Feast day July 11
St. Benedict of Nursia
Father of Western Monasticism · 480–547
For those who would let the ordinary day be the way to God — ora et labora.
In their words
Listen, O son, with the ear of your heart.
Life
Italian monk whose Rule became the foundational text of Western monasticism. Founded Monte Cassino and shaped European spiritual life for a millennium. His motto: Ora et labora — "pray and work" — turned ordinary labor into prayer.
A prayer
From the Prologue of the Rule
Listen, O son, to the precepts of the master, and incline the ear of your heart. Willingly receive the counsel of a loving father and faithfully put it into practice. Let us open our eyes to the light that comes from God, and our ears to the voice from heaven that every day cries out and calls to us.