LESSON 1 - SAN BEDA COLLEGE
ST. BENEDICT AND THE BENEDICTINE MONKS
The founder of the Benedictine Order is St.
Benedict of Nursia, Italy (480-547) AD).
St. Scholastica - Twin sister of Benedict
At the age of 17, instead of studying in Rome,
St. Benedict answered the call of God by living
secretly as a hermit in the mountains of
Subiaco.
SUBIACO - place where St. Benedict
established 12 monasteries.
He lived there for three (3) years known only
to the holy monk Romanus who provided him
with food and clothing.
Abbey of Monte Casino - a place about 80
miles Southeast of Rome. In this monastery,
he wrote the Holy Rule and lived until his
death on March 21, 547 A.D.
The Abbey of Monte Casino - became the
cradle of the Benedictine Order.
** From the great monastery, the Benedictine Order
spread far and wide, becoming one of the chief formative
factors in the development of the New Europe. **
Pope Paul VI - proclaimed him the patron
saint of all Europe.
St. Gregory I - The only recognized authority
for the facts of Benedicts life is book 2 of the
Dialogues of St. Gregory I, who said that he
had obtained his information from four of
Benedicts disciples.
MONASTICISM
A religious way of life in which one renounces
worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to
spiritual work.
The Benedictine monks became the pioneers
of Christian civilization, preaching the
Gospel, serving the poor and sick and
teaching religion and various crafts to the
young.
6th to the 13th Centuries - "Benedictine
centuries"
St. Benedict is known as the - "Father of
Western Monasticism"
***The Benedictines came to the Philippines not to
establish a school but to undertake agricultural and
missionary work in Surigao.***
The first group of Benedictines from the
Monastery of Montserrat, Spain
Eight Fathers and six Brothers,
led by abbot Jose Deas y Villar
arrived in Manila in the morning of
September 12, 1895.
stayed for a while with the Jesuit
community in Sta. Ana. They were
able to acquire a house in Blames St.,
Tanduay on April 25, 1896. This was
to be their home base in Manila.
On June 17, 1901 San Beda College, named
after the great English Benedictine scholar
and saint, Venerable Bede, was inaugurated
in Arlegui with Fr. Silvestre Jofre, First
Rector.
celebrating the opening Mass at 6
o'clock in the morning.
SCHOOL PATRONS/PATRONESS
The Abbey Church was dedicated to the Holy Infant of
Prague when it was consecrated in 1926.
 ***The image of the Sto. Nio sculptured in 1905 San Beda College aims to form its members in
was, installed above the Abbatial throne of the altar. faith (fides)
*** knowledge (scientia)
Feast of the Infant Child - fourth Sunday of virtue (virtus)
January.
and inculcate in them the Benedictine core values of
The year triduum-novena and procession-
prayer and work (ora et labora) that include
activities anticipated by the Bedan Community
study
community
pursuit of peace

and the whole area of Metro Manila.

VISION - MISSION OF SAN BEDA

COLLEGE
San Beda College, a Catholic educational institution,
is committed to the Christian formation of the Bedan
Community as its service to the Church, the
Philippine society, and the world.
VISION
San Beda College envisions a Community that is:
fully human
wholly Christian
truly Filipino, and
globally competitive LESSON 2 - THE BENEDICTINE
MISSION HALLMARKS

