue to speak of you. In your mercy confer on me
a conversation pleasing to you, the patience to wait for you, and the
perseverance to long for you. Grant me a perfect end - your holy presence.
Amen.
Readings
With jubilation of the voice, O chant ye of our Father Benedict: The mouth
of the righteous shall meditate wisdom. For wisdom hath built up a throne
for herself in the bosom of the righteous man. And his tongue shall speak
of judgment, seeing the Logos-teaching Pneumatos bedeweth the hidden
places of his heart; for the law of his God is in his heart.
Ps 36:33,34, trope "In jubilo" from the complete Old Sarum
Rite Missal, Saint Hilarion Press, copyright 1998
Prayer ought to be short and pure, unless it be prolonged by the inspiration
if Divine grace.
Saint Benedict
Girded
with a faith, and the performance of good works, let us follow in Christ's
path by the guidance of the Gospel; then we shall deserve to see him
"who has called us into his kingdom." If we wish to attain a
dwelling place in his kingdom, we shall not reach it unless we hasten
there by our good deeds.
Just as there exists an evil fervor, a bitter spirit, which divides us
from God and leads us to hell, so there is a good fervor which sets us
apart from evil inclinations and leads us toward God and eternal life. No
one should follow what he considers to be good for himself, but rather
what seems good for another. Let them put Christ before all else; and may
he lead us all to everlasting life.
from the Rule of Saint Benedict
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