Another day, another romp. At least that's what many were thinking after Harriet Tubman trounced Nicholas Ferrar in yesterday's Lent Madness showdown. Today we're anticipating a much closer match-up as the father of monasticism takes on the grandmother of Jesus. Is blood thicker than compline? This and other questions will be answered by the Lent Madness faithful over the next 24 hours.
There are many rumors flying around the world about the timing of Pope Benedict XVI's retirement on the very same day that his namesake, Benedict of Nursia, appears in Lent Madness. It's obviously not a coincidence and we're assuming that a bunch of people named Anne will also retire today. We wish them all well in their golden years. For Benedict and Anne, however, only time will tell whether they'll be enjoying their Golden Halo years.
Benedict of Nursia
Benedict of Nursia (c.480-c.550) was born into a world that was disintegrating. The Roman Empire had become a shadow of its former self. Benedict moved from his hometown of Nursia to Rome as a student. But he found there too much of an erosion of morality for his tastes. So he abandoned the “Eternal City” for a hillside cave and became a hermit for three years.
Although Benedict is called the “Father of Western Monasticism,” communities of Christian monks had existed for centuries before his birth. One group of monks, in fact, begged him to become its abbot while he was living as a hermit. Benedict tried that, but it didn’t work out. One legend describes how those monks tried to poison him unsuccessfully. Regardless, Benedict left them and eventually founded a monastery between Rome and Naples at Monte Cassino.
There he wrote his famous Rule for monastic life. The seventy-three short chapters of that Rule present the ideal of a balance between prayer and work. One of them also includes these well-known words about hospitality: “Let all…be received as Christ.” So what Benedict really did was to channel the stream of monasticism in fresh and creative ways that have proven for nearly 1,500 years to be life-giving to the whole world.
Here’s part of an ancient poem that was written after Benedict’s death by one of his companions named Marcus:
With hard and toilsome labour ‘tis that great things are attained:
Within the narrow path alone the blessed life is gained.
While hither coming penitent bow’d down with load of sin,
I felt its weight was gone from me, I felt at peace within;
And I believe in bliss above I too shall have my share,
If thou for Marcus, Benedict, wilt breathe an earnest prayer.
Benedict’s spirit is alive and well throughout the world today (and not only in Roman Catholic circles). My own congregation had a beloved assisting priest who retired last year and belonged to a religious community of Benedictines in the Episcopal Church. And thanks to the hospitality of Roman Catholic Benedictines, the Episcopal House of Prayer sits on five acres on the grounds of St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. St. John’s is the second largest Benedictine monastery in the Western Hemisphere. It’s home to the world’s largest archive of manuscript photographs and to the St. John’s Bible, which is the first handwritten, illuminated Bible that a Benedictine monastery has commissioned in more than 500 years. Thankfully, guided by the Rule of St. Benedict, the priorities of these Benedictine monks in both the Anglican and Roman Catholic traditions remain the same: Praying, working, and receiving all as Christ.
Collect for Benedict of Nursia
Almighty and everlasting God, your precepts are the wisdom of a loving Father: Give us grace, following the teaching and example of your servant Benedict, to walk with loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord’s service; let your ears be open to our prayers; and prosper with your blessing the work of our hands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Anne
Anne is not mentioned in any of the canonical gospels, and there is no historical record of her life. Her name and the legend of her life are instead found in the Protoevangelium of James, a New Testament-era apocryphal gospel dating to around AD 150.
