The Idea of St. Benedict

St. Benedict’s teaching found in his Rule and also from the accounts of his life from such authors of St. Gregory the Great made large impacts on the Church, Europe and the entire world.  St. Benedict’s contribution remedied many problems that where found in contemporary monasticism at the time and developed a system of discipline and piety that was not just suited to a few limited men of great virtue but to every Christian.  To be in the Spirit of St. Benedict, is to become a complete Christian.  He also elevated the importance of communal prayer in the Divine Office more so than his contemporaries in monasticism which put greater emphasis on private prayer a trait that would stay with the Roman Church even to modern times.  The exterior fasts and abstinence where similar to that of normal laity or what peasants would have done vs the extreme fasts of coenobites of Egypt.  Those familiar with the authentic lives of St. Francis and St. Therese will see  many similarities on his teaching on the spiritual life.

All of these readings are from Benedictine Monachism published in 1919 and are in the public domain.