Glimpse into the cloister

During this Jubilee year of St. Francis, commemorating 800 years since the death of the saint on the evening of October 3, 1226, we can point out the role played by the Benedictines in the founding of the Franciscan order.

The small Portiuncula chapel as it stands today within the walls of the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

During the early years of St. Francis’ new way of life devoted to Lady Poverty, he was an itinerant beggar with no place to rest his head. Recognizing the special mission of St. Francis, the Benedictine monks of Mount Subasio granted him and his first companions the use of the Portiuncula, a very small 9th-century chapel in the valley below Assisi.

As St. Francis was committed to absolute poverty, he refused […]

On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we reflect on the profound moment when Christ began His public ministry, embracing the Father’s will. In a similar way, monastic profession is a decisive step in a monk’s life — a commitment to seek God entirely, leaving behind the distractions of the world to live for God.

Monastic profession is the act by which a monk vows to live the monastic life until death. What makes up these vows?

The monastic life is one wholly dedicated to God. Just as Christians rest on Sunday to honor the Lord, monks set aside the cares of everyday life to live in total freedom for God. Every aspect of their life — prayer, work, and study — becomes a means of glorifying Him. For […]

In a house full of adult men of varying temperaments and origins, one can imagine that certain rules would be necessary to maintain peace and good order.

Saint Benedict, in fact, puts emphasis on this practical aspect when regulating the silence which the monks must keep at night: it is intended to allow all to sleep without being kept up by the importunity of those who would want to talk. This silence of the night, then, takes on a grave character colored by fraternal charity. This silence of the night or great silence is normally the one that captures the popular mind, with images of monks in dark corridors using sign language to communicate about secret things.

Nonetheless, this was not the universal practice of ancient monasticism. We read in the […]

Today is the 1,000^th anniversary of the passing of Saint Henry, whom Pope St. Pius X declared to be the patron of Benedictine Oblates.  This Emperor took to heart not just politics and temporal legislation but also religion and the welfare of the Church, as can be seen in his founding monasteries throughout the Empire.  Tradition tells us that, trained by the Benedictine bishop of Regensburg, he became an oblate of the Abbey of Cluny and then asked to be received into the Benedictine abbey of St. Vanne at Verdun.  The abbot welcomed him, but immediately constrained him by obedience to re-ascend the imperial throne.

Saint Henry was first a King of Germany and then the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He had a prudent, precise, and […]

When Saint Anthony went out into the desert, there were no monasteries or rules, just a few other hermits living by the towns, each one following his own way of life. Having been inspired by hearing the Gospel calling him to poverty, Anthony had arranged things and had taken himself to an abandoned place. He sought out the few hermits and holy men that he could find to learn what he could about the ascetical and spiritual life.

Yet his life lacked structure and direction. He tried to dominate his passions with constant prayer and harsh fasting. But he was still plagued by temptations and evil thoughts that he could not drive away.  He was awash due to the inability to control distractions and to use his time well. […]