A man who lived as a member of a religous community in a Benedictine monastery shares the benefits it brought to his life.
Limerick plasterer Paul Malone spent a few years living as a member of the monastic community in Glenstal Abbey.
The community there live according to the Rule, a set of monastic regulations and observances written by St Benedict. Paul Malone learned a lot about this fifth century Italian saint, who is regarded as the founder of western Christian monasticism.
What influenced him the most was the monastic life, which inspires him daily to,
Live a more loving life, to my wife and children, and to my neighbours.
An active trade unionist, his faith means he stands up for his co-workers' rights, as well as resolving conflicts in his place of work in a peaceful manner. Paul Malone maintains that St Benedict's Rule can be applied in any situation.
It is basically the Christian life.
This episode of 'The Mountains Have Become Torches’ was broadcast on RTÉ Radio One on 26 February 1980. The presenter is Kevin O’Kelly.
1980 marked the fifteen hundredth anniversary of the birth of St Benedict and celebrations took place in and around Benedictine and Cistercian orders worldwide.
‘The Mountains Have Become Torches’ was an RTÉ Radio series of documentaries and discussion programmes looking at the life of monks and nuns of these orders in contemporary Ireland. The series was produced by Áine McEvoy and Michael Campion.
