Benedictines of Divine Will

"Fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra." Mt. 6.10

“This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to give up your own will, once and for all." Rule of St. Benedict (Prologue 3)

"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Mt. 18.3

"Behold I make all things new." Rev. 21.5

 

 

Our Charism

The Benedictines of Divine Will are little children of Holy Mother Church,

Who live in humble and loving obedience to His Holiness, Pope Francis, His Successors,

and the College of Bishops,

Who believe without reservation the ageless teaching of the infallible Magisterium,

Who fully and joyfully embrace the Second Vatican Council,

Who live the Benedictine Life of work and prayer,

Between the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary, in imitation of good St. Joseph,

According to the Holy Rule of their Father, dear St. Benedict,

Under the protection of their Mother, St. Scholastica,

In union with St. Francis and Claire,

Who meditate upon Sacred Scripture, and celebrate the Sacred Liturgy with devotion,

Who are dedicated to Eucharistic Adoration,

the Most Holy Rosary, and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy,

Who read the Divine Will Writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

And desire with all their hearts to live the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth,

Which is perfect love of God and neighbor,

the fullness of Benedictine Life,

And all Christian Life,

In the Kingdom of the Divine Will on earth as it is in heaven.

 

FIAT!

The Benedictines of Divine Will, A Public Association of the Faithful, is a Contemplative, Catholic, Religious community erected on December 20, 2014 by Monsignor Andrea Turazzi, the Bishop of the diocese of San Marino-Montefeltro. 

The community is born from and exists to love and serve Holy Mother Church. We fully embrace the Second Vatican Council, and seek to live in humble and loving filial-obedience to His Holiness, Pope Francis, His Successors, and the College of Bishops. In a particular way, we joyfully acknowledge our founding Bishop, Mons. Turazzi, whose Fiat gave birth to our community. We are grateful that His Excellency faithfully guided us to the heart of Holy Mother Church, and we proclaim, in union with him, that our loving and filial relationship to Holy Mother Church is foundational to our life. Additionally, we joyfully acknowledge Mons. Richard Stika, the Bishop of Knoxville, TN, who has welcomed our Mother Monastery into his diocese, and has courageously assumed the challenging responsibility of guiding our Association towards its desired end, to become a Diocesan and, even, if God so ordains, a Pontifical order. 

Our community is Benedictine.

Historically, the word “Benedictine” has meant many different things. It has been used to describe strictly-cloistered Camaldolese Benedictines, Missionary Benedictines, and Benedictines that excel in liturgical practice. The Charism has also incorporated a wide range of spiritualities: among them: Franciscan, Carmelite, and Passionist. 

Our community is open to and interested in all this wonderful diversity.

The particularity of our Charism, however, resides not so much in these diverse expressions, but in that which is common to all of them.

The heart of Benedictine Life is the Divine Will of God. St. Benedict teaches that the condition for entering the monastery is to “renounce your own will” to live in obedience to the will of God.

“This message of mine is for you, then, if you are ready to renounce your own will, once and for all, and armed with the strong and noble weapons of obedience to do battle for the true King, Christ the Lord.” (RB Prologue, 3)

The Benedictines of Divine Will exist to live as perfectly as possible in the Divine Will of God.

To pursue this fundamental objective, we study the Divine Will writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta, because we believe they are an invaluable contribution to the Church’s understanding of the Will of God.

These writings present the Holy Family of Nazareth as the model of community and family life in the Divine Will. In The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of Divine Will, day 25, the Blessed Mother tells Luisa:

“Now, you must know that for your Mama, for dear and sweet Jesus, and for Saint Joseph, the little monastery of Nazareth was a Paradise.  Being the Eternal Word, my dear Son possessed the Divine Will within Himself, of His own virtue; immense seas of light, of sanctity, of joys and of infinite beauty resided in that little Humanity.  I possessed the Divine Will by grace; and even though I could not embrace immensity, as did beloved Jesus – because He was God and Man, and I was always His finite creature – yet, in spite of this, the Divine Fiat filled Me so much, having formed Its seas of light, of sanctity, of love, of beauties and of happinesses; and the light, the love and everything that a Divine Will can possess, which came out of Us, were so great that Saint Joseph remained eclipsed, inundated, and lived of our reflections. Dear child, in this monastery of Nazareth, the Kingdom of the Divine Will was in full force.  Every little act of ours – that is, working, starting the fire, preparing the food – were all animated by the Supreme Volition, and were formed on the solidity of the sanctity of pure love.  Therefore, from the littlest to the greatest of our acts, immense joys, happinesses and beatitudes were unleashed.  And we remained so inundated as to feel ourselves as though under a pouring rain of new joys and indescribable contentments.”