Legend holds that Anne was married to Joachim, and that the two were childless in their old age – a fact which deeply grieved both of them. As Joachim went into the desert for forty days and forty nights to fast, Anne sat and lamented both her pending widowhood and her childlessness. During Joachim’s absence, Anne sat beneath a laurel tree, and prayed she would receive a child just as Sarah received Isaac in her old age. As she bewails her inability to conceive, an angel appears to Anne, and promises her that she will conceive, and that “your child will be spoken of in the whole world.” (Pro.James. 4:1). In response, Anne promises that the child – whether male or female – will be brought as a gift to God, and will minister before God all the days of its life. Nine months later, Mary is born to Joachim and Anne. A year after Mary’s birth, Joachim presents Mary to the priests, and in their prayer of blessing pray that she will be given “an eternal name among all the generations” (Pro. James. 6:2). When Mary turned three, Joachim and Anne give Mary into the service of the temple in fulfillment of the promise Anne made to the angel when she announced Mary’s birth.
Anne’s legend heavily echoes the story of two barren women in the Old Testament – Sarah, who gives birth to Isaac in her old age; and Hannah, who gives birth to Samuel after being thought to be barren, and dedicates him to the service of the temple. Indeed, Anne’s name in Hebrew is “Hannah,” meaning “favor” or “grace.”
Devotion to Anne dates to the patristic era. The emperor Justinian built a church in Constantinople in her honor; her feast began to be observed in the west by the 14th century. By the end of the middle ages, devotion to St. Anne had become wide spread, and became a target for the Protestant Reformers, most especially Martin Luther. Nonetheless, in 1584, it was made a feast in the Roman Catholic Church.
In the Orthodox tradition, Anne is given the title “Forbear of God,” and the Birth of Mary (September 8) and the Dedication of Mary in the Temple (November 21) are principal feasts of the church. In the Western Church, her feast is celebrated with her spouse, Joachim, on July 26.
Collect for Anne
Almighty God, heavenly Father, we remember in thanksgiving this day, Anne, mother of of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and we pray that we all may be made one in the heavenly family of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-- David Sibley
Vote!
[poll id="52"]
170 comments on “Benedict of Nursia vs. Anne”
Holy Trinity, Gainesville has an occasional "Ann(e) Party" and I send out thirty-five invitations at last counting. We all wear name tags that say, "Hello, my name is Ann/Anne. Any female gathering of our parish will invariably be half Anns. So - I must vote for St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus!
-Ann Case
Although the legend seems to me a case of humans trying to explain the unexplainable mystery of God's action, the fact is that someone was indeed Mary's mother. My vote goes to Granny.
As I vote Benedict is ahead, but this Granny is voting for Anne. Go Granny, Go!
Got up early to vote 1st thing this a.m. Went for Benedict. Am now home and have read a whole bunch of these wonderful and sometimes suitably snarky responses. OK, ok...NOW I'm confused. So..."Sorry Grandma Florence and Grandma Sophia if you're miffed that I didn't pick the grandmother here. (And no, you cannot have your recipes back!!)"
As a former Benedictine, I must vote for Ann! More so, one of my best friends took her name in Ann's honor, Sr. Ann , OSH.
I was raised Roman Catholic but now am Episcopalian. My mother grew up in a different Roman Catholic church than I did because she was educated by Benedictines. Praying, working, and receiving all as Christ; that was the church I wished for but could not find in the Roman world. Benedict gets my vote today!
As a long time member of St. Anne's Episcopal in Middletown, DE, founded in 1703 as part of Queen Anne's SPG, I have to go with Anne.
And it was probably really (if subliminally) dedicated to Queen Anne too! Worse still there is a church in Eastern MD originally dedicated to St. Mary which became St. Mary-Anne's after receiving gifts from Queen Anne's bounty. I have yet to find a St. Mary-Anne in any calendar or martyrology, but she does have a church.
Why can't we vote for Joachim? He's Anne's spouse, and the patron saint of grandfathers, of which I am one and proud of it!
Vote for his wife then Grandpa! He would.
How can you possibly vote against Jesus' "MeeMa"??? =)
There was an old woman named Ann,
Who came to Yahweh with a plan-
A baby He'd give her,
Who'd later deliver
The greatest grandson known to man!