1.Love of Christ and Neighbor
Love is the heart of Benedictine monastic life.
A response to Gods astonishing love for
humankind, a love expressed in the free gift of
his beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
In a Benedictine Institution, there should be
no place for rivalries, no tolerance for actions
that harm or diminish others. Everyone
should seek reconciliation and draw on the
help of others to deal with problems.
2. Prayer
It is a commitment in all truth and to ensure
our connection with Gods presence
On a Benedictine campus, there is a
noticeable rhythm of public prayer and private
attention to the sources of Christian
inspiration.
San Beda College provides every member of
the campus community with access to retreats
and spiritual direction.
3. Stability
Stability shapes a Benedictine monastery. All
of its members commit themselves to seeking
God together.
In a Benedictine institution of higher
education, they seek to embed the exchange of
ideas within the daily life of its member,
regardless of their role or position.
4. Conversatio
Conversatio is a commitment to a lifelong
conversion into the likeness of Christ
To be transformed in every part of ones life
with Gods own image
San Beda College calls all member of the
campus community to move out of their
comfort zones for the sake of learning.
5. Obedience
Obedience as a commitment to listening and
consequent action.
Teaching and Learning are impossible
without obedience, without listening to the
other with the awareness that no one
possesses all truth, or knows everything worth
knowing
6. Discipline
Discipline as a way towards learning and
freedom.
It is a way of focusing energy and attention on
what really matters.
Students must sacrifice short-term benefits for
long-term goals because no learning takes
place without discipline.
7. Humility
Humility is the acceptance of the demand for
realism and accountability.
Everyone should seek to acknowledge his or
her faults and weaknesses.
Each strives to recognize their own gifts and
the gifts of others with gratitude, seeking to
contribute as much as possible to the whole
and accepting the care of others.
8. Stewardship
Respect for the beauty and goodness of
creation as a sacrament of God.
Benedictine institution seek to foster
awareness that we are a part of a larger
ecology, and that environment(human and
non-human) has been given by God for the
sake of all.
San Beda College strive to promote awareness
of contributions to the vitality of culture for
the sake of future generations.
9. Hospitality
The practice of listening and humility in the
Benedictine monastery enables a generous
hospitality to the friends and strangers.
Benedictine urges that the weakness of all
should be supported with the greatest
patience.
Attention should be given to anyone who are
in need or who seeks our help.
10. Community
It is a call for service to the common good and
respect for the individual
 Benedictine Institutions seeks to enlist this
practical focus on community building and its
profound openness to human history and
global experience.
San Beda College recognize the service of
their members to promoting human well-being
on campus. We expand our personal care and
concern for our community.

