St. Benedict of Nursia
Feast day: July 11
Born in Nursia, in central Italy, near the year 480, Benedict went to Rome to study. Disillusioned by the moral corruption he found in the city, he fled to Subiaco and became a hermit. There, he organized 12 monasteries and established the Rule of St. Benedict. Around 529, he founded a monastery at Monte Cassino, near Naples, where he spent the rest of his life. Known as the father of Western monasticism, Benedict counseled popes and secular rulers, ministered to the poor and maintained scholarly pursuits. He spent many hours in spiritual talks with his sister, St. Scholastica. Benedict died on March 21, 547, while in prayer before the altar. He is patron of Europe.
Collect
O God, who made the Abbot Saint Benedict
an outstanding master in the school of divine service,
grant, we pray,
that, putting nothing before love of you,
we may hasten with a loving heart
in the way of your commands.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
