The Rule of St. Benedict With Expository

By Francis Cuthebert

Commentaries can be broken into three primary groups; devotional, line by line (exegesis), and a combination of the two. This is of the last segment, fine blend of the two. More importantly, it provides to the American student another perspective from a European monk. This particular effort has both the novice/ oblate and academic student in mind. Here, in this expository Doyle addresses the essentials without overwhelming the mind with extraneous academic actors. To date, this is one the most balanced approach for those who either have a desire to come to explore the richness provided in this monumental document.Today it remain the most prolific monastic rule in the Western Hemisphere.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Revelation Insight
• Release date: Mar 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9781936392568

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The Rule of St Benedict With Expository

by

Francis Cuthbert Doyle, O.S.B.

Christian Monastic Series

Volume 7

Revelation Insight Publishing Co.

2015’

Speak

Dear Reader

1 Corinthians 2: 7-15. We speak the hidden mystical wisdom of God, which God ordained before the world unto our Glory, which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory.  However, as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the Heart of man to conceive the things, which God has prepared for them that Love him.  However, God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, yes, and the deep things of God.  For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of a man, which is in him?  Even so, the thing of God knows no man, but the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the Spirit of this world, but the Spirit, which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given us of God.  Which things also we speak, not in your words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with Spiritual.  However, the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  Nevertheless, he that is spiritual judges or discerns all things.

Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door; I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and with My Father on His throne.  Rev. 3: 20, 21

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Contents

The Rule of St Benedict With Expository

Dear Reader

Christian Monastic Series

Editor’s Notes

An Exposition on the Rule of St. Benedict

Prologue

Exposition on — Prologue to the Rule

Chapter 1 — The Kinds or the Life of Monks

Exposition on Chapter 1 — The variant types of monks

Cenobites.

Anchorets

Sarabites.

Gyrovagi

St. Benedict's Aim.

Sarabites and Gyrovagi in Spirit.

Chapter 2 — What Kind of Man the Abbot Should Be

Exposition on Chapter 2 — What manner of man the Abbot should be

Father.

Equal Love.

Love proportioned to Merit.

He must teach first by example

Secondly, by Word of Mouth

He must know his Subjects

Power to inspire Love

Means to acquire this Power

Chapter 3 — Calling the Brethren for Counsel

Exposition on Chapter 3 — Calling the Brethren to Council

Weighty matters

Matters of less moment

The Elders

The Secretary

Method of Procedure

When the Superior must consult

When obliged to follow the majority of votes

Miscellaneous Duties

Manner of giving counsel

Departures from rule

Summary

Chapter 4 — The Instruments of Good Works

Exposition on Chapter 4  The Instruments of Good Works.

A Digest of the Gospel

The Source of the Instrumenta.

Religious System

Faith.

Hope.

Charity.

Commandments

Mortification

Opposition to Deadly Sins

Virtues opposed to these Vices

Love of our Neighbor

Corporal Works of Mercy

Spiritual Works of Mercy

Motive Power

The Reward

Chapter 5  — On Obedience

Exposition on Chapter 5  On Obedience

System of Obedience

Whom

Constituent Elements of Obedience

In what things we must obey

Qualities of Obedience

Ladder of Obedience

Defects of Obedience

Chapter 6 —  On Silence

Exposition on Chapter 6  Silence

Scurrilous Words

Idle Words

Words that provoke to Laughter

The Refectory

The Dormitory.

The Oratory or Chapel

The Sacristy.

Reasons for Silence.

Our Lord's Love of Silence

Our Lady's Love of Silence

Chapter 7—  On Humility

Exposition on Chapter 7 — Humility

The Ladder of Humility.

The Second Degree

The second part

The Third Degree

Blind Obedience

With all Obedience

The Fourth Degree

The Fifth Degree

The Sixth Degree

The Seventh Degree

The Eighth Degree

The Ninth Degree

The Tenth Degree

The Eleventh Degree

The Twelfth Degree

Chapter 8—  The Divine Office During the Night

Exposition on Chapter 8 — The Night Office

Division of the Year

Sound Calculation

Easter

Study

Matins

Chapter 9— How Many Psalms Are to be Said at the Night Office

Exposition on Chapter 9 — The Number of Psalms to be Read at the Night Office

Divine Office.

