Catholic Culture Trusted Commentary
Catholic Culture Trusted Commentary

52—Benedict of Nursia: The Elusive Man Behind the Rule

By Mike Aquilina ( bio - articles - email ) | Nov 29, 2021 | In Way of the Fathers (Podcast)

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Benedict was not the first monk to compose a rule for living in community—but he’s certainly the most influential. He wrote the Rule that the Emperor Charlemagne would propose as guidebook for all monks in the West. Yet Benedict himself was self-effacing in the extreme, and he remains elusive for historians. Lately, he has emerged as a patron and model for people whose civilization could be entering a Dark Age. Know anybody like that?

LINKS

Benedict of Nursia, The Rule https://ccel.org/ccel/benedict/rule/rule

Gregory the Great, Life of Our Most Holy Father St. Benedict https://ccel.org/ccel/gregory/life_rule/life_rule

Mark the Monk (a disciple of Benedict), Poem in tribute to St. Benedict https://ccel.org/ccel/gregory/life_rule/life_rule.iv.html

Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Mike Aquilina’s books https://catholicbooksdirect.com/writer/mike-aquilina/

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org

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Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics. He is executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. See full bio.

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