How could you do this to me, pit Anne against my favorite monastic. I was not raised Catholic (or Episcopal) so knowledge of Anne escaped me until I was old enough to see her appear in works of art and then to do my own reading about her. I doubt that I was consciously named after her (note the common spelling of Ann) but I have felt her kinship. In fact like many I carry the name Mary Ann.
I have in the years since had the ways of Benedict illumined for me by many women [OSB] who follow in the footsteps of Benedict. Again I say, how dare you... should they have come through opposite sides of the bracket I would have gladly voted both till they faced each other.
p.s. I voted for Anne
I stayed for a couple days at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, a Benedictine cloisted convent in Bethlehem, Conn. All seven services were sung. The spirituality and generosity of the Benedictine discipline I will always treasure. Of course I had to vote for Benedict.
I have for many years been a confrater (associate) of the Benedictines at Three Rivers -- even though they no longer sing the Office in Latin as they did when I first joined. (I too sometimes go to Regina Laudis for that.) Hard as it is to vote against God's Granny I have to support Benedict.
Benedict gets the vote based on my love of Hollandaise Sauce. But tell me, if the ancient poem by Marcus was most likely written in a different language then how does it rhyme in English?
Sometimes the "e" in a name can be problematic--nope, not Bonnie.
Although I am named Ann (without the 'e', AKA the 'bare Ann'), I had to go for Benedict-- for the rule and the hospitality.
I know Anne may only be a myth however, after spending time in Cuba where she is beloved, I had to vote for her. If I knew how to add a picture to this comment box, I'd share beautiful folk images of Anne, holding Mary while rescuing Cuban fisherman during a storm made out of hubcaps and other reclaimed materials or the colorful mosaic by Jose Fuster.
not likely to vote for someone whom is only real in legend 😉
Hi, This is Hope. I think both people sound really interesting. I voted for Anne over Benedict because she seems more mysterious. There were three golden halos in the picture too.
I'd love to vote for my namesake (& I'd love to retire as well!) but Benedict's "all are welcome" wins my vote!
As an associate of an Episcopal religious order that is based on Benedict's rule, I must vote for the man who gave us all his rule.
Went to one year of HS in Washington DC with the Benedictines. Wasn't the high spot of my teens, but that doesn't detract from what Benedict left behind. Gotta go with Benny.
I found it easy to vote for Anne, because of what she represents for me: the women throughout history who lived & passed on the Faith, those whose names have been lost to the sands of time. Benedict may have had a great influence on Christian life, but I doubt it was nearly as great an influence as that of the parents & grandparents raising the next generations in the Faith. As for Anne being a "myth" (actually, the correct term is 'legend'--there is a difference): Jesus had a grandmother. That is fact. And without knowing what her historic name was, we call her Anne or Hannah, just as we call the tellers & scribes of the Iliad 'Homer'--that's how we remember important people. & I believe that what Anne represents is as real & as important as what Benedict did, if not more so. Similarly, I fail to understand the logic behind insisting upon a literal & historic saint over a symbolic & legendary one--we are a community of Faith, after all, with a Holy library of texts of various genres-- for myself, I find more personal meaning in the metaphoric & allegorical truths present in the myths told in Genesis than in the literal & historical legal documents of Leviticus! So I vote for Anne, for my mother & grandmothers, for those who brought Christ into my life, & for the women throughout history that brought us all to where we are now.
Amen to that! Thank you for your witness Undine!
beautifully said. thank you.
I applaud Cheribum for voting for Benedict based on his/her love of Hollandaise Sauce. That's clear thinking. My decision making today is more murky. Anne's history is a bit squishy and I can't understand giving away a longed for child at the age of three, never to see her again. Just how much influence could she have had on Mary in that limited time anyway? Martin Luther gave a shout out for Anne, quite literally, when he cried out "Help, St. Anne" after a close shave with a lightning bolt. So she gets credit for him leaving law school and taking a more spiritual path. However, he disliked monastic life, try as he might to fit in. Later he even suggested all monasteries be disbanded with properties given to charity. That's not exactly a thumbs up for Benedict. In the end Luther's influence on the vote was not significant and was made even less so since he lost to MLK the other day. This round goes to Benedict for his staightforward, thoughtful, and lasting Rule. Besides, Eggs Benedict is a wonderful dish. Does anyone have his original recipe?
