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Benedictine Monasticism

Benedictine Monasticism

Benedictine Byzantium?

I have two great spiritual loves that, on the surface, may not seem compatible: Byzantine liturgy and Benedictine monasticism. When you look deeply, however, surprising connections emerge between them. Here are some major ones. St. Benedict is revered as a saint by the Orthodox who celebrate his feast on March Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 9 monthsSeptember 22, 2024 ago
Beer

The End of the Beer Option? Thoughts on the Closure of Spencer Trappist Brewery

Many of us were excited for the first American Trappist brewery back in 2014 at St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. I was inspired to write The Beer Option: Brewing a Catholic Culture Yesterday & Today by the long tradition of monastic brewing, which pointed to a whole Catholic history Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 3 yearsJune 22, 2022 ago
Benedictine Monasticism

Modern Benedictine Saints in the Making

My last post focused on saints who converted from Protestantism. This post looks at another angle on the saints, modern saints from the Benedictine tradition. November 13th is the feast of All Benedictine Saints. The Benedictines have more Saints and Doctors of the Church than any other order, largely because Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 4 yearsNovember 7, 2021 ago
Benedictine Monasticism

The Spirituality and Mission of a Benedictine Oblate

“Listen, my son, to the teaching of the Master,” Benedict exhorts his monks in the opening line of his Rule. Benedictine monks and nuns place themselves under the tutelage of St. Benedict’s Rule as a way of following Christ, the master. Entering into the monastic life is not taking on Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 5 yearsJune 13, 2020 ago
Architecture

Cluny: The Lost Capital of Medieval Culture

Wine, Romanesque architecture, and the monastic life, all reached their high point in the Middle Ages, tucked away in the province of Burgundy. You may not have heard of Cluny, but, from its humble founding in 910, it quickly constructed the largest church in Europe and built an independent network Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 5 yearsMarch 5, 2020 ago
Beer

Beer, Saints, and Song: Drinking and Temperance in Ireland

This is the last of my posts reflecting on the Beauty of Faith Pilgrimage to Ireland. As author of The Beer Option, which presents the Catholic way to drink as rooted in feasting, fasting, and friendship, I kept my eyes open for evidence of Catholic drinking as well as the Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 6 yearsOctober 14, 2019 ago
Architecture

Monasticism in Ireland: Old, New, and Renewed

The early Middle Ages rightly can be called the Age of the Monks and the title fits in Ireland even more than anywhere else. Ancient Ireland did not have cities and, with its tribal organization, the monastery served as a central place of prayer, learning, and social organization. Over time, Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 6 yearsOctober 3, 2019 ago
Beer

Brewing Monks: A List of the World’s Monastic Beers

Monks created brewing as we know it, with the first large scale breweries in Europe and many advances to brewing techniques and technology. There were thousands of brewing monasteries, but then suddenly they disappeared. The French Revolution and its aftermath, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire and the Napoleonic Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 6 yearsAugust 1, 2019 ago
Beer

Beer Review: Tynt Meadow English Trappist

The Beer Option–the use of beer for evangelization and cultural renewal–continues to unfold. In particular, the footprint of Trappist beers, the flagship line of monastic brews, has grown throughout the world in just the last few years. In addition to the seven classics of the Lowlands (Belgium and the Netherlands), Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 6 yearsJune 7, 2019 ago
Beer

Podcasts, Painting, and Beer

My friend and former student, Katie Warner, just did a focus on lay Catholics who are helping to revive Catholic culture. See the article here. I’m glad that Katie included my book, The Beer Option, as part of this revival of culture. This is exactly why I wrote the book, Read more…

By Jared Staudt, 6 yearsFebruary 24, 2019 ago
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