Benedict of Nursia: His Message for Today

Anselm Grun, O.S.B., famed Benedictine author and cellarer of his monastery at Munsterschwarzach, offers brief reflections on aspects of the Rule of Benedict. He sketches the life of Benedict and reflects on how Benedict's instructions enable one to live constantly in the presence of God. Even the most mundane objects are signs of the presence of God. It is not merely that we focus our attention on God, but that we be aware that God always focuses attention on us, loving and encouraging us in all things. For example: he calls the cellarer to "regard all utensils and goods of the monastery as sacred vessels of the altar." Grun also ponders how work is an aid to prayer and how the Benedictine vow of stability is essential to building community. Silence and the solitude that characterize the monastic are conditions for the possibility of genuine community. Each chapter concludes with a brief reflection on the state of contemporary society and how the aspect of the Rule of Benedict treated in the chapter applies to the needs of today.