Virtues of Monastic Life in The Rule of St. Benedict
Mia McFarland
History 112
June 1st, 2015
The Virtues of Monastic Life:
An Examination of The Rule of St. Benedict
The Rule of St. Benedict makes it very clear as to what virtues make a good monk and even the qualities that would make a good abbot, which differ from that of a monk. Virtues of a good monk would be obedience, humility, servitude, meaningfulness, patience, persistence, and someone who is without pride. A good Abbot has virtues such as leadership skills, being just, merciful, accommodating, concerned for others, and being considerate of others. Some virtues such as kindness, humbleness, faithfulness, servitude, fearfulness, devotion and zeal for God, and loving and caring for others are virtues that both monks and Abbots should have. These virtues are what St. Benedict thinks are perfect virtues for the beginning of a perfect monastic life, and these qualities are representative of qualities that Jesus Christ had during his lifetime.
The rule wants the monks to live as Christ did, and so we see the virtues that would be important to monks are similar to those that Christ had. One of the most important virtues for a monk is humility. A monk must be humble in everything he does, no matter what it is. In the rule, St. Benedict says that humility leads to, “...speedily that exaltation in heaven…” (32) Being humble is remembering the fear of God and never forgetting it. Humility is a virtue also because Christ during his life was humble and held others in higher opinion than he held himself, thus it would be quality desired by the monks. St. Benedict lays out twelve steps to humility in the rule. The first and arguably the most important step is, “…that a man keeps the fear of God always…and never forget it.” (33) The following steps tell the monks to be obedient to their superiors without hesitation, only do God’s will, be content with menial treatment, and that the monk use his words briefly and at all other times keep silent. These things all lead to
History 112
June 1st, 2015
The Virtues of Monastic Life:
An Examination of The Rule of St. Benedict
The Rule of St. Benedict makes it very clear as to what virtues make a good monk and even the qualities that would make a good abbot, which differ from that of a monk. Virtues of a good monk would be obedience, humility, servitude, meaningfulness, patience, persistence, and someone who is without pride. A good Abbot has virtues such as leadership skills, being just, merciful, accommodating, concerned for others, and being considerate of others. Some virtues such as kindness, humbleness, faithfulness, servitude, fearfulness, devotion and zeal for God, and loving and caring for others are virtues that both monks and Abbots should have. These virtues are what St. Benedict thinks are perfect virtues for the beginning of a perfect monastic life, and these qualities are representative of qualities that Jesus Christ had during his lifetime.
The rule wants the monks to live as Christ did, and so we see the virtues that would be important to monks are similar to those that Christ had. One of the most important virtues for a monk is humility. A monk must be humble in everything he does, no matter what it is. In the rule, St. Benedict says that humility leads to, “...speedily that exaltation in heaven…” (32) Being humble is remembering the fear of God and never forgetting it. Humility is a virtue also because Christ during his life was humble and held others in higher opinion than he held himself, thus it would be quality desired by the monks. St. Benedict lays out twelve steps to humility in the rule. The first and arguably the most important step is, “…that a man keeps the fear of God always…and never forget it.” (33) The following steps tell the monks to be obedient to their superiors without hesitation, only do God’s will, be content with menial treatment, and that the monk use his words briefly and at all other times keep silent. These things all lead to