Man of Blessing: A Life of St. Benedict

Benedict left behind a life of privilege to live in a cave and learn how to be silent. There, he also learned how to walk the way of truth and be God's friend. Set against the bloody backdrop that was Italy in mid-first-millennium, Benedict's life charts a course far different from the violent struggles of his day. In a time of war and want, this monk and abbot aimed to establish and nurture community, cultivate the wilderness, and feed the poor. He also left us his famous Rule, seventy-three short chapters that are the foundation for Western monasticism and remain a spiritual classic. Man of Blessing answers these questions:

• What is in St. Benedict's Rule? (A brief chapter-by-chapter summary of the rule of St. Benedict is presented.)

• Why did Pope Benedict XVI choose the name "Benedict"?

• What other popes have taken the name Benedict?

• What were the important events in the life of St. Benedict?

• What are St. Benedict's lasting legacies?