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Man of Blessing: A Life of St. Benedict
This biography of the "patriarch of western monasticism" combines what is known about his life with information about the time in which he lived.
180 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 15, 2023
This simple but helpful History of Benedict is just what the Doctor ordered.
A couple of notable lessons.
Benedictine thought dictated that monks paused several times a day from their work to acknowledge the world would not cease to spin without their work.
They weren’t needed but wanted, and their work only meant as much as God allowed it to.
The second was a moment where Benedict had such a strong discernment he could see a physical manifestation of a principality that was preventing a young monk from praying.
After prayer, the principality was still there.
So Benedict placed his hand firmly on the shoulder of the specter and Satan never bothered them again.
The young man could pray again.
One important thing about Benedict himself is how he shone in the darkness of a largely corrupt priesthood of the day.
Jealous priests tried to poison Benedict … twice.
It’s in studying Benedict that I’ve discovered that Monasticism was a cornerstone that to this day holds the church down like an anchor even if/while the Church faces its moments of being tarnished or even morally bunk.
A couple of notable lessons.
Benedictine thought dictated that monks paused several times a day from their work to acknowledge the world would not cease to spin without their work.
They weren’t needed but wanted, and their work only meant as much as God allowed it to.
The second was a moment where Benedict had such a strong discernment he could see a physical manifestation of a principality that was preventing a young monk from praying.
After prayer, the principality was still there.
So Benedict placed his hand firmly on the shoulder of the specter and Satan never bothered them again.
The young man could pray again.
One important thing about Benedict himself is how he shone in the darkness of a largely corrupt priesthood of the day.
Jealous priests tried to poison Benedict … twice.
It’s in studying Benedict that I’ve discovered that Monasticism was a cornerstone that to this day holds the church down like an anchor even if/while the Church faces its moments of being tarnished or even morally bunk.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2025
This short, insightful text weaves the historical context of St. Benedict’s life in the late Roman era of war and cultural upheaval with the traditional retelling of his simple, devoted life and many miracles. Benedict’s relationship with his sister Scholastica, who became a nun and shared his devotion to God, is illustrated with stories from their childhood and later adult friendship and mutual support. The text is enriched with historical facts drawn from Pope Gregory the Great’s Dialogues biographical history of Benedict from 593 AD. Other supplementary materials include a map of Benedict’s Italy, chapter by chapter summary of Benedict’s Rule from a modern, gender-inclusive version, an appendix listing fourteen popes that took the name of Benedict with their rational, and a list of recommended reading for further study. The simple, personable narrative supported by historical and culture background material makes this volume particularly excellent for gift giving for middle grade to young adult readers who are curious about the life and teaching of St. Benedict. Adult readers of any age will also be inspired by this overview of the life and teachings of St. Benedict.
December 18, 2018
Man of Blessing is a good introduction to the life of St. Benedict and his work. There is a list of book for further reading. Information is given about the Rule of St. Benedict.
Comment: Fans of the books of Scott Hahn will enjoy this book.
Comment: Fans of the books of Scott Hahn will enjoy this book.
September 21, 2023
This is a nice short biography of St. Benedict. It's an adaptation of St. Gregory's Dialogues and uses language that is more modern, which to me was at times off putting. It did make it more accessible and readable, however.
July 7, 2017
Simply written, a powerful account of the stories told about this man of a God. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
April 22, 2018
I was really interested in the subject, but the writing was really dry.
January 8, 2024
I read this in college and it made me fall in love with St. Benedict and the Benedictines! Great book, especially for those who aren’t familiar with the saint and want to learn more. :)
August 11, 2014
I picked up Man of Blessing: A Life of St. Benedict on a whim. I’ve taught The Rule of St. Benedict a couple of times for a medieval literature course, but all I knew about the man himself was what was presented in the short bio at the beginning of the copy of his Rule. So when I saw this book at the bookstore, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to learn more about the life and character of the famous saint. This was not the thorough and detailed biography I was looking for. It turns out we really don’t have much detailed information about Benedict’s life. Pope Gregory the Great wrote a short hagiography of St. Benedict which gives the same basic information that I already knew as well as a host of miracle stories involving Benedict.
However, despite the fact that this book was not the biography I was looking for, I gave it a chance anyway. In the preface, author Carmen Butcher gives her impetus for writing the book. In light of the newest pope, Benedict XVI, she decided to write a series of meditations on the saint who supplied the regnal name for 16 popes. There is a brief introduction about medieval biography that talks a bit about Pope Gregory and his account of St. Benedict. The most interesting thing in this part of the book is her discussion of the miracle stories. She is remarkably reticent to take a firm stand on the historicity of the miracles. She affirms that most medieval believers would have taken the miracles at face value, but that sophisticated readers, “would have believed the miracles too, but might have focused primarily on their symbolic significance.” Butcher never states what she herself believes, but the focus of her book is clearly the inspirational quality of the miracles stories rather than their historical accuracy.