LESSON 3 - LIFE OF ST. BENEDICT

St. Benedict was born during the fall of

Rome/Roman Empire
Flavius Romulus Augustus, the last Roman
emperor was removed in 476 AD by the
barbarian chief Odoacer.
480. St. Benedict and his twin-sister St.
Scholastica are born in Nursia, a town in the
south of Italy.
Father: Anicius Eupropius
Mother: Abundantia.
Life and miracles 2nd book of the Dialogues
by Pope Gregory the great
Educated in Rome but went away to find some
place away from the great city.
487. St. Benedict is sent to Rome to study, his
nurse Cyrilla accompanies him. He was 7
years old.
493. At age 13, God, calling him to higher
things, and the dangers of the world
prompting him to leave it, he quits Rome to
seek salvation and perfection in solitude. On
their way in a little village, 30 miles from
Rome, he works a miracle to console Cyrilla.
494. At age 14, he leaves Cyrilla and goes
alone to Subiaco, a mountainous district, 40
miles distant from Rome and meets a holy
Hermit named Romanus, from whom he asks
and receives the Religious Habit. He then goes
into a little Cave amidst the rocks, dwells there
in union with his God in prayer, unknown to
all, excepting St. Romanus who brought him
food.
Fed by Romanus, a monk from
neighboring monastery
Established 12 monasteries in Subiaco
with 12 monks each led by an Abbot.
497. On the Easter Sunday of this year, he
was 17 of age, a Priest receives a command
from God to visit this Cave, and honor the
youthful hermit.
509. At age 29, his sanctity becoming noised
abroad, many men left the world, and placed
themselves under his spiritual guidance
510. After frequent refusals he, at last, yields
to the request of the Monks of Vico-Varro,
who besought him to become their Abbot. As
he had foretold them they grew angry at his
corrections; they seek to poison him: he
returns to his dear solitude of Subiaco.
St. Maurus is born.
511. During the next 19 years St. Benedict
builds 12 monasteries on the Subiaco
mountains.
515. St Placid is born.
522. Sts. Maurus and Placid are brought to
Subiaco by their Parents, and receive from St.
Benedict the Monastic Habit.
523. St. Maurus in obedience to St. Benedict
walks on the waters of the lake, into which St.
Placid had fallen, and saves him from being
drowned.
529. St. Benedict leaves Subiaco, and goes to
Mount Cassino (about 50 miles south of
Subiaco).
530. At age 50, he begins to build the
Monastery of Mount Cassino.
536. He sends St. Placid into Sicily.
St. Benedict has the mysterious vision,
in which God grants him the sight of
the whole world, brought together in
one ray of the sun.
537. (57.) St. Placid begins the Monastery at
Messina in Sicily: he finishes it in 4 years.
MONTE CASSINO
Founded around 530 where an ancient temple was
dedicated to Apollo, the Roman god of the sun
Destroyed by the Lombards at around 590
Heart and founding center of Benedictine
monasticism
Composed his famous Rule, which served as a guide
for the monks of the Western empire
539. During a famine St. Benedict distributes
to the poor all the corn of the Monastery: on
the following day he receives from Heaven,
In return, 200 bushels of flour. In
hatred of Disobedience and out of love
 for Charity he works the miracle of
the glass oil-jar. While he is at prayer
with some of his Brethren, an empty
vessel which was in the room is
miraculously filled with oil, even to
over-flowing.
541. St. Placid is martyred (probably in this year).
543. King Totila the Barbarian visits
St. Benedict and receives his paternal reproach and
prophecy.
On the 10 th of January, St. Benedict sends St.
Maurus into France.
On the 6th of February, he sees the soul of his
Sister, St. Scholastica, ascending to heaven
under the form of a Dove.
On the 16th of March, knowing that the hour
of his Death is near he orders his grave to be
opened.
On the 21st of March at 3 oclock in the
morning, standing in the chapel of his
Monastery of Mount Cassino, supported by
his Religious, he dies, in the 63rd year of his
age.
KINDS OF MONKS
CENOBITES
Those who belong to a monastery, where they serve
under a rule and an abbot.
ANCHORITES or HERMITS
Who have come through the test of living in a
monastery for a long time, and have passed beyond
the first fervor of monastic life.
SERABAITES
The most detestable kind of monks, who with no
experience to guide them, no rule to try them as gold
is tried in a furnace (Prov 27:21), have a character as
soft as lead.
GYROVAGUES
Those who spend their entire lives drifting from
region to region, staying as guests for three or four
days in different monasteries.
BENEDICTINE
SPIRITUALITY
A way of life aimed at seeking God
- The information and guidance written in RB is
intended to facilitate this purpose.
The Holy Rule (RB)
Prescribes a balance, moderate life, that covers
liturgical prayer, study, manual labor, community life
Written in simple Latin
Begins with the injunction LISTEN (Prologue)
Purpose: To seek God in prayer and reading, in
silence and work, in service to guests and one another.
Rule of the Master (RM): an anonymous rule written
2 or 3 decades before RB
LECTIO DIVINA
Divine Reading
An ancient art of praying the Scriptures
Purpose:
To increase knowledge of Gods Word
To promote communion with God
1.Lectio: Reading
Involves attentive, slow, reverent reading of scriptural
passage
Depending on what happens, one may read the
passage several times and linger on a particular
phrase or even a word.

WHAT DOES THE TEXT SAY THAT EVERYONE

SHOULD UNDERSTAND?

2. Meditatio: Meditation

Quietly savor the Word and ponder upon it

WHAT DOES THE TEXT SAY TO ME TODAY AND

TO MY LIFE?

3. Oratio: Prayer

A response to the Word coming from the heart

Unique, honest, spontaneous, specific to the

experience of encountering God in the Scriptures

WHAT CAN I SAY TO THE LORD IN RESPONSE

TO HIS WORD?

