POINTS TO REMEMBER: Theology 110N

The Prophets – Prophets are Israelites who had a radical encounter with God’s
presence… these are commissioned people who practiced purity and followed the law
of the Torah.

Keep in mind that if unclean the body can never stand in the presence of God… two
things are bound to happen once an unclean body would step into God’s presence it is
either Death or loss of sanity.

Since the time that the Israelites were rescued from Egypt people started to complain as
they were not satisfied with the help they got from God. Therefore the people started to
grow restless and complained with them are the leaders who were not anymore true to
their role… So with this God chose a specific group of people who would become His
spokesperson who would dictate how the people should live in accordance to the will
of God.

The Role of a prophet is to remind the people of their violations against the covenant…
it is crucial for a prophet to be aware of the relationship with God… even if prophets
are born with a long gap the message is still the same… to be able to transmit the
blessing of God to His entire family.

How did the Prophets remind the people of their loyalty to the covenant?

ACCUSATION – they continuously accuse the people of their violations with the
agreement between God and Man.

REPENTANCE – Prophets remind the people that God is merciful and forgiving
therefore all they have to do is to repent and turn away from Sin.

THE DAY OF THE LORD – Prophets Look forward on how God will bring about His
justice to the world and his creation.
Prophets are not fortune tellers but they are able to see the future according to the
knowledge and wisdom of the Omniscient God.
The Prophets are classified as Minor and Major

MAJOR PROPHETS – are those who have written a great amount of volume in
scripture. ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, EZEKIEL & DANIEL
MINOR PROPHETS – are those who have written small volumes in scripture. HOSEA,
OBADIAH, MALACHI, HABBAKUK…. Etc.

But the IMPORTANCE of this is that no matter the volume of the work both works are
important as it comes from the mouth of God.
Prophets are known to accuse the Kings and leaders of their idolatry, they are
concerned with moral law, they bring the punishment for those unfaithful to God and
who disobey his commands, they were advisers to kings on both political and private
life, they proclaim a promise that a messiah would come to redeem God’s people.

HOW CAN I BECOME A PROPHETS IN THIS GENERATION?

Being baptized in the faith opens the gateways of joining God’s Family and becoming a
Prophet who would witness to the evangelical mission of Christ to witness to Christ
who loves, Christ who serves and Christ who saves.

Being Baptized we are called to a mission of proclaiming to others the wonders of God
as the prophets before us did… a true prophet leads the people to God and not to
himself it is in the proper knowing of one’s mission that we get to know where we get
the inspiration to speak of God and His will.
Prophets are called to become the spokesperson of God, to lead them into his arms and
to remind them of His everlasting Love and Mercy.

ST BENEDICT AND HIS HOLY RULE

St. Benedict, in full Saint Benedict of Nursia, Nursia also spelled Norcia, (born c. 480 CE,
Nursia [Italy]—died c. 547, Monte Cassino; feast day July 11, formerly March 21),
founder of the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino and father of Western
monasticism; the rule that he established became the norm for monastic living
throughout Europe. In 1964, in view of the work of monks following the Benedictine
Rule in the evangelization and civilization of so many European countries in the Middle
Ages, Pope Paul VI proclaimed him the patron saint of all Europe.1
St. Benedict is believed to have been born around 480, as the son to a Roman noble of
Norcia and the twin to his sister, Scholastica. In the fifth century, the young Benedict
was sent to Rome to finish his education with a nurse/housekeeper. The subject that
dominated a young man’s study then was rhetoric -- the art of persuasive speaking.
They had everything -- education, wealth, youth -- and they spent all of it in the pursuit
of pleasure, not truth. Benedict watched in horror as vice unraveled the lives and ethics
of his companions.
Afraid for his soul, Benedict fled Rome, gave up his inheritance and lived in a small
village with his nurse. When God called him beyond this quiet life to an even deeper
solitude, he went to the mountains of Subiaco. Although becoming a hermit was not his
purpose in leaving, there he lived as a hermit under the direction of another hermit,
Romanus.

