Benedict

Monte Cassino proved to be a most difficult location for Benedict's new monastic community as many obstacles and impediments were cast in his path along the way to success. But Benedict was able to overcome each obstacle found in his path and became a better man because of his troubles and eventual triumph.

The first of Benedict's plights on the way to the founding of Monte Cassino proved to be a slight obstacle, but a foreshadow of what was to come. Benedict's monks had been hard at work building cells in the abbey of the community, in the way of the continuance of the building was a large rock. The monks tried and tried to remove the rock with their own strength, but the rock simply would not budge. The reason for this hardship was simple in the eyes of the monks; the devil was hard at work. They then sent for the man of God, Benedict. With a simple blessing Benedict was able to dislodge the rock, making it quite easy for the monks to continue the building of the cells. Not only did this help in the actual physical building of the community, but it also gave the monks a glimpse of what was to come and a reinforced faith in their God and their leader.

After this first obstacle it was clear that there were many more to follow. During the next stage of the building process the monks were hard at work building a particular higher. Benedict at the time was praying to God, when all of a sudden the Devil appeared to him and told Benedict that he was going to the monks. The monks unaware of this message continued to work when the next crisis occurred. The newly finished wall was toppled, and landed on a young child, who was a monk, instantly crushing him to death. The monks thinking this was an accident, reported the terrible news to Benedict. Benedict, a man of God, then bade the monks to bring the boy, in whatever state, to him. The monks obeying Benedict, did this and left Benedict to his prayers, and in that very hour, through prayer Benedict was able to revive the boy and set him and his monks back to work on the toppled wall! This recent triumph of Benedict not only proved to his monks that he was indeed an incredible man of God, but it also proved to them that through the help of God Benedict would protect his monks and his community for the of the evil that is the Devil.

One of the final obstacles Benedict had to overcome came in the disguise of a famine. This famine plagued the entire countryside