Man of Blessing : A Life of St. Benedict

by Butcher, Carmen Acevedo

• ISBN13: 9781557254856
• ISBN10: 1557254850
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-01
• Publisher: Paraclete Pr

Summary

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: ? Why did Pope Benedict XVI choose the name "Benedict"? ? What other popes have been named Benedict? ? What were the important events in the life of St. Benedict? ? What are St. Benedict's lasting legacies? ? What is in St. Benedict's Rule? (A brief chapter-by-chapter summary of St. Benedict's Rule is presented.)

Table of Contents

Map of Benedict's Italy	vii
Preface	1	(8)
Introduction	9	(4)
Chronology	13	(8)
Medieval Biography	21	(5)
Gregory and Benedict	26	(5)
A Golden Roman	31	(3)
In a Dark Time	34	(4)
Family and Education	38	(4)
School of Rhetoric	42	(6)
Disinheritance and a Cracked Sifter	48	(5)
Unwanted Celebrity	53	(4)
The Rock and the Bell	57	(2)
Solipsistic Hermithood?	59	(6)
Vicovaro and Subiaco	65	(4)
Miracles of Lake and Spring	69	(4)
A Bored Monk and Bad Bread	73	(6)
Turning Pagan Rites into Monte Cassino	79	(4)
Writing down a Little Rule	83	(7)
How Benedict Heals a Boy	90	(3)
Scant Bread, Scarce Olive Oil	93	(3)
King Totila's Farce	96	(4)
Totila's Genuine Visit	100	(4)
Greed and a Lamp	104	(6)
Impolite Pride	110	(5)
Tarracina	115	(4)
The Poor and Oppressed	119	(7)
Resurrection Child	126	(3)
Benedict's Final Heartaches	129	(4)
Conversation and a Cloud	133	(5)
The Death of Twins	138	(5)
A Posthumous Touch	143	(4)
Appendix A Chapter-by-Chapter Summary of Benedict's Rule	147	(10)
Appendix B Previous Popes with the Regnal Name ``Benedict'' (``Blessed'')	157	(10)
Notes	167	(2)
Recommended Further Reading List	169	(10)
Acknowledgments	179