One day, during his time living in a cave above a lake as a hermit, the Devil presented
Benedict’s imagination with a beautiful, tempting woman. Benedict resisted by rolling
his body into a thorn bush until it was covered in scrapes. It is said through these body
wounds, he cured the wounds of his soul.
After years of prayer, word of his holiness brought nearby monks to ask for his
leadership. He warned them he would be too strict for them, but they insisted -- then
tried to poison him when his warning proved true. The story goes, the monks
attempted to poison Benedict’s drink, but when he prayed a blessing over the cup - it
shattered.2

FOUNDING MONASTERIES — SUBIACO

After resisting a strong temptation against chastity, Benedict prepared to live through a
new experience, following the example of the ancient Fathers of Christian Monasticism.
At first, the community of Vicovaro wanted him as its Abbot, but the failed attempt of a
monk to poison him forced Benedict to return to his solitude. Afterward, he founded
twelve monasteries and assigned twelve monks to each of them. Also, he founded the
thirteenth monastery for novices and those needing
education. Benedict’s fame spread so rapidly, even in Rome, that two illustrious men,
Equizius and the nobleman Tertullus, entrusted him with their two sons, Maurus
and Placidus. They were to become the first two gems of the Benedictine family.
During his life, Saint Benedict performed many miracles. He found water on a
desolate mountaintop to quench the thirst of his monks. He retrieved a bill hook’s
iron from the bottom of a lake and rejoined its handle. He prevented a monk from
leading a dissolute life through intervention. Also, he made Maurus walk on water
to save the young Placidus from drowning.
Unfortunately, a priest called Florentius was envious of Benedict’s popularity
and his envy forced the Saint to depart despite insistence from his disciples. After
leaving Subiaco, Benedict went towards Cassino. In the period between 525
and 529 AD, he founded the Abbey of Montecassino. It would become the most
famous abbey in continental Europe. Under Benedict’s direction, the old
acropolissanctuary
towering above the declined Roman municipium of Casinum was turned
into a monastery that was much bigger than those built at Subiaco. On the remains
of the altar of Apollo, he built a chapel dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, while
the temple of Apollo itself was turned into an oratory for the monks which was
dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours.

MONASTIC LIFE TAKES ROOT — MONTE CASSINO

At Monte Cassino, Saint Benedict displayed prodigious activity. He supervised
the building of the monastery, established a monastic order, and performed many
miracles. He brought back from death a youngster, miraculously supplied the
monastery with flour and oil in its time of need, and displayed the gift of prophecy.
In autumn of 542 AD, while the Goth King Totila was passing through Cassino en
route to Naples to attack it, he decided to test Saint Benedict because he had already
heard of his gifts and charisms. As a consequence, Totila sent his squire dressed as
a king to greet the monk; but Saint Benedict soon unmasked him. When he finally
met Totila, he warned him with a dire prediction: “You have hurt many and you
continue to do it, now stop behaving badly! You will enter Rome, you will cross the
vast sea, you will reign for nine years; however, in the tenth year, you will die.” And
that is exactly what happened. Saint Benedict showed the same virtue as he cried
bitterly when confronted with the vision of the first destruction of his monastery.
Notwithstanding, he received from God the grace to save all the monks.
Saint Benedict devoted himself to evangelizing the local population who
practiced pagan worship. Shortly before he died, Saint Benedict saw the soul of
his sister Saint Scholastica rising to heaven in the form of a dove.

This vision happened a few days after their last talk together at the foot of
Montecassino. In a vision, Benedict saw the soul of Bishop Germanus of Capua taken by
angels in a fire globe. These visions, for Pope Saint Gregory the Great, showed a close
union between Benedict and God, a union so intense that the Saint was given the share
of an even more magnificent vision, the whole of creation as gathered in a sunbeam.
In the end, a life so noble was justifiably followed by a much-glorified death.
According to tradition, Saint Benedict died on March 21, 547 AD. He foresaw his
coming death, informing his close and faraway disciples that the end was near. Six
days before dying, he had the grave which he was to share with his deceased sister
Saint Scholastica, opened. Then, completely exhausted, he asked to be taken into
his oratory where, after taking his last Holy Communion, he died supported by his
monks.3
The Rule of St. Benedict
The legacy of St. Benedict is ultimately found in the Rule he wrote for his monks
in 540. The Rule is a book that guides the monks for an ordered and celibate form
of the communal Christian life. The Rule was based on disciplines that had already
been developing within the church for a couple of centuries before his time like
those of Basil the Great, St. Augustine, and John Cassian. But it was Benedict’s
“little rule for beginners”—the name Benedict gave his Rule—that set the standard
for monasticism in Western Christianity.
The Rule of St. Benedict begins with a lengthy prologue of rich teaching followed by
73 short chapters laying out spiritual and administrative guides to the monastic life.
The first chapter outlines the qualities of an abbot, who is the spiritual father and
supreme authority of the monastery. Most of the remaining sections focus on how
to live obediently and humbly in the community.4

