Week I
Liturgy and Monastic Life
The distinctive characteristics of monastic life provide a unique context for the celebration of the Church’s prayer. The Sacramental Approach to the study of liturgy is the paradigm used as this course explores the richness of the Catholic Tradition especially as it relates to those in consecrated life. It includes an in-depth study of the Mass, certain Sacraments and sacramentals.
Week II
The Rule of Saint Benedict Today:
Monastic Tradition and Contemporary Culture
Based on scholarly exegesis and hermeneutics of the Regula Benedicti, selected and significant passages from it enter into an interdisciplinary, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue with selected concrete phenomena of the political-economic, sociological and cultural spheres of today’s society. In addition, the relevance of RB and Benedictine monastic spirituality is highlighted through various suggestive references (cinema, literature, poetry, art).
Week III
The Life of St. Benedict:
A Model for Contemporary Spiritual Life
The 2nd book of the Dialogues of Gregory the Great presents the Life of Saint Benedict. It was the most read book after the Bible in the Early Middle Ages. Its text and its various interpretations will be studied. By comparing the Life and the Rule of Saint Benedict one can also illuminate the historic personality of the saint. The study of miracles explains not only the hagiographic intention of Gregory the Great, but also opens up a metaphorical interpretation that gives meaning to the spiritual journey of every Christian today.