Saint Benedict of Nursia and His Era
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Saint Benedict and His Time: Benedict of Nursia
Patriarch of Western monks and founder of the Benedictine order. Born into a patrician family, he studied rhetoric, philosophy, and law in Rome. The evidence of his life, told by St. Gregory the Great in the second book of his Dialogues, is unreliable. It is said that at twenty, he fled to the desert of Subiaco, where a Roman monk imposed the monastic habit on him. Soon, he founded twelve monasteries. The fame of his holiness brought him the enmity of other neighboring priests, so he left Subiaco and settled at Monte Cassino, where he built a monastery on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple. Around the year 540, he wrote his famous Rule, which set humility, selflessness, and obedience as cornerstones of the monk's life. The convent is defined as an isolated community set apart from the world by its closure, yet connected to it by hospitality. Adopted by St. Benedict of Aniane, the precepts of St. Benedict of Nursia were widely disseminated during the Carolingian era and continue to be followed today in the Benedictine order.
His Time
A Patchwork of Territories: After the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the barbarian invasions, Europe disintegrated. Over the centuries, the continent became divided into many independent kingdoms and territories.
A Rural Economy: The countryside became the main source of wealth. Living conditions were harsh. Any calamity caused great famines. Feudal lords lived in castles from which they controlled vast lands cultivated by farmers.
Christianity, a Unifying Factor: Some Germanic kings embraced the Christian religion, after which they converted all their people. Europe became predominantly Christian. Religion and the Latin language became factors of unity. The first monasteries were established.
The Origin of Christian Monasticism
Some Christians withdrew to a life of complete solitude and poverty. Most of them lived alone. Others gathered around a monk who would become the spiritual master of the group, as was the case with Saint Anthony the Great and Saint Pachomius. Monasticism was introduced by Saint Benedict. The Rule of Saint Benedict summarized monastic life in one sentence: Ora et Labora, meaning the combination of prayer and work.