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Life and Miracles of St. Benedict
— A Classic — Includes Active Table of Contents — Includes Religious Illustrations
THERE was (in our time) a man most venerable for the holiness of his life, named Benedict, and whom this appellation suited exceedingly well; for he was blessed of God and abundantly endued with His graces. From his earliest youth he possessed the heart and wisdom of old age. For even then, more sedate in his manners than is usual at that period of life, he followed not the allurements of sensuality, gave not way to pleasure, and permitted himself no worldly enjoyment. While yet in this land of exile he despised the world with all its empty show and deceitful riches, although he had every opportunity of enjoying them as much as can be in this life; and he viewed them as a withered and barren tree from which no fruit may be expected. Being of a very respectable family in the vicinity of Nursia, his parents sent him to Rome to receive a liberal education.
Aeterna Press
THERE was (in our time) a man most venerable for the holiness of his life, named Benedict, and whom this appellation suited exceedingly well; for he was blessed of God and abundantly endued with His graces. From his earliest youth he possessed the heart and wisdom of old age. For even then, more sedate in his manners than is usual at that period of life, he followed not the allurements of sensuality, gave not way to pleasure, and permitted himself no worldly enjoyment. While yet in this land of exile he despised the world with all its empty show and deceitful riches, although he had every opportunity of enjoying them as much as can be in this life; and he viewed them as a withered and barren tree from which no fruit may be expected. Being of a very respectable family in the vicinity of Nursia, his parents sent him to Rome to receive a liberal education.
Aeterna Press
104 pages, Staple Bound
First published January 1, 590
About the author
Pope Gregory I
261 books63 followersborn perhaps 540
From 590, Saint Gregory I the Great, known pope, increased authority, enforced rules of life for the clergy, and sponsored many notably important missionary expeditions of Saint Augustine of Canterbury in 596 to Britain.
Commonly vigilant Gregory guarded the doctrine of the Church. He founded numerous monasteries, including a school for the training of church musicians. He collected the melodies and plainsong, so associated and now Gregorian chants. In his time, he served as a monk, an abbot, and a leader of Italy. He also momentously influenced the Catholic Church through doctrine, organization, and discipline. People thought of his foremost skill in grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic in all Rome, Gregory of Tours tells us. Gregory sent as a patron of England. Gregory wrote Dialogues , one accomplishment, a book on the Lives of the Saints. Boniface VIII proclaimed him as a doctor of the church in 1295.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gr...
From 590, Saint Gregory I the Great, known pope, increased authority, enforced rules of life for the clergy, and sponsored many notably important missionary expeditions of Saint Augustine of Canterbury in 596 to Britain.
Commonly vigilant Gregory guarded the doctrine of the Church. He founded numerous monasteries, including a school for the training of church musicians. He collected the melodies and plainsong, so associated and now Gregorian chants. In his time, he served as a monk, an abbot, and a leader of Italy. He also momentously influenced the Catholic Church through doctrine, organization, and discipline. People thought of his foremost skill in grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic in all Rome, Gregory of Tours tells us. Gregory sent as a patron of England. Gregory wrote Dialogues , one accomplishment, a book on the Lives of the Saints. Boniface VIII proclaimed him as a doctor of the church in 1295.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gr...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 26, 2024
We need to return as society to biographies being written like this. Don’t spend time on tiny details, motives, and relationships. Instead the tone should be like this, just a guy (traditionally Pope Gregory the Great) telling stories about a famous person. Who cares if the exact details are correct? Lots of good little and often fun stories here instead. It’s more entertaining, and still gives a great picture into the kind of life St Benedict led. Highly recommend audiobook format for this one
January 25, 2019
Such a fascinating and entertaining book! I liked the structure...Peter’s responses and questions made me smile. It fascinated me how every miracle ascribed to Benedict had reference to a Biblical miracle. I also really enjoyed the translator’s clear and helpful introduction.
March 20, 2026
After reading many other works in the same genre, the life of St. Benedict no longer surprises me with all the miracles - they are almost identical to those performed by the desert fathers, especially St. Anthony the Great. But I am wary of my unimpressed-ness, which deep down reveals a disordered and modern subconscious mindset.
