February 10
Saints of the Day...and Events

St. Scholastica, 480-543
The Twin sister of St. Benedict who also founded a religious community at Monte Cassino and had an argument with her brother before death.

    Twin sister of Saint Benedict. Noblility. Her mother died in childbirth. Nun.

    Twins often share the same interests and ideas with an equal intensity. Therefore, it is no surprise that Scholastica and her twin brother, Benedict, both established religious communities within a few miles from each other. She founded a religious community for women near Monte Cassino at Plombariola, five miles from where her brother governed a monastery.

    See the Readings section below for Pope Saint Gregory's telling of some of the stories of her end of life and the last argument with her brother St. Benedict.

Born 480

Died 543 of natural causes

Additional Information http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saints06.htm   http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1287

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Readings

Scholastica, the sister of Saint Benedict, had been consecrated to God from her earliest years. She was accustomed to visiting her brother once a year. He would come down to meet her at a place on the monastery property, not far outside the gate.

One day she came as usual and her saintly brother went with some of his disciples; they spent the whole day praising God and talking of sacred things. As night fell they had supper together.

Their spiritual conversation went on and the hour grew late. The holy nun said to her brother, "Please do not leave me tonight; let us go on until morning talking about the delights of the spiritual life."

"Sister," he replied, "What are you saying? I simply cannot stay outside my cell."

When she heard her brother refuse her request, the holy woman joined her hands on the table, laid her head on them and began to pray. As she raised her head from the table, there were such brilliant flashes of lightning, such great peals of thunder and such a heavy downpour of rain that neither Benedict nor his brethren could stir across the threshold of the place where they had been seated. Sadly, he began to complain.

"May God forgive you, sister. What have you done?"

"Well, she answered, "I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen. So now go off, if you can, leave me and return to your monastery."

So it came about that they stayed awake the whole night, engrossed in their conversation about the spiritual life.

Three days later, Benedict was in his cell. Looking up to the sky, he saw his sister's soul leave her body in the form of a dove, and fly up to the secret places of heaven. Rejoicing in her great glory, he thanked almighty God with hymns and words of praise. He then sent his brethren to bring her body to the monastery and lay it in the tomb he had prepared for himself.

from Dialogues by Pope Saint Gregory the Great