A Saint Twice Honored



Saint Benedict

(480-547)
Founder of Western Monasticism
Patron of Europe

As Benedictines we celebrate the feast of St. Benedict twice a year. On March 21st we commemorate the passing of St. Benedict and July 11th is the Feast recognizing him as Patriarch of Western monasticsm. Generally, March 21st is considered the primary feast of celebration. However, there is controversy as to which feast is primary. We at Sacred Heart Monastery celebrate both days with uplifting liturgy specific to the feast and a festive meal gathering. We are grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate twice yearly because it helps to keep our heart focused on the journey of our monastic call. The celebration is a step out of our ordinary routine to invite us to awareness of the sacredness of this life.

Pope Benedict XVI, in a general audience address in 2008, lauded St. Benedict as a "luminous star" (words of St. Gregory the Great, Dialogues-on the life of St. Benedict). "The Saint's work and particularly his Rule were to prove heralds of an authentic spiritual leaven which, in the course of the centuries, far beyond the boundaries of his country and time, changed the face of Europe following the fall of the political unity created by the Roman Empire, inspiring a new spiritual and cultural unity, that of the Christian faith shared by the peoples of the Continent."

                                                      Abbey of Monte Cassino, Italy

From a life of solitude to the founding of Subiaco and MonteCassino and other monasteries in Italy, Benedict's charism thrives today, not only by vowed men and women living in community, but also by enthusiastic lay people affiliated with monastic communities, living the invitations of the Rule in their daily lives. Benedict "bequeathed with his Rule and the Benedictine family he founded a heritage that bore fruit in the passing centuries and is still bearing fruit throughout the world." (Pope Benedict XVI)

At Vespers, we frequently sing the following hymn by Ralph White, OSB, that I think captures both the life of St. Benedict and our daily journey of being faithful to the graced heritage of our call:

Blest in name more blest in calling, Benedict, we sing your praise,

Proud to be your sons and daughters, walking in your proven ways.

From those days when by the mountain, in the cave some way from Rome,

you were called to seek the Godhead, and to live for God alone.

In that hidden cave new wisdom and new holiness were born.

Seeking God, the light in darkness, others came in search of dawn,

begging you to be their leader, and to guide them to that home,

where the One who is eternal, welcomes all who are God's own.

Slow long years distill'd your wisdom into words that are your Rule,

That we too might learn to follow, learn to live in God's own school,

learn to love and learn to listen, learn with patience to obey.

How the humble find the kingdom, how the grumblers lose their way.

Humbly walking in your footsteps, Benedict we praise your name,

Thanking God for your great wisdom, letting faithfulness proclaim

still the wonder of that vision of this world you received:

All the beauty of Creation in a sunbeam you perceived.

In the valleys, on the mountains, in the cities of our land,

still we pledge our lives in worship, building on God's rock, not sand,

and in leading lives of silence, lives that balance work and prayer,

with great joy we prove by patience that our God is everywhere.

My prayer today is that all those gifted with a Benedictine heart may continue to follow the call of Christ and the invitation of St. Benedict to build on God's rock a fruitful life of silence, work, and prayer, constantly seeking the "luminous light" of God's presence everywhere. Following the theme of our present capital campaign, may we all

 "Reflect, Renew, Rejoice, Continuing the Sacred Tradition."