Benedictine Analysis: The Holy Rule Of St. Benedict
Benedictine Analysis
A new community is formed through the guidelines set in The Holy Rule of St. Benedict, one made for monks to fit into and to follow its rules strictly. The monks are held to high standards of prayer, work, and selfless service to God and their brothers in the monastery. These standards are encouraged through degrees of humility, strict prayer and song schedule, enforced selflessness and harsh yet fair punishments for those who defy the rules. These values play a role in every aspect of community life down to where they sleep and with whom they converse; there is no minuscule detail of a Benedictine monk’s life not touched by The Holy Rule of St. Benedict.
Every facet of the monk’s lives are tinged in some way by these …show more content…
rules, most noticeably in the amount of time they are required to sing and pray. How prayers and songs are executed is choreographed down to the day, there is very little room for individualism. A majority of the monks’ time during the week is spent in prayer or song. There are specific prayers and songs for each day, season and occasion and a monk must say each prayer and sing 150 songs every week. The time taken to sing these songs and execute these prayers reinforces the central value seen in this text that the monks serve God “in order that He who hath been pleased to count us in the number of His children” (Prologue pg. 2). Their time is not their own, it is an honor to have these songs to sing and their prayers are made not to better their own lives but those of others. The songs and prayers are a way to remind the monks over and over again that they are servants of God and are a used to praise God and thank him for the gift of their life and their opportunity to serve.
Should a brother presume to go against the rules laid out in this text, there is harsh punishment laid out.
It is not to say that the rules are unfair, “the degree of excommunication or punishment ought to be meted out according to the gravity of the offense” (XXIV pg. 31). The rules see to it that the offender is given every chance to reform, a monk may leave or be expelled up to three times and still be welcomed in the brotherhood should he choose to return (XXIX pg. 36). Though the monks themselves are forbidden from speaking to excommunicated brothers, the abbot is specifically instructed to “show all care and concern towards offending brethren” and through the power of his position he is expected to take measures to ensure that the brother is helped through his time in exile (XXVII pg. 34). The Holy Rule of St. Benedict shapes a community of brothers and as such, no brother is left out in the cold. Every opportunity is taken to reform a brother who has strayed from the flock and guide him to the light. These punishments are set to ensure that the community of Benedictine monks stays purely faithful to the values of humility and selflessness laid out for them by St. Benedict. While forgiveness is a byproduct of these virtues, the punishments are in place to ensure that any monk not worthy of remaining in the community can be dealt with and cut out so the values of the community as a whole are not tainted by …show more content…
sin.
As is the case in most religious communities, the monks under St.
Benedict’s guidance are expected to be selfless in all aspects of life. Benedictine monks have no private thoughts or possessions; all that they have is borrowed and shared. The monks are instructed “not only with his tongue he declareth, but also in his inmost soul believeth, that he is the lowest and vilest of men, humbling himself and saying with the Prophet: ‘But I am a worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people’ (Ps 21[22]:7)” these men are only on earth to serve God and should hold themselves humbly below all others in doing so (VII pg. 14). All desires held by men are seen as evil and The Holy Rule of St. Benedict warn against such selfish thoughts. A monk has no worldly possessions “since monks are allowed to have neither their bodies nor their wills in their own power” they are removed from the temptation of greed; personal ownership is seen as a vice and as such is cut from the monks lives (XXXIII pg. 40). As with most other aspects of a Benedictine monks life, their will is not their own to wield as they are warned to “guard against what Scripture saith: ‘There are ways that to men seem right, the end whereof plungeth into the depths of hell’ (Prov 16:25)” (VII pg. 12). Should a monk follow all rules and degrees of humility set out by St. Benedict “the monk will presently arrive at that love of God” for which they all strive (VII pg.
14).
The rules set by The Holy Rule of St. Benedict strictly binds the monks to each other and to the abbot, holding them to high standards of humility and selflessness in order for them to pursue a righteous lifestyle. It was St. Benedicts’ hope in writing these rules that he may create a community of selfless brothers striving humbly to earn the love of God and a place in heaven.
Work Cited
Saint Benedict. "The Holy Rule of St. Benedict." The Holy Rule of St. Benedict (n.d.): n. pag. Documenta Catholica Omnia. Cooperatorum Veritatis Societas, 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. <http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0480 0547,_Benedictus_Nursinus,_Regola,_EN.pdf>.