Gloria Patri

The Invitatory

Antiphon.

The Hymn

Body of the Divine Office

All being seated

Responsory

Chapter 10 — How the Office is to be Said During the Summer Season

Exposition on Chapter 10 — Celebration of Night  Office in the Summer

Chapter 11—  How the Night Office is to be Said on Sundays

Exposition on Chapter 11 — Celebration of Night Office on Sundays

Chapter 12—  How Lauds are to be Said

Exposition on Chapter 12. Celebration of Lauds.

Chapter 13—  How Lauds are to be Said on Week Days

Exposition on Chapter 13 - Celebration of Lauds on Ferial or Week Days.

Chapter 14—  How the Night Office is to be Said on the Feasts of the Saints

Exposition on Chapter 14. - Celebration of Matins On Saints’ Days.

Chapter 15—  At What Times the Alleluia is to be Said

Exposition on Chapter 15. When Alleluia Must be Said.

Chapter 16— How the Work of God is to be Performed During the Day

Exposition on Chapter 16 Celebration of the Day Office.

Chapter 17—  How Many Psalms are to be Sung at These Hours

Exposition on Chapter 17. Number of Psalms to be Said During the Previously Mentioned Hours.

Chapter 18—  In What Order the Psalms are to be Said

Exposition on Chapter 18. In What Order the Psalms are to be said.

Chapter 19—  The Manner of Reciting the Psalter

Exposition on Chapter 19. The Order and the Discipline of Psalmody.

Chapter 20—  Reverence at Prayer

Exposition on Chapter 20. Reverence At Prayer.

Chapter 21—  The Deans of the Monastery

Exposition on Chapter 21 The Deans Of The Monastery.

Chapter 22—  How the Monks Are to Sleep

Exposition on Chapter 22.  How the Monks are to Sleep.

Chapter 23—  Excommunication for Faults

Exposition on Chapter 23. Excommunication For Offences.

Chapter 24—  What the Manner of Excommunication Should Be

Exposition on Chapter 24.  Manner of Excommunication.

Chapter 25—  Graver Faults

Exposition on Chapter 25. More Grievous Faults.

Chapter 26—  Those Who without the Command of the Abbot Associate with the Excommunicated

Exposition on Chapter 26. Those who keep company with the excommunicate.

Chapter 27—  How Concerned the Abbot Should Be about the Excommunicated

Exposition on Chapter 27  The Abbot's Care for the Excommunicate.

Chapter 28—  Those Who Have Often Been Corrected Do Not Amend.

Exposition on Chapter 28. Those Who Being Corrected Do Not Amend.

Chapter 29—  Whether Brethren Who Leave the Monastery Should be Received Again.

Exposition on Chapter 29. Whether Those Who Leave the Monastery Should to be Received Again.

Chapter 30—  How Young Boys are to be Corrected

Exposition on Chapter 30. How Children are to be Corrected.

Chapter 31—  The Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be

Exposition on Chapter 31. The Cellarer.

Chapter 32—  The Tools and Goods of the Monastery

Exposition on Chapter 32. The Substance of the Monastery.

Chapter 33—  Whether Monks Should Have Anything of Their Own

Chapter 34—  Whether All Should Receive in Equal Measure What is Necessary

Exposition on Chapter 34. Whether All Should Equally Receive What is Necessary.

Chapter 35— The Weekly Servers in the Kitchen

Exposition on Chapter 35.  The Weekly Servers in the Kitchen.

Chapter 36— The Sick Brethren

Exposition on Chapter 36. The Sick Brethren

Chapter 37— The Aged and Children

Exposition on Chapter 37. Old Men and of Children.

Chapter 38—  The Weekly Reader

Exposition on Chapter 38. The Weekly Reader.

Chapter 39— The Quantity of Food

Exposition on Chapter 39. The Quantity of Food.

Chapter 40— The Quantity of Drink

Exposition on Chapter 40. The Measure of Drink.

Chapter 41—  At What Times the Brethren Should Take Their Refection

Exposition on Chapter 41. Times of reflection.

Chapter 42—  That No One Speak After Compline

Exposition on Chapter 42. That No One May Speak After Compline.

Chapter 43—  Those Who are Tardy in Coming to the Work of God or to Table

Exposition on Chapter 43. Concerning Those Who Come Late to the  Work Of GOD, or to Table.

