St. Benedict & the Benedictines, Stability amidst Chaos – Podcast

In this 14 minute podcast recorded on the occasion of the Feast of St. Benedict on July 11, host Sonrise Morning show host Anna Mitchell interviews Dr. Italy about the significance that Benedict and the Benedictine way of life holds for Christians today.

July 11 is the Feast Day of a man that Pope Paul VI proclaimed patron of Europe.  This saint, Benedict of Nursia and his followers, Benedictines, Cistercians, & Trappists,  played such a pivotal role that Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, upon his election as successor of Peter, took the name Benedict XVI.

In this twenty minute podcast from the Sonrise Morning Show Dr. Marcellino D’Ambrosio discuss why Benedict was so special, what his world was like, and why it in so many ways resembles our own.  Many fascinating topics are touched upon — the prayer known as the liturgy of the hours or the divine office, the “Opus Dei” or the work of God which made praise and worship the central feature of monastic life, how ordinary work fit into the program of sanctification, hospitality, the vow of stability, and the role of the monasteries in preserving not only faith but civilization for five centuries worth of “Dark Ages” in Europe, when monks were just about the only people who could read and write.

In the course of the conversation, Dr. D’Ambrosio shares the impact of Benedictines in his own life, from his first spiritual director to his current friendship with Mother Dolores Hart of Regina Laudis Abbey.  He concludes with some intriguing comments on how the Christian family today is called to fulfill much the same role as Benedict’s monasteries, islands of stability and peace in the midst of a turbulent world in flux.

Dr. Italy appears weekly on the Sonrise Morning show, a production of Sacred Heart Radio.  This show is broadcast Monday through Friday over the EWTN Global Catholic Radio network which has over 120 local affiliate stations in the US.  Podcasts from the Sonrise Morning show are available on both Sacred Heart radio site and www.crossroadsinitiative.com.