In imitation of St. Joseph, the Benedictines of Divine Will desire to live in the light, sanctity, and love of Nazareth, which is the Kingdom of Divine Will “on Earth as it is in Heaven.”  

In practice, we live a Benedictine life of work and prayer, meditate upon Sacred Scripture, and celebrate the Sacred Liturgy. We are dedicated to daily Eucharistic Adoration and pray the Divine Office before Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament. We faithfully recite the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and read the Divine Will Writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta.

In summary, we can say:

The Benedictines of Divine Will are little children of Holy Mother Church,

Who live in humble and loving obedience to His Holiness, Pope Francis, His Successors,

and the College of Bishops,

Who believe without reservation the ageless teaching of the infallible Magisterium,

Who fully and joyfully embrace the Second Vatican Council,

Who live the Benedictine Life of work and prayer,

Between the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary, in imitation of good St. Joseph,

According to the Holy Rule of their Father, dear St. Benedict,

Under the protection of their Mother, St. Scholastica,

In union with St. Francis and Claire,

Who meditate upon Sacred Scripture, and celebrate the Sacred Liturgy with devotion,

Who are dedicated to Eucharistic Adoration,

the Most Holy Rosary, and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy,

Who read the Divine Will Writings of the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta,

And desire with all their hearts to live the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth,

Which is perfect love of God and neighbor,

the fullness of Benedictine Life,

And all Christian Life,

In the Kingdom of the Divine Will on earth as it is in heaven.

 

FIAT!

Selections from Our Statutes

Fidelity to Holy Mother Church
The Association exists to love, serve and edify Holy Mother Church on both a universal and local level.  Pope Francis, his successors, and the college of Bishops, are to be loved and humbly obeyed. The Fathers of the Church, in particular St. Ignatius of Antioch, have faithfully taught us this. Historically, Benedictine monasteries have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to root themselves in the local church, adapting themselves to specific places and cultures. It is imperative that a monastery never become an isolated reality that is indifferent to, or even worse, superior to, the local church in which it exists. Therefore, the highest level of sensitivity to the local Bishop is imperative. Fidelity to the Church includes fully embracing the Second Vatican Council, and faithful adhesion to all that the infallible Magisterium teaches. 
Littleness

Jesus teaches that we have to be like “little children” to enter the Kingdom of God. (Mt. 18:3) “Littleness” is essential to the charism of the Benedictines of Divine Will. The community embraces the “little way” of St. Therese of Lisieux, and recognizes that this was also the way of Jesus and Mary.  It was the way of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Philip Neri. Littleness means to live in the truth of your poverty, for “blessed are the poor in spirit.” (Mt. 5:3) “What have you that you have not received?” (I Cor. 4:7) Before God, all of us are little. Littleness means to live in complete trust and abandonment to the will of God and Holy Mother Church.  Littleness is to be simple and avoid unnecessary complications.  It is to live from the heart, using the intellect as a guide, but not complicating the movements of the heart by over-analyzing and having to understand everything perfectly before daring to act.  Littleness is to live free of worry, free of anxiety, free of fear, as trusting sons and daughters of a faithful and infinitely good, merciful, and loving Eternal Father. Littleness is to live in peace and joy, despite the circumstances and crosses you may have.  Littleness is to need a Mother and trust, like St. Juan Diego, that she will take care of everything.  

