How To Restore Civilization By Following St. Benedict’s Example

Civilization is dying. Denizens of the manosphere attribute society’s terminal illness to numerous causes, and there are as many prescriptions as there are men, but the fact of Western cvilization’s rapidly approaching demise is acknowledged by all.

Progressive propaganda to the contrary, history is not a straight line culminating in the glorious present, but rather a cycle of various cultures rising and declining. If complete systemic collapse is inevitable, we can take lessons from another time when men saw their world crashing down around them.

The Western Roman Empire

Ora Et Labora - Pray And Work

The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the end of the world as our ancestors knew it. One man isolated himself from the corruption and decadence of Western Europe to pursue his goals above all else. Benedict of Nursia’s name is now circulating among the Christian blogosphere as they discuss the so-called “Benedict Option.”

Who was Saint Benedict? And what lessons can we take from his life and work?

The Man

The earliest record of St. Benedict’s life (480 AD-547) comes from the pen of Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604). Tradition holds that he was born into a noble Roman family at a time when all bonds of laws, customs, and civil order were dissolving. Christianity, the official religion of the empire, was rife with heresy and schism. Benedict’s parents hoped their son would study the fine arts and live the comfortable life of a Roman noble.

Benedict, however, was disgusted by the hedonistic excess he saw in his contemporaries. At the age of 14, he fled to Subiaco, about 40 miles distant from Rome. For the sake of God, Benedict vowed to live by the work of his hands.

Most of us are not going to live in a cave and practice subsistence farming like Benedict, but there are still lessons to be learnt from his early life. The first step is to wean ourselves from the influence of pop culture as much as practicable. Turn off the TV and pick up the books that have withstood the test of time. For Benedict, his one book was the Bible, as we will see later in his life.

The Mentor

Neither earthquakes nor World Wars can keep Monte Cassino down

Neither earthquakes nor World Wars can keep Monte Cassino down

Benedict lived in the wilderness for three years and, Pope Gregory tells us, he grew to know himself and the ways of his fellow man. During that time, he was given a monastic habit by another monk living a similar life of solitude named Romanus. Romanus taught Benedict all he knew of pursuing a life of holiness and discipline. Benedict proved an able student, for upon the death of a local monastery’s abbot, the monks approached Benedict, knowing of his great reputation, and requested that he become the new abbot.

It proved a disaster. The monks grew tired of the discipline Benedict sought to impose upon their unruly lives and they attempted to poison him. Benedict returned to the wilderness but eventually other laymen approached and asked to learn of the monastic life.

Benedict was mentored by Romanus who had spent many years acquiring the experience of labor, discipline, and holiness. Benedict in turn mentored the hundreds of men who asked for his wisdom, which led to the establishment of monasteries that remain standing to this day such as Monte Cassino and Saint Scholastica at Subiaco.

Normal men enjoy being mentored and mentoring to others. Humility in the 21st century is often associated with being a passive doormat for others. Traditionally, humility simply means seeing ourselves as we truly are. Nobody knows it all and we can always learn something from others (if only what not to do). Benedict wrote down what he knew in his famous Rule, one of the seminal documents of Western civilization.

The Rule

The Rule of St. Benedict was written as a guide for monasteries. While many of its contents do not apply to those of us outside the monastic life, the Rule has endured for so long because of its keen insights into human nature and its flexibility. For example, Benedict has this to say about alcohol:

The superior will determine when local conditions, work or the summer heat indicates the need for a greater amount [of wine]. He must take great care lest excess or drunkenness creep in. We read that monks should not drink wine at all, but since the monks of our day cannot be convinced of this, let us at least agree to drink moderately, and not to the point of excess, for wine makes even wise men go astray (Sir 19:2).

Whether it’s wine or food or any number of indulgences, some men should abstain all together while some are strong enough to enjoy in moderation. The abbot’s responsibility is to know his charges and the monk’s responsibility is to know himself. Benedict knew that he couldn’t be everywhere at once, nor could he know all of the details of every monastery’s unique character and needs. The Rule offers broad guidelines but trusts the reader to make any necessary adjustments on their own.

The Rule divides the monk’s day between work and prayer. Monks meet in the chapel seven times per day to pray the Psalms and listen to readings from the Old or New Testaments. The rest of the time, they would perform manual labor because “When they live by the labor of their hands, as our fathers and the Apostles did, then they are really monks.”

