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Saint Benedict: pray and work

vatican.va, Benedict XVI, general audience of April 9, 2008

Benedict left Rome because he wanted to please God alone. He lived alone in a cave, founded monasteries and wrote a Rule for his monks: prefer nothing to the love of Christ, pray and work. vatican.va, Benedict XVI, general audience of April 9, 2008

Saint Benedict: pray and work: an artistic recreation

The story, in plain words

Benedict was born around the year 480 in Nursia, in Italy, and his parents sent him to study in Rome. vatican.va, Benedict XVI, April 9, 2008

He wanted to please God alone. So he left Rome and lived alone for three years in a cave, near Subiaco. vatican.va, Benedict XVI, April 9, 2008

Then he founded his first monasteries, near Subiaco: houses where monks live to seek God. vatican.va, Benedict XVI, April 9, 2008

In the year 529 he went to Monte Cassino, a mountain that can be seen from far away, and founded a monastery there. vatican.va, Benedict XVI, April 9, 2008 He…

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To talk about together

  1. Saint Benedict joined prayer and work. How can we pray in the middle of our everyday work?
  2. The Rule asks us to prefer nothing to the love of Christ. What things do we sometimes put first?
  3. For the child: What chore at home could you offer to God today?

Who is in it?

Saint Benedict, Jesus.

And what happened next?

Saint Francis of Assisi

Read the whole story in God's Map