Rule of St. Benedict—Ep. 1 | Foundations of Monastic Life
By James T. Majewski ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 09, 2025 | In Catholic Culture Audiobooks (Podcast)
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“And so we are going to establish a school for the service of the Lord. In founding it we hope to introduce nothing harsh or burdensome. But if a certain strictness results… do not be at once dismayed and fly from the way of salvation, whose entrance cannot but be narrow.”
In this first of five episodes, we begin The Rule of St. Benedict, a foundational spiritual guide composed around 530 AD by St. Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western monasticism. In the Prologue, St. Benedict sets forth the Rule’s purpose, followed by Chapters 1–7, in which he outlines the kinds of monks, the qualities of an abbot, the Instruments of Good Works as a monk’s daily guide, and the Rule’s core principles of obedience, silence, and humility.
Episode 1: Ch. 1—7, with Prologue
00:00 Intro
00:38 Prologue
07:43 Chapter 1—On the Kinds of Monks
09:51 Chapter 2—What Kind of Man the Abbot Ought to Be
16:43 Chapter 3—On Calling the Brethren for Counsel
18:37 Chapter 4—What Are the Instruments of Good Works
23:44 Chapter 5—On Obedience
26:18 Chapter 6—On the Spirit of Silence
27:50 Chapter 7—On Humility
This work will be released in its entirety in episodic format.
Links
St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries full text: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/50040/pg50040-images.html#chapter-1
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Theme music: “2 Part Invention”, composed by Mark Christopher Brandt, performed by Thomas Mirus. ©️2019 Heart of the Lion Publishing Co./BMI. All rights reserved.
James T. Majewski is Vice President of Trinity Communications, Director of Customer Relations for CatholicCulture.org, the “voice” of Catholic Culture Audiobooks, and co-host of Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast. Based in New York City, he holds both a BA in Philosophy and an MFA in Acting. See full bio.
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