HISTORY OF THE MONASTERY

Beginnings have long roots.  Each of our lives grows out of the lives of others.  Our ancestors live in us and so do those who touched their lives.  In heaven we will be astonished as we come to know only what we can guess at now about persons, empires, movements or ideas. 

Take monasticism. The life later called monasticism came to us in the Judeo-Christian world and may have been influenced by the Essenes, Jewish believers set apart living a life of community, celibacy, asceticism for God, who set the stage, the idea.  That idea, in the Christian world, was borne out in women dedicating themselves to lives of prayer and celibacy even in apostolic times.  St. Paul mentions dedicated women in Corinth.  Many of the early accounts of the martyrs tell of women who understood themselves as espoused to Jesus Christ and living lives of celibacy..  Some of their homes were gathering places for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper.  It is a long and rich history.

To be a Christian in the first three centuries of the Church was a radical choice.  Each follower of Jesus knew that their life was in danger.  They were seen as enemies to established society and its practices.  Those centuries are called the age of martyrdom or persecution.  Although history has shown that the blood of martyrs has continued to flow through the ages.  (In fact, they say that the 20^th century has had more martyrs than all the previous centuries put together.)  This resulted in a deep commitment of faith, faith in the Lord who was the heart and soul of their lives, lived with a great intensity.

Emperor Constantine lifted the condemnation of Christians with the Edict of Milan in 313.  This changed the reality of following Jesus.  Now Christians could openly practice their faith and participate in general society.  Some longed for the radicalism that the age of persecution had called for.  This led them to leave the cities, towns and settled society and go out into the wilds, the desert.  Here we see the development of the desert fathers and mothers living lives of solitude, prayer and ascetical practices.  Out of these grew the first groupings of what would come to be called monks and nuns living in various kinds of communities.  People saw them in marketplaces where they sold wares to provide for what they needed to live on. Travelers and exiles began to spread the news of these desert dwellers. This brought a monk from the west, Cassian, to collect the stories and sayings as a means to carry back to Gaul the exemplary way of life he witnessed.  St. Benedict read these writings and they helped to form him and the Rule he wrote.

St. Benedict (480-546) was born  in Nursia,  Italy.  He was sent with his nurse to Rome for his studies.  There he was faced with a debauched society.  Losing all desire to pursue a secular education, he went to the city Enfide with his nurse.   One day he miraculously repaired a sieve for her and this brought him notoriety which he fled from.  Leaving all behind, he retired alone to a deeper solitude at Subiaco.

In this cave he spent three years fed by Romanus, a monk from a nearby monastery.  Here he prayed and learned the ways of God and the soul, unknown to man.  But the demons knew he was there and tempted him in every way. This prepared him for the future when his holiness began to be known outside his grotto. 

Not far from Subiaco was a group of men who had been living as monks but they were in a decadent state.  They asked Benedict to be their superior.  He told them they would not be happy under his guidance but they persisted and he acquiesced to their request.  It ended in his uncovering their plot to poison him after becoming unhappy under his rule.

Again St. Benedict  returned to his retreat only to asked again to share with others his way of life.  Writing a rule he formed them into a community.  His Rule was not filled with innovations.  Rather with great wisdom and discernment he took the sure and sound ways of those who had lived this way of life and shed what he saw was not life-giving for those seeking God.  He especially emphasized humility, service to others and the common life. 

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