From a simple man who wished to follow God more closely by living alone as
a hermit, St. Benedict transformed the Western society by the spiritual legacy
contained in his Rule and the founding of the Benedictine monasteries in Subiaco
and throughout Europe.

St. Benedict’s legacy is also passed on to all students of San Beda College
Alabang, a school administered by the Benedictine monks. May you emulate St.
Benedict and honor his memory as we all strive to follow the will of God in daily
life.

THE TEN BENEDICTINE HALLMARKS

The Benedictine hallmarks are founded on the influences that animate Benedictine
education.
•Christ who is encountered anew each day in Scripture and the human person
•the Rule of Benedict as it is lived in the community
•The extensive and rich tradition of those who have pursued Christian and monastic
holiness in the past

The Hallmarks that enlivens the life of the monastics should be able to find a home in
Benedictine colleges and universities and must be indications of educational vitality
and fidelity to their mission. The hallmarks are the patterns of life for the campus
community that should foster a particularly fruitful Benedictine engagement with the
Catholic intellectual tradition.

1. Love of Christ and neighbor

The Benedictine life is first and foremost a response to God’s astonishing love for
humankind. Love, the motive for monastic life and its goal, tops St. Benedict’s list of
tools for good works (RB 5:10, 7:67-69, 4.1-2). Thus, a Benedictine institution must be
Grounded in love and animated by it. We must pursue a rigorous and disciplined
search for truth and to support one another when that quest becomes difficult. We do
not bring each other down but help one another to reach his or her potential We believe
in the capacity of all persons to grow and develop. We learn to cultivate habits of mind
and behavior that are life-giving and contribute to the good of all.

2. Prayer: A life marked by liturgy, lectio, and mindfulness

Benedictine life cultivates a fundamental attentiveness to how God is present in the
human mind and heart and, indeed, in all creation. The primary way for doing this is
through the monastery’s daily rhythm of liturgical prayer. St. Benedict directs that
nothing is to be preferred to it (RB 43.3). Thus, a Benedictine institution must have a
daily experience of community prayer which is supported and deepened by individual
spiritual reading or Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is the slow meditative reading of
Scriptures and other sacred texts to discern how God is at work right now in the world
and call within the individual’s own heart. The daily movement between common
liturgical prayer and Lectio opens new space within where qualities and virtues such as
compassion, integrity, and courage can develop and grow strong.

3. Stability: commitment to the daily life of this place, its heritage and tradition
Stability shapes a Benedictine monastery. All its members commit themselves to seek
God. They resolve to pursue this, their heart’s deepest desire, together, day in and day
out, in good times and in bad, throughout the entire span of their lives.
Hence, Benedictine education aims to have students, faculty, and staff to stay
“connected” to our institutions until they graduate or retire. We share all achievements
and bear one another’s burdens/help one another. We learn together, grow together,
and stick with one another in good and bad times.

4. Conversatio: the way of formation and transformation

The Benedictine way of life is geared towards the transformation of every part of one’s
life so that God’s very image, in which each has been created, becomes palpable and
transparent. The Benedictine word for this way of life is conversatio, the process of
letting go in the day-to-day life of self-centered preoccupations and false securities so
that the divine life at the core of one’s becoming manifest in a trustworthy pattern of
living.
Conversatio is a commitment to engage in practices that bring about conversion into the
likeness of Christ. This transformation proceeds according to small steps; and it is tested
in unexpected ways over a lifetime. To come to fruition conversatio requires stability,
discipline, faithfulness, and resilience.

