In the 400s, the Western Roman Empire collapsed under invasions. Cities shrank, schools closed and much learning was lost. Into this darkness God sent men and women who left everything to seek Him in prayer: monks and nuns.
Saint Benedict, who lived around 480 to 547, wrote a Rule for monks, summed up in two words: ora et labora, “pray and work.” Monks gathered several times a day to pray the Psalms, worked in fields and workshops, welcomed every guest as Christ and copied books by hand. His sister, Saint Scholastica, led a community of nuns.
Monasteries became centers of faith, farming, medicine and learning. Monks copied the Bible and the works of ancient writers in beautiful illuminated manuscripts. Much of what we know of the ancient world survived because monks copied it.
Missionaries carried the Gospel to new peoples. Saint Patrick, once a slave in Ireland, returned to bring the faith to the Irish. Saint Augustine of Canterbury went to England and Saint Boniface to Germany. Saints Cyril and Methodius went to the Slavic peoples and invented an alphabet so they could have the Bible and the liturgy in their own language.
Sadly, Christians also grew apart. Over centuries, the Greek-speaking East and the Latin-speaking West disagreed about authority, the Creed and customs, and in 1054 they broke communion. This is called the East-West Schism. The Orthodox Churches still share the sacraments and apostolic succession, and in 1965 Pope Saint Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras lifted the old excommunications. We pray for full unity.
Monastic life continues today. Benedictines, Carmelites and many others still pray the Liturgy of the Hours and welcome guests. Every Christian can learn from them to give God time each day, to work well and to treat every guest as Christ.