The Feast of St. Benedict

and the supremacy of Jesus Christ!

Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may he bring us all together to everlasting life.

The Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 72

Gracious God, whose service is perfect freedom and in whose commandments there is nothing harsh nor burdensome: Grant that we, with your servant Benedict, may listen with attentive minds, pray with fervent hearts, and serve you with willing hands, so that we might live at peace with one another and in obedience to your Word, Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Collect for the Commemoration of Benedict of Nursia,
Abbot and Founder of the Benedictine Order, c. 550

Today is the Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia. In 2019 Book of Common Prayer it’s called an ecumenical commemoration but feast day sounds a bit more robust!

Saint Benedict was a monk and is widely known for the Rule of Life he created for the monks in his order.

“In Monte Cassino he founded the monastery that became the roots of the Church's monastic system. Instead of founding small separate communities he gathered his disciples into one whole community. His own sister, Saint Scholastica, settled nearby to live a religious life.

After almost 1,500 years of monastic tradition his direction seems obvious to us. However, Benedict was an innovator. No one had ever set up communities like his before or directed them with a rule. What is part of history to us now was a bold, risky step into the future.”

Read more about St. Benedict here. Or here (Wikipedia has some good info!)

I created this video collect for my diocese today and I thought I would share it along with a couple of other resources.

St. Benedict was incredibly influential and is an inspiration for anyone seeking to live a life of stability, fidelity, and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can view and pray with the daily collect prayers I have created on the C4SO Instagram or Facebook page. You’ll fide them in reals or can view all these prayers in the morning prayer highlights or evening prayer highlights on Instagram.

Also, I would commend these two books to you.

The first is simply The Rule of Saint Benedict. Read it for yourself. It’s amazing, short, and worth a slow, prayerful reading. I have read it a number of times and often take it with me on silent retreats to be reminded of this ancient wisdom, with so much modern application.

The Rule of Saint Benedict - My go-to edition.
The Rule of Saint Benedict - Pocket size edition. I was given this during orientation at my seminary, Nashotah House Theological Seminary. This is the translation I often take on retreat.

Also, I would also recommend Ester DeWall book Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict. It’s a great book reflecting on the rule of St. Benedict.

As collect for today prays, may you listen with attentive minds, pray with fervent hearts, serve God with willing hands, and live at peace with one another and in obedience to the Word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!