The Lessons

Some monasteries support themselves by brewing beer

Benedict believed that idleness was the enemy of the soul. For the 21 st century layman, there have never been more opportunities for idleness. How many men do we know who constantly read articles on sites like Return of Kings but never actually do anything with what they’ve learned? How many of our brothers spend their free time drinking to excess, eating Doritos, playing video games, and generally wasting their lives away?

Aristotle, and later Saint Thomas Aquinas, described virtue as good habits. The virtuous man becomes that way by repeatedly doing good things. Those of us who have no plans to be monks can still derive much benefit from following a similar rule. Develop a set time for going to the gym, or reading good books, or engaging in prayer or meditation.

The idea behind monastic life is it is easier to live a disciplined life when we have friends who share the same goals and avoid those who do not. We can offer support to one another when we inevitably experience setbacks and failures. That is one of the great lessons offered by the Rule: be patient with yourself and others as you work toward your goals. Rome wasn’t built or destroyed in a day.

It’s worth noting that Benedict had no intention of saving Western civilization from itself. His goal was to work out his salvation and he pursued that goal to the exclusion of all else, subjecting his body to rigorous disciplines that would make any of us wince.

Through his example he attracted followers who wanted what he had. What is it what we want out of life? Do we have the fortitude to pursue it in the single-minded fashion of Saint Benedict?

Read More: Is Civilization Just Another Name For Slavery?

71 thoughts on “How To Restore Civilization By Following St. Benedict’s Example”

  1. You sound just like a Ayn Rand Libertarian who runs and hides from the Government. Why are all of you so afraid of these toadies and whores? They are bigger cowards than any of you are you know! Let them fight if they have the balls. Call martial law if they dare. Their pitiful mercs will be mowed down like a Turkey Shoot when the time comes. People who fight for gold will never fight to the death. When they see their compadres waxed they will cut and run. Let’s not kid ourselves. Those Mexicans and blacks have no fight in them. They just want the free handouts. The blacks are so brave attacking old ladies or lone men with a mob of 50, but against a determined foe with guns they’ll run like scared rabbits crying for mommy!

    1. I have high praise for Ayn Rand Libertarians. They were the original people who let civilization burn and forged a new one.

      1. Please eloaborate? The Libertarians didn’t actually do anything, it’s a politicial ideology.

        1. You’re right. All the Libertarians are at this time is an idea. Personally I enjoy the concept of Objectivism, and the idea that the only role of Government is to protect individual rights and freedoms, help educate people objectively and cultivate an environment for private enterprise to thrive.
          Unfortunately since corporate and special interests dominate the political arena, Libertarians won’t ever get many votes or lobbyists aside from gun-groups perhaps.
          I would love to see Rand Paul as POTUS, but I doubt it’ll ever happen. Clinton, the new SJW leader of this generation presumably will be declared President by the powers that be.
          Up here in Canada we have Tim Moen, Leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada whom I pay attention to.

        2. Libertarianism is a failed ideology. Not for any remarkable “damage” or anything along those lines. It’s failed because it lacks natural defenses against tyranny. The fall of the United States into Democratic Tyranny should serve as a warning to others that you can have a country founded on libertarian ideals, but if you give “the people” all that freedom they will use it to destroy (what they think is only somebody else’s) freedom.
          Look at how the SJWs use free speech to destroy the rights and livelihoods of others. Free speech is a joke now, as only their speech matters. Meanwhile, all that other “free speech” out there in media and education have given us hordes of brainless zombies voting exactly the way the think tanks and academia programmed to, while ignoring important issues in the mean time. The US is actually threatening Russia but everybody is fawning over some old dude having a sex change.

        3. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is a failed ideology. We have more restrictions on speech now than we ever had, so what’s causing this downwards spiral of society? In my opinion, social media. And in social media, special interest groups (SJWs) thrive and spread their vitriol to their useful idiot followers.
          You’re right, there are a lack of natural defenses against tyranny. Which is why when the United States was first founded (arguably by Libertarians), they included the Second Amendment within the Constitution to ensure that individuals have the right to bear arms such that another tyrannical government (then the British Empire) will not be able to subjugate the populace.
          Ignoring important issues is not the fault of “too much freedom”. It is the fault of the Media (dominated by the you-know-whos) who serve up day-to-day irrelevant tangents to keep us distracted from what’s really going on in the world.
          But it doesn’t even have to be restricted to free speech. Why can’t non-violent individuals smoke pot on their private property and not bother anyone? Why can’t Person A solicit Person B to have sex with them? Libertarianism encompasses the ideology that “why should you care what that person or group does provided it has no negative effect on you or society”?