A Benedictine Life

The Association remains independent from the Benedictine Federation of monasteries, but fully intends to live a Benedictine life.  It is true that the monasteries of the Association have a specific spirituality, particularly a strong devotion the Divine Will writings of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, but the Association believes that this devotion is perfectly consistent with a traditional Benedictine life.  The effect upon a visitor to a monastery of the Association should be to feel that they are entering a “benedictine place” where peace (pax) springs from a healthy liturgical life of work and prayer. Peace, joy, and love are to be the seminal witnesses that something extraordinary is happening in this ordinary life.  If a monastery is healthy, it should be a great blessing to all that live there and visit

The Association follows The Rule of St. Benedict (RB).  The Rule is not to be followed according to the letter, but rather according to the spirit.  The Rule teaches a monk to do the will of God with love and humility. All spiritual practices must foster growth in love and humility. Benedictine obedience is embraced as a means of emptying the brother of self-will so that he can live more fully in the will of God.  St. Benedict is the father of the community and St. Scholastica is the mother.  St. Scholastica teaches that love alone is the rule of Benedictine life. 

Devotion to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts
The Association is devoted to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.  All professed members of the Association wear a medallion of the Two Hearts to express this devotion. The Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary truly are one.  Mary conceived Jesus in her heart before she conceived him in her body. The Two Hearts are the center of the incarnation where heaven and earth meet. The love that flows between the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary mirrors the immense seas of love that flow between the three Divine Persons.  The Association’s medallion states: “between the Hearts of Jesus and Mary is our peace and refuge.” St. Joseph lived between the Two Hearts and this is a key to understanding his immense sanctity, which is in a category exclusively its own, far superior to the sanctity of all the other saints, excepting of course the sanctity of his spouse, the Immaculate Conception.  
The Centrality of Sacred Scripture
Sacred Scripture is at the heart of the Association’s reflection. Benedictine monasteries have always treasured “Lectio Divina.” Devotion to “mystical writings” is never to supplant this fundamental pillar of Benedictine and indeed Catholic life.  The writings of Luisa, while tremendously valuable, are “private revelation,” and, as “private revelation” are useful only insofar as they help to illuminate the Public Revelation of the Church, Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Undoubtedly, St. Benedict understood the centrality of Sacred Scripture, as The Rule of St. Benedict is a profound, contemplative, and practical reading of Sacred Scripture.  From the Prologue onward, the Rule of St. Benedict overflows with scriptural references. 
Liturgical Life
The Association embraces a rich liturgical life.  In a particular way, the great liturgical tradition of the Western Church has been entrusted to the Benedictines.  St. Anselmo, the International Benedictine Monastery in Rome, is the home of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute.  The Benedictines, from the golden ages of Cluny to the reforms of Solemnes, have developed and safeguarded the Church’s liturgical life.  Gregorian Chant itself, which developed behind monastic walls, demonstrates this lovely historical fact.  The beating heart of the Church is the Church’s Liturgy.  It can be noted that the Association has a particular interest in what can be called “the liturgy of Nazareth.”  Benedictine Liturgy is not limited to what occurs in Church, but encompasses the entire daily life of the monastery.  Working in the kitchen, eating with brothers, even recreating can and should be seen as liturgical.  Love for the liturgy should never be used as an excuse to be uncharitable to a brother, as sometimes occurs when the liturgy that occurs in the church is disconnected from the liturgy that occurs in the cloister. 
Reading the Divine Will from the Heart of the Church
The pillars of Sacred Scripture and Liturgy spoken of above, and indeed all Benedictine life, is seen by the Association as an effective means of insuring that “devotion” to the Divine Will does not end in fanaticism and excess.  Benedictine life represents, perhaps more than any other charism in the Church: balance, reason, sobriety, and solidity. Benedictine life, which is essentially the life of a baptized Christian, is eminently Catholic. The Association affirms that the writings of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta can only be properly studied and applied in such a genuinely Catholic context.
Devotion toe St. Francis and Claire
Sts. Francis and Claire are included in the mission statement because the Association recognizes several important similarities between the Benedictine and Franciscan charisms.  St. Claire took refuge in a Benedictine Monastery when she was being persecuted by her family for her vocation, and St. Francis received the Portiuncula as a gift from the Benedictines of Assisi.  Furthermore, the central vow in religious life is obedience, and St. Francis’ concept of obedience is essentially the same as St. Benedict’s. Obedience crucifies the human will, and leads the monk or friar safely along the path of the will of God. Because the Association has made the Will of God the central consideration of its charism, this connection between Benedictine and Franciscan obedience is valuable. It demonstrates that these two foundational charisms at the heart of Holy Mother Church are inextricably linked at their centers. It can also be noted that St. Benedict’s concept of obedience has also greatly influenced the concept of obedience in all religious life in the Western Church, and perhaps even the entire Church.    
Contemplative and Eucharistic

