St. Benedict's First Miracle

Directions: Read the book! And while reading, feel free to make notes in the margins on pages that contain what you believe are critical moments in the life of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Give in-depth definitions for each of the terms below. Type thorough and thoughtful responses to each of the questions below. Each response should be between 250-300 words in length. Be prepared to submit your study guide to your Scripture teacher during the first week of school. A summer reading quiz will be given during

St. Francis had many accomplishments in his life. According to the legend he could speak with God and Christ. They told him to abandon his life of luxury and live a life of poverty to repair a Christian church, which then made him became a believer of the faith, his reputation and fame spreading all over the world of Christianity. St. Francis also was known for preaching for animals, he got a lot of criticism from this and earned the name “God’s Fool” but he went on to listen to God and Christ. His most famous and important accomplishment was becoming a Saint on July, 1228.

expressed through both his human and divine natures. These caused an embarrassment to other Popes

Saint Francis of Assisi had a great childhood, but as he got older his father began to beat him. He lived the life of luxury, and was the the son of a very rich cloth merchant. He was born in Circa, Italy in 1181. He abandoned the life of luxury, for a life devoted to Christianity, and God. He was very devoted into living in poverty, and he rebuilt the Christian church. He is the patron Saint of ecology and animals. He wanted to go to the Christian church reportedly after hearing God’s voice. He insisted that this was his calling and his adulthood confirmed it.

“He is ... the first Jesuit pope. And remember, the Jesuit order was founded in the 16th century to fight against the spreading

Question 1: What elements in the life and work of Simone Weil, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, and some of the characters portrayed in the movies Dr. Ambrosio mentions speak to you most effectively about the qualities of the secular saint?

“‘You have no passion. You are not going to make it… I can say to you that the state championship is a month and a day away…”’ (Wojnarowski 227). This what Coach Bob Hurley said to his somewhat deflated St. Anthony Friars in The Miracle of St. Anthony. The Friars were undefeated at this point in the season but there seemed to be a lack of energy in the team with the New Jersey State Championship looming. Because of this, Hurley would give a speech that would bring the team back together for an undefeated championship season. I could relate to this because this summer my sailing team was in a similar situation with the Maine State Championship Regatta just a few weeks a away. My coach gave a very similar speech to Hurley’s which also brought our team together. As a result the team did very well in the state championship.

The St Marys Saints caused a minor upset when they toppled the Peninsula Seagulls 38-22 in the Sydney Shield second Qualifying Final at Campbelltown Stadium last Sunday.

St. Francis of Assisi was born in Umbria in the year 1182. He was a child every father hoped for, he was filled with life, a determined and courageous individual. He was gifted with rather good looks, qualities that attracted friends and a gift of leadership. His father was an extremely wealthy merchant in Assisi. But this son, his favourite, was the one who broke Peter Bernardone’s heart. The boy turned on his father, and in a vicious event that eventually resulted into a public scene. St. Francis of Assisi stepped away from his father, his business and left his father in a state of immense emotional suffering.

Gregory was born during politically turbulent times in Europe. Economies suffered, agriculture waned, and a plague ravaged rural areas amidst Justinian’s reconquest of Italy (535–554). The bridges, aqueducts, and infrastructure of Rome degraded with age too. The Lombards held North Italy and less than a generation later, they seized Milan, and were threatening Rome. Even still, the Byzantine emperors, who were too far to protect Rome, demanded loyalty and taxes from the people of Italy from its imperial post at Ravenna. Gregory witnessed all of that turmoil which certainly would inspire his career and outlooks. Gregory came from a wealthy Roman family and as a young man he served as prefect of Rome (from 573). The Roman aristocracy which he would have known was losing faith in the power of Rome. Many looked instead to the Church’s message during times that many, including Gregory, viewed as apocalyptic. Gregory gave his property Italy and Sicily to the Church, converted his family mansion in Rome into a monastery, and lived there as a devoted and highly contemplative monk. These early experiences influenced Gregory and his subsequent development of the role of the papacy: “when I rose in contemplation above all changeable and decaying things, and thought of nothing but the things of heaven.” Gregory’s aristocratic background, preference for monasticism, and deep interest in eschatology pervaded his greatest contributions to role of the bishop of Rome by influencing his

Caught in a horrific thunderstorm where he feared for his life, Luther cried out to St. Anne, the patron saint of miners, ? Save me, St. Anne, and I?ll become a monk!? The storm subsided and he was saved. The first few years of monastic life were di?cult for Martin Luther, as he did not find the religious enlightenment he was seeking. A mentor told him to focus his life exclusively on Christ and this would later provide him with the guidance he sought.

During WWII, when Benedict was assigned to study the Japanese, they were not well understood. Her job was to paint a portrait of the culture that would help the United States to understand how their enemy acted and why they acted the way that they did. Not only that but to also better understand how they would act to changes the United States planned to make for their government. The Japanese were not an easy culture to understand, which made the assignment even more difficult with Benedict not being able to observe in person. Benedict said, “The Japanese have been described in the most fantastic series of ‘but also’s’ ever used for any nation of the world” (Benedict, 1946:1). This is why Benedict’s use of the chrysanthemum and the sword was so fitting: the Japanese were unlike western civilizations and they did not fit into a stereotype. They are complex and very contradictory of

Pope St. Gregory VII had his vision on how the Church was supposed to be structured and what needed to change. He firmly planted his beliefs because he could see that the Church did not live up to its standards. He became a leader when the Church needed him the most. He did not conform to the current state of the Church and encountered incessant obstacles with a relentless determination overcome them. As pope, St. Gregory VII valiantly confronted the challenges, social issues, and corruption of the Church to cleanse its noticeable defects.

A voice called his attention to the state of disrepair of his Church, and urged Francis to rebuild. Immediately went home, collected many expensive fabrics of his father's shop and sold at low price in the market town, and returned to the church where he had his revelation donating money to the priest, so that he would restore the building decadent. Upon learning that his father was enraged and ordered the seek. Frightened, Francis hid in a barn, where his friend brought him some food. After some time, decided to prove, and before the people of Assisi was accused of lazy and idle. The crowd took to the crazy and fun-stoning him. The father heard the commotion and retired to his home, but chained in the basement. A few days later his mother, out of compassion, he delivered him out of the chains, and Francisco was seeking refuge with the bishop. The father followed him and accused him sink his fortune, claiming compensation for what he had taken from his shop without license. Then, to everyone's surprise, Francis stripped all her beautiful clothes and laid them at the feet of his father, renounced his inheritance, asked the blessing of the bishop and left, completely naked, to start a life of poverty to the people, the which never retornou.4 5 the bishop saw this gesture a sign from God and became his protector for

Monasticism or monarchism is literally the act of "dwelling alone". The Rule of St Benedict played an important role in Europe during the middle ages, monks were able to preserve many classical works from both the Romans and the Greeks while acting as copiers that produced books, they were the most pious of the church and acted as a model for the average person to strive for. It dignified manual labor, the rule acted as a written constitution and rule of law for most monasteries, policies could be seen as harsh by some but the overall message is built around a positive spirit of reconciliation. The Rule of St. Benedict most significant role for the development of European civilization was education.