{"id":427,"date":"2011-03-21T07:51:50","date_gmt":"2011-03-21T14:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/?p=427"},"modified":"2011-03-22T09:23:25","modified_gmt":"2011-03-22T16:23:25","slug":"saint-benedict-abba-poeman-and-amenempoe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/saint-benedict-abba-poeman-and-amenempoe\/","title":{"rendered":"Saint Benedict, Abba Poeman, and Amenemope"},"content":{"rendered":"

A<\/span>lthough it does not appear on the Universal (Roman) calendar, today is one of two feasts of Saint Benedict celebrated by Benedictines throughout the world.<\/p>\n

If it is true that the Irish saved civilization<\/a>, it’s worth remembering that they did so largely in Benedictine Monasteries.<\/p>\n

Today, I have three short passages from one of Benedict’s spiritual and monastic forebears of the Desert Fathers, Abba Poeman.<\/p>\n

Abba Poemen said, “To throw yourself before God, to not measure your progress, to leave behind all self will – these are the instruments for the work of the soul.” <\/p>\n

Abba Poemen said, “Give not your heart to that which does not satisfy your heart.” <\/p>\n

Abba Poemen said, “If you are silent, you will possess peace wherever you live.”<\/p>\n

In this last quote, Abba Poeman appears to be harkening back to The Instruction of Amenemope<\/a>, written in Egypt during the New Kingdom.<\/p>\n

“Fill yourself with silence; you will find life and your body shall flourish upon the earth”.<\/p>\n

The wisdom of silence is a continuity from the beginning of human history, inspired by the Spirit of Truth and building upon generations, from Amenemope to Abba Poeman, to Saint Benedict who said “For to speak and to teach are the province of the master; whereas that of the disciple is to be silent and to listen.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although it does not appear on the Universal (Roman) calendar, today is one of two feasts of Saint Benedict celebrated by Benedictines throughout the world. If it is true that the Irish saved civilization, it’s worth remembering that they did so largely in Benedictine Monasteries. Today, I have three short passages from one of Benedict’s spiritual and monastic forebears of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,16,20,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-meditations","category-saint","category-silence","category-wisdom"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1aGBK-6T","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88706,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/ut-in-omnibus-glorificetur-deus\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":0},"title":"Ut in Omnibus Glorificetur Deus","author":"Thom","date":"11 July 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Pray and work! is the perennial exhortation of the Order of Saint Benedict. However, the motto of the Order, found at the end of chapter 57 of the Holy Rule is \"Ut in Omnibus Glorificetur Deus\". In English, this is rendered as \"That in all things God may be glorified\".\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Meditations"","block_context":{"text":"Meditations","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/meditations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/uiogd.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/uiogd.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/uiogd.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/uiogd.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/uiogd.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":87432,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/of-benedict-and-his-monks\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":1},"title":"Of Benedict and His Monks","author":"Thom","date":"11 July 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy Saint Benedict's Day! Today is the principal feast of the founder of western monasticism: the author of the Holy Rule, and a great saint. Over the course of the last decade and more, new monastic institutions with many young monks and sisters are beginning to flourish throughout the world.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Chant"","block_context":{"text":"Chant","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/chant\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Saint-Benedict.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Saint-Benedict.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Saint-Benedict.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6552,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/silence-prayer-work\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":2},"title":"Silence. Prayer. Work.","author":"Thom","date":"19 July 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Both of my readers will recall that I often reread the Desert Fathers during Lent. Today is the feast day of one of them, Saint Arsenius. He was a wealthy, educated man who gave up everything to worship God in the desert. Quite a contrast with yesterday's feast of Saint\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Meditations"","block_context":{"text":"Meditations","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/meditations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":109505,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/twenty-years-catholic\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":3},"title":"Twenty Years Catholic","author":"Thom","date":"26 March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"on the night of the 26th of March 2005, I was baptized into the Church at the great Vigil of Easter. It's odd to think that my baptism is now the midpoint of my spiritual journey thus far. Ten years ago, I shared some reflections of the tenth anniversary of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Meditations"","block_context":{"text":"Meditations","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/meditations\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Baptism.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Baptism.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Baptism.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Baptism.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Baptism.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107656,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/i-am-still-abba-lot-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":4},"title":"I am still Abba Lot","author":"Thom","date":"07 March 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I am often reminded of this, one of my favourite stories from the Desert Fathers: Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, \"Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Abba-Lot.jpg?fit=782%2C1128&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Abba-Lot.jpg?fit=782%2C1128&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Abba-Lot.jpg?fit=782%2C1128&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Abba-Lot.jpg?fit=782%2C1128&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":105234,"url":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/i-am-still-abba-lot-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":427,"position":5},"title":"I am still Abba Lot","author":"Thom","date":"05 March 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I am often reminded of this, one of my favourite stories from the Desert Fathers: Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, \"Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Annual"","block_context":{"text":"Annual","link":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/category\/annual\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Abba-Lot.jpg?fit=782%2C1128&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Abba-Lot.jpg?fit=782%2C1128&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Abba-Lot.jpg?fit=782%2C1128&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Abba-Lot.jpg?fit=782%2C1128&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":429,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427\/revisions\/429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thomryng.com\/amateurmonk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}