Benedict lived in the 16th century from 480 – 547 in Italy (Nursia) at the time when the great Roman Empire was crumbling. This period was stuffed with wars and paganism. Benedict left his native land to the city of Rome to pursue his education, but paganism in the city disgusted him and he desist from the world to embrace a life of solitude. His life style came to the noticed of many people. Some monks joined him, and he then established twelve monasteries with twelve monks each. He later abandon his monastery due to jealousy and went up the mountain of Cassino where he lived till his death in 547 AD. Benedict thought that establishing rules will act as a guide for the monks to advance in holiness and for the smooth running of the monastery. …show more content…
They respond to the superiors order as though there were from God. (Luke 10:16,) “Anyone who listens to you listens to me.” Instant response to command and the ability to giving up ones will, discontinuing work at the sound of the bell as a result of obedience, and this portrays the fear of God. Obedience will be acceptable to God and agreeable to man if done without complaining, Luke warmness, grumbling, and without delay. Obedience is motivated by love because their desire is to seek and do the will of God, in imitation of the master they are serving. (John 6:38). Furthermore, obedience must be done freely and in a joyful spirit. St. Paul in 2cor 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful …show more content…
Jesus taught by words and examples so too does Benedict envisage for himself and his followers. Benedict’s Spiritual tools, emphasized, Love of God, Love of neighbor and love of self. Jesus build an intimate relationship with His Father throughout His ministry. (MK6:12)-“He spend the whole night in pray.” (Mk 5:29-32)-Jesus showed love to sinners. Jesus’ whole ministry depicts love Of God, love of neighbor and love of self. Benedict learn from Jesus’ preaching. (Matt 25:31-40) that Jesus is present in everyone (neighbor). Pope Benedict in his encyclical behold the pierce one wrote that being a Christian involves ones neighbor. Judgement will be based on these actions. Jesus is master of the laws and a perfect fulfillment of the law. (MK 2:28) For Benedict, these spiritual tools is in line with what Christ lived and preached because He obeyed the laws of His
...rsued this moral throughout his time as Pope. Thus, through following the works of, and Jesus’ teachings of inclusion, John XXIII has contributed to Christianity being considered a living religious tradition.
When Jesus walked the earth his twelve disciples put aside all of their worldly possessions and worldly pursuits to fully and faithfully follow him. After the fall of Rome, Europe slipped into what has been referred to as the “dark ages.” However, even in these dark ages men and women put aside their secular desires and devoted themselves to a life of celibacy and simplicity. This similar desire between many people drew them together and this pursuit became know as monasticism. No one had a bigger influence on this way of life and on these people who chose this calling than Saint Benedict of Nursia. His teachings and life would have an impact on monasticism all throughout Europe helping to form its spirituality and culture.
In his youth, St. Boniface encountered many priests or clerics who traveled from town to town. Through these spiritual conversations, it became evident to St. Boniface that he wanted to pursue a life with God. Eventually, after continuos begging and his fathers fatal sickness, he was sent to the care of the Monastery of Examchester. (Appleton) It is here, that St. Boniface expressed to the Abbot at the time, that he wanted to live a monastic life. The father of the monastery, after council, granted him his wish. Here is where the saint began to prove his love for God, and could begin his journey of the Christian life. After exceeding all expectations and surpassing the knowledge of his teachers, he moved to a neighboring monastery, called Nursling, whereby he studied under the influence of Abbot Winbert.(St. Boniface Church) Here he gained vast knowledge of scriptures and the spiritual exposition of the Bible. Here, he gained such a reputation that men and women from far and wide traveled to study scriptures under his guidance. At the age of 30 he was humbly ordained a priest and yet another branch of his life was fulfilled.
Another reason people obey is that they have a sense of obligation to their duty. This is just the whole idea of completing the job that’s given to you. Some people have a fear of being perceived as brash, or rude. In general, people want to present themselves in the best way possible.
Benedict who founded a group of monks and established a universal order for monks to follow. Adding to this, nuns called each other sisters and monks called each other brother. Moreover, the idea of asceticism was a life of self- denial where monks would descend themselves. Monks would descend themselves from sex, marriage, having a family, greed, processions, because to own and do such things they would be further away from God. Therefore, the universal order monks and nuns lived a lifestyle allowing them to be higher to the gods and live a life of
Obedience may be a simple word, yet it has a powerful impact on the daily lives of millions. Obedience is simply when one follows the orders or directions of another figure, presumably in an authoritative position. This is something nearly everyone bows to everyday without even realizing it - and it can drastically change our lives as we know it. Obedience is, for example, how the holocaust happened. The Germans were ordinary people turned into murderers because they followed the orders of one man - their dictator, Adolf Hitler. Of course, obedience does not always result in horrid results such as the holocaust or result in such a large catastrophe. Obedience can have drastic effects on the lives of only a few men as well; this is showcased in the movie A Few Good Men.
