Listen Son... : was Saint Benedict from Liverpool?
When Monsignor Peter Fleetwood suggests that Saint Benedict could have been from
his home City of Liverpool , we know that there's more in this statement than meets
the eye:
"...Why? Because the first words in his famous Rule for monks are
: 'Obsculta fili' , if I'm not mistaken.. they are words you often hear said in
Liverpool ....But when people there say 'Listen son', the tone is usually quite menacing...the
person who says those words is about to put you in your place."
Whereas Monsignor
Fleetwood adds : "...the proof that my theory is completely mad is that Saint Benedict
put these words at the beginning of a reasoned and reasonable way of encouraging monks
to live harmoniouslly in a community ... another word used in religious life is obedience
...So Saint Benedict sets the tone for the monks... they should pay close attention
and take seriously what the people who had authority over them tell them. This has
become difficult and unfashionable in our day for at least two reasons ".
Find
out what these two reasons are and listen to this programme produced by Veronica Scarisbrick.