Chapter 44— Those Who Are Excommunicated--How They Make Satisfaction

Exposition on Chapter 44 How Those Who are Excommunicated are to Make Restitution.

Chapter 45— Those Who Commit a Fault in the Oratory

Exposition on Chapter 45.  Those Who Commit any Fault in the Oratory.

Chapter 46 —  Those Who Fail in Any Other Matters

Exposition on Chapter 46. Regarding Those Who Offended in Lighter Matters.

Chapter 47—  Giving the Signal for the Time of the Work of God

Exposition on Chapter 47. Making Known the Hour for the Work Of GOD.

Chapter 48—  The Daily Work

Exposition on Chapter 48. Manual Labor.

Chapter 49—  The Keeping of Lent

Exposition on Chapter 49  The Observance of Lent.

Chapter 50—  Brethren Who Work a Long Distance From the Oratory or are on a  Journey

Exposition on Chapter 50.  Brethren Who are Either at a Distance From the Monastery or are on a Journey.

Chapter 51—  The Brethren Who Do Not Go Very Far Away

Exposition on Chapter 51.  The Brethren Who Do Not Go Far Off

Chapter 52—  The Oratory of the Monastery

Exposition on Chapter 52  The Oratory of the Monastery

Chapter 53—  The Reception of Guests

Exposition on Chapter 53. Entertainment of  Guests.

Chapter 54—  Whether a Monk Should Receive Letters or Anything Else

Exposition on Chapter 54. Reception of letters or Presents.

Chapter 55—  The Clothing and the Footgear of the Brethren

Exposition on Chapter 55. Clothing and Alike

Chapter 56—  The Abbot's Table

Exposition on Chapter 56. The Abbot's Table.

Chapter 57—  The Artists of the Monastery

Exposition on Chapter 57. Artificers of the Monastery.

Chapter 58—  The Manner of Admitting Brethren

Exposition on Chapter 58. Manner of Receiving Brothers to Religion.

Chapter 58—  The Manner of Admitting Brethren Children

Exposition on Chapter 58. Admission of Children.

Chapter 59—  The Children of the Noble and the Poor Who Are Offered

Exposition on Chapter 59

Chapter 60—  Priests Who May Wish to Live in the Monastery

Exposition on Chapter 60 Admission of Priests.

Chapter 61—  How Stranger Monks Are to Be Received

Chapter 62—  The Priests of the Monastery

Chapter 63—  The Order in the Monastery

Expository on Chapter 63 The Order of the Community.

Chapter 64—  The Election of the Abbot

Chapter 65—  The Prior of the Monastery

Chapter 66—  The Porter of the Monastery

Chapter 67—  The Brethren Who are Sent on a Journey

Chapter 68—  If a Brother is Commanded to do Impossible Things

Chapter 69—  That in the Monastery No One Presumes to Defend Another

Chapter 70—  That No One Presumes to Strike Another

Chapter 71—  That the Brethren Be Obedient to One Another

Chapter 72— The Virtuous Zeal Which the Monks Should Have

Chapter 73 This, that not the Whole Observance of Righteousness is Laid Down in  this Rule

End Notes:

Christian Monastic Series

This series is designed and presented to accent a fine library of the essentials required for further in-depth investigation of this genre.

The focus of this series is to provide today's reader with the essentials of background and investigative writings that are a part of our Christian heritage. The selected written works are a culmination of screening the best of this genre from numerous available documents. We selected these works based on a number of factors. The greatest impact upon the body of Christ, their insight into the genre, their related impact on other writers, the feasibility to be used as a guide, and use in a standalone application. They are the primary indicators used, coupled with other factors in making our selection.

Each text in this series is a premier stand-alone text in this genre. The intended corpus of works pooled together makes for a reference library rivaling that of some great monastery or university library on this subject. These are re-edited for today’s reader. These writings are not abridged, they are the complete text, completely redone in grammar, syntax, verbiage, and other literary components to ensure the spirit of these works is not lost in these important changes.

For many of these texts, this is the first time they are available in this format and to these standards. These are not a scholarly reference work editions. For that purpose, there are other publications available. This series is intended for those who have a fundamental familiarity with the subject, and some of the writers. The intent is to address the needs of the readers who are journeying forward on their quest for union with God.

