Tips on Leadership and Spiritual Growth
(480-547 CE)
“The Abbot should use prudence and avoid extremes… He should prune faults with prudence and love as he sees best for each individual. Let him strive to be loved rather than feared.” (Rule of St. Benedict, Ch. 64,12.14-15)
The entire Rule of St. Benedict stands out for its spirit of discernment. Chapter 64, where the qualities of an Abbot are outlined, emphasizes the need of ‘prudence’ (repeated twice) and juxtaposes it with the age-old philosophical principal of ‘avoiding extremes.’ The chapter, which is a synthesis of the Christian ideal and profound humanism, is indeed a must read for anyone who has to elect a superior or has been appointed as one.
Though monastic life existed for many centuries in western Europe, Benedict is considered the Father of Western monasticism. He was born in Nursia, Northeast of Rome. After experiencing a religious conversion, he decided to renounce the world. He first lived with a group of ascetics in Affile, east of Rome, and then spent three years in total solitude in Subiaco. He had a bitter experience as head of a group of decadent monks, following which he returned to Subiaco and founded twelve monasteries. From there he went to Mount Cassino, where he founded a fully cenobitic community – a community which would be autonomous and confer the abbot with a great deal of authority. His Rule would go on to become the foundation of monastic spirituality. On various occasions, when monasticism was in crisis, groups of monks would return to the original spirit of the Rule of St. Benedict.
Benedict’s life was popularized by the Dialogues of Pope Gregory the Great, who presented him as a Vir Dei, i.e., a man of God. In keeping with the literary style of the day, Benedict is presented as a great prophet, miracle worker…
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