Had to go with the founder of the "school of the Lord's service."
Benedict has occupied a place in my consciousness since childhood. One of the framed pieces of art in our house was "Bene Dictum, Benedicte," a purported chapter of Benedict's Rule about dealing with a guest at the monastery that ends as follows:
"If indeed, he find fault with anything, or expose it, reasonably, and with the humility of charity, the Abbot shall discuss it prudently, lest perchance God has sent him for this very thing. But, if he have been found gossipy and contumacious in the time of his sojourn as guest, not only ought he not to be joined to the body of the monastery, but also it shall be said to him, honestly, that he must depart. If he does not go, let two stout monks, in the name of God, explain the matter to him."
Don't be contumacious. Vote for Benedict! Don't make us call the stout monks.
Even though she spelled her name wrong, I still voted for Ann(with an E). Besides, I was named for her. So there!
Ann(with no E)
As another person who grew up in St. Anne's, Annapolis, MD and knows that Tiffany window*, I have to vote for Anne. W/o that parish my path would have been very different. And Anne has always been one of my favorite names--if I'd had a daughter that would be her name. And I'm affiliated w/ an order that's more Ignatian than Benedictine. (However, all Anglicans are pretty Benedictine, just b/c of the traditions we come from and pray from.)
*As much as I love St Anne's Annapolis, I must say . . . I adore Tiffany and have looked at a lot of Tiffany windows in my life, and if it weren't for the association of my home parish, I'd have to call that one the least attractive I've ever seen. Too dark. I like the other Tiffany in the building, the Resurrection Angel, much better, as well as the Heinigke
& Bowen window from the same period, Christ Calming the Sea.
Man, I wish I had time to read all the comments today; they are so wonderful and inspiring no matter whose side they were on! My sometimes-too-rational mind had to go for Benedict, although that decision was also somewhat irrationally influenced by love of the Brother Cadfael mysteries!
I was born and raised in The Bronx, I spent the first 10 years just 2 blocks from the historic St.Ann's Church ....on St.Ann's Avenue.
While I lived in Italy, I visited Monte Cassino several times. We also visited an Benedictine Cloister in Manfredonia, where we we welcomed warmly by the Sisters and had supper with them. The sanctity and serenity of the place does not even begin to describe it. This was no small honor and a privilege few ever get. The father of Western Monasticism gets my vote. Ann was the grandmother of Jesus and mother of Mary, she can live without my vote and besides Jewish grandmothers get a lot of endearing attention.
I voted for Benedict. Was quite a tough one maybe to reconcile I will have Eggs Benedict and Potatoes Anna for Sunday brunch.
Having numerous times experienced Benedictine hospitality at Mt Calvary community and many other places, and finding the words of Monastery of the Heart by Joan Chittester a real blessing this Lent, I had to go with Benedict. Receiving all as Christ is a big deal to me, as well as weaving prayer and work together. Benedict has helped form my life in a way few saints have.
My vote goes to Ann, she who bore the Mother of God.
There is nothing to be said against St. Benedict.
I am voting for St Anne because of a painting.
The painting hung in an office building until a new tenant re-decorated and sold the wall art. My husband bought the painting for me. If I knew how to attach a photo to this post, I would. This modern, sort-of-impressionist, sort-of- minimalist painting shows two women looking at something off of and to the left of the canvas. We haven't found a title on the painting, only the artist's name. I call the painting "Mary and her Mother" (St. Anne) because I think the object the two women focus on is the Baby Jesus. Not everyone agrees with my analysis, but I find the painting enchanting. The women's faces show a kind of wonder---a timid wonder--as they look at sweet baby Jesus.