There are other selections to be added as certain texts are processed. Please look forward to these great works in print, audio, and E-book formats at your online bookstore, or through us directly.

Staff at Revelation –Insight

Editor’s Notes

Changes made are as follows: 

Made comparatives between Granada’s work and the Italian and the two English translations to ensure a cohesive line of thought.

More than tripled the number of footnotes addressing scripture, places, dates, and the individuals discussed. This will enhance the understanding of this work.

At the end, I have added a reading outline to facilitate the reader’s plan.

An Exposition on the Rule of St. Benedict

by

Francis Cuthbert Doyle, O.S.B., Canon of Newport and Menevia

A Short Account of the Life of St. Benedict.

In the year of our Lord 480, St. Benedict and his twin sister, St. Scholastica, were born in Nursia, a town in Southern Italy. Their father's name was Anicius Eupropius, and their mother's name was Abundantia, who died in giving them birth. At the age of seven years, Benedict, under the care of his nurse Cyrilla, was sent to school in Rome, and there, for the space of six years, applied himself to the rudimentary studies which usually occupy the minds of youth during the early days of boyhood. As his reason developed, and he began to be conscious of that which was evil, the immoral conduct of his school fellows' gave so rude a shock to his upright, delicate conscience, that he resolved to flee from the contamination of their evil example, devote himself to the pursuit of that wisdom which is as a garland of joy upon the brows of youth, and as a crown of glory upon the head of old age.

Accompanied by his faithful nurse, he turned his back upon the schools of the city, and, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, lifted his eyes towards those mountains, among which he was to be trained and prepared for the accomplishment of those mighty deeds, which God intended to be wrought by his hands. As he journeyed on, he was given to understand that, like the Baptist, he must retire into the desert; therefore, bidding farewell to Cyrilla, he made for the mountainous district of Subiaco, which lies at the distance of about forty miles from Rome. At Subiaco, he met with a holy hermit Monk named Romanus, to whom he communicated his design, and from his hands received the religious habit. When thus enrolled among the soldiers of Christ, and clad in the armor of the Gospel of peace, he retired to a cave in the side of the mountain; and there, unknown to all save God and Romanus, he gave himself up to the rigorous exercises of a penitential life. He was scarcely fourteen years of age when he thus turned away from all that the world could offer to him and embraced that which, to the men of his time must have seemed to be a living death. For the next fifteen years, his life was, for the most part, hidden with Christ in God. At the feet of the great Master and Model, he was learning to know himself, to despise himself, to tame and bring his flesh into subjection that he might stand before the world, in God's good time, as a leader and teacher of men in the paths of Christian perfection.

His sanctity did not long escape the notice of those who dwelt in the neighboring valleys. Rumor soon carried his fame far and wide, and those who were wearied and disgusted with the wickedness of a corrupt and decaying age began to flock to him and to consult him about their eternal well-being. Among those who were desirous of learning the science of Christian asceticism, from one so well qualified to impart it, were the monks of the monastery of Vico-Varro. These men seem to have been living in anything but the odor of sanctity; for the youthful hermit, whom they wished to choose for their Abbot, had evidently heard of their scandalous lives. When they besought him to go with them and undertake their guidance and their government, he told them that as his life was not their life, and his ways were not their ways, they would speedily weary of his presence among them, and would gladly rid themselves of his company. To all his warnings and forebodings they turned a deaf ear, and, yielding at last to their importunity, he left his beloved cave at Subiaco, and assumed the government of the monastery.

But soon the prophetic words of the man of God were verified. When the pressure of his monastic rule began to gall their necks, they chafed under it and murmured against it and would have cast it from them. They had, however, set over themselves a man of fixed purpose and indomitable will. He disregarded their murmurings and held steadily on his course of reform. At last, they plainly saw that they could not bear it any longer, and, as it was impossible to depose him from the position to which their suffrages had raised him, they determined secretly to make away with him. For this purpose, they mingled poison with his drink; but when the man of God had lifted his hand over the cup, and had blessed it, the vessel broke as if it had been shivered to atoms by the well-directed blow of a stone, instead of being blessed by the saving sign of the Cross. Perceiving by this the wicked designs of the monks, and seeing that labor bestowed on them would be labor spent in vain, he retired from their midst and returned to his much-loved solitude of Subiaco.