        4. What’s funny is that the Bill of Rights was not intended to be in the Constitution. Imagine what it would be like without that (at least as it is). George Mason often has credit for the BoR and it was Mason, Jefferson, and much of the Virginia delegation that refused to ratify the Con without inclusion of the BoR.

        5. Fuckin eh, nothing beats a rational and enthralling discussion. I’d share a beer with you, if you were local in Canada haha.

        6. “Democratic Tyranny” exactly like Athens up to the Peloponnesian War. Which is why Rome looked down on democratic Athens, as well as the Founding Fathers. And all the avarice encouragement from the Libertarians will not change that.

        7. No I’ll tell you this. Remember that Eric Garner case in New York where they used a choke hold on some black guy and killed him?
          Well some other black guy got angry enough about that, though he might have had some suicide by cop thing going as well, picked up a gun, and shot two cops dead.
          Now for a short time the cops were ninnying about being scared so they stopped regular policing and only went on to respond to calls that “must be responded to” instead of the usual stop and frisk, ticket for everything, and harassment/fishing behavior they usually do.
          In other words, they became normal police officers instead of revenuers and harassers.
          So, one thug with a handgun did in seconds what 40 years of libertarian begging, pleading, “voting harder” and “educating” failed to do.

        8. There is a libertarian movement growing in Norway! I should post something about the current politicial situation ongoing in Norway at the moment.

        9. It got started by people wanting to resort to the courts and law instead of having civil codes of conduct and settling things formally.
          The wife who wants the cops to strong arm her husband. The SJW who want to be offensive to every norm and more. Or the businessman whose sharp practices would have earned him a severe beating instead of the McMansion lifestyle.
          That is only practical with a heavily armed and empowered police force. Almost every segment of society wanted it, so they got it.

        10. Hard to watch or listen to any MSM outlets. It is utterly perverse, brain damaging bullshit or propaganda from intellectual midgets. I think it is responsible for a lot of the downward spiraling crap we see. We have several generations of people exposed to brainwashing, lies and outright fabrications. Cable stations went from interesting documentaries, to 24 hours of Hitler (Occult, UFOS, Super-weapons, Spear of Destiny, name it) for years to popular culture shit like Storage Wars, Tattoos, Alligator wrestlers, Pawn shops, Bounty hunters and reality shows from real dumb asses. Yeah, the you know who’s only contribution is turning the world upside down with novelty and controversy in the entertainment industry. Everything they espouse they themselves do not practice as a group.
          The “you know who’s” can say it.
          http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/19/opinion/oe-stein19
          Others can’t:
          http://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/oct/01/rick-sanchez-cnn-jon-stewart-jews-television-bigot

    2. You cannot fight human history, you cannot fight human nature. The Wheel of Time has come around again to Hesiod’s Age of Iron, to the Kali Yuga.
      Libertarians are part of the cultural progressives, placing the man economic over the man spiritual, placing the lone individual above the group.
      And forget about your delusions of uprising, the military is trained for taking ground and urban pacification. Your Libertarian White National shit will fall apart the second air ordnance and artillery start pounding areas of resistance.
      Because ultimately these Libertarian and Anglo Nationalists fight for money, “oh those nasty darkies and bankers are talking my white American suburbanite lifestyle. Phooie!”

        1. Tell me, when your girlfriend goes down on your muff, is me you’re thinking of?

      1. That’s total bs, and you offer no proof to substantiate your ad hominem claims.

  2. The largely unconquered Germanic tribes had a large hand in saving Western Civilization. As Rome fell, they spread and rejuvenated the dying continent, both culturally and genetically. Those areas that had been Roman provinces — France (Gaul), Britain, Spain, Italy, Greece, etc. — bloomed early, but became decadent sooner, were the first to achieve the colonial age, and the first to become decadent. (The Nazis brought about Germany’s demise, but they would argue the Jews were doing that anyway and had to be countered.)
    I don’t know that there is any chance of religion, much less a single religious figure, saving Western Civilization from itself. It seems to me that, given there is no equivalent of the Germanic tribes to restore Europe in this age, any hope of a restoration would have to come from a self-identified collective of like-minded men (and women) who desire to form a nation of some sort.
    Once the genie is out of the bottle, it can’t go back in. It’s the law of entropy in a social context. But perhaps a new bottle can be built, and a new genie captured to be set loose. Whether this would require a new age of conquest, I am unsure. At the very least, it would take an empire of ‘soft power’ reaching out and convincing the men of the decadent nations to take their homelands back from the marxist scum, and of the millions of foreign hordes, which universally attempt to supplant the culture of their hosts with that of their native culture (even in 2nd and 3rd generations), send them packing for the homes they seem to be pining for.

