The Life and Miracles of St. Benedict

By: Pope Gregory the Great

Narrated by: Brenda J St John

Except for a short poem by St. Mark of Monte Cassino, the only ancient written account of St. Benedict (480 - 547) is this one, which is found in Pope Gregory I's Dialogues which is thought to have been written in 593.

Gregory's account of this saint's life provides a spiritual portrait of the gentle, disciplined abbot. In a letter to a Bishop of Syracuse, Gregory states that his aim in writing his Dialogues was to provide a kind of an anthology, or literally, "flowers", of the most striking miracles of the Italian saint.

Gregory explains that his information came to him from what he considered the best possible sources: A handful of Benedict's own disciples who were contemporaries of the saint and witnessed his miracles. These followers, he states, are Constantinus, who succeeded St. Benedict as Abbot of Monte Cassino; Valentinianus; Simplicius; and Honoratus, who was abbot of Subiaco at the time when St Gregory wrote his Dialogues.

A brilliant piece of medieval hagiography providing an authentic account of the Catholic Church's most famous and influential monk.

Public Domain (P)2020 Patristic Publishing

old language read by Midwest mom

so nice to finally read this whole story that I've heard about for so long! very arcane language read by what seems like a Midwest mom. Not the easiest listen, But I'm thankful to have finally heard it all.

Now I Understand!

Prior to this book, I had no idea what St. Benedict was known for or had any idea of how many encounters he had with the devil. Now that I understand he was given the gift of casting out satan, I pray for his intercession often. This book was an entertaining compilation of his encounters with the evil one.

Wonderful read

Even if it is not the full dialogues. Unfortunately the narrator was hard on the ears and the content.