There, men soon began to flock to him for direction and guidance in the ways of God, and, having learned from his lips the science of sciences, were unwilling ever again to leave him. They preferred to await with him in the peace and the retirement of the mountain, and in the exercise of every Christian virtue, the summons of the Great Master. To accommodate all such as these, St. Benedict, during the next nineteen years, had to construct among the hills, which surrounded his cavern no fewer than twelve monasteries. Though given to the world such a brilliant example of every virtue, yet he could not escape the persecution of the wicked. A neighboring priest, named Florentius, maddened with envy at the thought of the great reputation for holiness, that the Saint had acquired, and at the widespread influence, which he had gained over the people, did everything in his power to blacken his reputation, and to break the spell by which he held captive the hearts of all. St. Benedict, with unalterable patience, endured this man's unmerited persecutions, hoping thus to soften the wickedness of his heart, and to win him over to a better life, but to no purpose. Therefore, seeing that all the enmity of Florentius was directed against himself, he resolved to withdraw to some other place, in which he would be beyond the reach of this wicked priest's envenomed tongue, and the malice of his unregenerate heart. Accordingly, in the year 529, he bade farewell to the beloved spot in which he had so long and so lovingly served our Lord, and, traveling for about fifty miles in a southerly direction from Subiaco, came upon the ruins of an old Roman fort, perched high up the side of Monte Cassino. There he determined to fix his abode, and thither men soon began to gather around him, as they had already previously gathered around him at Subiaco. They came in so great numbers, that he was forced to build for their accommodation a monastery, which afterward became a center of piety, of virtue, and learning for the whole world. Here he spent the last thirteen years of his life; and here, on the 21st March, in the year 543, standing before the altar of God, supported in the arms of his spiritual children, and with the words of prayer upon his lips, he breathed forth his pure soul into the hands of his Maker.

Benedict probably began to write his Rule at Subiaco, about the year 510, at the time when men were flocking to him in such numbers that he was forced to found twelve monasteries for their accommodation. However, internal evidence, which is furnished by the Rule itself, puts it beyond a doubt that it was not completed until St. Benedict had founded the famous monastery of Monte Cassino. For if we remember that there were in each of the twelve monasteries only twelve monks, it will be evident that there could not be any necessity for the appointment of Deans, which bespeaks in the twenty-first chapter. That and several others must, therefore, have been inserted by him about the year 536, when he sent St. Placid into Sicily and gave him a copy of the Rule for his guidance, and for the government of the monastery which he was sent to found in that island.

This was the first monastic code, which was written for the West. Eastern ascetics had been trained and disciplined by the legislation of St. Basil, and all those who in the West had up to this time devoted themselves to a coenobitical life had formed themselves to virtue either by the enactments of his Rule or by those of which Cassian had made such an ample collection.

With the works of both these illustrious men St. Benedict was well acquainted, and from them took all that he deemed useful and necessary for the government of those who had gathered around him. Nevertheless, he did not limit himself to such legislation as he had found in force among the Cenobites of his time but drew from his own sage experience most of those broad, far-reaching enactments, which have made his Rule famous for its more than human prudence and discretion.

A glance at that Rule will reveal to the most casual reader that its two guiding principles are obedience and labor. Illuminated by the Holy Spirit, St Benedict chose them out to remedy the evils of the day in which his lot was cast. For he had in very truth fallen upon evil times. Not one ray of light or hope broke in upon him from the north or the south, from east or west. Decay, confusion, disintegration, and death were everywhere. In the West, the vast structure of the Roman Empire was crumbling into dust; in the East, the discord and the disunion consequent upon theological strife made desolate the sanctuary, and blinded the eyes of the rulers, so that they saw not the advent of the terrible storm which was about to burst upon them. The Church was rent and divided by heresy and by schism. The clergy were lax and dissolute; the laity had practically given up truth, justice, and morality. The fresh young nations from the northern forests were bursting in wave upon wave of barbaric invasion upon the effete civilization of the West. Men had broken loose from control, and were rioting in their liberty; the sword was in every man's hand, so that the laborer could not apply to his toil, and the skillful forgot their cunning in the years of confusion and of darkness, which succeeded the overthrow of the tottering Empire of the West. St. Benedict had fled into the mountains from the vice and the corruption of that wicked age. However, he carried with him in his heart those two grand principles, which were to save the world. He took with him the principle of obedience, to cement together the scattered elements of human society; and the law of labor, by which man accomplishes the task marked out for him by God, both as a punishment for his rebellion and as a remedy of the ills, which sprang from that primal revolt against authority.

