I must say that I enjoyed working on Benedict. His concern for those who followed him and his devotion in living a life directed to Christ in all things is inspiring (of which ample evidence is supplied by the fact that his is the most common Rule used and that there is even an order of Benedictine laypersons, the Oblates). If only monasticism could be cured of its sacred-secular distinction and its separationist tendencies.
My apologies for any formatting issues in this paper. Word documents do not always translate well into Blogger. Especially the chart in the middle. Hopefully you can work it out.
_______________________________
Benedict of Nursia: the Father of Western Monasticism
Known as the Father of Western Monasticism, Benedict of Nursia has had an impact on Western civilization beyond his humble beginnings as a hermit in Italy. His rule for the monastic communities which grew around him has been followed by many monks and laypersons throughout the years, and the monasteries set up according to his rule served as elements of stability, order, and learning in the period after the fall of Rome and through the middle ages. Benedict’s emphasis on prayer, obedience, and permanence for those who would follow his Rule has ensured a place for this writing throughout history and in the hearts of many Christians striving to integrate their faith in Christ with their daily living, both within and outside of the cloisters of a monastery or convent.
Life and Times:
We know more about the world in which Benedict lived than we do about the man himself. There is much that is unknown about Benedict’s life and about him as a person. The only early sources we have are his Rule which he wrote himself, and a biography written by Gregory the Great about 50 years after Benedict’s death.[1] What seems to be known for sure is that Benedict was born in Nursia circa 480, studied in Rome for a time, but left to live as a hermit for 5 years in caves near Subiaco. When his fame spread and a group of disciples gathered around him, he founded 12 monasteries (each having about 12 monks) nearby. After this he travelled to Monte Cassino, and established another monastery on the site of what was a pagan sacred grove, which he chopped down. Here, it seems, is where he remained until he death around 550 (traditionally held to be March 21, 547).[2]
It is not, however, primarily Benedict’s life that was so influential in history, but the rule which he wrote for the monastic communities which he established. While not the first monastic rule written, Benedict’s was the one that would stand the test of time and change the face of Western monasticism.[3] The importance of this Rule is also seen in its character as compared to the character of the times in which Benedict lived, and the times following in which his Rule was implemented by those following his tradition of monasticism.
Benedict died shortly before the beginning (if such a date can be precisely fixed) of the Middle Ages, the time in which the Western Roman empire lost its hold on the world.[4] Thus Benedict’s life was lived in this period of transition, a period of change and upheaval:
Technically there was no Western Empire after the year 476, for in that year the line of the Western Emperors ceased. The West was again united to the East
and ruled by the Caesar of Byzantium. But it was a poor remnant of the ancient dominions of Rome that now acknowledged the authority of the Emperor in any but a perfunctory fashion. For the fifth century witnessed the occupation of great tracts of the West by Teutonic tribes. Britain, Gaul, Spain and Africa passed under their domination and it was soon to be the turn of Italy itself. Thus was the whole aspect of the West changed, almost beyond recognition.[5]
In a word, the Western empire, including Italy was disorganized, a shadow of its former self. “Life was an urgent struggle to make sense of what was happening.”[6]
It was into this situation that Benedict was born and retreated to his life of solitude, and it was in this situation that Benedict established his monasteries:
Benedict responded to the anarchy of his time by founding monastic communities built on the ideal of cultivating a family spirit among the monks, on
disciplined daily worship, on a balanced and non-competitive approach towards fasting and other ascetic practices, and on the dignity of manual work for rich
and poor alike. Monastery after monastery based on Benedict's Rule brought light into Italy's darkest medieval days.[7]
In the communities that Benedict founded, and especially in his rule, there was an element of stability and order[8] in a world that was changing all the time. It was in these Benedictine monasteries that learning and education was also preserved in the days when there was little formal education elsewhere.[9] In this, while Benedict’s life inspired those who gathered to him, his Rule inspired many more throughout Europe and throughout its history.
The Rule of St. Benedict:
Benedict’s lasting significance lies in the rule he gave to his monasteries by which they were to live their lives and structure their monastic existence. This was not the first monastic rule to have been written, nor was it the last, but it was the rule which spread through Europe and served as the rule for many monasteries, and as the beginning of a number of monastic orders. Through Augustine of Canterbury, this Rule even found its way to Great Britain in the seventh century.[10] The widespread and lasting appeal of this Rule can be attributed to its character, and to the life which it outlines which had an impact on those who lived near a Benedictine monastery.
