Man of Blessing

Dear Sisters,

Lately I have read a biography of St. Benedict by Carmen Acevedo Butcher.  This beautifully written account of the holy man credited with the monastic movement was filled with wonderful accounts of miracles, love of Christ and of neighbor and a simplicity in life that I can't help but envy. 

St. Benedict started nearly every day at 2 a.m. and by 5 a.m. he had already spent 3 hours in communal prayer and the recitation of psalms known as the Divine Office.  It's an ironic fact that this architect of communal life who wrote a rule still used in monasteries today spent years first as a hermit before seeking out the company of others.  Once out of the confines of his solitary cave, this holy man started a movement that expanded exponentially throughout his life and still exists to modern times.

The father of monasticism was born in Nursia in 480 AD, the son of a Roman nobleman.  Tradition holds that he had a twin, St. Scholastica.  The foundational years for this young Roman were violent ones in his country with a number of armies and leaders invading, each causing death and destruction in their wake.  Personal stories of St. Benedict exist through the efforts of Pope Gregory the Great, who wrote about Benedict extensively.  Gregory in fact points out that "Benedict helped others achieve peace in the minutiae of ordinary life." 

This notion which resembles greatly 'The Little Way" of St. Therese who we will be studying more in-depth during the summer seems to be a recurrent theme with some of the holiest of our saints.  It appears that the love of Christ so permeated their lives, that every small action, gesture, conversation, desire and moment became an opportunity for living in God.

In his little cave in Subiaco, "Benedict came to understand in his every molecular cell, step, and breath that hours, days, and minutes do not belong to the human race."  This sense of our need to give our time to God is another common theme among our saints.  "Benedict's rule teaches that the only true way to yield to time is by praising God and praying for others."  Several times a day the Benedictines honor and praise God by stopping their work and simply worshiping Him who is all for all.

The book brings to life this brother of ours in faith in a way that I as a reader, felt that I had gained another good friend in my journey to the heavenly Jerusalem.  It reminds me of our riches in the Church and how good God has been to give us so many holy examples to follow.  The worlds that these mean and women lived in had their own challenges and evils. 

As we journey through our own period of time, let us realize that the evils we see so manifest in our society are the recycled ills that befell all the human race when Adam and Eve disobeyed Our Lord in the garden and have been plaguing mankind since that time. 

I have seen traditional marriage going the way of abortion, euthanasia and so many other gifts from our God that were meant for our good but now are used for evil.  Let us remember that we can appeal to these real people in heaven who 'have our backs' and will help us to navigate the turbulent waters of society and time.  Some day others will come after us who will also live in the light and will look around in bewilderment at the darkness crouched at their door.  Let's hope we are in a place where we can help them with our prayers as we now look to the prayers of our brothers and sisters in heaven.

Peace, Sisters