Eight Sisters from each of these two communities came together in 1902 to form the Benedictine Sisters of Cullman, Alabama. Humility requires the monk to accept the gifts of others, their wisdom, their experience, and their counsel. It was not founded by a particular saint. Benedictine Abbeys and Priories in the U.S. Benedictine University: Narrative Description, https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/benedictine-spirituality. On a personal level the rule calls the monk to live a life marked by frugality, simplicity, and gratitude for the many gifts of God. Hence the monk must be poor psychologically because he realizes his dependence on others. The spirituality of St. Benedict, reflected in the wisdom of his Rule, lights our way to truly become a Gospel people proclaiming God’s love for all of creation. The Cistercian Order reinforced the eremetical character of the cenobitical life itself. d. rees et al., Consider Your Call: A Theology of Monastic Life Today (Kalamazoo 1978). The 15th century saw the rise of a new Benedictine institution, the congregation. © 2019 Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. However, the date of retrieval is often important. The monks also set part of the day aside for private prayer and for reading the Word of God or other spiritual works. And the monks are brothers. If he gets the grandeur of God in place, he is apt to get the rest of monastic life in place too. A Scholastican appreciates the Gospel Values that St. Benedict (St. Scholastica’s Twin Brother) lived. Bibliography: Marked for Life: Prayer in the Easter Christ (London 1979). Even woman can follow this model, but only if they have an Abbess. Benedictine Oblates - History of Oblates - The Original Oblates. We see how yoga and contemplative Christianity are allies in the quests for wellness, personal renewal, and wholeness. Catholic spirituality includes the various ways in which Catholics live out their Baptismal promise through prayer and action. In chapter 72 of the rule, Benedict encourages his monks to be zealous, "supporting with the greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body and behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. Benedictines, in addition to their monastic life of contemplation and celebration of the liturgy, are engaged in various activities, including education, scholarship, and parochial and missionary work. Benedictine Spirituality The monks are models of Catholic culture as they have formed a complete way of life centered on the faith. The rule invites the monk to recognize the presence of God in his life, a presence which is neither gained or won or achieved but simply given. Recently, English Professor Sister Cynthia Binder, OSB of our monastery discussed Saint Gertrude in a homily to our monastery I would like to share with you (with her permission, of course! Do you have a general sense of what Benedictine spirituality is and where it comes from but are curious to know more? It encourages a life balance between corporate worship, spiritual reading and work in the context of community. The Rule of St. Benedict is a set of rules and principles for monks living together in monasteries, but it can apply to all those who are not Hence he is able to receive others in the community, including guests, with kind consideration. That is why the ministry of hospitality is such an important part of the Benedictine heritage. Saint Benedict of Nursia by Hans Memling 1487: The Benedictine Tradition. The Benedictine Tradition: Spirituality in History compiles writings of notable Benedictines throughout history; the essays reflect the power of faith and individual dedication to service, profound aspects that speak to the reader as strongly today as they did when first written. He is called to witness in a materialistic world to the dependence of all men and women on God, and to their need and destiny for a happiness that lies beyond material fulfillment. A touchstone phrase for me over the last few years has beenlived experience. When the monk has zeal for God, he will come to see that he is consumed not only with love for God but for everything and everyone else that God has created. Updates? Three basics • Prayer • Work • Common good Three practices • Lectio Divina • Silence • Obedience It is humility that takes the monk beyond the myth of his own grandeur to the grandeur of God. The Benedictine’s routines are simple. St. Benedict wrote his rule, the so-called Benedictine Rule, c. 535–540 with his own abbey of Montecassino in mind. "Benedictine Spirituality The first and fundamental manifestation of such a vocation is a real separation from many aspects of the secular world. Benedictine Spirituality – Enrich your spiritual life with one of these titles from Paraclete Press, based on the time-tested wisdom of the Rule of Saint Benedict. We speak, for instance, of "Benedictine spirituality", "Dominican spirituality", or "Franciscan spirituality" – to name a few. This invitation to listen came to Benedict from the heart of the Old and New Testament traditions. He wrote The Rule and established his first monastery at Monte Cassino, Italy. The great age of Benedictine predominance ended about the middle of the 12th century, and the history of the main line of Benedictine monasticism for the next three centuries was to be one of decline and decadence. As St. Benedict states “You cannot do life alone.” Instead of being possessive and manipulative, he is called to grow in detachment which manifests itself in the constructive and creative use of things. It is a call to live our Benedictine values of community, hospitality, listening, simplicity, prayer and praise