He imbued all those who, like himself, had fled from the world, and had gathered around him as their teacher, with the same spirit with which he, himself, was animated. He taught them to obey; he taught them to labor; and the vigor, the life, the energy, which flow from these principles permeate through and pervade all the legislation, which he drew up in order to enforce his teaching, and to make it useful as a method of spiritual training for others. This admirable code is divided into seventy-three chapters. Of these, nine treat the general duties of the Abbot and of the monks; thirteen regulate the public service, of the Divine worship, twenty-nine are concerned with discipline, with the faults, which are usually committed against it, and with the penal code by which those faults are to be punished; ten have reference to the internal administration of the monastery; and twelve are devoted to miscellaneous subjects, such as the reception of guests, and the conduct of monks when traveling.¹ Its excellence, as an implement of spiritual training, soon became apparent; for not only did those who came to submit themselves to St. Benedict eagerly adopt it, but also those who had thus far been under the guidance of other Rules gladly accepted this new legislation, which bore upon it the impress of a wisdom more than human, and of a fatherly compassionate love, which reminded them of the charity of Christ.

The fruit of the teaching, which it imparted, and of the discipline which it enforced, very speedily made itself manifest in the Church of God. Communities of men and women began to be formed, to spread themselves everywhere throughout the land of Italy, and to pass thence into other nations. Full of the Spirit of God, adorned with every virtue, learned, laborious, and animated with zeal for the advancement of righteousness, they speedily began to gather around them the scattered people and to exert over them a most beneficial influence. They became missionaries, carrying the light of truth to those who either had never known it, or had forgotten it; they taught those whom war and the miseries of the times had impoverished, and changed into vagabonds, to till the ground, and to live by the labor of their hands; they gathered the demoralized populations round them, and formed them once again to social and political life. They preserved the literature of the ancient world, and imparted their knowledge, their culture, and their science to the youthful generation; they were, in one word, the apostles, the civilizers, and the teachers of the world. Their services to the Church cannot be over-estimated; and these they were enabled to bestow through the character, that the Rule impressed upon them. That character is holiness, which is the outcome of a spirit of interior recollection, engendered by the various ordinances of the Rule. To the casual reader, this will not, perhaps, reveal itself, and he will be astonished that we should ascribe to any system of legislation, which, like the Rule of St. Benedict, deals for the most part with external observances, the growth of an internal spirit, always alive to, and eagerly on the watch to comply with, the inspirations and the movements of the Holy Spirit. But if he takes the trouble to examine the drift of these external observances and the purpose for which they are prescribed, he will begin to see that they are not a mere piece of ceremonial, the purpose of which is to procure external decorum, but a systematically organized code of laws, devised for the express purpose of removing from the soul all worry, all turmoil, and all else that would blind its eyes to the gracious presence of the Paraclete, and deafen its ears to the sweet whisperings of His low, soft voice. Hence, by an exact and careful observance of these various precepts, which remove from their path all hindrances to the acquisition of sanctity, they were enabled to advance in perfection, to become Saints, and, by becoming Saints, to further God's cause, which is one with the cause of the Church.

It is principally owing to this, and to the many centuries during which it was the sole guide and the master of all who embraced the monastic life, that the Rule of St. Benedict brought forth so many Saints, doctors, enlightened rulers, wise and experienced guides, who prayed for, and taught, and governed the people of God. The historians of the Order reckon upon its roll of honor no fewer than 55,700 Saints; they tell us that from the cloisters of St. Benedict, there have gone forth 4600 bishops, 1600 archbishops, 200 cardinals, 51 patriarchs, and 46 popes; so that the government of the Universal Church was in the hands of the children of Benedict for more than five hundred years. Emperors, kings, philosophers, artists, and poets; poor peasants and pale thought-worn students; rough soldiers and men of the world, have taken that Rule as their guide, and it has made them Saints.

