Memorial of Saint Benedict

Readings: Isa 1:10-17; Ps 50:8-9.16bc-17.21.23; Matthew 10:34-11:1

Relevant to our Gospel for today, in his Rule Saint Benedict set forth this dictum: "All guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ, for he himself will say: I was a stranger and you welcomed me (Chap 53:1)." Hospitality is a distinctive hallmark of Benedictines.

Why start by mentioning the Benedictines? Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Benedict of Nursia (AD 480-547). Benedict is considered the founder of Western monasticism and an early pioneer of what is known as coenobitic monasticism. Coenobitic simply means communal. Saint Benedict founded what came to be known as the Benedictines. Christian monasticism started with the Desert Fathers and Mothers in Egypt and Syria. Early Christian monks were largely hermits (hermitic being the opposite of coenobitic).

There is a whole family of Benedictines. By "Benedictine," I mean monastic orders that follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. For example, the Cistercians, who were formerly in Huntsville, are part of the Benedictine family. Many of our seminarians attend Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon. The seminary is located on the grounds of Mount Angel Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. Mount Angel holds a special place for me. It is where I earned my doctorate.

In our first reading from Isaiah, we run across the injunctions to “Hear the word of the Lord” and “Listen to the instruction of our God” (Isa 1:10). The Rule of Saint Benedict begins with this injunction: “Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is the advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice” (Prologue 1).

Our entire first reading, which is pre-exilic, warns Israel about the consequences of what will happen if they don’t listen to the instruction of God. The Rule of Saint Benedict begins and continues in a similar vein. We disobey God at the expense of our exile from him.

Becoming a Benedictine is a very radical way of following Christ. The Rule of Saint Benedict requires its adherents to live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. There may be no more radical form of Christian life than becoming a monastic.

Saint Benedict, who lived from the late fifth through the mid-sixth centuries, began his community during the collapse of the Roman Empire. He lived at a time when Western civilization, as it had developed up to that point, was in danger of collapse.

Just as in Benedict’s day, our civilization needs Christian witness, the vibrancy of radical Christian discipleship: conversion. In the final paragraph of his masterwork in moral philosophy, After Virtue, Scottish philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, himself a convert to the Catholic Church, drawing a parallel between Benedict’s time and our own wrote:

This time however the barbarians are not waiting beyond the frontiers; they have already been governing us for some time. And it is our lack of consciousness of this that constitutes part of our predicament. We are not waiting for a Godot, but for another – doubtless very different – St. Benedict

Lest you misunderstand Benedict and MacIntyre, neither one calls for direct political action. For me, this is a relief because, while I certainly have political opinions, I am not now, never have been, and likely will never be a political activist.

So, what we need to attend to in this call to radical discipleship is just how the Benedictine witness and manner of life accomplished what, at least in retrospect, seems such a magnificent feat. To keep it short, after the manner of Jesus, it was not through direct political engagement, let alone political antagonism. Rather, Benedictines produced the fruits of the Spirit, adhering to what has become the Benedictine motto" ora et labora- prayer and work. By "work" is meant an earnest day's toil.

Along with Saints Cyril & Methodius, Saint Bridget of Sweden, and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Saint Benedict is the Patron Saint of Europe. As mentioned, Benedictine monasticism arose at a time when European civilization was on the verge of collapse. One of the reasons Joseph Ratzinger took the name Benedict upon being chosen as pope, was to prioritize, again, the evangelization of Europe by calling to mind the need for Christian discipleship.

In the seventy-third and final chapter of his Rule, Saint Benedict reminds the reader that this rule is but the beginning, the first steps, along the pathway of holiness. Noting that every page of Sacred Scripture is the truest guide for human life, Benedict went on to observe that his Rule, along with the writings of the Fathers are tools for the acquisition of virtue for "obedient monks." In his humility, Father Benedict went on to observe that “for us, [these writings] make us blush for shame at being so slothful, so unobservant, so negligent.” He then asks, “Are you hastening toward your heavenly home?” If your answer to the question about being committed to realizing your destiny is “Yes,” he offers his Rule as a handbook for beginners.