    1. I’ve read a number of posts in the manosphere that say “Men should be like lone wolves and come together only when necessary.”
      While I agree that every man should strive for independence and to live the life that best suits himself I think men need to find ways to form more tangible connections.
      Checking for messages on Disqus can be just as much time wasted (you can laugh at me here if you like) as much as it can be access to the wisdom of others.
      I think men need to start meeting in person. All theory no action will take us nowhere. Behind computers we are a bunch of idealizations. It’s not until we meet in person that our actions and character are put to the test.

      1. It’s been more than a year since I lived in solitude (occasional women here and there). By choice. It’s interesting.. I actually enjoy it. I read my books, I work on my projects and I am basically taking a breather from life. I have done a lot of things in my life, I had ups and I had downs just like everybody else.. So.. how long am I going to continue living this way? I don’t know, probably another year or so then I’ll get back into the world.. I see this as half time, catching my breath for the next run (and probably last), and plotting it and figuring things out. Things I didn’t have time to think about up until now, as life got in the way. I am not depressed, I am actually pretty flat and balanced most of the time.. So, I don’t know… It’s not going to last forever, just enjoying it while it lasts..

        1. Step outside and observe your mind. A lot of things will become clear…
          A little bit besides the point. If there is one thing people can do for their mental health is figuring out how many hours of sleep their body needs.. I need 8-81/2 hours.. and get them religiously. It will improve your mental health immediately.

      2. Well said. Man is a social animal. In the rule, St. Benedict said that monks who become hermits only do so after a long period of testing and formation within the community and those who succeed at that life are rare birds indeed.
        Most RoK readers come here because we share a common worldview: the Red Pill or neomasculinity. We come here to try and learn something from others. That alone speaks strongly to man’s social nature.

      3. yep…we the ROK commentariat should organize meetups somewheres….passwords and special handshakes and such. It would be cool….

        1. And at every meeting of 25 of us, 5 would be government law enforcement branding us home grown terrorists and inciting us to violence, 2 would be jewish controlling 60% of the conversation and one closeted homo. How do know who the real folks are? Of course I’m joking (slightly)
          How do you determine genuine intent to the cause of awakening and enabling the movement? I think for the most part, sane people know exactly WTF is going on but the message is suppressed. Hell, you can’t even down vote on Disqus anymore, people’s feeling get hurt and their pussy starts aching. The media and SJW assholes attack, belittle, threaten, stalk anyone that doesn’t follow the ever shifting bullshit “Doctrine of the Day.” I think we are close to a breaking point and people flatly rejecting this shit. The lies and illusions are breaking down because the SJW narrative is comically falling apart.
          So yeah, it would an experience. Fark has meet ups. The site meetup.com charges 9.99 or 14 bucks to create local chapters. I’m in Indiana. I’m a cheap bastard so I’m not forking out shit for more than a month if people pipe their schedules to /dev/null.
          Good folks here, some I don’t completely agree with but respect their opinion. This is a geography and scheduling issue more than anyone. Likely should be pursued or attempted.

      4. I agree. What this world needs is a band of strong, take-no prisoner minded men overthrowing the politicial power and rule to the benefit of all. A bloody armed revolution is called upon. The only thing the feminazis understand and obey is the force of arms and will.

      5. Having been a part of dissident movements for all of my adult life. I agree, internet chatter and political demonstrations peter out in American society because of its structure.
        Conservatives are especially bad at this since their end goal is “I want my American Dream, fuck you!”
        Forming real life friendships and doing things as friends has a better long term outcome. But American men tend to suck at that.

  3. Let it burn. Who gives a fuck. I refuse to rebuild a society for sluts and single moms. These women need a reality check. You don’t get to shit on men and then make nice only when you have three thug Spawn from three felons stamping plates at riders island. You want to have thug cock then you get to live in a primitive society where men don’t do jack shit. Enjoy.