The importance of Benedict’s Rule lies not in any novel ordering or in anything revolutionary to the life of the monastic community. The importance of this Rule lies in how Benedict understood and viewed the members in that community. “It is his new understanding of the relationships between the members of the community that is the great breakthrough.”[11] To Benedict, monks were not solitary individuals learning at the feet of a master, but as brothers, aiding and supporting each other in the journey.
Benedict approaches this community, these relationships between loving brothers, as a father wholeheartedly interested in the spiritual well-being of his ‘children,’ as can be seen in the opening words of the Rule: “Listen, child of God, to the guidance of your teacher.”[12] Such language brings to mind the words of Solomon in Proverbs 1:8, where he exhorts his son to listen to his teachings: “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” It is language that gives evidence of a deep concern that those who listen to or read these words follow the way of wisdom, the path, as Benedict puts it “to return to Christ, when you have strayed through the laxity and carelessness of disobedience.”[13] Thus Benedict’s Rule strives to lead its adherents further and deeper into the life devoted to Christ.
But Benedict realized that such a life could not be meticulously ordered and planned out. While the daily living of the monastery could be highly structured, as well as the ways in which the monks were to relate to one another, Benedict also wrote that this rule is only a beginning, that “by observing it in our monasteries, we can at least achieve the first steps in virtue and good monastic practice.”[14] This rule is in fact only a tool, a means by which one can work towards greater virtue and ultimately attain heaven:
Whoever you may be, then, in your eagerness to reach your Father’s home in heaven, be faithful with Christ’s help to this little Rule, which is only aThe Rule works toward such a goal of virtue by stressing in its structure of the monastic life prayer, obedience, and permanence.
beginning. Starting from there you may in the end aim at the greater heights of monastic teaching and virtue in the works which we have mentioned above [sacred scriptures, Conferences and Institutes of Cassian, and the Lives of the Fathers], and with God’s help you will then be able to reach those heights yourself.[15]
In Benedict’s Rule, the importance of prayer is stressed right away from the beginning. In the second part of his prologue, Benedict writes: “make prayer the first step in anything worthwhile that you attempt. Persevere and do not weaken in that prayer.”[16] This insistence on prayer is explained by the fact that God chose his people to be his own sons and daughters out of love, and in prayer we can respond to that love by seeking to obey his will. In daily life, no matter where that is, “we need grace and we need the prayer which wins grace; for these two things are connected and go necessarily together.”[17] Benedict points those who would follow his rule immediately away from themselves and to the Lord, for the strength needed comes from him alone, and the grace needed to perform and succeed at worthwhile activities.
This stress on prayer is not only something that Benedict urges, but it is built into the daily life as outlined by his Rule as well. The life of a Benedictine monk is one which is centred on and punctuated by prayer. Seven times during the day the monks will gather together for prayer: “at the times of Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline we perform the duty of our service to God,”[18] and once at night, “in the night let us arise to praise him.”[19] Exactly when these were to be done and what was to be done at these times differed between the summer months and the winter months, summer being from Easter until the first day of November,[20] and the winter months November until Easter. Thus a monk’s daily prayer life would happen, barring any exceptions for work or illness, like this:[21]
Summer Hours:| Winter Hours:
2:30 AM Vigils | 2:30 AM Vigils
5:00-5:45 Lauds | 6:00-6:45 Lauds
6:00 Prime | 7:00 Prime
8:30 Terce | 9:00 Terce
1:00 PM Sext | 12:00 PM Sext
2:30 None | 2:15 None
6:00-6:45 Vespers | 5:00-5:45 Vespers
8:00 Compline | 6:30 Compline
Between these set times for communal prayer, there was opportunity for each monk to read, study, and work, and also to pray privately. This “reflected Benedict's conviction that prayerful listening should be at the center of the Christian life,”[22] a conviction that he also underlined by writing into his Rule that each monk should have “complete harmony between the thoughts in [their] mind and the meaning of the words [they] sing.”[23] Such prayer is not just something monks do, it is the centre of their life, giving meaning to everything else that they do, sustaining all other activities.[24]
As part of this life of prayer, Benedict gave his followers the rule of silence. Speaking and teaching, Benedict writes, are things that belong to the role of a teacher, and so monks, as those who listen and learn, are to be silent: “speaking and instructing belong to the teacher; the disciple’s role is to be silent and listen.”[25] As his Rule begins with the word ‘Listen,’ this attitude shows up throughout these instructions, and determines what a monk’s life will look like. Thus “permission to speak should be granted only rarely to monks and nuns, even though they may themselves have achieved a high standard of monastic observance.”[26] No matter what stage of the spiritual journey a monk is on, this attitude of listening and learning is one that they should always have. Even the abbot of the monastery is to live as an example to those under his care, in this matter and in all, for Benedict exhorts the abbot that teaching by example is the most important method of teaching.[27]
The role of the abbot in the monastery shows the importance of obedience to Benedict—obedience to the Lord and to those in authority over oneself. Because Benedict stresses that the monastery is a community rather than a collection of individuals striving toward purity in life, much of his Rule is directed toward the structure of life, as we have seen, and to the relationships between monks and their brothers and between monks and their abbot or spiritual father.
