A Benedictine Experience

Since the arrival of St. Augustine and his band of monks at Canterbury in 597 AD, the Rule of Saint Benedict has shaped the life of Anglican Christianity. For many people who would never consider themselves monastic, a Benedictine Experience cultivates and nourishes that monastic dimension within them. A Benedictine Experience is neither conference nor retreat but a carefully planned, unique attempt to bring together in community men and women, lay and clerical, to study and experience that balanced way of life as the Rule of St. Benedict envisaged it, giving due attention to body, mind, and spirit. To allow time for participants to fully experience this balance, all Benedictine Experiences range from a “long weekend” to a full week.

Participants take part in an ordered day of prayer, study, work and leisure. The framework of each day is the Opus Dei -- the daily corporate worship of God -- including prayer offices that begin with Morning Prayer, and continue with Eucharist, Evensong, and Compline to close the day. After Compline, the "Greater Silence" is observed through breakfast the following morning. Daily lectures and meditations are led by a gifted faculty. Time is set aside for silence and meditation. Mornings are devoted to meditative lectures and study. In the afternoons, time is set aside for rest, study and work. Because the work of the hands is a vital part of the Benedictine way, participants are encouraged to take part in a work project. Evenings allow time for further talks, discussion, or music.

Information and Schedule

Illus: "Benedict with Rule and Raven" © 1996 by Placid Stuckenschneider OSB, Saint John's Abbey. Drawing licensed exclusively for use by the Friends of St. Benedict, a tax exempt organization under section 501(c)3 as a public charity under section 509(c)4.