      1. Nice try. Not rebuilding a society that I have no stake in or won’t get to enjoy. .

        1. I’m stuck in the middle between your arguments most days. Some days yours, others his.
          I am homesteading, and rounding out my experience each year.
          With that said, this article struck a chord with me.
          Now I am going to read a book or two on St. Benedictine. I will then decide for myself.
          As a vet, I was dumbfounded how my deployments were used to strip me of my son.
          My mental jury is out deliberating. Not sure what their verdict will be. Will submit a decent biography on this great man as evidence, and see what they come out with.

    1. I have to say I would love to see some of the women I know facing a society of absolute anarchy. I would like them to realize how truly helpless they really are when they don’t have male imposed laws and order protecting them.

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  4. This article is a polished gleaming gem! I concur with the points and arguments laid out by the author using St.Benedict as the bastion. Day in day out we are pummeled by craptastic filth from television, corny magazines and even liberal radio shows. I used to get worked up and shake my fist in rage whenever confronted with pernicious indoctrination through main stream media. But now I realized I have been wasting my precious energy getting angry at useless things that I can never change. Ergo nowadays I have concluded that living my life in my own terms is the way to rock and roll. A zillion feminist propaganda may assault me through a myriad of ways, but I learned not to give a flying fuck.Pursue my desires, hone my skills and finally I will laugh heartily at the cunts ranting about women’s rights and the castrated beta males who nod their heads enthusiastically to please their feminazi overlords.

  5. St. Benedict is one of my heroes, and he is a much needed counter to the prevailing currents. Thanks for the practical advice that you gleaned from his life.

      1. The Benedictines are “silent” right?? They have a vow of silence I think. I’ve heard the Trappist are even more hardcore and ascetic than the Benedictines…

        1. No, they don’t take a formal vow of silence but the Rule discourages monks from engaging in useless banter. Meals are usually taken in silence while one monk reads from the Bible or from the lives of the saints.
          The Trappists follow the Rule of St. Benedict with a more strict interpretation. They take manual labor seriously. Most Trappists work as farmers. There’s a Trappist monastery about an hour’s drive away from my home. They’re working with the Sierra Nevada brewery to bring an authentic American made Trappist ale to market. Many monasteries support themselves by brewing beer or wine. The Carthusian order invented Chartreuse liqueur.

        2. Cool. Read in a fancy magazine that this monestary in France makes high end facial cream that is purported to come from an ancient recipe from the great Roman physician Galen to treat wounds of Gladiators!!! I recommend for you to read books by David Lee Fermor who was a Brit who wrote about his travels about Europe in the 30’s . One trip was him staying in various monasteries across Europe . He stayed in various Benedictine and Trappist monasteries . He would stay for weeks and work and stay at the monestary. He stayed at the Grande Trappe in France (the largest Trappist monestary in the world) and his descriptions are excellent about the lives of the monks. He (Fermor) went into why these monks do what they do .Of course these monks want personal salvation but mainly these guys are enduring this harsh life of work and prayer to help “bear the sins of the world”. Thru prayer and work and deprivation they believe they might mitigate the worlds sins….

        3. If you’ve never been before, I strongly recommend visiting a Benedictine monastery. They welcome guests as they would Christ himself. You don’t have to be Catholic or any kind of Christian. They’ll be happy to put you to work if you want it.

        4. A man joined a monastary. The Abbott told him he was only allowed to say two words every ten years. After the first ten years he was summoned to the Abbott and said, “Food cold.”
          Another ten years and he’s summoned again, “Bed hard.” He said.
          Another ten years and he said to the Abbott, “I quit.” The Abbott replied, “I’m not surprised, you’ve been doing nothing but complaining since you got here.”

        5. Ha ha ha …good one. Here’s one:
          Two cannibals were both eating a clown and one cannibal sez to the other “does this taste funny”?

  6. These Benedictine monasteries often make cool stuff. In New Mexico a monastery got in on the ground floor of craft beer making and is making tons of money. Had to get a special dispensation from the Pope to make and sell the beer for profit…

    1. Trappists follow the Rule of St. Benedict and Trappist ales are some of the best beers you will ever taste. I guarantee it.

