A Word from the Wisdom of St. Benedict
March 21 is the traditional date for the celebration of St.
Benedict’s death. In the revision of the
Catholic Church’s universal liturgical calendar, most saints’ days that
occurred during Lent were either reduced to commemorations or moved to a date
outside Lent. The universal observance
of St. Benedict’s day was moved to July 11, which was a secondary feast of
his. However, the Benedictine liturgical
calendar continues to keep March 21 as the solemnity of his death. The Abbey follows that calendar.
The Life of St. Benedict by St. Gregory the Great (c.
540-604), includes the following description of a vision given to two monks on
the day of his death: “On that very day he appeared in a similar vision to two
brethren, one of whom was within and the other outside of the monastery. They saw a path covered with tapestry and
brightened by countless lights leading in a straight line from his cell toward
the east and up into heaven. A man of
venerable aspect standing beside it, asked for whom that way had been prepared. They said that they knew not. Then he said: “This is the way by which
Benedict, beloved of the Lord, has gone to heaven.”
The origin of the path leading between two rows of candles
is actually an ancient Eastern baptismal rite, in which the newly baptized were
escorted from the baptistery to the altar along just such a path, but the significance
for St. Benedict and Benedictines lies deeper.
In a book entitled Abide, Sister Macrina Wiederkehr says of God’s
commandments, “Like a torch, they light up our path.” St. Benedict and his followers would have understood
that image. The psalmist says, “Your word
is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105). St. Benedict certainly walked by the light of
that lamp throughout his life and taught those who would follow his Rule to do
the same. Every paragraph of the Rule is
peppered with Scriptural quotations or references because St. Benedict saw the
Rule as a translation of Scripture into a practical guide for holy living in
the monastic tradition. The monks’ vision shows us where that road takes a faithful
follower in the end.
One of the three traditional works of Lent is prayer. This is an appropriate season for renewing
our commitment to lectio divina so that the lamp of God’s word may guide us
more and more clearly in the footsteps of St. Benedict.
Copyright 2019 Abbey of St. Walburga
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