In the first place, this obedience is founded upon the virtue of humility, which is an important virtue to Benedict since without it the monastic life is not possible, and most importantly, humility attaches one to God “as a child to its mother’s breast, so as to live by Him and to grow in Him.”[28] Benedict pictures humility as a ladder leading up to God (as the ladder Jacob saw in a dream),[29] and so he speaks of it in ‘steps.’
Humility, according to Benedict, has 12 steps involved in it. These steps begin with the awe which one should hold for God, and through this to turn away from one’s own will, one’s own desires, but always turn to God.[30] The third to the sixth step of humility deals with a monk’s relationship to his superior: he is to submit to him, obey him, accept conditions without complaint.[31] This relationship is important for Benedict, as it is the attitude which Christ showed to God the Father, being obedient even unto death,[32] and is how a monk expresses his submission and reverence for his superior: obedience to him in all things. In fact, such obedience is seen as a gift given to the superior,[33] and in this way according to the will of the Lord. The superior (Abbot) is the father of the monks in the monastery, and thus is to be seen as Christ’s representative over them. The monks’ love for Christ will express itself in their obedience to the Abbot.[34]
This love is also expressed in the relationships that the monks would have with one another in the monastery. The seventh and eighth steps of humility demand that a monk consider himself less important than others, and to remain within approved limits and rules for conduct, including the ninth to eleventh steps of humility which have to do with silence. A monk is urged to refrain from unnecessary speech, empty laughter, and speaking in manner not befitting a monastery.[35] All of this leads up to the twelfth step of humility, “concerned with the external impression conveyed by those dedicated to monastic life.”[36] All of which Benedict writes for those who follow his Rule are summed up by him at the end of his Rule when explains the spirit behind the monastic life:
By following this path, [monks] try to be first to show respect to one another, with the greatest patience in tolerating weaknesses of body or character.And to reach this ideal requires commitment, which lies behind the reason Benedict stresses permanence and stability in the monastery.
They should even be ready to outdo each other in mutual obedience, so that no one in the monastery aims at personal advantage but is rather concerned for the good of others. Thus, the pure love of one another as belonging to one family should be their ideal. As for God, they should fear him with deep reverence. They should love their abbot or abbess with sincere and unassuming affection. They should value nothing whatever above Christ himself, and may he bring us all together to eternal life.[37]
The first chapter of the Rule outlines four approaches to the monastic life: cenobites, anchorites, sarabaites, and gyrovagues.[38] These latter two types are held in low esteem by Benedict who sees nothing good in what they do. Sarabaites follow their own will, their own rules, and lead worldly lives with the pretence of being monks.[39] Even worse than that sarabaites are the gyrovagues, who only took a vow of poverty, and then moved from place to place living on the generosity of others without any inclination of settling down somewhere and in any way contributing.[40]
In opposition to these two classes ‘monks,’ Benedict writes mostly about the cenobites, to whom his rule applies as these are monks “who are based in a monastery and fulfill their service of the Lord under a rule and an abbot or abbess.”[41] The anchorites Benedict passes over since they are hermits who have learned from their monastic experience and who then “venture into single combat in the desert, relying only on their own arms and the help of God in their battle against the evil temptations of body and mind.”[42] It is important for Benedict’s emphasis on permanence that he stresses that these hermits have passed through a community of supporters, learning how to live well and deal with the attacks of the devil. In a way, they have ‘graduated’ from the monastery and can do with little of the support that they would find there for their life of devotion.
