St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
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St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
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Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#2Interesting to see this on the front page! I spent a year in a monetary mostly cloistered. While I'm glad now for the life I ultimately chose of having a family, I often draw from the experience, especially the discernment process (the Ignatius Exercises) and the meditation/contemplation practice.
Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#3There were all kinds of hacks around this in practice: see https://youtu.be/zz0y1d6IIpY?t=437
Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#4I can't see anything about celibacy
Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#5> Your IP Address in Germany is Blocked from www.gutenberg.org
Of course, copyright trolls :)
Workaround: https://web.archive.org/web/20180911045657/https://www.guten...
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Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#6"We read, it is true, that wine is by no means a drink for monks; but since the monks of our day cannot be persuaded of this, let us at least agree to drink sparingly and not to satiety, because 'wine makes even the wise fall away.'"
I'm a Catholic, and this is the rule that amuses me the most.
The monks were willing to give up most material possessions and submit to a life of poverty, obedience, and sexual abstinence... but the one thing they couldn't be persuaded to give up was the hooch.
Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#7What I find more interesting than the rules themselves is in which ways were they broken. With any system of rules (and the more complex the better), there are bound to be omissions or conflicts which result in gray areas or loop holes.
While some monasteries were strict regardless, others pushed the boundaries. Relating to "CHAPTER 39 On the Measure of Food" for example, monk's meals were supposed to "have two cooked dishes". On the other hand, monks could accept gifts from the abbot "And it shall be in the Abbot’s power to decide to whom it shall be given". Naturally in some refectories, the abbot would receive dishes which he would then direct to other tables thus skirting the two dishes rule.
If you're interested in this and more, Max Miller's Medieval Rule Breakers[1] episode has many more examples
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz0y1d6IIpY
Edit: It seems as selimthegrim has beaten me to the punch with the link
Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#8"We read, it is true, that wine is by no means a drink for monks; but since the monks of our day cannot be persuaded of this, let us at least agree to drink sparingly and not to satiety, because 'wine makes even the wise fall away.'" I'm a Catholic, and this is the rule that amuses me the most. The monks were willing to give up most material possessions and submit to a life of poverty, obedience, and sexual abstinenc…
I always considered it more of a reflection on practicality. There is going to be wine around the monastery, if only because it is necessary for Mass. Therefore, you cannot really ban wine, so are you really going to dedicate a group of monks to the sole task of cellar guard duty?
Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#9> Your IP Address in Germany is Blocked from www.gutenberg.org Of course, copyright trolls :) Workaround: https://web.archive.org/web/20180911045657/https://www.guten... (Welcome to 2021, the year Silicon Valley went Catholic...)
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Re: St. Benedict’s Rule for Monasteries (516)
#10How Boys Are to Be Corrected
Mar. 7—July 7—Nov. 6
Every age and degree of understanding should have its proper measure of discipline. With regard to boys and adolescents, therefore, or those who cannot understand the seriousness of the penalty of excommunication, whenever such as these are delinquent let them be subjected to severe fasts or brought to terms by harsh beatings, that they may be cured.