As we have looked into the causes of monasticism, the development of monasticism and the history behind some of its practices. We can start to understand whom these hooded little men really are and what they stood for. We can see that this movement was truly needed. Monasticism aided in the rapid development of a hierarchical, centralized organization in the church because the monks were bound to obedience to superiors who in turn owed their allegiance to the pope. We do admire the fine contributions the monks made to medieval life. This was not only a movement in the history of Christianity, but it is still practiced today. One author defined monasticism as such: "Monasticism did not begin by being passed one to another but arose like spontaneous eruptions, or like a spring gushing forth in different places from a source underground."
St. Benedict’s rules required a very strict way of life for the monks. His rules if followed lead to a very minimalistic type of life, one that could fully focus on god. His rules require one to be completely humble, since one who is completely humble will never think of oneself but fully focus on living a life devoted to god.
Obedience is a widely debated topic today with many different standpoints from various brilliant psychologists. Studying obedience is still important today to attempt to understand why atrocities like the Holocaust or the My Lai Massacre happened so society can learn from them and not repeat history. There are many factors that contribute to obedience including situation and authority. The film A Few Good Men, through a military court case, shows how anyone can fall under the influence of authority and become completely obedient to conform to the roles that they have been assigned. A Few Good Men demonstrates how authority figures can control others and influence them into persuading them to perform a task considered immoral or unethical.
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian monk who founded the monastic order of the Franciscans. He was from a wealthy family and spent most of his youth carousing the streets of Assisi with other young nobles. After fighting in the war between Assisi and Perugia, he contracted an illness and had his first mystical experience. After he was healed, Francis had another mystical experience while praying in a neglected church: “After a period of prayer and meditation, Francis heard the voice of Jesus coming from a nearby crucifix: ‘Francis go, repair my house, which, as you see, is falling completely to ruin’.” It was this call that inspired Francis to leave Assisi, determined to live more simply with his fellow monks.
Obedience has many forms and there are multiple reasons as to why people are obedient, whether yielding to authority or as an effort to please someone. Every reason can lead to different outcomes, having negative and positive results. Obedience can oftentimes be a response to a situation as well. Both Stanley Milgram, author of “The Perils of Obedience,” and Ian Parker, author of “Obedience,” talk about the reasoning behind obedience and the variables that enable such responses but, in the end, they come to different conclusions.
A classic example of dangerous obedience is demonstrated by Nazi official Adolf Eichmann. Throughout his trial for war crimes, Eichmann proclaimed his innocence. He placed the blame on his superiors and said he was simply following orders: orders that involved sending millions of people to extermination camps and ultimately their deaths. In their separate writings about obedience, Milgram and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm both compare Eichmann to the ordinary person, someone we can all see ourselves in. While he may not be the ideal person to be equated to, Eichmann’s submission to authority is understandable: had he refused his orders, he most likely would have been arrested or killed, then replaced by someone who was willing to follow commands. So it’s quite probable that those millions of people still would have been executed, with or without Eichmann’s compliance.
The Rule of Benedict spoke about the strict rules and regulations that are to be followed by monks living in a communal place. It was meant to bring about discipline and obedience to conduct themselves in a respectful and appropriate manner as was implied by their title. They were to be obedient to the abbott who was the superior person in the monasteries and follow all the rules accordingly for they were vivid testimonies of righteous living to others (Benedict 11). Also by obeying their abbotts, it was as if they were obeying God directly which also showed the love that they had for God and therefore, they were guaranteed eternal life with God because of their obedience to him. Even though it was not easy to keep all of these rules, they
What were Benedict’s motives—as far as we know—for entering a life of monasticism? For writing the Rule?
The story of Saint Jerome Emiliani’s quest to help those on the periphery begin with him being born in Venice in 1486. At age 15, Jerome left his home to join the army after his father died. When he was in the military, he was appointed as a governor of Treviso. While he was governor, he was captured by the armies of a rival nation. As a prisoner trapped in a dark dungeon , Jerome made a deal with God to help him escape. Miraculously, Jerome escaped alive and returned to Treviso where he made a pilgrimage to Our