Western Monasticism

Gaul

The first exponent of monasticism in Gaul seems to have been St. Martin, who founded a monastery at Liguge near Poitiers, c. 360. Soon after he was consecrated Bishop of Tours; he then formed a monastery outside that city, which he made his customary residence. His cell was a hut of wood, and round it his disciples, who soon numbered eighty, dwelt in caves and huts. The type of life was simply the Antonian monachism of Egypt and so rapidly did it spread that, at St. Martin's funeral, two thousand monks were present.

Even more famous was the monastery of Lerins which gave to the Church of Gaul some of its most famous bishops and saints. In it the famous Abbot John Cassian settled after living for seven years among the monks of Egypt, and from it he founded the great Abbey of St. Victor of Marseilles. Cassian was undoubtedly the most celebrated teacher that the monks of Gaul ever had, and his influence was all on the side of the primitive Egyptian ideals. Consequently we find that the eremitical life was regarded as being the summit or goal of monastic ambition and the means of perfection recommended were extreme personal austerities with prolonged fasts and vigils, and the whole atmosphere of ascetical endeavor so dear to the heart of the Antonian monks.

Celtic Monasticism (Ireland, Wales, Scotland)

Celtic Monasticism has a purely indigenous growth. There is no direct connection with Gallic or Egyptian monasticism. The first Celtic monasteries were merely settlements where the Christians lived together -- priests and laity, men, women, and children alike -- as a kind of religious clan. At a later period actual monasteries both of monks and nuns were formed, and later still the eremitical life came into vogue. It seems highly probable that the ideas and literature of Egyptian or Gallic monachism. The external manifestations are identical in all three forms. Indeed the desire for austerities of an extreme character has always remained a special feature of Irish asceticism down to our own time.

The chief glory of Celtic monasticism is its missionary work, the results of which are to be found all over northwestern Europe. The observance, at first so distinctive, gradually lost its special character and fell into line with that of other countries; but, by that time, Celtic monasticism had passed its zenith and its influence had declined.

Italy

Italy long retained a purely Eastern character in its monastic observance. The climate and other causes however combined to render its practice far harder than in the lands of its origin. In consequence the standard of observance declined, and it is clear from the Prologue to St. Benedict's Rule that by his day the lives of the monks left much to be desired. Moreover there was as yet no fixed code of laws to regulate the life either of the monastery or of the individual monk. Each house had its own customs and practices, its own collection of rules dependent largely on the choice of the abbot of the moment.
(2) The Spread of St. Benedict's Rule
St. Benedict legislated for the details of the monastic life in a way that had never been done before either in East or West. It is clear that he had acquainted himself thoroughly with the lives of the Egyptian fathers of the desert, with the writings of St. Basil, Cassian, and Rufinus; and in the main lines he has no intention of departing from the precedents set by these great authorities. Still the standard of asceticism aimed at by him, as was inevitable in the West, is less severe than that of Egypt or Syria.

Thus he gives his monks good and ample food. He permits them to drink wine. He secures a sufficient period of unbroken sleep. His idea was evidently to set up a standard that could and should be attained by all the monks of a monastery, leaving it to individual inspiration to essay greater austerities if the need of these were felt by any one. On the other hand, probably as a safeguard against the relaxations mentioned above, he requires a greater degree of seclusion than St. Basil had done.

Perhaps, however, the chief point in which St. Benedict modified the pre-existing practice is his insistence upon the stabilitas loci. By the special Vow of Stability he unites the monk for life to the particular monastery in which his vows are made. This was really a new development and one of the highest importance. In the first place by this the last vestige of personal freedom was taken away from the monk. Secondly it secured in each monastery that continuity of theory and practice which is so essential for the family which St. Benedict desired above everything.

The abbot was to be a father and the monk a child. Nor was he to be more capable of choosing a new father or a new home than any other child was. After all St. Benedict was a Roman, and the scion of a Roman patrician family, and he was simply bringing into the monastic life that absolute dependence of all the members of a family upon the father which is so typical of Roman law and usage. Only at the selection of a new abbot can the monks choose for themselves.
The Wisdom of St. Benedict
The need to plan our day so that, not only prayer, but other necessary elements as well, will be included was a basic principle which Benedict kept emphasizing to those whom he tried to help.

Work

Daily work for St. Benedict was both a social service and a therapeutic occupation for the individual. It is not good for us if there is no work to be done!

Obey Each Other

When Benedict began to help his first group of disciples in their search for God, he realized that they would find him only if they learnt to recognize him in each other. Let them obey each other, let them listen to each other so that each will know how best to respond.


As people were educated in the Benedictine rule, and assumed positions of authority, the principles of Benedict quite frequently became the principles behind much civil legislation too. All life came to have not just a Christian but a Benedictine tone.

Patience
The patience Benedict implied was not just putting up with people when they seem to let us down but also learning to accept ourselves when we are conscious that we, too, fall short of our ideal. If we do not learn to accept ourselves, it will be harder to accept and relate with others who have their own imperfections too. It is only as we learn how to accept ourselves that we discover him who does, and now lives in us and urges us to grow.

God-centered

Benedict would have us recognize the primal fact that it is God who knows and guides all things. His Rule is theocentric. Yes, we can have our own plans but when life insists on flowing another way then it is time to ‘hold fast with a quiet mind to patience’ and to know that God in his eternal wisdom can work all things unto good. ‘Let us therefore gird our loins with faith… and following the guidance of the Gospel walk in the paths of him who calls us to the Kingdom which he now enjoys.’

Meaning of Threefold Promise

Stability: putting up with community and rootedness in Christ
Conversion: acceptance of program of Benedict and allowing the demanding Spirit of the dying and the rising Christ to influence and purify one’s life
Obedience: a listening with the heart to God, the loving Father
Three ways of expressing the desire to make ‘more and more progress, not just to but even into God.’