![]() ![]() Benedict is sometimes regarded as the founder of Western monasticism due to the reforming influence that his rules had on the then-current Catholic hierarchy. The Rule of Saint Benedict has been used by Benedictines for 15 centuries, and thus St. Benedict's concerns were the needs of monks in a community environment: namely, to establish due order, to foster an understanding of the relational nature of human beings, and to provide a spiritual father to support and strengthen the individual's ascetic effort and the spiritual growth that is required for the fulfillment of the human vocation, theosis. ![]() Compared to other precepts, the Rule provides a moderate path between individual zeal and formulaic institutionalism because of this middle ground, it has been widely popular. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up in the motto of the Benedictine Confederation: pax ("peace") and the traditional ora et labora ("pray and work"). ![]()
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