5. Obedience: a commitment to listening and consequent action

Benedictine life is unthinkable without obedience, a value that cuts against the grain of
much in contemporary life. It is often forgotten that the root of the word obedience is
found in audire, “to listen.” When St. Benedict begins the Rule with the exhortation
“Listen,” he emphasizes the stance of obedience required of all who seek wisdom. He
asks for obedience not only to the spiritual head of the monastery but to the other
members of the community (RB 71:1-2). Each has something of value to say about the
true fullness of life.
A Benedictine institution must know how to respect the methodologies proper to each
discipline of study. The people in it should understand and respect the viewpoints of
others and should adhere to standards of excellence in thinking and communicating.
We learn to listen well and respond deeply to others and the world knowing this is a
prerequisite for growing in wisdom and it requires courage and perseverance.

6. Discipline: a way toward learning and freedom

Discipline is a way of focusing energy and attention on what matters most. Benedictine
life is built around a fundamental discipline of prayer, work, and relationships that is
outlined in the Rule and that seeks to free a monastic to take delight in God’s presence
within the self, the community, and the world. New members are taught how to
cultivate the discipline of monastic life and to realize that it takes a lifetime of practice
to develop fully the skills needed to live life freely and wholeheartedly on the deepest
of levels.
Hence, educational programs aim to model and call forth personal discipline on the
part of students. We teach students to move from a discipline imposed from the outside
to mature self-discipline in which a person possesses a robust love of learning. In
setting his or her own goals, one can imagine and pursue the steps necessary to achieve
those goals.

7. Humility: knowledge of self concerning God, others and creation

Humility is St. Benedict’s word for wisdom. He begins his extended description of the
twelve degrees of humility by describing awe at the abiding presence of God and ends
depicting a love that casts out fear (RB 7).
A Benediction institution must offer a balanced perspective that engages the self-
understanding and pursuits of students, faculty, and staff in Benedictine educational
institutions. We strive to engage the insights and expertise of a wide variety of persons
so that each of us can discover what we are good at doing and what we need others’
help to achieve. We seek to cultivate the multifaceted exploration of truth with the
rigorous and wide-ranging pursuit of academic excellence We do not spoon-feed but
allow opportunities for reflection and discernment with the goal that the learning to be
achieved will redound to the good of all.

8. Stewardship: responsible use of creation, culture and the arts

Benedictine monastics do not simply use up what has been given to them, nor do they
aim to live in poverty. Instead, they prize good stewardship, the respectful use of
material things for the good of all, with a special eye to frugality, integrity of form and
function, and the capacity of beauty to communicate the presence and power of God.
Benedictine education seeks to foster awareness that we are part of a larger ecology and
that the environment has been given by God for the sake of all. We encourage the
creative and sustainable use of resources and their just distribution for the good of all.
We seek to sharpen awareness of noteworthy contributions to the well-being of society
and the earth itself

9. Hospitality: openness to the other

St. Benedict accords special attention to Christ’s unexpected arrival from outside in the
person of the guest, whom he describes alternately as poor and as a stranger. Christ
presents himself in the outsider’s vulnerability and calls the monastic to put aside
individual plans and pre-occupations to let the unexpected person in, to help her get
established, to respond to his most pressing needs. And when the outsider comes to
experience being “at home” in this new place, for however brief the stay, the monastic
discovers new awareness of the common journey in which all are engaged. A blessing
accompanies both the offering and the receiving of hospitality.
Our Benedictine Schools know how to extend hospitality to each member of the
educational community, especially to those new to the community and/or coming from
other traditions. More broadly, we seek to cultivate inclusiveness in our curricular and
co-curricular ways to recognize the needs and call forth the talents and gifts of persons
of differing capacities and dispositions, of diverse races, cultures, and backgrounds.

10. Community: call to serve the common good

The Benedictine monastic community is characterized by mutual service with no
expectation of individual reward. The qualities of character that are required are
nurtured by the individual community’s sense of its mission, the witness of monastic
forebears, and the broader communion of saints across the ages.
Therefore, Benedictine Educational Institutions must enlist practical focus on
community building and its profound openness to human history and global
experience. We cultivate a focus on the nature of responsible living – a focus that is
enriched by local examples, grounded in the wisdom of the past and refreshed by the
perspectives of other cultures. We also provide students with a tangible experience of
community to help them make the connection between the individual and the
communal, the local and the global, the present, and the past.