Saturday, 12 July 2014

St Benedict, Patron of Cenobites

Solemnity July 11
St Benedict, Patron of Cenobites  
Nunraw Abbey Office
 Vespers II, Cant 2, v. T. Apoc. 4&5

“God had bestowed on him such gifts of grace 
that he saw all the world, 
and all it held; flash of the light, 
showed him all creation”.


Benedict Vision


Gregory presents Benedict as the model of a saint who flees temptation to pursue a life of attention to God. Through a balanced pattern of living and praying Benedict reached the point where he glimpsed the glory of God. Gregory recounts a vision that Benedict received toward the end of his life: In the dead of night he suddenly beheld a flood of light shining down from above more brilliant than the sun, and with it every trace of darkness cleared away. According to his own description, the whole world was gathered up before his eyes "in what appeared to be a single ray of light" (ch. 34). St. Benedict, the monk par excellence, led a monastic life that reached the vision of God.

From The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia (A Michael Glazier Book), Liturgical Press (1995) 78-79.

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