To the cenobites, the monks who enter a monastery, Benedict turns his attention. To him, this is the best way for a person to live this style of life, as it provides support, there is the abbot to help and other monks to rely on as well. But this requires that the monk is committed wholly to the monastic lifestyle. Benedict demands commitment and strives for permanence. “To become a monk under the rule of Benedict was to commit to the long haul,”[43] and so entrance into the community was no easy matter, but a process that took longer than six months.[44]
Not only did the one hoping for admission need to know what was all entailed in joining the monastery and whether or not he could do it, the community needed to know whether this person could remain with them for the rest of his days, as they all work together in this endeavour as a community, not just a collection of individuals striving for purity. The other monks would need to know that the candidate is willing and able to live according to the rule established by Benedict, for it contains much that organizes the monks’ lives together, their relationships toward one another. Any disharmony in the community would cause friction between brothers, and thus hinder all in the life of devotion they have chosen. And this permanence, this stability and structure would have been a beacon shining in the world of the middle ages, when so much was changing and dark.
Evaluation:
There is much more than can be said about Benedict and his Rule. In a way, through his Rule, Benedict has served as a spiritual father to many monks throughout the world and through history, and much has been written on this small book. Benedict’s intention in this matter is laudable: he wished to create a space in which sincere, devout Christians could immerse themselves in the word of the Lord and come to know him and lead lives of purity and holiness, aiding one another in this. Beginning with the exhortation to ‘listen,’ Benedict outlines a rigorous schedule for his monks which will take them through all 150 Psalms each week during the set times of prayer, and almost as much time in ‘godly reading’ (lectio divina),”[45] personal study of the Bible and other sacred literature.
But his Rule has not only influenced the lives of monks and nuns around the world, but has inspired not a few laypersons as well.[46] With Benedict’s insistence that his rule is not an end in itself, but only a tool, a beginning through which one can strive for better and higher things, it can be adapted for a non-monastic life as well. In fact, an order of Benedictine oblates has emerged. These are laypersons who do not feel called to the monastic life, but desire to live according to Benedict’s Rule.
Oblates are “Christian individuals or families who have associated themselves with a Benedictine community in order to enrich their Christian way of life.”[47] In their lives, they strive after stability and fidelity in worship, practice moderation, commit themselves to a continual conversion to Christ, and in obedience “strive to discover and maintain their proper relationship toward God, their family, and the civil and religious society in which they live.”[48] They take the principles of Benedict’s Rule, and apply it to life outside of the monastery. In short:
With the Rule as their guide, Oblates adopt values that are part of the very fabric of Christian spirituality, such as, spending time daily reflecting on the Sacred Scriptures; cultivating an awareness of the presence of God in silence; devoting time to the praise of God; performing acts of mortification. An acquaintance with these and other Christian values presented in the Rule of St. Benedict will enable Oblates to attain that special peace and joy that Christ came to bring and promised to all who follow him.[49]As such, it is a way for a lay believer to strive for and hope to attain a higher spiritual understanding of his or her life, and so more and more live in the awareness of their union with Christ, submitting their whole life to him and worship of him.
What this institution of an order of oblates does is bridge the gap between the sacred and the secular, which is a major criticism of a monastic order. The ideal of separation from the world to pursue the more sacred callings in life lies behind the life of a monk. A monk lives “apart from the world”[50] in his community, and there leads the life of contemplation and prayer. While this does not necessarily imply that such a life is somehow better or more holy than everyday life as the laity must lead, it is difficult to see how such a view could not arise, given the sinfulness of all people, and the times in which Benedict’s monasticism grew. The rule itself does not speak about this division, nor the relative sanctity of the monastic life, simply because Benedict takes the monastic life as his starting point and writes for those who live in that kind of community. But the path he outlines for attaining “the very heights of perfection” is a difficult one, a path that demands, as we have seen, commitment and stability. Who in their regular, everyday life can aspire to such practices? Even the Benedictine oblates are not required to follow the schedule of prayer as set out Benedict, but follow the greater principles of Benedict’s Rule.
