With that one simple word, St. Benedict began his famous Rule, and what followed transformed Western monasticism and, in fact, the Western world.

It’s no secret that monks the faith alive during some of the darkest times in history. But the values and ideas in the Rule of St. Benedict seeped into the rest of the world, too. There are wonderful lessons in the Rule about work, about community, about moderation and hospitality. It contains lessons in humility and obedience — and how to get back to basics. (Monastery living is no picnic — and all the problems we encounter in the world are the same ones monks encounter in the cloister: moodiness, bitterness, jealousy, stress. Not insignificantly, of course, they also encounter joy. The Rule addresses them all, succinctly and wisely.)

Today, there are monasteries in England that host workshops on how to bring the Rule into the workplace, and books have been written that find new meaning in its pages. Over at Deacon Tony’s Place, Tony has spotlighted ways to bring Benedict’s values into the business world. It’s all about prayer and work — Ora et Labora, as the Benedictines call it.

Benedict’s short, straightforward Rule has always intrigued me. And one of my happiest memories is of visiting the place where it was written, the monastery of Monte Cassino, high atop a winding hill in Italy. The monastery was all but destroyed by allied bombers during World War II, then meticulously rebuilt in the 1950s. It’s a stunning reconstruction. You’d never imagine that this sprawling, beautifully designed place, full of priceless art, was just 50 years old. But to enter, under a soaring arch proclaiming the word Pax, “Peace,” is to enter another time and place and to feel part of something historic and holy.

Today, the feast of St. Benedict, is a good time to remember what the man from Monte Cassino gave to the world — and what can learn from him still, beginning with the first words of his Rule:

“Listen, my son, to the master’s voice, and attend with the ear of the heart…”