Michele Perez Exner

Does the @nytimes know that Tolkien fought at the Batttle of the Somme in WWI where the British took 57,000 casualties in the first 24 hours? At the end of the offensive over 1 million men were killed, wounded, or missing. Seems like this article is inaccurate 🧐

Saint Benedict of Nursia is widely considered the man who preserved Western Civilization after the fall of Rome. Today may be a great day to look to the example of one of Europe’s greatest Saints. After the political collapse of Rome, Benedict began founding monasteries across Italy laying the social and spiritual groundwork for medieval Christendom. As Roman government and infrastructure were wiped away by anarchy and barbarism, Benedictine monasteries became safe havens that copied, stored, and protected sacred texts, classical literature, and ancient wisdom. When the outlook was dire and civilization seemed to be failing, he focused on God and built redoubts of Western thought around a simple saying, “Ora et labora” (prayer and work). Benedictine monks began teaching everything from agriculture to architecture and brewing across Europe. Through the years, the Benedictine Order produced over 57,000 known saints and 35 popes, of whom 17 are Saints or Blesseds. Saint Benedict of Nursia, pray for us today and always.