Reflection on St. Benedict's Day — The Benedictine Way

St. Benedict’s Day in July was, of course, a rather big deal at The Benedictine Way! We had a eucharist and a cookout, and we invited the entire TBW community (monastics, oblates and oblate candidates as well as their families, service corps members, and - now - summer interns!). We also invited the guest priests who serve us each week and their families. While we reserve Foundation Day in September for a broader celebration and as a way to express our thanks to our many different types of supporters, on St. Benedict’s Day we keep it pretty much to the more intimate TBW “family” whom we see on a regular basis.

We don’t actually know that much about St. Benedict. Our main source for our knowledge is St. Gregory the Great, a Pope of the late sixth and very early seventh centuries. St. Gregory wrote a Life of Benedict about 150 years following Benedict’s death. The Life reflects the literature of the time, with its stories conveying the kind of man Benedict was as much as – if not more than - historical fact, if “fact” is defined as “what happened.” The depiction that emerges from that book is that Benedict was a man who embodied and conveyed to others the spirit and presence of God in a variety of ways, including through his oversight of the community he started.

The other source for our knowledge of St. Benedict is The Rule of Benedict. In this context, a “rule” is a way of life, a way of living; in this case, it is the way Benedictine communities have shaped their lives for 1500 years. The Rule of Benedict naturally has aspects that are culturally bound, as any writing does. But, like holy scripture, it also has the quality of offering deeper and broader readings each time we turn to it. For this very reason, Benedictine communities read aloud one chapter of the rule each day (at a time called “chapter”). This reading achieves both a regular hearing of the ways we are called to live as well as an opportunity to contemplate internally how to live more deeply into the broader implications of the Rule, the scriptures, and the way of Jesus.

The Rule has a lot of scripture in it, and it draws on the wisdom of scripture to help establish its way of living in community. By drawing on the spirit of the Rule, Benedictine communities seek ultimately to incarnate as fully as possible the Holy Spirit of God.

We know from research that Benedict did not write the entire Rule himself. It is based on an earlier rule, The Rule of the Master. However, Benedict did make significant and highly meaningful changes which themselves shift the spirit of a community striving to follow his rule, his way of living together in relationship with God and each other. In looking at the changes he made, we get a sense of the spirit of the man himself – and we gather that Pope Gregory was not far off in presenting Benedict as a man who did indeed convey the Holy Spirit of God through both his person and his work.

Please take a look at the pictures from our celebration of St. Benedict; we had a great time! And we are always delighted to have guests join us for prayer offices throughout the week as follows:

Tuesday thru Saturday:
6 AM Vigils (30 minutes; includes Centering Prayer)
8 AM Lauds/Holy Eucharist (40 minutes)
12:10 PM Mid-Day Prayer (30 minutes; includes Centering Prayer)
5:30 PM Vespers (30 minutes)
8 PM Compline (20 minutes)

Sunday:
6 AM Vigils (30 minutes; includes Centering Prayer)
5:30 PM Vespers (30 minutes)

Incarnation Monastery moves into Sabbath following Vespers on Sunday and is closed on Mondays as Sabbath continues. Please be aware that silence is honored in the monastery each day immediately following Compline through the night until 8 AM the following morning, and from Mid-Day Prayer until 2 PM.

Incarnation Monastery is located in North Omaha at 3020 Belvedere Blvd, two doors away from Church of the Resurrection at Belvedere and 30th Streets. We’d love to see you!