Saints LightHow Did Monks Save the West?
When the Roman West collapsed, monks like Benedict, missionaries like Patrick and popes like Gregory kept faith and learning alive and carried the Gospel to new peoples.
What this lesson teaches
- After the Western Empire fell in 476, monasteries preserved learning, farming and the faith.
- Benedict's Rule balanced prayer and work and shaped Western monasticism.
- Patrick, Boniface, Cyril and Methodius carried the Gospel to new peoples.
- Gregory the Great cared for Rome's poor and sent missionaries to England in 596.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 849
- CCC 918
- CCC 2106
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15.
A sample question from this lesson
What was the heart of Benedict's Rule?
- Extreme fasting and constant physical punishment
- Living alone in the desert with no community
- A balanced life of prayer, work and reading under an abbot
- Traveling constantly to preach in new lands
Show the answer
A balanced life of prayer, work and reading under an abbot. The Rule of Benedict is known for moderation, balancing prayer, work, reading and rest in community.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Monasticism
- A way of life in which men or women leave ordinary life to seek God through prayer, work and vows, usually in community.
- Rule
- The written way of life for a religious community, such as the Rule of St Benedict.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"How Did Monks Save the West?" is lesson 5 of Two Thousand Years in Twelve Lessons. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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