Conclusion:
The importance and lasting significance of Benedict of Nursia, although born around 480, lies in his Rule, which has become the standard for Western monasticism. Even such monastic orders as the Cluniacs and the Cistercians find their origin and foundation in Benedict’s Rule. The Congregation of Cluny began as a reform movement within Benedictine monasticism in 910 in Cluny which resulted in a hierarchical form of government.[51] The Cistercians originated as another reform movement within Benedictine monasticism in 1098 in Citeaux. This movement resulted in a more literal application of Benedict’s Rule to the monastic life.[52]
Through his Rule, Benedict’s emphasis on prayer, obedience, and stability or permanence have influenced many lives, both within and outside of monasticism. To understand the ideals and rationale of Western monasticism demands that one deal with Benedict and his structure of his monasteries, a structure which had a long-lasting impact on many more monasteries and convents than Benedict himself began, and through many generations of church history. But this influence does not lie only in the monastic tradition, but many laypersons have also profited from Benedict’s Rule, and offered their lives to the Lord, which was Benedict’s goal for his monks in the 6th century.
Endnotes:
[1] Justin McCann. Saint Benedict: the Story of the Man and His Work. Revised Edition. Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1958. pp. 8-10.
[2] Esther de Waal. Seeking God: the Way of St. Benedict. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2001. pp. 16-17.
[3] de Waal. Seeking God. pp. 20-22.
[4] McCann. Saint Benedict. p. 17.
[5] McCann. Saint Benedict. p. 19.
[6] de Waal. Seeking God. p. 15.
[7] Carmen Acevedo Butcher. “The Blessing of Benedict.” Christian History and Biography. Issue 93, Winter 2007. pp. 10-15. p. 11.
[8] A. Hastings. “Contribution of Benedict to European Civilization.” Downside Review. Issue 114, 1996. pp. 56ff. p. 62. See also McCann. Saint Benedict. p. 27.
[9] de Waal. Seeking God. p. 20.
[10] McCann. Saint Benedict. pp. 172, 177.
[11] de Waal. Seeking God. p. 18.
[12] Patrick Barry, translator. Saint Benedict’s Rule. Mahwah, NJ: HiddenSpring, 2004. p. 45.
[13] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 45.
[14] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 151.
[15] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 152.
[16] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 45.
[17] Dom Paul Delatte. Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict. Translated by Justin McCann. London: Burns Oates & Washbourne Limited, 1921. p. 5.
[18] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 81.
[19] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 81.
[20] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 76.
[21] Adapted from Hugh Feiss. “A Life of Listening.” Christian History and Biography. Issue 93, Winter 2007. pp. 16-19. p. 17.
[22] Feiss. “Life of Listening.” p. 17.
[23] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 86.
[24] de Waal. Seeking God. p. 145.
[25] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 65.
[26] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 65.
[27] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 54.
[28] Delatte. Commentary. p. 101.
[29] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 67.
[30] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. pp. 67-69.
[31] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. pp. 70-71.
[32] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 69.
[33] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 64.
[34] de Waal. Seeking God. p. 115-116.
[35] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 72.
[36] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 72.
[37] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 150-151.
[38] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 51-52.
[39] Delatte. Commentary. p. 30-32.
[40] Delatte. Commentary. p. 33.
[41] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 51.
[42] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. p. 51.
[43] Feiss. “Life of Listening.” p. 17.
[44] Barry. Saint Benedict’s Rule. pp. 130-132.
[45] Feiss. “Life of Listening.” p. 17.
[46] Feiss. “Life of Listening.” p. 19.
[47] “Oblates: an Introduction.” http://www.osb.org/obl/intro.html (accessed February 8, 2008).
[48] “Oblates.”
[49] “Oblates.”
[50] Herbert Thurston. “Monk.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Accessed online: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10487b.htm (February 8, 2008).
[51] G. Cyprian Alston. “Congregation of Cluny.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IV. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. Accessed online: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04073a.htm (February 8, 2008).
[52] F.M. Gildas. “Cistercians.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III. New York: Robert Appleton Company: 1908. Accessed online: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03780c.htm (February 8, 2008).
No comments:
Post a Comment