Listen, O my Son

LISTEN, O my son, to the precepts of thy master, and incline the ear of thy heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of thy loving Father, that by the toil of obedience thou may return to Him from whom by the sloth of disobedience thou hast gone away.

(Beginning of the Prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict)

Although it no longer appears on the Universal (Roman) calendar, today is one of two feasts of Saint Benedict celebrated by Benedictines throughout the world.

This is the day in the year 547 when Saint Benedict of Norcia died.

Saint Benedict is generally considered the founder of western monasticism, and his Rule spread throughout the west as the Roman Empire was collapsing. Pope Pius XII lauded him, for in the perilous times that followed Rome’s fall, it was Benedictine monks who preserved the ancient learning.

It was for this reason that Pope Paul VI proclaimed him a patron saint of Europe.

In his very first general audience on 27 April 2005, Pope Benedict XVI said:

Filled with sentiments of awe and thanksgiving, I wish to speak of why I chose the name Benedict. Firstly, I remember Pope Benedict XV, that courageous prophet of peace, who guided the Church through turbulent times of war. In his footsteps I place my ministry in the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples.

Additionally, I recall Saint Benedict of Norcia, co-patron of Europe, whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe. I ask him to help us all to hold firm to the centrality of Christ in our Christian life: May Christ always take first place in our thoughts and actions!

In this time of moral and social drift in the West, we are perhaps awaiting a new Saint Benedict.

After many long decades of decline, I note with joy that new monastic institutions with many young monks are now beginning to flourish in the United States and elsewhere. One of the more notable is surely Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek Abbey.

Founded in 1999 by a handful of American, Canadian, and French monks from Notre-Dame de Fontgombault, they now number 55 monks.

They are building a great Romanesque-style monastery in the Ozark foothills of Oklahoma, and they’re running out of room for new monks faster than they can build.

I prayed with one of their rosaries throughout my Camino.

Also of note are the Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel in the Rocky Mountains of northwestern Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park.

Lately, Francine and I have been drinking their Mystic Monk coffee. We can both heartily recommend it!

They’re raising the money to build their own traditional monastery in Wyoming.

Elsewhere, it cheers me that Saint Benedict’s own home at Norcia is once more home to a Benedictine abbey. These monks celebrate the sacraments according to both the Ordinary Form and Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, and they are kind enough to post audio clips of their daily Mass, Lauds, and Vespers on their blog.

And I look forward to sampling their beer at some point!

These men are finding the quiet spaces in the world to listen for the whispering voice of God (1 Kings 19:11-13).

I’ve often noted that the first word of the Rule is “Listen”. Although I’ve read and studied the rule for more than nine years now, I still find that first word to be the most challenging.