Homily — Solemnity of St. Benedict

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We celebrate the Solemnity of our monastic Father, St. Benedict of Nursia, who, in the

sixth century, gave us the Christ-centered Rule by which thousands of monks and nuns

have lived through the centuries and by which we live here at St. Joseph’s Abbey. People

might be tempted to ask what relevance a sixth century rule could have for the 21st century.

Pope Leo XIV seems convinced of its relevance not only to monks but to all people. In the

recent (May 2026) encyclical On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial

Intelligence, Pope Leo writes, (quote)“Since the emergence of her Social Doctrine, the

Church has emphasized the protection of workers and the need to combat all forms of

exploitation. Above all, the Magisterium has recognized in work ‘the essential key’ to

understanding the entire social question, since it is through work that individuals develop

many dimensions of their existence. In view of this, we can understand the great intuition

of Saint Benedict of Nursia, who united prayer and work, showing daily activity to be part of

the human response to God’s call. Created in the image of the Creator, our own work in

some way continues his… ” (unquote) Also, in last October’s Apostolic Exhortation On Care

for the Poor, Pope Leo, noted that St. Benedict formulated a rule in which welcoming the

poor and pilgrims occupies a prominent place. Pope Leo there calls the Rule “the

backbone of European monastic spirituality.” He quotes Chapter 43 of the Rule, “The poor

and pilgrims are to be received with all care and hospitality, for it is in them that Christ is

received.” Just a few years ago, Pope Francis made Chapter 3 of the Rule of St. Benedict,

on calling all the brethren for counsel-- from oldest to youngest, one of the foundation

stones of the worldwide movement of dialogue known as the Synod on Synodality.


The readings this morning offer a beautiful scriptural portrait of our Father St. Benedict.

The first reading from Proverbs Chapter 2 with its verses that begin, “My son, if you receive

my words and treasure my commands, turning your ear to wisdom and inclining your heart

to understanding,” brings to mind immediately by their similarity the opening verses of the

prologue to the Rule of Benedict and shows that our Rule is less a legal document than it is

an example of monastic wisdom literature which includes necessary regulations in a

context of the essential spirituality of the heart. The Prologue begins thus: “Listen carefully,

my son, to the master’s instructions, and incline to them the ear of your heart. This advice

is from a father who loves you; welcome it and faithfully put it into practice.” The famous

Benedictine scholar Aquinata Boeckman writes: (quote) “The heart, for Benedict as well as

in Sacred Scripture, not only designates the core of a person with its power of loving, but

also the ability to think. Benedict mentions the heart especially when envisioning the monk

in his relationship to God and when confronting Scripture…The heart that receives the Word

of God also receives the life of God and so can expand to become God’s dwelling.”

(unquote) Furthermore, Benedict teaches that the normally silent monk speaks the truth

from his heart and basically lives from that center of the Divine which is also around us,

everywhere.


The first word in the Latin of today’s responsorial psalm is very much our Father

Benedict’s first name. BENEDICAM. Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore: semper laus

in ore meo. Bless the Lord will I at all times: his praise ever in my mouth. Psalm 34, as we

have it condensed in our music folders this morning, begins in the first and second

strophes with a call to worship with the psalmist and, of course, with Saint Benedict. What

ever else he might be, Saint Benedict is a man of worship and prayer. In the third strophe,

our worship is connected to the mystical divinizing experience of God that Benedict offers

to us: to taste and see that the Lord is good and to know what real happiness is. The fourth

strophe of the psalm is quoted by St. Benedict in the middle of the Prologue to the Rule:

Benedict’s point here accords with that of the psalmist: if we wish to dwell on God’s holy

mountain, then we will never arrive there without a radical change for the good in our

behavior—a change brought about by faith and the performance of good works, that is,

faith working itself out in love.


Speaking of which, the reading this morning from Saint Paul’s First Letter to the

Corinthians gives us one of the main models for the fourth chapter of the Rule: The Tools

for Good Works. Benedict makes his list of the Tools for Good Works flow out from the

Great Commandment to love God and love your neighbor as yourself. The workshop and

tools metaphor that Benedict uses in this 4th chapter on practical love is indicative of the

love we are also to bring to the actual workshops and places in the monastery. Paul’s

language in the description of love is so exalted that it is often called the hymn to love.

Benedict, being a nitty gritty old monk, uses vocabulary that is more down to earth—

although elsewhere Paul gets down to brass tacks as well. Where Paul says, “love does not

seek its own interests, ” Benedict says, “Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ, do not

pamper yourself, relieve the lot of the poor; go help the troubled, console the sorrowing;

refrain from much eating or sleeping and from laziness.” Where Paul says “Love rejoices in

the truth”, Benedict says “Rid your heart of all deceit, never offer a hollow greeting of

peace, or turn away when someone needs your love, bind yourself to no oath lest it prove

false, but speak the truth with heart and tongue.” Despite some differences in expression,

both St. Paul and St. Benedict are men filled with the gifts of Faith, Hope and Love—all of

which are celebrated in the reading from Paul. With regard to contemporary relevance:

Benedict’s final Tool for Good Works became Pope Francis’ tool for the reconstruction of

the Church: Tool #74, Never to despair of God’s mercy. Yes, love hopes all things—

including for God’s mercy.


In the quote from Sister Aquinata Boeckmann, we have already spoken of St. Benedict’s

concept of the expansion of the heart that has become God’s dwelling. Our little hearts

necessarily have to expand when the infinite God comes to dwell, to remain within them.

Today’s Gospel, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.” Is from the

Farewell Discourse of Jesus. So much of what Our Lord says there is, as St. Benedict the

contemplative points out, not possible to us by nature—This is my commandment: love

one another as I have love you! Well, that’s impossible! Nevertheless, wisely, Benedict

teaches that the Lord can and will supply this to us by the help of his grace. Right now as3

we are about to call upon the Holy Spirit’s power, let us ask the grace we need to love God

and one another in and through the Eucharist we are about to offer and receive. In this we

glorify the Lord and give honor and praise to his Name and to the name of our Father, St.

Benedict, who loves us.

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