Moral, spiritual and prosperity guidance was brought to many people through the Benedictine Rule and Order. The Benedictine Rule may have seemed harsh; however for the Catholic Church, it created many architectural achievements, agricultural prosperity, emergence of schools and universities and produced some of the greatest writers and scholars in the world. The most common form of monasticism in Europe during the Middle Ages was the Benedictine monasticism (Ramirez et al. 364).
Even though the Benedictine tradition started in the third century, many regard St. Benedict of Nursia as the founder and guide. Born as the son of a wealthy Roman noble family in 480, Benedict wanted to escape the corruption of the world around him. Not necessarily wanting to become a hermit but to find a place away from the city, Benedict retreated back to the mountains to create 12 small monasteries (Alston).
Benedict’s dedication to God inspired a number of other Christians, who wanted to live as he did. After some persuasion by his followers, Benedict founded the monastery in 529 at Monte Cassino, located in Italy, and became Cassino’s first abbot (Ramierz et al. 364).
Mount Cassino was also the home where Benedict wrote The Rule of St. Benedict (The Rule), and was for many centuries the leading monastery in Western Europe. When The Rule was written, Benedict made sure it was written in a way that anyone could understand it and use it to live the type of life presented
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The Essay on The Catholics Benedictine Order
... The history of the Benedictine order is marked out by the history of St. Benedicts Rule. St. Benedict formulated it in the ... the early 6th century. Benedict, founder of the monastery of Monte Cassino between Naples and Rome, wrote a "Rule" or plan of life ... early part of the 6th century.The Benedictine Rule collects long experience ...
in the Gospel. Eventually The Rule found its way to monasteries in other countries and became the rule of choice for monasteries of Europe from the ninth century onwards (Alston).
Benedict was a tough guy, his standards of obedience, humility, and contemplation can sound very harsh. However, his rule has helped millions to lead simpler lives. Benedict’s Rule of life includes worship, work, study, prayer, and relaxation. No one is alone; everyone is linked to the community through worship and through The Rule. The Rule designed a life for “cenobites” those who belong to a monastery, where they serve under a rule of an abbot.” The three main concepts of The Rule for the monks are that they stay in one particular community, place themselves under a superior and listen to the needs of others and the word of God, and begin his quest for God, which happens to be through work, prayer, sharing of possessions and celibacy. Never was it Benedict’s intent to have the monks take the vow of poverty, all possessions were shared by everyone.
Even though the monks were poor, the monastery became rich through the sharing of the possessions. This wealth enabled the monastery to feed and clothe the poor, visit the sick, and bury the dead. Many poor also came to the monasteries to help pay their debts (Alston).
Monks were instructed to talk as little as possible, especially at night. After dinner, everyone meets to say the Compline, after that, no talk is allowed for the rest of the night. Punishment was given if any monk spoke during this time (Meisel 82).
Besides gathering daily for mass, the Lecto Divina and the Liturgy of the hours are a fundamental practice of prayer in the Benedictine monastery. Architectural order of the monastery had to be harmonious with the life Benedict created. Any monastery following The Rule has to be a “cloistral”, or a space where the monks are enclosed. Physically enclosing the monk within its walls allowed the monk to focus on his search for the love of God, for “the love of Christ must come before all else.”
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Important to a monk’s existence is not only prayer but also a form of manual labor, according to the monk’s; “idleness is the enemy of the soul.” (Meisel 86).
Everything the monks need is located inside the walls of the monastery and there is no reason for him to leave. Architectural achievements, agricultural prosperity and providing great education were just a few achievements the Benedictine Rule created. Manual labor that St. Benedict started within his monks resulted in many architectural and artistic achievements. Their works included many architectural wonders within Europe, such as the wonderfully built cathedrals, artistic facades of churches and abbeys (Alston).
The Term Paper on Monks Saved Western Civilization
The early Benedictine and Irish Catholic monks literally saved Western Civilization. With the rule of the Barbarians in the Middle ages literacy was of little importance to these conquerors. This resulted in the scarce supply of books and few libraries that had been established up to and under the Roman and Byzantine Empires left un-preserved or destroyed. Thanks entirely to the Monastic Movement, ...
Excelling in illumination and mosaic work, the monks were credited with being the first to paint on glass. St. Benedict also started the monks cultivating their lands, which resulted in agricultural prosperity and provided food for many in need.
Missionary work was very important to the monks. By growing their own crops, this allowed the monks to share their food on missionary trips. Spending endless hours reading and studying, allowed the monks to produce some of the greatest writers and scholars in the world. Opening a school in every monastery St. Boniface founded, benefited the monks, but outside scholars also could attend these schools (Alston).
By copying ancient manuscripts, the monks helped preserve the knowledge of Greece and Rome (Ramierz et al. 365).
English history may not exist if it wasn’t for the monks spending most of their day preserving the writings and the history of their day. During the 11th and 12th centuries the Benedictine monastery was a center of learning, particularly in the field of medicine. The famous medical school at Salerno was established by Monte Cassino monks. That the order was and still remains influential is indicated by the number of leaders and those who were “sainthood eligible”. Twenty four Popes, 200
Cardinals, 7,000 Archbishops, 15,000 Bishops, 20 emperors, 10 empresses, 47 kings and 50 queens to name a few were all members of the Benedictine Order. Dom Boniface Wimmer of Bavaria was responsible for bringing the Benedictine Order to America. During the 1800’s, many Bavarians had immigrated to America and felt the need to have their spiritual wants attended to by Bavarian priests. After arriving in America in 1846, Wimmer traveled to the small mission St. Francis in Pennsylvania. Once Wimmer was settled, he purchased a church, house and some land that belonged to the mission. Eventually Wimmer founded the first Benedictine monastery in America, the St. Vincent Arch abbey. Word was later sent in 1856 to Wimmer that Benedictine monks were needed in Minnesota for the German immigrants.
The Essay on Richard Ii Elizabethan World Order
The Elizabethan World Order was a theological, legal, scientific, and moral plan that provided the ultimate solution to unexplained aspects of the world. It was designed to provide answers to problems that existed regarding human existence. The Elizabethan World Order consists of five major principles, "The Chain of Being", the linkage or classes, the middle position of man, man as a social being, ...
King Ludwig I of Bavaria was very generous to the monks and helped fund St. John’s abbey in Collegeville, MN. Wimmer was appointed the first abbot and president of St. John’s Abbey. St. John’s Benedictine monks not only help people spiritually, they also help the local, and global communities. Currently the monks help out 265 families of the St. John the Baptist church in Collegeville. Help to people of all faiths is carried out in many ways, through prayer, education, food and mission trips. Many educational and historical places were founded by St. John’s. Besides St. John’s College itself, they also founded the St. John’s Preparatory School, the School of Theology, The Hill Museum and Manuscript Library and Minnesota Public Radio. In today’s violent world, St. John’s has stepped up and was one of the first Catholic institutions to adopt policies pertaining to sexual abuse or exploitation. On the other side of the spectrum, environmental concerns are also a big agenda item for St. John’s (Saint John’s Abbey).
Benedict’s Rule was set out first in a world that was in turmoil with economic and political unrest to bring order to a general chaos in which people lived. This is still true today; men and women all over the world use Benedict’s Rule as a basic moral and spiritual guidance. Numbers of the Benedictines were greatly reduced due to The Reformation, however today, 1400 years after its founding; the order not only still exists, but is quite active all over the world (Alston).
The catholic faith worldwide benefited greatly by the Benedictines. Without the Rule and the Order, many architectural achievements, agricultural prosperity, catholic schools and universities and some of the greatest writers and scholars in the world would not exist.