Suppose there are two ancient texts, one records a certain 7th-century St. Odain and the other a 9th-century St. Odain, with almost identical personalities and life events. Historical criticism would look at them and conclude that these are obviously the same person whose myth was accidentally duplicated in the historical record. But if you ask a mediæval peasant why their personalities and lives are so similar, he would answer: 'Of course they are similar, they have the same name!'
I made up the name but the point remains that the ancients take archetypes and exemplarism much more seriously. In this sense it's not simply a coincidence that so many miracle accounts in the biographies of saints are so similar: 'Of course they are similar, they came from the same source of power!' So perhaps C. S. Lewis was still right in saying that all saints in heaven are gloriously different, but on earth they may have to sacrifice a part of that uniqueness in order to get there.
Suppose there are two ancient texts, one records a certain 7th-century St. Odain and the other a 9th-century St. Odain, with almost identical personalities and life events. Historical criticism would look at them and conclude that these are obviously the same person whose myth was accidentally duplicated in the historical record. But if you ask a mediæval peasant why their personalities and lives are so similar, he would answer: 'Of course they are similar, they have the same name!'
I made up the name but the point remains that the ancients take archetypes and exemplarism much more seriously. In this sense it's not simply a coincidence that so many miracle accounts in the biographies of saints are so similar: 'Of course they are similar, they came from the same source of power!' So perhaps C. S. Lewis was still right in saying that all saints in heaven are gloriously different, but on earth they may have to sacrifice a part of that uniqueness in order to get there.
June 1, 2021
Easy-to-read and short, this booklet was an enjoyable look into the life of an incredible saint.
Read
July 27, 2025I’ve become quite enamored with this classic hagiography. The staple-bound edition from the Liturgical Press is very charming and wonderfully type-set. Then there is the text, which initially I read through very quickly, trying to fulfill a reading requirement. In hindsight, this is, of course, not the kind of text to speed-read. Then, working slowly through the book over a couple of weeks in class, and then re-reading it once again privately, I was able to see what I could not at first — the spiritual vitality that underlies the seemingly trite miracle stories.
Gregory, for all his desire to paint Benedict as a saint in the most literal sense, manages to include quite a bit of relatable human-ness in his portrait of the holy abbot. Particularly striking is the growth that his Benedict displays over the course of his religious life. In his youth, Benedict flees impetuously from his nurse, and then from the murderous monks of Vicovaro; later, he comes to preach the virtue of stability. In his early years as a hermit, Benedict ventures to the extremes of ascetism; in his maturity, he emphasizes moderation for his monks, even recognizing the differing capabilities and limits of each.
Gregory frames his stories carefully, allowing each miraculous tale to illumine the preceding and following chapters. Near the end of the biography, Gregory’s interlocutor Peter asks whether Benedict always effected his miracles through prayer, or if he also could effect them of his own power. (The distinction is almost completely lost to my modern ears, alas.) In response, Gregory recounts two miracles: one in which Benedict worked through prayer, and the other through his own power. Each of these begins with a scene of Benedict engaged in some monk-ly business. First, Benedict is reading (i.e. praying) at the entrance of the monastery. Second, he is working in the fields with his monks. I love this dual framing, which cleverly depicts Benedict engaging in work and prayer, the two pillars of Benedictine life.
After this diptych, Gregory relates the very touching story of Benedict’s final visit with his sister, the nun Scholastica. This chapter is simply beautiful. It is perhaps the most agreeable story in the biography to modern ears. Despite Benedict’s desire to get home to the monastery for bed, Scholastica keeps him with her in conversation all night by praying for a rainstorm. "Do we not read in St. John that God is love?" Gregory comments. "Surely it is no more than right that her influence was greater than his, since hers was the greater love." So we have Gregory’s one light chastisement of Benedict, as I read it. Benedict displays a final attachment to rigidity, being unwilling to disrupt his routine for his sister, which attachment Scholastica corrects through her love of God and her brother. Perhaps encounters with his sister such as this one led Benedict to his stated desire to “set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome” for his monks (RB 1:46).
I want to work through the text again, even slower, to extract more of that spiritual goodness that eluded me at first. I’m also looking forward to reading this hagiography’s predecessor, Athanasius’s Life of Anthony. I’m grateful to live in a place where texts like these are widely read and easy to come by.
