(ABOUT A.D. 419.)
[Theodoret in his Philotheus, c. 12, gives an account of this
venerable monk, whom he had visited, and knew personally.]
This venerable hermit lived in an old tomb cut out of the rocks in the
neighbourhood of Antioch, in Syria. He observed the monastic rule for
forty years, living on bread and water, and on Sunday visiting a
church, that he might partake of the divine mysteries, and listen to
sermons. Theodoret makes a quaint little remark about him: "That he
used to borrow one book at a time from his friends, read it through,
and return it when read, and then borrow another."
S. SCHOLASTICA, V.
(A.D. 543.)
[Famous wherever the name of S. Benedict, her brother, is known.
Authorities for her life, the same as those for his. The following
sketch of her life is extracted from Montalembert's Monks of the
West.]
In the history of most saints who have exercised a reformatory and
lasting influence upon monastic institutions, the name and influence
of some holy woman is almost invariably found associated with their
work and devotedness. These bold combatants in the war of the Spirit
against the flesh seemed to have drawn strength and consolation from a
chaste and fervent community of sacrifices, prayers, and virtues, with
a mother or a sister, by blood or choice, whose sanctity shed upon one
corner of their glorious lives a ray of sweeter and more familiar
light. To instance only the greatest: Macrina is seen by the side of
S. Basil, and the names of Monica and Augustine are inseparable; as in
later ages are those of S. Francis of Assisi and S. Clara, S. Francis
of Sales and S. Jeanne Chantal. S. Benedict had also a sister, born on
the same day with himself, named Scholastica; they loved each other as
twins often love, with fraternal regard, elevated into a passion. But
both loved God above all. Still earlier than her brother, Scholastica
had consecrated herself to God from her infancy; and, in becoming a
nun, she made herself the patroness and model of the innumerable
family of virgins who were to acknowledge, adopt, and follow the code
of her brother. She rejoined him at Monte Cassino, and established
herself in a monastery, in the depths of a valley near the holy
mountain. Benedict directed her from afar, as he did many other nuns
in the neighbourhood. But they met only once a year, and then it was
Scholastica who left her cloister, and sought her brother. He, on his
side, went to meet her: they met upon the side of the mountain, not
far from the door of the monastery, in a spot which has long been
venerated. There, at their last meeting, occurred that struggle of
fraternal love, and the austerity of the rule, recorded by S.
Gregory,[31] which is the only known episode in the life of
Scholastica, and which has insured an imperishable remembrance to her
name. They had passed the entire day in pious conversation, mingled
with praises of God. Towards the evening they ate together. While they
were still at table, and the night approached, Scholastica said to her
brother, "I pray thee, do not leave me to-night, but let us speak of
the joys of heaven till the morning." "What sayest thou, my sister?"
answered Benedict; "on no account can I remain out of the monastery."
Upon the refusal of her brother, Scholastica bent her head between her
clasped hands on the table, but prayed to God, shedding torrents of
tears, to such an extent, that the table was flooded with them. The
weather was very serene: there was not a cloud in the air. But
scarcely had she raised her head when thunder was heard, and a violent
storm began; the rain, lightning, and thunder were such, that neither
Benedict, nor any of his brethren, who accompanied him, could take a
step beyond the roof that sheltered them. Then he said to Scholastica,
"May God pardon thee, my sister, but what hast thou done?" "Ah, yes,"
she answered him, "I prayed thee, and thou would'st not listen to me;
then I prayed God, and he heard me. Go now, if thou canst, and send me
away, to return to thy monastery." He resigned himself, against his
will, to remain, and they passed the rest of the night in spiritual
converse. S. Gregory, who has preserved the tale to us, adds that it
is not to be wondered at, that God granted the desire of the sister
rather than that of the brother, because, of the two, it was the
sister who loved most, and that those who love most have the greatest
power with God.
In the morning they parted, to see each other no more in this life.
Three days after, Benedict, being at the window of his cell, had a
vision, in which he saw his sister entering heaven under the form of a
dove. Overpowered with joy, his gratitude burst forth in songs and
hymns to the glory of God.
Her body was translated to Le Mans, in France, of which city she is
patroness, but her relics were dispersed by the Huguenots, in 1562.
However, some portions have been preserved, some in the Jesuit Church
at Antwerp, and a bone in the Carthusian Church at Cologne.