The Association is contemplative and eucharistic. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our Faith (CCC), it is the very Heart of Jesus exposed and vulnerable to us, and the Association prides itself on being “professional adorers,” seeking to have exposition for as many hours a day as is possible.  “Living in the Divine Will” is not at all an intellectual exercise, it is a living relationship with the living God who has remained with His Church in tabernacles throughout the world waiting to be reciprocated for his Divine Love.  The Association chooses the better part with St. Mary Magdalene and is fundamentally contemplative.

Apostolates
Apostolates can only be accepted that do not interfere with the contemplative and monastic life of the Association.  The superior, therefore, while always seeking to remain open and generous toward the local church, reserves the right to discern and determine the suitability of active apostolates. The clerics of the Association can be available for sacramental ministry, confessions, and spiritual direction, but only insofar as it does not compromise their monastic vocations.  The Association does not accept responsibility for parishes, and all brothers are expected to be present for all community prayers.  Therefore, it would be inconsistent with the monastic life, for example, to have apostolates that require a brother to return to the monastery at an hour that would not permit him to rise for the morning office. 
Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Consecration and love for Mary are especially cherished by the Association.  One expression of this love is the daily recitation of the Rosary in community, and the fact that the Rosary is worn on the habit, which is not part of the Benedictine tradition.
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is valued and prayed.  Luisa Piccarreta was born and baptized on the Second Sunday of Easter, which St. John Paul the Great was later to establish as the Feast of Divine Mercy.  The Association recites the Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily. 

Reading and Living the Divine Will Writings

Members of the Association read and try to live the Divine Will Writings of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta. Each brother is required to read these writings for at least a half hour on a daily basis.  These writings greatly assist the brother on his journey to becoming “another Christ,” as Christ is to live fully in the brother in all that he does during the day. 

Life at Nazareth

The life of the Association is intended to be nothing other than the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth.  At the heart of the Lord’s prayer are the words: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is common to pray this prayer hoping that it’s fulfillment will come sometime in the future.  Yet Jesus told Luisa Piccarreta that this Kingdom was in full force already on this earth in the “monastery” of Nazareth: “Dear child, in this monastery of Nazareth, the Kingdom of the Divine Will was in full force.” Thus, the Association joins the Church in praying for the coming of a future reality, but believes that to go forward we must first go back to Nazareth, to the Holy Family.  Life in the Divine Will of God as spoken about by Jesus to Luisa Piccarreta may be a mysterious idea, but it is helpful to realize that it also is tangible, touchable, seeable, in fact: incarnate.  If we hope to live in the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven, we must model our lives, our families, and our monasteries on the Holy Family of Nazareth. 

Love of Neighbor
Love of neighbor is at the heart of the Charism. It is impossible to love God without loving your neighbor. “The one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.”
(I John 4:20) Cenobitic life leads a monk into the desert; but in the desert he discovers his brother, and finds out that to love God truly he must learn to love his brother and, in fact, all people with God’s love.    
Church Fathers and Spiritual and Ascetical Writers
The Church Fathers, Saints, and Doctors of the Church provide essential spiritual nourishment to the brothers of the Association.
Catholic Human Formation
The Association fully embraces genuinely Catholic human formation.  In particular, psychology and other human sciences are seen as valuable aids to growth in the “spiritual life.”  While these human sciences are never to supercede the centrality of the “spiritual life,” it also is to be noted that the human person is both spiritual and natural, and that grace does build on nature. Therefore brothers are encouraged to have spiritual directors, but also, when needed, to meet with psychologists, psychiatrists, or other experts in the human sciences.