Gregory, for all his desire to paint Benedict as a saint in the most literal sense, manages to include quite a bit of relatable human-ness in his portrait of the holy abbot. Particularly striking is the growth that his Benedict displays over the course of his religious life. In his youth, Benedict flees impetuously from his nurse, and then from the murderous monks of Vicovaro; later, he comes to preach the virtue of stability. In his early years as a hermit, Benedict ventures to the extremes of ascetism; in his maturity, he emphasizes moderation for his monks, even recognizing the differing capabilities and limits of each.
Gregory frames his stories carefully, allowing each miraculous tale to illumine the preceding and following chapters. Near the end of the biography, Gregory’s interlocutor Peter asks whether Benedict always effected his miracles through prayer, or if he also could effect them of his own power. (The distinction is almost completely lost to my modern ears, alas.) In response, Gregory recounts two miracles: one in which Benedict worked through prayer, and the other through his own power. Each of these begins with a scene of Benedict engaged in some monk-ly business. First, Benedict is reading (i.e. praying) at the entrance of the monastery. Second, he is working in the fields with his monks. I love this dual framing, which cleverly depicts Benedict engaging in work and prayer, the two pillars of Benedictine life.
After this diptych, Gregory relates the very touching story of Benedict’s final visit with his sister, the nun Scholastica. This chapter is simply beautiful. It is perhaps the most agreeable story in the biography to modern ears. Despite Benedict’s desire to get home to the monastery for bed, Scholastica keeps him with her in conversation all night by praying for a rainstorm. "Do we not read in St. John that God is love?" Gregory comments. "Surely it is no more than right that her influence was greater than his, since hers was the greater love." So we have Gregory’s one light chastisement of Benedict, as I read it. Benedict displays a final attachment to rigidity, being unwilling to disrupt his routine for his sister, which attachment Scholastica corrects through her love of God and her brother. Perhaps encounters with his sister such as this one led Benedict to his stated desire to “set down nothing harsh, nothing burdensome” for his monks (RB 1:46).
I want to work through the text again, even slower, to extract more of that spiritual goodness that eluded me at first. I’m also looking forward to reading this hagiography’s predecessor, Athanasius’s Life of Anthony. I’m grateful to live in a place where texts like these are widely read and easy to come by.
June 20, 2023
Aufgrund meines Studiums musste ich schon einige Viten lesen (vor allem die Vita Antonii von Athanasius und die Vita Brunonis), das ist mit Abstand die beste Vita, die ich je lesen durfte.
Sie ist zwar relativ schlicht gehalten und wird immer wieder durch Dialoge zwischen Petrus und Gregor unterbrochen, aber das ist genau der Grund, weshalb es für den Leser interessant bleibt und noch mehr von den "Wundern" Benedikts erfahren möchte. Trotz ihrer Schlichtheit ist sie dennoch sehr gut inszeniert: Mit Petrus wollte Gregor meiner Meinung nach die Leserschaft im 8. Jahrhundert darstellen, da Petrus immer wieder mit interessanten Fragen unterbricht; zudem sind die Wunder z. T. antithetisch aufgebaut und steigern sich immer weiter (siehe auch das Nachwort von Gisela Vollmann-Profe).
Wer Heiligenviten mag, wird diese Vita sicherlich auch mögen!
Nachtrag: Ich arbeite hauptberuflich als Historikerin mit Viten. Für den Laien ist es deswegen wichtig zu wissen, dass dies selbstverständlich nicht das Leben Benedikts von Nursia darstellt und dass Viten nur verfasst wurden, um andere Viten zu übertrumpfen und um Exempel zu statuieren.
Sie ist zwar relativ schlicht gehalten und wird immer wieder durch Dialoge zwischen Petrus und Gregor unterbrochen, aber das ist genau der Grund, weshalb es für den Leser interessant bleibt und noch mehr von den "Wundern" Benedikts erfahren möchte. Trotz ihrer Schlichtheit ist sie dennoch sehr gut inszeniert: Mit Petrus wollte Gregor meiner Meinung nach die Leserschaft im 8. Jahrhundert darstellen, da Petrus immer wieder mit interessanten Fragen unterbricht; zudem sind die Wunder z. T. antithetisch aufgebaut und steigern sich immer weiter (siehe auch das Nachwort von Gisela Vollmann-Profe).
Wer Heiligenviten mag, wird diese Vita sicherlich auch mögen!