  7. “Romanus taught Benedict all he knew of pursuing a life of holiness and discipline.”
    Where the trashcans are, how to make a shelter out of a cardboard box, what days the restaurants throw out the best food, …

  8. I’m a student so how can i do much else but sit down and study my ass off currently. Beyond gaming there’s nothing at all interesting that i can think of doing in my spare time. When i hear other students talking they usually discuss the same shit every week: where they went drinking; who they had sex with the previous night; what clothes they’re planning to wear for a date; etc. I’ve tried going out and meeting new people and I’ve tried to discover some interesting places but there’s absolutely nothing that interests me. I also read quite a lot of history books and I’ve recently bought a world history atlas that i find really gripping (I’ve always enjoyed looking at historical maps and maps that detail the extent of former states).
    ‘How many men do we know who constantly read articles on sites like
    Return of Kings but never actually do anything with what they’ve
    learned? How many of our brothers spend their free time drinking to
    excess, eating Doritos, playing video games, and generally wasting their
    lives away?’
    What do you suggest i do now? I can only study and hope that i get the grades i need to progress on to the things i want to do. Life is just a continuous and mundane routine from birth to death.

    1. Since this article spoke on mentoring and no one else has responded to you. You need to ask some hard questions about yourself:
      1. Why don’t these new places and things you try interest you? Are you using it as an excuse? Are you avoiding things that are outside your social comfort zone? Are you being unfairly judgmental so that you don’t have to try? What would you enjoy and why aren’t you doing it?
      2. Why are you placing your sense of value in others first, rather than waiting on someone to interest you, why not become interesting yourself so that people come to you as their center? Don’t like sex & booze parties, come up with your own thing to host. As a college student finances are likely tight, but finding a way around that will help make you a more confidant (and independent) man.
      3. What are you hoping to gain from college? Is it enough? Could you be doing more to better yourself? That piece of paper will still only be a piece of paper if you haven’t grown to exemplify something desirable in a professional setting, and even then without a wide array of life experiences the personal side of things will still be lacking which will effect your workplace encounters.
      Odds are there is some historical significance to the area you are in or in an area within walking/jogging (at the very least driving though that doesn’t grant the bonus of being as active and developing active habits) distance, you may simply be unaware.
      If that isn’t the case, the least you could be doing is some meditation and exercise rather than only turning on the video games, vegging out, going to bed, then doing the rinse/repeat the next day. I promise getting out in nature regardless of historical merit will
      only do you good, not only because you will be “un-wired” for a time,
      but because your mind and body need to get out there, you need serenity
      and introspection, time to figure things out and honestly assess your
      “self.”
      You want change? Start with you, you’ll find the world’s deficiencies matter less than your own and a little pro-active mentality goes a long way.

    2. Someone beat me to the punch, but you mentioned that you enjoy reading history and studying atlases. Those are worthy pursuits. I find it difficult to believe that there’s absolutely nothing else of interest where you live. I suggest you should push yourself outside of your comfort zone and explore. You never really know whether something will inspire you until you try. And if it turns out to be uninteresting after all, at least you’ll be a more interesting man for having tried something new.

  9. I think the hardest part of manual labor for hours on end is not the labor itself. It is the sweat making you wet from head to toe and comtinuing outside working while uncomfortable.
    You DO forget it. But coming inside after, showering and putting on dry clothes and having a beer is great.
    Right now, I am finding that out as my whole lawn is a micro farm,.Water it by hand from rain barrels. Constantly having to remain vigilant fighting deer rabbits and squirrels all while obeying (mostly) city rules. Got a few chickens.
    It must have been difficult in Saint Benedicts day. Cannot just order a seed pack from Amazon.
    However, my goal has been for a long time something along the lines of Saint Benedict. Food self sufficiency.
    About 15 years ago I became interested in meditation, which I pursued for several years with a degree of discipline. However, I stopped and decided that growing food was the best ritual for the divine marriage between heaven and earth.

    1. I’ve found you get used to the sweat and discomfort. The biggest difficulty is if you could be doing other things if so talented and inclined, like writing, building something, etc.

      1. I think building especially. Education is becoming far too intellectually one dimensional.. There needs to be an element of strength, hand eye coordination etc.
        Like medieval artisans. Or those women who make (or made) Persian rugs by hand.
        I have my doubts concerning the level of skill, culture, etc. of modern folk who spend 12 years learning a few textbooks put out by publishing companies and people who learn a curriculum determined by government social engineers.
        Why I am for homeschooling. I know that a lot of kooks will produce some misfits. However, more than ever, our society needs some perspectives by people who have more than just a herd view on things.

