Saint Benedict

When we celebrate the Feast of a Saint, we see the gospel in action, we see the Word and teaching of the Lord made concrete in the life of the individual saint who was totally given to the Lord. The Church honours the Saints because they teach the way to Christ. The role which the Saints had on earth, the vocation which they fulfilled does not cease with their death, as they stand before the throne of God they intercede for us, and their virtues are their credentials. The celebration of the Feasts of the Saints is a sign of hope for the Church. Today, we celebrate our Holy Father Saint Benedict. Pope Benedict XVI said of Saint Benedict “he is a saint who is particularly dear to me, as my choice of his name shows. Saint Benedict taught his followers that the fundamental, and even more, the sole objective of existence is the search for God: He knew, however, that when the believer enters into a profound relationship with God he cannot be content with living in a mediocre way, with a minimalist ethic and superficial religiosity and so he declared that the monks' program of life is to "Prefer nothing to the love of Christ."

Speaking of the need for Europe to rediscover its Christian roots, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI declared, “In the search for true progress, let us listen to the Rule of St. Benedict and see it as a guiding light for our journey. The great monk is still a true teacher in whose school we can learn the art of living a true humanism”.

Pope Benedict also that the Rule of Saint Benedict belongs not just to those who are leading the monastic life but is part of the patrimony of the whole Church, “This Rule”, he said, “offers useful advice not only to monks, but to anyone looking for guidance on the path to God. Through his capacity, his humanity, and his sober ability to discern between what is essential and what is secondary in the spiritual life, he is still a guiding light today."