This is not to be wondered at, for it is an epitome of Christianity, a learned and mysterious abridgment of all the doctrines of the Gospel, all the institutions of the Fathers, and all the counsels of perfection. Here prudence and simplicity, humility and courage, severity and gentleness, freedom and dependence, eminently appear. Here correction has all its firmness, condescension all its charm, command all its vigor, and subjection all its repose; silence has all its gravity, and words have their grace; strength has its exercise, and weakness its support; and yet always St. Benedict calls it ‘but a beginning’, to keep his children in holy fear.²

A rough division may be made of all its various laws, into statutes or precepts, and into counsels. By a statute or precept, we mean those laws, which either command or prohibit in an absolute manner. They may be known by such formulas as It is not lawful; Let no one presume; Let him be corrected. By a counsel, we mean all such injunctions as are not ordered in an absolute manner, and for which, if they are carried out, those who obey them are praised. Of this class, we consider the following to be instances:  That obedience will then be acceptable to God, etc. ³ The sixth degree of humility is if a Monk be content with all that is meanest, etc.⁴ Let those upon whom God bestows the gift of abstinence, etc. ⁵ Let us add something over and above to our wonted task ⁶

The Rule binds under the penalty of mortal sin in all grave transgressions against the three vows. In all statutes or precepts, the probability is that it binds under the penalty of venial sin, as is taught by St. Thomas, Hoeften, Turrecremata, and St. Antoninus. The counsels of the Rule do not bind under the penalty of even venial sin.

The obligation of Superiors with respect to the Rule is to observe it and to cause their subjects to observe it. It is their office to explain or to interpret those things in it, which are obscure, e.g., what matters are to be considered of great moment and what of little moment, what clothes are suitable for the climate in which they live, etc.; unless, of course, all these and similar matters are determined by the legislation of Constitutions. They have the power to "dispense their subjects from the disciplinary enactments of the Rule whenever there is a legitimate cause.

Prologue

Listen, oh my son, to the precepts of your master, and incline the ear of your heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of your loving Father, that by the toil of obedience, you may return to Him from whom by the sloth of disobedience you have gone away. To you, therefore, my speech is now directed, who, giving up your own will, take up the strong and most excellent arms of obedience, to do battle for Christ the Lord, the true King.

In the first place, beg of Him by most earnest prayer, that He perfect whatever good you do begin, so that He who has been pleased to count us in the number of His children, need never be grieved at our evil deeds. For we should at all times so to serve Him with the good things which He has given us, that He may not, like an angry father,  disinherit his children, nor, like a dread lord, enraged at our evil deeds, hand us over to everlasting punishment as most wicked servants,  who would not follow Him to glory. Let us then rise at length, since the Scripture arouses us, saying:  It is now the hour for us to rise from sleep ⁷; having  opened our eyes to the deifying light, let us hear with awestruck ears  what the divine voice, crying out daily, does admonish us, saying:  Today, if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts. ⁸ Again: He that has ears to hear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ⁹ And what does He say? Come,  children, listen attentively to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. ¹⁰

Run while you have the light of life, that the darkness  of death does not overtake you. ¹¹

For the Lord seeking His workman in the multitude of the people, to  whom He proclaims these words, says again: Who is the man that  desires life and loves to see good days? ¹² If hearing this you answer, I am he, God says to you: If you will have  true and everlasting life, keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking guile; turn away from evil and do good; seek after peace and  pursue it. ¹³And when you shall have done these things, my eyes shall be upon you, and my ears unto your prayers. And  before you shall call upon me I will say: Behold, I am here.¹⁴

What, dearest brethren, can be sweeter to us than this voice of the  Lord inviting us? See, in His loving kindness, the Lord shows us the way of life. Therefore, having our loins girt with faith and the performance of good works, let us walk His ways under the guidance of the Gospel, that we may be found worthy of seeing Him who has called us to His kingdom.¹⁵ If we desire to dwell in the tabernacle of His kingdom, we cannot reach it in any way, unless we run there by good works. But let us ask the  Lord with the Prophet, saying to Him: Lord, who shall dwell in Your  tabernacle, or who shall rest in Your holy hill?¹⁶