She begins her story of St. Benedict with an account of his childhood. This was in some ways both the weakest and strongest part of the book. Carmen Butcher is a medieval scholar and professor, and so she knows hers stuff. She is able to paint a good overall picture of what Benedict’s early life would have been like, and what education was like at the time. She also situates the life of St. Benedict historically and gives an overall political background of the day. I particularly enjoyed her discussion of the educational system at the time. Unfortunately, she tries to tie all this to Benedict in a very personal way, when we have no information about what he specifically read and thought in his childhood. “He might have read Seneca’s Stoic description of death, with it’s dismissal of heaven and hell,” “might also have read (and disagreed with) Urorator Cicero’s words on brevity,” “might have met Eastern monastic movement leaders and might have also begun reading the monastic rules circulating around,” “might also have read the Rule composed by the Doctor of Grace,” “He might have experienced sharp loneliness,” and “Maybe he read with poignancy Cicero’s letter to his friend...” We don’t know any of this; did he ever consider any of these things with poignancy? This speculation felt a bit contrived to me. It would have been better for Butcher to simply paint a picture of the world of Benedict’s youth, and then move on to those better known parts of his life.
The rest of the book is structured around Benedict’s miracles, presumably following the pattern of Gregory. As I mentioned before, Butcher gives a spiritual lesson from each miracle story, which makes the stories relevant. The humorous nature of many of the stories also makes me think that Benedict needs a nice fictional treatment from someone like Frederick Buechner. The book is good for illustrating the benefits of the Benedictine monasteries and the cultural impact that they had. Simple monks, serving others were able to speak to men in power, help the poor, and spread education, things that many evangelical churches today do not accomplish. It reminded me of some of the things I learned from How the Irish Saved Civilizationi by Thomas Cahill.
This book doesn’t quite hold up as a biography, despite the nice historical discussion of the time period. However, the book is full of great lessons that we all ought to learn. Even if the book does not teach a great deal about Benedict the man, it provides a good overview of the Benedictine ideal.
3/5 stars
However, despite the fact that this book was not the biography I was looking for, I gave it a chance anyway. In the preface, author Carmen Butcher gives her impetus for writing the book. In light of the newest pope, Benedict XVI, she decided to write a series of meditations on the saint who supplied the regnal name for 16 popes. There is a brief introduction about medieval biography that talks a bit about Pope Gregory and his account of St. Benedict. The most interesting thing in this part of the book is her discussion of the miracle stories. She is remarkably reticent to take a firm stand on the historicity of the miracles. She affirms that most medieval believers would have taken the miracles at face value, but that sophisticated readers, “would have believed the miracles too, but might have focused primarily on their symbolic significance.” Butcher never states what she herself believes, but the focus of her book is clearly the inspirational quality of the miracles stories rather than their historical accuracy.
She begins her story of St. Benedict with an account of his childhood. This was in some ways both the weakest and strongest part of the book. Carmen Butcher is a medieval scholar and professor, and so she knows hers stuff. She is able to paint a good overall picture of what Benedict’s early life would have been like, and what education was like at the time. She also situates the life of St. Benedict historically and gives an overall political background of the day. I particularly enjoyed her discussion of the educational system at the time. Unfortunately, she tries to tie all this to Benedict in a very personal way, when we have no information about what he specifically read and thought in his childhood. “He might have read Seneca’s Stoic description of death, with it’s dismissal of heaven and hell,” “might also have read (and disagreed with) Urorator Cicero’s words on brevity,” “might have met Eastern monastic movement leaders and might have also begun reading the monastic rules circulating around,” “might also have read the Rule composed by the Doctor of Grace,” “He might have experienced sharp loneliness,” and “Maybe he read with poignancy Cicero’s letter to his friend...” We don’t know any of this; did he ever consider any of these things with poignancy? This speculation felt a bit contrived to me. It would have been better for Butcher to simply paint a picture of the world of Benedict’s youth, and then move on to those better known parts of his life.
The rest of the book is structured around Benedict’s miracles, presumably following the pattern of Gregory. As I mentioned before, Butcher gives a spiritual lesson from each miracle story, which makes the stories relevant. The humorous nature of many of the stories also makes me think that Benedict needs a nice fictional treatment from someone like Frederick Buechner. The book is good for illustrating the benefits of the Benedictine monasteries and the cultural impact that they had. Simple monks, serving others were able to speak to men in power, help the poor, and spread education, things that many evangelical churches today do not accomplish. It reminded me of some of the things I learned from How the Irish Saved Civilizationi by Thomas Cahill.
This book doesn’t quite hold up as a biography, despite the nice historical discussion of the time period. However, the book is full of great lessons that we all ought to learn. Even if the book does not teach a great deal about Benedict the man, it provides a good overview of the Benedictine ideal.
3/5 stars
February 10, 2010
I enjoyed this little book, but it was a little too surface for my interest. still, I finished it. in my opinion there are too many lightweight books on Benedict and too few that move deeply into the heart that made him a great saint.
June 7, 2014
I enjoyed the recounting of stories passed from generations about the life of St. Benedict, they reminded me of folks stories passed down of Buddhist monks like Ikkyu that still lives in hearts and minds of local people.
August 10, 2016
good historical context for the life of Benedict followed by several short chapters on the miracles attributed to him, and concluding with a summary of the Rule.
June 30, 2022
This is very simply told story of an extraordinary man who lived very simply. I frequently found myself inspired and stopping to pray.
March 18, 2018
Loved it! Simple but very insightful
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews