Before St. Benedict became a great abbot and shepherd of souls, he lived alone as a hermit on Mount Subiaco in Italy. Unknown for some years, he was at last discovered by nearby farmers and hunters. They befriended Benedict and in return for the provisions that they would give him, he instructed them and their families in the Faith. The peasants were very grateful for these instructions, and word soon spread about the young hermit on Mount Subiaco and his wisdom.

This news reached the ears of the monks of a certain monastery in the vicinity. Having just lost their abbot (the head monk), they decided that Benedict would be his perfect successor. So a few of the religious journeyed to the mountain where Benedict lived and begged him to become their new spiritual leader and father.

Benedict was hesitant at first. He feared that his manner of living and the monks’ manner of living might not agree and that a compromise would not be possible. However, the monks were insistent that he was the one they needed as their new abbot, and Benedict at length submitted to their wishes.

At first, all went well. Then, as time went on, Benedict saw that his fears had not been unreasonable. It was not long before the monks began to realize that Benedict took his role as their spiritual father very seriously. To their great disappointment, Benedict did not approve of their way of life -even though they themselves were quite comfortable with it and unwilling to give it up. Though they had very few possessions and lived in great poverty, the monks were unfortunately quite lazy about their spiritual lives and did not like to be corrected.

The monks deemed themselves holy because they lived so simply and had so little. Benedict tried to show them that merely possessing nothing is not enough to truly love God. The monks had to surrender their will to God and live to please Him His way - not to do their own will, however ‘pious’ they felt or seemed. They were deceived by the notion that the source of holiness is in external mortification. True Virtue, however, is proven by interior sacrifice - namely, yielding our will to God.

As Our Lord warned in the Gospels, people often prefer to do exterior sacrifices - actions that can be seen - because it’s easy for others to praise their self-denial. Unfortunately, what follows is the risk of being tempted with pride and satisfaction at one’s own holiness, forgetting that it is God alone Who gave the necessary graces for these sacrifices. But when the will and heart is sacrificed interiorly to obey God, only He sees that sacrifice. It is then that true virtue grows, and we can be more assured that we are denying ourselves for His sake alone.

Unfortunately, time and habit had made the monks content in their blindness and they were angry with Benedict for his disapproval of their ways. They did not think he was justified in his criticisms. Yet, not daring to do any more than grumble about Benedict behind his back, the monks sullenly obeyed his rules. After a week or so, Benedict realized that his rules were being followed less and less. He firmly reminded the monks of his position over them and that they themselves had chosen him. He pointed out the authority he had and warned them against the evils that spring from the sin of disobedience. Above all, Benedict called upon the monks to be open and willing to follow the will of God.

The monks’ response to his admonition was not as humble or repentant as Benedict hoped. He could see in their faces a masked resentment at his advice and a smothered rage at his criticism. However, as time continued and Benedict would not back down on his stance, a few of the more malicious monks formed a plan that would forever rid them of this trouble-making hermit of Subiaco.

One night, as the monks were gathered in the large stone room where they would eat, Benedict sat where the abbot was to sit. After the blessing had been said, a monk came forward to Benedict, bearing the cup of wine that the abbot was to drink. As was his custom, Benedict raised his hand and made the Sign of the Cross over the goblet. No sooner had he finished when the metal cup suddenly split in half, as if a knife had sliced it in two! The wine ran in streams down upon the floor. As he looked at the shattered goblet, Benedict realized that the wine had been unfit to drink – someone had poisoned it.

Not a word was said in the cold room. The monks tensely stared at their abbot, wondering fearfully what he would do to them. Looking sadly and sternly at the faces of those he had known would turn against him, Benedict left the room and returned to the mountain of Subiaco. Though sad at heart at the blindness and viciousness of the poor monks, he still found comfort in the knowledge that God had protected him from their scheme. Although he knew that his attempts at reforming the monks had failed, Benedict was at peace. He knew that God was pleased that he had tried.

Once back at his hermitage, Benedict soon saw the rewarding graces he had purchased by his sufferings at the hands of the monks. The farmers and huntsmen that he had befriended had not forgotten him. In fact, not long after they discovered that he had returned to them, many of them went to his cave again - this time to ask if they could join him in the way of life he had chosen for himself. Again, Benedict hesitated, remembering the monks’ stubbornness and disobedience. However, seeing the good wills and willing hearts of the honest peasants, Benedict at last agreed to their request.

Thus was founded the first monastery of his order! God was most pleased with the efforts of Benedict and his followers and generously blessed their work. Through the years that followed, the monasteries built by Benedict and his monks multiplied and spread all across Italy and then throughout the world. In time, the very same man whom those hard-hearted monks had sought to poison was proclaimed throughout the world as the great St. Benedict, the Father of Western Monasticism.