BENEDICT OF NURSIA (ca. 480-547)

benedict's birth around ad 480 coincided with an unstable, violent period in italy. wave after wave of pagans invaded while the Roman Empire collapsed. Ben responded to the anarchy of his time by founding monastic communities built on the ideal of
CULTIVATING FAMILY SPIRIT
DISCIPLINED DAILY WORSHIP
A BALANCED AND NONCOMPETITIVE APPROACH TOWARDS FASTING  and other ascetic practices
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.

...he studied in rome's classical schools and at age 17 he gave up his boyhood tunic for a roman toga and enrolled in a school of rhetoric. Ben soon discovered that he had little in common with his classmates, who indulged in cycles of studying and drunken partying.

as a new century dawned, Ben relaized that he could no longer tolerate the compromised lives of his so called well educated companions. he quit school and left rome, abandoning everything for God. his 'only desire..was to please the Lord'.

...he hiked..to Subiaco to live in a cave ...(near the ruins of Nero's resort and its nearby aqueducts...

he loved the isolation of the wilderness and the comfort of god's uninterrupted company, but word quickly spread that the kind man of God was there. shepherds and others made their way to Ben'ssimple cave, hungry for his words.

realizing that he must house these followers, Ben left the cave and built 12 monasteries, all neighboring one another. each accommodated 12 monks and a superior chosen by Ben. he established a 13th monastery (called Monte Cassino) for those monks who would most benefit from living with and being mentored by him and he became the abbot of all 13.

(the fifth century Pope Gregory wrote the story of St. Benedict. in fact, P)ope Gregory's Dialogues include the only ancient account we possess of benedict's life.)

..some pastoral approaches work better than others. he took notes for many years before writing down his articulate, humane, and balanced Rule of Monte Cassino around 529.

..Ben knew that praising God is the best medicine for a flawed, povery-stricken world. it requires rejecting arrogance, nurturing community and understanding that even the oldest seeker of God is always a beginner. this is the best lesson taught by Ben's life:
THERE IS ALWAYS MORE TO LEARN.
WE ARE ALWAYS BEGINERS.
KINDNESS IS NEVER COMPLETE.