What is Conversatio Benedictine?

Conversatio: the way of formation and transformation The Benedictine word for this way of life is conversatio, the process of letting go in day-to-day life of self-centered preoccupations and false securities so that the divine life at the core of one’s being becomes manifest in a trustworthy pattern of living.

What does the Rule of St Benedict say?

Saint Benedict’s Rule organises the monastic day into regular periods of communal and private prayer, sleep, spiritual reading, and manual labour – ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus, “that in all [things] God may be glorified” (cf. Rule ch. 57.9).

What are the 5 rules of St Benedict?

According to Benedict, all things – eating, drinking, sleeping, reading, working, and praying – should be done in moderation. In Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, Sister Joan Chittister writes that in Benedict’s Rule, “All must be given its due, but only its due.

Are Benedictine monks Catholic?

The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (Latin: Ordo Sancti Benedicti, abbreviated as OSB), are a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedict.

What is St Benedict most famous for?

St. Benedict was a religious reformer who lived in Italy in the late 400s and early 500s. He is known as the “father of Western monasticism,” having established a Rule that would become the norm for innumerable Christian monks and nuns. He is the patron saint of Europe.

What are the 3 religious vows?

They take the three vows–poverty, chastity and obedience–which flow from the evangelical counsels of Jesus Christ. The vow of poverty leads a nun to imitate Jesus who for our sake became poor, although he was rich.

What is the Benedictine motto?

The essence of Saint Benedict’s Rule is summed up in the motto of the Benedictine Confederation: PAX (“peace”) and the traditional ora et labora (“pray and work”).

Why do Benedictines wear black?

Eventually they settled on black as the color for habits and became known as “the black monks.” True black robes required dye so the adoption of a processed color may have signified the relative wealth of the Benedictine communities, without refuting ideals of monastic humility and simplicity by embracing an …