Sunday, November 19, 2017

Benedict of Nursia


We just learned about the Mar Saba, the monastery in Bethlehem.

Another monk from history is Benedict of Nursia.

Saint Benedict helped set up 12 different monasteries throughout Italy.

He also wrote a very famous book called The Rule of Saint Benedict.

This was a long book that gave instructions for how monks should live together.
It has everything from what they should eat, how they should work, where they should sleep, and how they should act toward each other and the people in the community.

One of the most important rules for monks was to be humble, and they had 12 rules for how to be humble:

"(1) Fear God, (2) Subordinate one's will to the will of God; (3) Be obedient to one's superior; (4) Be patient amid hardships; (5) Confess one's sins; (6) Accept the meanest of tasks, and hold oneself as a "worthless workman"; (7) Consider oneself "inferior to all"; (8) Follow examples set by superiors; (9) Do not speak until spoken to; (10) Do not readily laugh; (11) Speak simply and modestly; and (12) Express one's inward humility through bodily posture."


(from: wikipedia - benedict of nursia)


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