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Rule of St. Benedict
The Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica Monastery follow the Rule of St. Benedict as do Benedictines throughout the world.
Written by St. Benedict in the sixth century, the Rule is a practical and spiritual guide to living a life for God and others according to Gospel teaching. For over 1500 years, Benedictines have used the Rule as their guide to finding God in the ordinary circumstances of daily life. The Rule is also a spiritual guide for people of all denominations.
St. Benedict was born in Italy in 480. Disillusioned with the life he saw as a student in Rome, he left that city and went first into the nearby countryside of Subiaco, where he lived as a hermit. He was joined by others attracted by his simple and holy lifestyle who wished to be his disciples.
Benedict then went to Monte Cassino, where he built his first monastery. It was there that he and his monks began a way of life that was to have a profound influence not only on the Europe of his time but on the world up to this present day. The Church celebrates the Solemnity of St. Benedict on March 21 and the Feast of St. Benedict on July 11.
While Abbot at Monte Cassino, Benedict wrote his Rule based on Sacred Scripture and influenced by the spiritual writings of Basil, Evagrius, and Cassian. The Rule of St. Benedict, considered one of the most important documents of Western Civilization, challenges us to a life of ongoing conversion, a life of growth and inner transformation.
Opening page of ceremonial Rule
Click on picture to see larger image.
The Rule of St. Benedict answers the question "how ought we to live?" It challenges us to listen to the voice of God in Scripture, in the voice of the prioress, in each other, in all the circumstances of ordinary life.
The Rule of St. Benedict is a holistic approach to life which calls for
- a balance of prayer, work, and leisure
- stability and commitment lived in community in which Christ is seen in each person
- stewardship of all created things which come from the hand of God
- hospitality which receives and cares for each person as Christ
St. Scholastica, patroness of the Duluth Benedictines, was the twin sister of St. Benedict. She founded a monastery for women near Monte Cassino. The Church celebrates the Feast of St. Scholastica on February 10.
More information about the Rule of St. Benedict and about Benedictines worldwide can be accessed at the following web site: http://www.osb.org
A ceremonial copy of the Rule of St. Benedict located in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel. Calligraphy by Oblate Meridith Schifsky; illuminations by Sister Mary Charles McGough.
Monastery Patrons
Two statues of the Monastery's patrons - St. Benedict (above left) and St. Scholastica (above right) - stand at the cloister walk entrance to Stanbrook, the main Monastery building. The statues were carved of white pine by a skilled Bavarian or Saxon craftsman in Europe about the year 1820. Seventy-five years later, when they had seen much wear and wood sculpture had lost popularity in Germany, they were coated with plaster, painted and then exported to America in 1895 because plaster statuary was in great demand in the United States.
The statues of Benedict and Scholastica were purchased by the Duluth Benedictines in 1895 for the chapel of the Sacred Heart Institute, one of the first mission sites of the young Community. At that time the statues were still covered with a heavy coating of plaster and paint, giving them the appearance of being plaster molds rather than carved wood.
In 1909 the statues were moved to the "daisy farm" and placed in Tower Hall when the first wing was completed. In 1939 an Italian sculptor recognized that they were historic pieces carved from white pine. He cleaned off the heavy plaster and paint and restored the statues of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica to their original appearance.