Does life sometimes make you feel like you want to retreat to a remote place?
Imagine looking around your city, town, or even the world, and deciding everything is so bad that you need to get away from it all. That is what Saint Benedict did. He retreated to a cave in the wilderness to be away from the immoral, troubling lifestyle in Rome during the 400s.
There are days we wonder “how did we get to this point?” and need a break from the world, but Saint Benedict shows us physical retreat from an immoral setting doesn’t make you immune to temptation. The heart of his teachings and lived experience was: prayer, study, labor, and community living. Being part of a family includes us in these, so let us not wonder why everything is so bad, but be focused on the things that are good.
Where do we focus our thoughts? How can we retreat from the bad in search of the good? Do we do our best to live the positive simple points?
We pray to Saint Benedict that we may learn from his life and apply the lessons of uniting ourselves and our families to God.
For additional reading: Today’s Readings, Saint Benedict
