Book Review: The Rule of Saint Benedict

   The Rule of Saint Benedict is a set of instructions for those willing to give their entire lives to God as devout monks. It was made by a man who knew well the wiles of the world and how to combat them. The many precepts in this book of rules by the great saint cover all the different aspects of monastic life such as when certain prayers are to be said, how much food the monks should eat, and who should have certain positions in the monasteries. Furthermore, the establishment of this rule founded a way of living that would shake the world to such an extent that the reverberations can still be felt today. This Rule of Saint Benedict was a simple set of principles for monastic life, but it would have far reaching effects that even Benedict could not see.    

   Benedict himself was a man from a prosperous family and because of this he had access to all the fine things of the high class, both the good and the bad. In addition to this, he lived in Rome at a time in which it was overthrown not only politically, but spiritually as well. As a result he had a great deal of experience with the sinful side of man and by the Grace of God he flew from it. It was because of this that he decided to give the entirety of his life to God. Others followed him and soon enough he was the leader of a large monastic community. Eventually, he was even sending groups of them out to start new monasteries. This caused him to write his famous rule. It was not the first rule written for monastic life, but it was the most important because it “could be applied to any number of monasteries and locations.”[1] This extensive rule gave those monks lacking his presence instructions to follow for almost every occasion in daily life. Moreover, it was because of his past experiences with sin and his experiences of running large monasteries of his own that he was able to ensure that the following of this rule would result in a holy and hard-working community of monks. Indeed, his whole rule is aptly summarized in the phrase “Ora et Labora”, pray and work.

   Jesus said “by their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16) and the fruits of Benedict’s work clearly show that it is great rule. In time Benedictine monasteries would spread not only to all of Europe, but to the rest of the world as well. Furthermore, monasteries full of monks following this rule would be the centers of civilization in the times when the rest of the world would fall into darkness. They would be the ones who would pass on the great works of the ages before them. It would also be these monasteries that would provide learning, prosperity, and spiritual reinforcement all throughout Europe. The works of these monasteries were so great that it has even been said that “a single Benedictine monastery may have done more for the cause of knowledge than Oxford and Cambridge combined.”[2] Additionally, it was the very same monks who followed Saint Benedict’s rule that eventually came to give the Catholic faith, the greatest gift of all, to the people of Europe. In fact England, the Netherlands, and Germany all owe their Christian inheritance to the Benedictine monks Augustine, Willibrord, and Boniface.[3] What makes this all the more astonishing is that the monastic life as prescribed by Benedict “was to be a means of achieving personal sanctification, not a device to rejuvenate the world outside the monastery.”[4] Nevertheless, his work has reaped amazing results. It still continues to do so through the prayers and sacrifices of the Benedictine monks who follow his rule even today in our modern times. Thus, it was that even without this plan in mind Benedict’s rule brought about spectacular fruits. 

   As a result, The Rule of Saint Benedict is an indispensable set of rules which monasteries would be wise to follow. However, this rule is not limited to the use of monks alone. It can be used by anyone who wishes to live a disciplined life full of prayer and work in the service of God. Indeed, “a unique feature of the rule is the space given to practical and spiritual advice.”[5] It gives crucial advice on obedience, silence, humility, reverence at prayer, and other such things that anyone, not just those who live in a monastery, can use in their day to day lives. Benedict may have written his rule with the direction of his fellow monks primarily in mind, but this does not detract from the fact that the wisdom found in this book can be used by all. Truly, the Rule of Saint Benedict is a great work which has produced and continues to produce prodigious fruits. Therefore, any of us who wish to live a life filled with a greater amount of prayer and work should read this book and as Saint Benedict so rightly says “hasten to do now what will profit us for all eternity.”[6]

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[1] Vidmar, John OP. The Catholic Church Through the Ages: A History. (2nd Addition. Mahway NJ: Paulist Press New York, 2014), p. 83

[2] Alfred Lapple. The Catholic Church: A Brief History. (New York, Paulist, 1982), p. 34.

[3] Schreck Alan, The Compact History of the Catholic Church, (Cincinnati, OH: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2009), p. 39

[4] Baldwin M.W. Christianity through the Thirteenth Century. The Documentary History of Western Civilization. Palgrave Macmillan London, (Springer For Reasearch and Development, https://rd.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-00026-5_5)(accessed 6/7/2019)

[5] KNOWLES, M. D., and R. K. SEASOLTZ. "Benedictine Rule." New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2003, (Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3407701317/GVRL?u=23009&sid=GVRL&xid=96a0ace0.) (Accessed 27 June 2019.)

[6] Benedict. The Rule of St. Benedict. (London: Baronius Press Limited, 2005), p. 4