    1. It depends on how broad your definition is. For example, there’s a difference between saying, “I’m forsaking all women because I’m a fat neckbeard who refuses to approach,” vs, “I am forsaking all women for the kingdom of heaven.” The former is the cry of a frustrated chump, the latter is the considered decision of a man taking action with a worthy goal.
      MGTOWs are passionate missionaries full of piss and vinegar toward those outside their community. Benedictine monks welcome anyone to visit and live and work with them for a few days, whether they’re any kind of Christian or not.

  10. The man wasn’t a saint. Catholicism: land of idolaltry, Cesare Borgia (fake image of Christ), female worship (hail mary blasphemy) and praying to the saints for protection. The only thing I do applaud is discipline. The western and whole world is lost. God is crystal clear on this worlds emanate destruction, read all of Revelations. Saving this immoral world is not our jobs. Acts 2:40 “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” Only Jesus Christ can save all of us from destruction. Romans 8:9 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”

    1. “Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”

    2. As a Roman Catholic myself, I already have come to terms the New Testament has post-Fall of Rome survival guides and not to mention the whole thing is politically charged.
      For starters: the arc number “666”? It’s not meant to be taken literally, but was rather the year Rome’s self-destruction became obvious.
      Remember Cato the Elder’s quotation,
      “Woman is a violent and uncontrolled animal, and it is useless to let go the reins and then expect her not to kick over the traces. You must keep her on a tight rein . . . Women want total freedom or rather – to call things by their names – total licence. If you allow them to achieve complete equality with men, do you think they will be easier to live with? Not at all. Once they have achieved equality, they will be your masters . . .”
      In addition, the so-called Pornocracy is actually a gynocratic power play in the Roman Catholic Church.

  11. The world has changed and NOBODY ESCAPES.
    You see, would a Benedict of today actually be able to run off and go live in the woods?
    You know what will happen.
    “In the news today, a man was seen living in the woods and reported to police. The local SWAT team shot him”.
    No more of this “running away” shit. There is no running away. And as for this being some “libertarian thing”, let me tell you: libertarianism has one horrible flaw. It has ZERO natural defense against tyranny. Meaning you can start from square one in a perfectly libertarian world and people will fuck it up given enough time.
    What does a man need? He needs to stand up. No more of this going and living in a cave shit while the progressives and other degenerates who give a man motivation to live in a cave are sleeping in warm beds. It’s time to retake that which men before have built.

  12. Going off on your own still requires someone to sponsor you. You still have obligations. Plus, I’m not Catholic.

  13. “How many men do we know who constantly read articles on sites like Return of Kings but never actually do anything”
    I think a lot of us don’t do anything because we are afraid of losing our jobs / educational standing. You just have to decide that it doesn’t matter. For example, I just made a very politically incorrect video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqVLUzLVGN0
    I don’t hate Jewish people, but there is a pretty strong “Jewish Lobby” in America and talking about it is at least as controversial as talking about race or feminism. You just have to say “who cares, someone needs to do it, so why not me?” That’s what we need to do. Roosh had an article about it and feminism so he basically double downed.

  14. Benedict believed that idleness was the enemy of the soul.
    A recent history lesson is in order for you guys. Remember those Gen-X slackers of the early 90’s? When the economy got better, they morphed into the dot-com start-up people, investment bankers, or management consultants of the late 90’s. Many of the current hot shots in Silicon Valley (Musk, Thiel, the Google guys, etc.) are all gen-Xer’s. Take home lesson? American young people, particularly young men, work plenty hard when there is plenty of economic opportunity. When we have a zero-sum, non-growth oriented economy that seems to be favored by the liberal-left, becoming a slacker is a rational choice.
    Incentives work.

  15. Someone please write an article about St Maximilian Kolbe. What a badass saint.
    Great read on Benedict, its good to see that modern men are increasingly tapping into the wisdom of Catholic saints.

  16. anyone else afraid to start businesses in the West, due to accidentally spilling some politically incorrect words and getting raped by society?

    1. If you stand by your words, youll get massive support and a crowdfund when youre run out of town.

  17. We can restore civilization by jailing and executing feminists. Run for office and propose the requisite laws.

  18. St. Benedict was a fanatic who hated anyone who disagreed with him on anything and hated the pursuit of knowledge, believing that faith alone would saver you. Sound familiar?

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