Nachtrag: Ich arbeite hauptberuflich als Historikerin mit Viten. Für den Laien ist es deswegen wichtig zu wissen, dass dies selbstverständlich nicht das Leben Benedikts von Nursia darstellt und dass Viten nur verfasst wurden, um andere Viten zu übertrumpfen und um Exempel zu statuieren.
February 13, 2025
This is not a biography in the sense we think of it, but more of a greatest hits of St. Benedict’s miracles told and interpreted by the future Pope Saint Gregory the Great. There are some classics here: St. Benedict has a struggle with lust so he strips naked and jumps into a thorn bush. “By means of an external punishing fire, he snuffed out what unlawfully burned inside, so he conquered sin by switching fires.”
Another favorite of mine: Some evil monks poison his wine, and as Benedict does the sign of the cross over the wine before he takes a sip, the cup shatters. “Instantly the man of God knew the drink was poisoned, because it could not bear the sign of the cross.”
The book is short and not too concerned with details, just the way I like a biography of a saint from this time. What parts of the book are true and what are not? That doesn’t matter to me, in fact I like the mix of facts and myth. It all conveys truth. Maybe all of the miracles happened, who am I to say? Maybe some didn’t. It doesn’t matter, I am still inspired by a great and holy man.
Another favorite of mine: Some evil monks poison his wine, and as Benedict does the sign of the cross over the wine before he takes a sip, the cup shatters. “Instantly the man of God knew the drink was poisoned, because it could not bear the sign of the cross.”
The book is short and not too concerned with details, just the way I like a biography of a saint from this time. What parts of the book are true and what are not? That doesn’t matter to me, in fact I like the mix of facts and myth. It all conveys truth. Maybe all of the miracles happened, who am I to say? Maybe some didn’t. It doesn’t matter, I am still inspired by a great and holy man.
January 6, 2025
The Life of Saint Benedict was no ordinary life. Our life and its capacity for incredible works are based on how much we committ ourselves to humility and obedience to the commands of God. Benedict demonstrates this by his life that the power of miracles and wonders has not ceased rather our commitment to humility and obedience is weak thus we do not experience God in the way we could experience Him if only we had greater faith, humility, and obedience! Saint Benedict pray to the Creator of heaven and earth for us that we will overcome the enemy and by His grace be found great wonderworkers through the transfiguration of our souls!
July 26, 2021
Not necessarily a biography in chronological order of the events of St. Benedict’s life but more so many different stories of miracles performed through him by God.
This does not take away from the profound goodness this book brings to the soul of the reader including myself. I recommend to anyone looking to understand the holiness of St. Benedict.
Includes section of a vision of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich of Sts. Benedict & Scholastica’s lives, explanation of St. Benedict medal, and prayers related to St. Benedict.
This does not take away from the profound goodness this book brings to the soul of the reader including myself. I recommend to anyone looking to understand the holiness of St. Benedict.
Includes section of a vision of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich of Sts. Benedict & Scholastica’s lives, explanation of St. Benedict medal, and prayers related to St. Benedict.
July 26, 2024
His Life urges us to Devotion
Having visited his cave near Subiaco, and his monastery at Monte Cassino, I am nowamazed at his complete dedication to God and to those who sought his help. His life inspires us to imitation of his spiritual life. Unfortunately his monastery was bombed during the Second World War (but now rebuilt), yet in the earlier bombing devastation his statue was untouched. A good read.
Having visited his cave near Subiaco, and his monastery at Monte Cassino, I am nowamazed at his complete dedication to God and to those who sought his help. His life inspires us to imitation of his spiritual life. Unfortunately his monastery was bombed during the Second World War (but now rebuilt), yet in the earlier bombing devastation his statue was untouched. A good read.
January 12, 2025
Listened as an audiobook in conjunction with an excellent new series out now on Hallow called “Desert Fathers in a Year.” Hearing stories of holiness, patience, and self-mortification are, in my opinion, sitting reading during the cold and dark winter season, a time that can feel isolating and sometimes depressing. Life often feels like a desert, and walking with the likes of St Benedict and the Desert Fathers might just give us Christlikeness, peace, and sanity.
October 28, 2025
I read Carl Vater's 2024 translation (a proud Latrobe representative), and I found it readable and edifying. Having been around Benedictine monks all my life, it is interesting to know the lore. The stained glass windows of incidents from his life all make sense now! A short text, which portrays Benedict in the way that only an ancient would write him, the holy Abbot comes across as eccentric and undeniably blessed. Well worth the read.