in new and more profound ways. Foundations, including Solesmes, with its emphasis on the celebration of the liturgy, arose throughout Europe; monks and nuns returned to England; congregations were established in North and South America; and monasteries scattered all over the world. Simplicity of life and a sense of stewardship are also characteristics of Benedictine spirituality. He is called to live in the rhythm of alternating between receiving and giving, accepting the gifts of God and others, while sharing generously jut as others share generously with him. There were similar reforms throughout Europe. The Benedictine spiritual disciplines include common prayer, serving God though hospitality and mutual service, conversion of life, relationships and solitude. Within the Catholic Church there is a rich variety of spiritualities. That groundwork allows English Benedictine Nuns in Exile to be built around a few tensions, most notably between Benedictine life as prescribed and life in the Benedictine convent ‘as lived’. I have written much more about this devotion in my book, Benedictine Men and Women of Courage: Roots and History (see pp. . The Abbot Primate does not have direct jurisdiction in the monasteries of the order, though he is still charged with a general concern for the well-being of Benedictines around the world. And it looks like a family. The spirituality taught by St. dominic combines elements common to that of all Christians, of the clergy, of other orders, and of the medieval evangelical movements; but St. Dominic united and oriented these elements in an original, balanced, and unique way. St. Benedict (480-550) is considered to be the Father of Western Monasticism. But it also requires that he let go of false expectations concerning others. Authors include Enzo Bianchi, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Michael Casey, and Notker Wolf, OSB. Monks are to listen "to the precepts of the master" but their primary and ultimate master is God. It was also on Mount Carmel that the same prophet, praying in solitude, saw the small cloud which brought life-giving rain after the long drought. The Abbot is the father. Compared to other precepts, the Rule provides a moderate path between individual zeal and formulaic institutionalism; because of this middle ground it has been widely popular. To summarize: Benedictine spirituality in the twelfth century still preserved the essential notes that were common to all monastic spirituality, with certain differences in regard to observances. In Benedict's rule, humility is not the same as humiliations, for humiliations degrade the person. 480 to 547 CE in Italy. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. Further, ruling authority was concentrated in the annual general chapter or legislative meeting. The ascetic and contemplative orientation of the monastic life was accompanied historically by such cultural activities and manifestations as were compatible with a separation from the secular world, conversion, and a life of personal prayer. Origin. BENEDICTINE SPIRITUALITY The word "Benedictine" is relatively modern; it scarcely existed before the 17th century. Benedictine Conversations Due to the covid-19 pandemic and the need to ensure the safety of all, we are unable to gather for our usual Benedictine Days series in person at St. Scholastica Monastery. History of the Benedictine monasteries Worth Abbey is one of the thirteen monasteries of the English Benedictine Congregation, which is the oldest of the Benedictine congregations. Personal or private prayer is traditionally exercised under the form of meditative reading of Holy Scripture and of authors who explain and reflect on it, according to the three phases designated by the words "reading" (lectio ), meditation (meditatio ), and "prayer" (oratio or contemplatio ). Get it … This pattern of sharing is a basic characteristic of a cenobitic community. This means that the monk must be very quiet and still within himself, but also very alert and attentive if the word of God is to resonate properly within his innermost depths so that he is enlightened and nourished by it. A Scholastican appreciates the Gospel Values that St. Benedict (St. Scholastica’s Twin Brother) lived. He simply organized a form of cenobitic life in complete conformity with the demands of the monastic vocation, which is but integral Christian life. by Judith Valente , Martin E. Marty, et al. Benedictine Spirituality St. Scholastica’s College – Westgrove is a school for the Lord’s service. 84–85 and 181–183). Its principal source is the Word of God and its model is Christ. It is that same balance that has made it attractive today to those countless lay men and women who are not living vowed lives in a monastery but who are associated with Benedictine monasteries as oblates attempting to live their lives in the secular world according to the spiritual values set out in the rule. The Cluniac reform was often imitated by other monasteries, and a succession of able abbots gradually built up throughout western Europe a great network of monasteries that followed the strict Cluniac customs and were under the direct jurisdiction of Cluny. In the face of this revival, Pope Leo XIII desired to bring about some sort of unity among the traditionally independent Benedictines. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Some decades later, the monastery was destroyed and not rebuilt for a long time. From the Life of Saint Benedict as told by St. Gregory the Great, it appears that Oblates were received by St. Benedict already at Subiaco, before he founded his monastery at Monte Cassino. Humility is also a dominant theme in Benedictine spirituality; in fact it is closely related to contemplation. Benedictinism revived in France and Germany during the 17th century, however, and several congregations were founded, notably that of the male Maurists in France and the female Perpetual Adoration in Paris (1653) and Our Lady of Calvary (1617). Les Lignées des roys de France (“The Lines of French Kings”). The Anglican monk and spiritual theologian, Bede Thomas Mudge, notes that not only Protestantism deviated from this Benedictine-Anglican model, but also much of Roman Catholic spirituality in its later development, characterized by 'extra-liturgical devotions such as the Rosary and Benediction filling the needs of most lay-people.' Learn more about Saint Benedict … Three basics • Prayer • Work • Common good Three practices • Lectio Divina • Silence • Obedience As Missionary Benedictine Sisters with our particular charism of prayer, community cultural, and ethnic diversity, and our commitment to respect persons and creation, we believe our call at this time is to: ~Deepen and share our Benedictine spirituality She thrived in Helfta’ s spiritual and intellectual community in that era; they had a very impressive library. It is only in a secondary sense that Benedict himself, speaking through the rule, and the abbot of the community are masters. It is God who is the primary author of life for Benedict's disciples; hence the monk's obedience is above all to God and God's word which the monk finds mediated into his life through a wide variety of persons and experiences—in the rule, in the abbot, in the community as a whole, in the young and the old, in the sick and in guests, in the liturgy of the hours and in personal prayer, in sacred reading, in work, and in silence. It evokes the name of St. Benedict, who lived in the 6th century, together with all those who have been inspired by the Rule of Benedict and associate themselves with the … The monastic community and the living tradition Do you have a general sense of what Benedictine spirituality is and where it comes from but are curious to know more? New Catholic Encyclopedia. “Day by day remind yourself you are going to die. What gives the Rule of Benedict its exceptional quality has commonly been called its "discretion," in the double sense of the word: discernment and moderation. Within the “Cite this article” tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. Save 30% off a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The Abbot is the father. Benedictine spirituality is essentially contemplative even though many who follow the rule are deeply involved in intellectual or manual work as well as in ministerial service to others. Saint Benedict, the founder of Western monasticism, writes in his Rule for monks over 1,500 years ago: “The road that leads to salvation is bound to be narrow at the outset” (Prologue, Rule of Benedict).This wisdom is evident in the history of Holy Wisdom Monastery. Consequently he accepts the services and ideas of others, the gifts of life, and community. We can lose track of the fact that that our present experience is what’s happening now, and that we aren’t experiencing what c… The Rule of Benedict opens with the word "listen" (ausculta ). In this, affective piety and the contemplative study of the mysteries of God were no longer so strictly united as in the preceding centuries, in which the patristic tradition had been preserved. They were founded by Saint Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule of Saint Benedict. (December 21, 2020). The diffusion of the Rule of Benedict in the West was slow. The whole spiritual life of the monk consists in listening to God by "inclining the ear of the heart." As Sister Julie explains on the blog A Nun’s Life , “The Liturgy of the Hours is made up of specific prayers said at various time (“hours”) during the day and night. One of the great challenges in the rule is that the monk obey others not only in their strengths but also in their weaknesses, for it is tempting to see others in their weakness as simply burdens rather than as gifts. BARTH, KARL (1886–1968), Swiss Reformed theologian, described by Pope Pius XII as the greatest theologian since Thomas Aquina…, A term used to cover a literally bewildering variety of states of mind. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. He does not harbor illusions of grandeur but senses that all of his life is simply gift. Only in later centuries and especially since the 19th century has it occupied a more important place in monastic life than in the observance of the majority of non-monastic religious congregations, with the consequence that it is usually considered a special feature of monastic life and spirituality. Location matters, but the location isn’t always literally a place. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/benedictine-spirituality, "Benedictine Spirituality Are you hungering for spiritual conversation? It was considered as proposing a spiritual program, while daily life was regulated by "customaries," to which succeeded, from the beginning of the 16th century, "Declarations" and "Constitutions" as well as the "Ceremonial." God speaks to the monk through Christ, but the monk is called to see Christ not only in the superior but also in the guests, in the sick, in the young, and in the old. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Benedictines, Catholic Encyclopedia - Benedictine Order. Rich compared with many who come to the congregation of Santa Giustina of Padua instituted that! Community at Montserrat is made up of over seventy monks refers frequently to the monastic.! 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