The Life of St. Benedict by St. Gregory the Great (USED)

The Life of St. Benedict — St. Gregory the Great
Paperback / Trade Edition | ISBN 0-89555-512-3 | TAN Books

USED BOOK: VERY GOOD - no damage to spine, cover or any pages, no markings or highlighter marks. The color of the pages is aged.

Step into the dawn of Western monasticism through one of its foundational accounts — The Life of St. Benedict by Pope Gregory I. This text, drawn from Book Two of Gregory’s Dialogues, is one of the earliest and most authoritative hagiographical portrayals of Benedict of Nursia.

Written around 593 AD, Gregory’s narrative is not a strict biography by modern standards, but rather a spiritual portrait intended to instruct and edify. He relies on oral testimony from four of Benedict’s disciples (Constantinus, Honoratus, Valentinianus, and Simplicius) to recount miracles, moral lessons, and Benedict’s spiritual leadership.

Through dozens of gripping stories — from restoring broken sieves, rebuking hypocrisy, raising the dead, prophesying abbey downfall, taming wild beasts, and even saving monks from poison — we see Benedict as a man of prayer, mercy, authority, and humility. 

Gregory emphasizes Benedict’s human sympathy and leadership: caring for his monks, foreseeing their struggles, intervening in their trials, and guiding them toward holiness. 

This edition is ideal for readers seeking a spiritual classic grounded in tradition, as well as for those wanting to understand the roots of monastic life. It can enrich personal devotion, monastic study, retreat reading, or parish library collections.

NOTE: Used books are FINAL SALE. (No returns or refunds.)