4. Contemplatio: Contemplation Benedictine Spirituality

Resting in Gods presence
A divine gift; mysterious in nature
WHAT CONVERSION OF THE MIND, HEART
AND LIFE IS THE LORD ASKING ME?
Way of life according to St Benedict
Human Beings: We are embodied spirits, we
are both material and spiritual
Human: Humus>> soil

5. Actio: Action Being/Spirit: Hebrew>> Ruah

Translating good insights to concrete acts Language of the Spirit: feelings, thoughts,
desires or emotions
HOW CAN I MAKE MY LIFE A GIFT TO MY
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY? Spirituality is what we do with the spirit within
us

Spirit: The vital principle or animating force

within living beings

A healthy spirit or a healthy soul do dual jobs:

IT HAS TO GIVE US ENERGY AND FIRE,

SO THAT WE DO NOT LOSE OUR VITALITY,
AND ALL SENSE OF THE BEAUTY AND JOY
OF LIVING.
 TO KEEP US GLUED TOGETHER,
INTEGRATED, SO THAT WE DO NOT FALL
APART AND DIE.
Rule of St Benedict
Spirituality
is derived from Hebrew ruah, Greek
pneuma, which had a range of
meanings:
spirit, breath, wind
that which animates a person's life of faith
that which moves a person's faith to
greater depths and perfection
That which includes an emotional
experience of religious awe and reverence
involves the whole person (body, mind,
soul, relationships), the entire fabric of
our lives
involves experiencing and knowing God
(not just knowing about God)
Christian Spirituality:
refers to that dimension of our everyday life
that consists in following Christ
Taking the beliefs and values of Christianity
An expression of our experience of God in our
way of life, our prayer and our service to others
part of our way of life as Christians
Catholic Spirituality
The Catholic Church offers us the Scripture,
the sacraments, and various ministries to nourish
our spiritual life.
SPIRITUALITY entails what Pope John Paul
II calls a sacramental way of life which involves
actively participating in and celebrating the
sacraments in order to deepen our personal
relation to Christ
The Rule calls for promises of stability,
obedience and conversion of life. Stability
enables continuity of community life, obedience
ensures adherence to the Rule, administered by an
Abbot, and conversion of life makes way for
ongoing growth into the way of Christ.
Written in the sixth century the Rule was
followed in thousands of monasteries in Europe,
so much so that the Church of the early Middle
Ages, beginning especially in the ninth century,
was characterized as monastic.
Christian monasticism originated amongst men
and women who sought union with God in the
desert or far off places removed from civilization.
Written between 530 to 560
Scholars note that rules and writings like those
of St. Pachomius (fourth-century Egypt), St. Basil
(fourth-century Asia Minor),St. Augustine
(fourth- and fifth-century North Africa), Cassian
(fifth-century southern Gaul) stand behind RB
and at times are clearly evident in the text.
Starts with the word Ausculta in Prologue
Chapter 1: four kinds of monks
Chapter 2: Qualifications of Abbot
Chapter 4: tools of Good Work
Chapter 6: Silence
Chapter 7: Humility
Chapter 8-19: Divine Office
Chapter 19: Psalter
Chapter 21: Appointment of Deans
 Chapter 23-29: Punishment for Disobedience
Chapter 38: reading aloud during meals
Chapter 42: Conferences of Cassian
Chapter 43-46: Minor Faults
Chapter 48: Manual labor
GOOD LUCK ON THE EXAMS!!!
Chapter 49: Lent
Chater 50-51: Monks in the field or travelling
Along with meditation, many monks use
mortification as a tool to reach perfection.
Mortification literally means "making dead." For
monasticism it refers to certain practices that de-
emphasize the physical and emphasize the
spiritual. Among them are fasting and punishing
the body in various painful ways.
-STEM 4 :)

Chapter 63: Order of the Monastery

Chapter 69: monks forbid defending

Chapter 72: Charity

Chapter 73: the rule isnt perfect

Asceticism
The word asceticism comes from the Greek
which means practice, bodily exercise,
and more especially, athletic training.

The early Christians adopted it to signify the

practice of the spiritual things, or spiritual
exercises performed for the purpose of acquiring
the habits of virtue.

Asceticism was a rigorous, laborious lifestyle,

involving the denial of pleasure and rest as a way
of expressing spiritual devotion.

Forms of Asceticism
Monasticism: asceticism as a form of religious
life; usually conducted in a community under a
common rule and characterized by celibacy and
poverty and obedience

Eremitism: asceticism characterized by solitude

in which the social dimension of life is sacrificed
to the primacy of religious experience