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On RITRIT, we often talk about the Rule of Saint Benedict, which many monks and nuns around the world follow in their daily lives. You know, the famous motto "Ora et Labora," the guiding principle that divides the life of religious men and women in a balanced way between prayer and work?
Well, in just 5 minutes, we'll try to explain in a few words what its origins were, its history, and the impact it has had on Western monasticism for nearly 1,500 years.
At the origin of the Rule, a man: Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia is sometimes called "the Father of Western Monks." He was born in central Italy in 480 into a Christian family of Roman nobility. The Western Roman Empire had ceased to exist in 476, and Italy was nothing more than a battlefield. After a brief time in Rome, young Benedict withdrew into nature and lived as a hermit. This quest for solitude was also a way to draw closer to God and resist the call of the world and its thousand temptations.
In his exile, Benedict met a monk named Romanus. The two men became friends, and Benedict ended up following the way of life of the anchorites, a form of consecrated life based on solitude. Called upon by monks from the surrounding area, Benedict became an abbot and eventually founded twelve houses, each placed under the patronage of a saint.
In 529, Benedict and his companions left the area and settled at Monte Cassino, a former Roman Legion camp. There, he composed the rule that bears his name: the Regula Benedicti (yes, we're giving it to you in the original Latin version). He died there in 547.
The brief history of the Rule of Saint Benedict
The Rule of Saint Benedict was composed around 530 based on earlier rules, including the Rule of the Master, written in the early 6th century.
Around 580, while northern Italy was being invaded by the Lombards, the monastery of Monte Cassino was destroyed. The abbey's monks then fled and turned toward Rome. This circumstance greatly contributed to spreading knowledge of the Rule of Saint Benedict.
It became widespread starting in the 9th century when Emperor Louis the Pious (778-840), son of Charlemagne, imposed it on all monasteries for men and women throughout the Empire at the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle in 817. This reform was, it is said, necessary to unify a monasticism that had until then been divided among competing rules, and to structure monastic life at a time when some monks engaged in commerce or allowed women inside the enclosure.
From the Romanesque period onward, it became the fundamental document of monastic life, serving as a model for many new orders that adopted it or drew inspiration from it. Great monasteries like Cluny in Burgundy followed the Rule of Saint Benedict. However, it was not until the 13th century that the Benedictine Order was structured, to which many communities present on RITRIT belong.
Throughout the centuries, monks living under the Rule of Saint Benedict have distinguished themselves in the realm of intellectual and artistic activity. The great Benedictine abbeys of the Middle Ages notably contributed to preserving ancient thought and literature.
The main principles of the Rule of Saint Benedict
The Rule of Saint Benedict describes in 73 chapters the practical life and spiritual life of monks or nuns. It is a rule of monastic life, meaning a normative text to which certain monastic orders such as the Benedictines or the Cistercians refer.
The importance of manual work in the Rule of Saint Benedict
"Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the brothers should be occupied at certain times in manual labor, and at other times in sacred reading." (Rule of Saint Benedict, Chapter 48).
The Rule of Saint Benedict calls on those who follow it to dedicate a significant portion of their time to manual work. It generally takes place within the monastery's enclosure, to avoid becoming scattered outside the walls.
Its purpose and importance in monastic life come from the fact that it guarantees the economic autonomy of monasteries and, at the same time, turns monks away from themselves to better allow them to focus on what is essential.
Throughout history, intellectual tasks have sometimes taken precedence over manual work, as the need to acquire extensive religious education became more pressing. This was the case in the Middle Ages, when monks began copying ancient texts in the scriptoria, combining manual work and meditation. Benedictine congregations thus became the cradle of historical scholarship for the Church.
A life of prayer and contemplation
The life of monks and nuns is structured by the Liturgy of the Hours, the celebration of what Saint Benedict calls the divine office.
Numbering seven (and sometimes more), the offices punctuate the day of the religious, from Vigils (between midnight and sunrise) to Compline (around 9 PM, after sunset). In between come Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, and Vespers.
The goal? To consecrate the different moments of the day to God through prayers and chants. Beyond the monastery walls, the offices, communicated by bell ringing, have also structured the lives of laypeople.
The importance of the abbot or abbess at the head of the community
A monument of vast proportions with solid architecture, the Rule of Saint Benedict places an abbot at the head of each monastery. While the Rule of the Master had the abbot designated by his predecessor, that of Saint Benedict provides for the election of the abbot by the community over which he is placed.
According to Benedict, the abbot must also love his monks as if they were his children, and make himself loved by them. From the Syriac abba (not the Swedish music group) meaning "papa," the abbot is the spiritual father of the community.
As the Benedictine Sisters of Jouarre Abbey say:
"The abbot is also the one who constantly actualizes the Rule, adapting it to the reality of lived situations, to history, to the talents of community members..."
A life of silence, humility and kindness
While the Rule of Saint Benedict remains quite demanding for those who follow and respect it, it is nonetheless humane. Because, beyond how monks' lives are concretely organized, the Rule describes the monastic virtues of obedience, humility and a spirit of silence.
Outside of times of communal sung prayer, the Rule places great importance on silence, to make oneself available to God and to others. Thus, meals are taken in silence, or at least to the sole sound of a monk reading to his brothers and the clatter of forks hitting plates in quite an amusing racket, let's admit.
Finally, to move forward collectively, community life requires collective and individual efforts (it's the same thing when living with roommates where rules are necessary, for example to avoid ending up with a pile of dishes reaching the ceiling!). Thus, Benedict invites his brothers not to judge one another but rather to help one another in all charity.
What about the Rule of Saint Benedict today?
The Rule is a monument that has crossed the centuries and today enables monks to live a common life according to a dynamic where each finds the necessary elements to progress in conversion following Christ.
Nowadays, the Rule of Saint Benedict is the most widely followed. In many abbeys, it is read in its entirety at least three times a year and commented on every evening during "chapters" preceding Compline.
The famous Chapter 53 of the Rule of Saint Benedict: the meaning of hospitality!!
An essential point of the Rule of Saint Benedict is described in Chapter 53: the importance of hospitality for monastic communities (at RITRIT, it's our favorite). There are two key phrases we love to repeat:
"All guests who arrive shall be received as Christ himself. Due honor shall be shown to all."
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