Saint Romuald - Monk

Romuald lived during the early part of the 11th century as the son of a wealthy landowner.  Early accounts of his life suggest that he indulged in many of the niceties afforded to the wealthy and influential of the time.  As a youth he witnessed his father kill another man during a duel.  This situation bothered Romuald greatly.  As he began to reflect on his life he came to understand a great void existed within the depth and breadth of his being.

The young man Romuald ran away from home to the Benedictine abbey of St. Apollinare, in the northern Italian city of Classe.  There he embraced the Benedictine lifestyle.  But over time, while this was a strict monastery, he felt this was not ascetic enough.

With encouragement of the abbot he began his own community which we today know as the Camaldolese Order.  From the beginning this order of hermits lived in solitude in simplistic and harsh conditions.  According to his rule, monks were encouraged to, "Empty yourself completely and sit waiting."  This sense of passivity and simple life was to lead to an interior conversion and both an intellectual and spiritual movement towards God.  Much of the day of the hermit was to be spent in prayer, and most importantly, in quiet meditation.  The monk was always waiting to hear the voice of God.

To be sure Romuald's lifestyle is extreme.  As one might imagine the strict nature of the Camaldolese  do not attract large vocations.  But his understanding of waiting in stillness, and listening for the Lord, is an ideal that we can take home with us.  Sometime even when we pray we believe that we have to either be speaking or singing.  It is rather amusing as I lead evening prayer here, no one likes to pause for too long of a time between psalms.  We always want to distract ourselves with 'stuff.'  Even good and holy stuff!

Reflection, meditation, and eventually contemplation, are good and beneficial ways to pray.  It's good sometimes to sit in the presence of the Eucharist, icons, or in total silence, and wait for the Lord.