After this question, brethren, let us listen to the Lord answering and  showing us the way to this tabernacle, saying: He that walks without  blemish and works justice; he that speaks truth in his heart; who  has not used deceit in his tongue, nor has done evil to his neighbor,  nor has taken up a reproach against his neighbor ¹⁷, who  has brought to nothing the foul demon tempting him, casting him out of  his heart with his temptation, and has taken his evil thoughts while  they were yet weak and has dashed them against Christ;¹⁸ who fearing the Lord are not puffed up by their  goodness of life, but holding that the actual good which is in them  cannot be done by themselves, but by the Lord, they praise the Lord  working in them, ¹⁹ saying with the Prophet: Not to us,  Oh Lord, not to us; by to Your name give glory. ²⁰ Thus, also, the Apostle Paul has not taken to himself any credit for his  preaching, saying: By the grace of God, I am what I am. ²¹  And again he says: He that glories, let him glory in the Lord. ²² Hence, the Lord also says in the Gospel: He that hears these my  words and does them, shall be likened to a wise man who built his  house upon a rock; the floods came, the winds blew, and they beat upon  that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. ²³ The Lord fulfilling these words waits for us from day to day, that we respond to His holy admonitions by our works. Therefore, our days are lengthened to a truce for the amendment of the misdeeds of  our present life; as the Apostle says: Do you not know that the  patience of God leads you to penance?²⁴ For the good Lord  says: I will not the death of the sinner, but that he be converted  and live. ²⁵

Now, brethren, that we have asked the Lord who it is that shall dwell in His tabernacle, we have heard the conditions for dwelling there; and if we fulfill the duties of tenants, we shall be heirs of the kingdom of heaven. Our hearts and our bodies must, therefore, be ready to do battle under the biddings of holy obedience; and let us ask the Lord that He supply by the help of His grace what is impossible to us by nature. Also, if, flying from the pains of hell, we desire to reach life everlasting, then, while there is yet time, and we are still in the flesh, and are able during the present life to fulfill all these things,  we must make haste to do now what will profit us forever.

We are, therefore, about to found a school of the Lord's service, in which we hope to introduce nothing harsh or burdensome. But even if, to correct vices or to preserve charity, sound reason dictates anything that turns out somewhat stringent, do not at once fly in dismay from the way of salvation, the beginning of which cannot but be narrow. But as we advance in the religious life and faith, we shall run the way of God's commandments with expanded hearts and unspeakable sweetness of love; so that never departing from His guidance and persevering in the monastery in His doctrine until death, we may by patience share in the sufferings of Christ, and be found worthy to be coheirs with Him of His kingdom.

Exposition on — Prologue to the Rule

As St. Benedict's purpose in writing his Rule was to draw up a code of moral, liturgical, and disciplinary laws, by which to guide the daily actions of all who should seek to serve God in his Institute, he very wisely prefaced the various enactments, which he deemed necessary for this purpose with a few words of exhortation and encouragement. He tells them that he is about to establish a school, in which the science of salvation is to be taught; he hopes that no ordinance, which he may think necessary will be either too rigorous or too burdensome; and that even if it should prove to be so, those who find it somewhat severe will not, on that account, immediately give up the pursuit of that which is of such vital importance to all, but will persevere until they have mastered the difficulties which block the way of every beginning.

In order to reassure all who might be afraid that he was about to make the path to heaven more narrow and straight than it really is, he tells them that he wishes to lead them to God by no other way than by that which is pointed out to all by Jesus Christ and is described in the pages of the Gospel. In that Gospel, we see that all Christianity rests upon three principles — self-denial, patient endurance of the ills of life, and imitation of Jesus Christ— all of which our Lord expresses in these well-known words: If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. On these same principles, St. Benedict founds his Rule and tells those who are willing to submit themselves to his teaching that it aims to impart the science which lies hidden under these three pregnant principles.

1)       In the first place, he states, in as many words, that his teaching is directed to, and is meant for, only those who, renouncing their own will, take upon themselves the strong and bright armor of obedience, to fight under the Lord Christ, our true King;

2) secondly, he tells them that they must carry their cross when he exhorts them "to share by patience in the sufferings of Christ;'

3) thirdly, he teaches them to follow Christ, when he bids them never to depart from the school of Christ, but to persevere in the monastery in His doctrine until death, that they may deserve afterward to be partakers of His kingdom.

Therefore, the scope of his Rule is identical to the scope of the Gospel; it is meant to make the way unto eternal happiness a secure and easy way. By a close observance of