A new community is formed through the guidelines set in The Holy Rule of St. Benedict, one made for monks to fit into and to follow its rules strictly. The monks are held to high standards of prayer, work, and selfless service to God and their brothers in the monastery. These standards are encouraged through degrees of humility, strict prayer and song schedule, enforced selflessness and harsh yet fair punishments for those who defy the rules. These values play a role in every aspect of community life down to where they sleep and with whom they converse; there is no minuscule detail of a Benedictine monk’s life not touched by The Holy Rule of St. Benedict.
Every facet of the monk’s lives are tinged in some way by these …show more content…
rules, most noticeably in the amount of time they are required to sing and pray. How prayers and songs are executed is choreographed down to the day, there is very little room for individualism. A majority of the monks’ time during the week is spent in prayer or song. There are specific prayers and songs for each day, season and occasion and a monk must say each prayer and sing 150 songs every week. The time taken to sing these songs and execute these prayers reinforces the central value seen in this text that the monks serve God “in order that He who hath been pleased to count us in the number of His children” (Prologue pg. 2). Their time is not their own, it is an honor to have these songs to sing and their prayers are made not to better their own lives but those of others. The songs and prayers are a way to remind the monks over and over again that they are servants of God and are a used to praise God and thank him for the gift of their life and their opportunity to serve.
Should a brother presume to go against the rules laid out in this text, there is harsh punishment laid out.
It is not to say that the rules are unfair, “the degree of excommunication or punishment ought to be meted out according to the gravity of the offense” (XXIV pg. 31). The rules see to it that the offender is given every chance to reform, a monk may leave or be expelled up to three times and still be welcomed in the brotherhood should he choose to return (XXIX pg. 36). Though the monks themselves are forbidden from speaking to excommunicated brothers, the abbot is specifically instructed to “show all care and concern towards offending brethren” and through the power of his position he is expected to take measures to ensure that the brother is helped through his time in exile (XXVII pg. 34). The Holy Rule of St. Benedict shapes a community of brothers and as such, no brother is left out in the cold. Every opportunity is taken to reform a brother who has strayed from the flock and guide him to the light. These punishments are set to ensure that the community of Benedictine monks stays purely faithful to the values of humility and selflessness laid out for them by St. Benedict. While forgiveness is a byproduct of these virtues, the punishments are in place to ensure that any monk not worthy of remaining in the community can be dealt with and cut out so the values of the community as a whole are not tainted by …show more content…
sin.
As is the case in most religious communities, the monks under St.
Benedict’s guidance are expected to be selfless in all aspects of life. Benedictine monks have no private thoughts or possessions; all that they have is borrowed and shared. The monks are instructed “not only with his tongue he declareth, but also in his inmost soul believeth, that he is the lowest and vilest of men, humbling himself and saying with the Prophet: ‘But I am a worm and no man, the reproach of men and the outcast of the people’ (Ps 21[22]:7)” these men are only on earth to serve God and should hold themselves humbly below all others in doing so (VII pg. 14). All desires held by men are seen as evil and The Holy Rule of St. Benedict warn against such selfish thoughts. A monk has no worldly possessions “since monks are allowed to have neither their bodies nor their wills in their own power” they are removed from the temptation of greed; personal ownership is seen as a vice and as such is cut from the monks lives (XXXIII pg. 40). As with most other aspects of a Benedictine monks life, their will is not their own to wield as they are warned to “guard against what Scripture saith: ‘There are ways that to men seem right, the end whereof plungeth into the depths of hell’ (Prov 16:25)” (VII pg. 12). Should a monk follow all rules and degrees of humility set out by St. Benedict “the monk will presently arrive at that love of God” for which they all strive (VII pg.
14).
The rules set by The Holy Rule of St. Benedict strictly binds the monks to each other and to the abbot, holding them to high standards of humility and selflessness in order for them to pursue a righteous lifestyle. It was St. Benedicts’ hope in writing these rules that he may create a community of selfless brothers striving humbly to earn the love of God and a place in heaven.
Work Cited
Saint Benedict. "The Holy Rule of St. Benedict." The Holy Rule of St. Benedict (n.d.): n. pag. Documenta Catholica Omnia. Cooperatorum Veritatis Societas, 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. <http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0480 0547,_Benedictus_Nursinus,_Regola,_EN.pdf>.