Tuesday, 7/11/17
in 488 A.D. St. Benedict was born of a wealthy
family, north of Rome. He had looked forward to marrying a fine young lady, but
something moved his heart away from that comfortable future. It was his disgust
with the vile behavior of other young men his age.
He was moved by the story of
St. Anthony of Egypt, written
by St. Athanasius of Alexandria. In it, Athanasius wrote about Anthony, another
wealthy young man, who had permanently hid himself away in an abandoned Roman
fort on the Nile.
While spending his days and
nights striving to come closer to God, Anthony had adopted David’s Psalms,
chanting the psalms at set hours of his days. Following on that, Benedict hid
himself away in a cave thirty miles east of Rome. He too, chanted psalms at set
hours of the day.
However, Benedict differed from
Anthony in one way. Where Anthony, of Greek origin, had believed in strengthening
the soul by punishing the body; Benedict, as a Roman, believed in having a
healthy soul in a healthy body.
Benedict had spent three
years in his cave east of Rome when his uncle died, leaving Benedict the
beautiful sight of Monte Cassino.
In line with his belief in
nurturing a healthy body and soul together, Benedict’s followers have always divided
their days between prayer and hard work.
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