July 28, 2017
With some amazement I read what Pope Gregory the Great thought was true enough to spread around. Miracles done by almost contemporary saints up to and including the raising of the dead apparently were part of the everyday belief.
September 10, 2025
I enjoyed specially the sections where the author (Pope Gregory) talks with his interlocutor (Peter) about theology and clarifying issues and doubts arose by the narration of the life of St. Benedict.
May 27, 2017
This is by Gregory the Great, not Gregory of Nyssa.
June 4, 2017
Informative and compact. With a lot of history that other similar text lack.
January 17, 2018
Only three stars because of the writing style and readability, it’s five star content and subject matter.
November 13, 2018
Great introduction to St Benedict. Would be excellent for nighttime stories for children
January 29, 2020
This book help me to have a truly faith
May 4, 2025
Inspiring
Not an easy read. However, overcoming the language and the seemingly repititous of the tone, in the end and overall, it was inspiring!
Not an easy read. However, overcoming the language and the seemingly repititous of the tone, in the end and overall, it was inspiring!
September 13, 2025
Fascinating read that has literally survived centuries, making it all the more amazing.
March 12, 2025
First impressions to me are that some of this is legendary and some historical, but also it was written not long after St. Benedict lived…Some accounts were strange, but some were pretty awesome. St. Benedict, ora pro nobis!
February 14, 2023
Holy Storytelling
I came to the book expecting something less than a biography. That sense of biography, but not, from the reviews really ratcheted down my expectations.
I ended up thoroughly loving this short book. St. Gregory is a great holy storyteller in the very best sense of the term. Almost every February 10th, St Gregory’s account of St. Scholastica’s final days shows up in someone’s homily or preaching. It’s funny, it’s pious and it’s uplifting—and it’s included in this collection. His other writings have that same sense of filling the mind with holy sentiments without being overly heavy or technical. As it becomes less and less possible to seek innocent entertainment from the world, this tiny book grows more and more valuable as a tiny aid to the virtue of eutrapelia.
I came to the book expecting something less than a biography. That sense of biography, but not, from the reviews really ratcheted down my expectations.
I ended up thoroughly loving this short book. St. Gregory is a great holy storyteller in the very best sense of the term. Almost every February 10th, St Gregory’s account of St. Scholastica’s final days shows up in someone’s homily or preaching. It’s funny, it’s pious and it’s uplifting—and it’s included in this collection. His other writings have that same sense of filling the mind with holy sentiments without being overly heavy or technical. As it becomes less and less possible to seek innocent entertainment from the world, this tiny book grows more and more valuable as a tiny aid to the virtue of eutrapelia.
September 28, 2022
Really, it's a collection of occurrences and miracles. However, these are some of the greatest miracles i have ever read about. It's certainly worth a read.
January 22, 2012
My low rating of this text is about this particular edition. Not only is this an old text, written in "Old English" (I spent just as much time looking up terms like "durst" as I did trying to comprehend the truths of the text), it was riddled with typos. The content (on the life of St. Benedict) is really only valuable for historians, monastics, and oblates (like me).
March 8, 2012
This was a good introduction to St. Benedict. It is told somewhat as an interview of Pope Gregory. Basically short snippits of the miracles he was involved with along with some basics of his life. There is a time line of his life at the end.
Recommended for those interested in the life of St. Benedict.
Recommended for those interested in the life of St. Benedict.
January 22, 2019
I really enjoyed this. It was amazing to learn more about st Benedict especially by someone who was from around the same time. Not sure who Peter was but he kept asking St Gregory everything I was thinking which was very helpful and made the story even more personal and spiritual. I've always had a devotion to St Benedict and reading this has only made be more devoted
August 22, 2012
Very good introduction to St. Benedict from Gregory the Great. I was struck by the parallels between wonder workers of more recent days (Padre Pio, Monks on Mt. Athos, and Solanus Casey) and St. Benedict.
January 26, 2015
An interesting and outstanding writing by ST Gregory the Great about the life and miracles of St Benedict. Describing the many miracles he performed, St Gregory's fondness for this man is evident in this writing. Also described is the power of the medal of St Benedict and his prayers.
September 3, 2010
I am currently reading this in Latin for my Patristic Latin course and am really enjoying it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews