Saint Benedict, Abbot and Co-Patron of Europe – Readings

Commentary on Proverbs 2:1-9; Matthew 19:27-29

Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew is taken from the verses following the story of the rich man. Recall that in that story, the rich man came to Jesus and asked what he should do to gain eternal life. When Jesus told to him to keep the Commandments, he asked which ones Jesus had in mind. Jesus then cited the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th commandments. The significant thing about all of them is that they are concerned with relations with other people. Commandments on relations with God are not mentioned. The man said that he had kept all these commandments since he was young. “What else was lacking?” he asked. Jesus told him:

If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.

That was too much for the wealthy man. He went away deeply disappointed because he was very well-off and could not take that step.

When he had gone, Jesus told his disciples that:

…it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

On hearing this, the disciples were astounded because, for them, as well as anyone in the society of the time, wealth was a sign of God’s blessings. Their reaction was, if the rich could not be saved, who could be?

Peter, speaking in their name, said to Jesus:

…we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?

And it is then that Jesus speaks the words of today’s Gospel:

Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

All those who are ready to leave family and property in order to follow the Way of Jesus will be rewarded many times over—and in this life.

This was all confirmed by Benedict and the way of life suggested by his Rule. Many people left their families and their material security to follow the monastic life. They entered a life of material simplicity, but also a life of loving security where everyone contributed to the well-being of everyone else.

Today’s First Reading from the Book of Proverbs speaks of another great characteristic of the Benedictine way, arising out of their way of life. His monasteries became centres of learning and wisdom which had a great influence on the knowledge and culture of Europe.

For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk blamelessly,
guarding the paths of justice
and preserving the way of his faithful ones.

These monasteries are a clear signal that a life of simplicity is not a barren life, but one that is deeply enriching not only for those who live there, but for all those who come under their influence.

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Saint Benedict, Abbot and Co-Patron of Europe

Benedict of Nursia (circa 480—547), known as the Father of Western monasticism, had a huge influence in his own time and in succeeding centuries. His monks were a source of stability in the highly disordered state of Europe following the collapse of the Roman Empire and the invasions of the northern tribes (e.g. Vandals, Huns); they laid the ground for the emergence of the cultural wealth of the Renaissance from the 12th century onwards.

Benedict was born about 480, the son of a Roman noble from Nursia (modern Norcia, in Umbria), and it is believed he was a twin of St Scholastica. Little certain is known about his life, as the only source is from Gregory the Great’s Dialogues, Book II. It has been described as “the biography of the greatest monk, written by the greatest Pope, himself also a monk”. It is more a spiritual portrait than a factual biography.

Benedict began studies in Rome, but left before completing them to become a hermit in Subiaco. Over a period of three years in solitude, Benedict matured both in mind and character, in knowledge of himself and of his fellow-man. At the same time he became deeply respected by people in the neighbourhood, so that when the abbot of a nearby monastery died, the monks begged him to be their abbot. Although he did not agree with their lifestyle, he finally accepted.

However, it did not work out—so much so that the monks tried to poison him, and he went back to his hermit’s cave. The legend is that they tried to poison his drink, but when he blessed the cup, it shattered. They then tried to kill him with poisoned bread, but when he blessed it, a raven came and snatched it away. Many other miracles were attributed to him, and many people came to him for direction. He built 12 monasteries, each with a superior and 12 monks. He himself lived in a 13th with some whom he thought were more promising. Benedict, however, was the father or abbot of all the groups.

Benedict later left for Monte Cassino, near Naples, where he drew up the final version of his Rule. This contained much of the traditional monastic teaching of earlier monks like Cassian, Basil and probably also the so-called Rule of the Master, though much modified by Benedict. His vision was a life characterized by prudence and moderation rather than severe asceticism and lived within a framework of authority, obedience, stability, and community life. ‘Stability’ meant that a monk would generally stay permanently in the monastery which he had joined. It was a way of life which was complete, well-ordered and practical. The monk’s day was taken up with liturgical prayer, complemented by sacred reading and manual work of various kinds which took care of the community’s needs.

Benedict was not a priest, and there is no evidence that he intended to found a religious order. His principal goal and achievement was to write a Rule or way of life. Today’s Order of St Benedict (OSB) is of later origin and not a ‘religious order’ as commonly understood, but rather a confederation of congregations into which the traditionally independent Benedictine abbeys have affiliated themselves for the purpose of representing their mutual interests—without however losing any of their autonomy. Benedict’s own personality is reflected in his description of the kind of person the abbot should be: wise, discreet, flexible, learned in the law of God, but also a spiritual father to his community. Gregory’s Dialogues spoke of him as having second sight and miraculous powers.

Because of its inner qualities and the endorsement it received from secular rulers and other founders of religious institutes, Benedict’s Rule became the standard monastic code in the early Middle Ages. Because of its flexibility, it could be adapted to the different needs of society in different places. In a world of civil turmoil with the break-up of the Roman Empire, it was the monasteries which became centres of learning, agriculture, hospitality, and medicine in a way which Benedict himself could never have imagined.

The best known symbols connected with Benedict are a broken cup (containing poison) and a raven. He is also shown wearing a monastic cowl and holding either the Rule or a rod for corporal punishment. Benedict spent the rest of his life realising the ideal of monasticism contained in his rule.

He died at Monte Cassino, Italy, according to tradition, on 21 March, 547. He was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964. His feast day, previously 21 March, was moved in 1969 to 11 July, a date on which his feast had been celebrated in several places. Together with Saints Cyril and Methodius, Catherine of Siena, Bridget of Sweden, and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Benedict was declared a Patron of Europe by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

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