Patron Saint for 2008

I visited Marianne and Esther at the Patron Saint blog, and guess who chose me?

St.Benedict! I couldn't be happier, because I do so want to honor the patron of our dear and beloved Holy Father, and here he has honored me!

So now I have Thomas Aquinas as my Confirmation patron joining St. Benedict-- with the Holy Father's affinity for St.Augustine, that's quite a triumvirate! It seems especially fitting since I hope to begin studies at the Seminary this spring.

Benedict was a consummate scholar, like Aquinas, and they both spent their lives contemplating the meadows and valleys in the Campania region. Benedict had to leave his studies to eschew the worldliness of the university, but eventually the world came to him to seek his Rule. Aquinas found his refuge in the halls of academia, but was sent to preach to the world. Benedict is the patron of schoolchildren, and Aquinas the patron of schools. Aquinas is the apex of Scholasticism, Benedict the founder of monasticism.

His followers eventually split between the more moderate Benedictines and the more rigorous Cistercians. One way to honor him would be to pray the Divine Office. And it just so happens that I received a Liturgy of the Hours from my brother for Christmas. It employs the prayers and writings of none other than Thomas Merton, the most famous Cistercian of all!

His feast day is July 11.

p.s. does anyone know why the Patron Saints Index is no longer functioning?