Pachomius

Monastic

Today the Church commemorates one of the Desert Fathers, Pachomius. He was born around the year 290 in Egypt, and converted to the faith while he was serving as a soldier. In the year 320, he left civil service and went to live as a hermit in Upper Egypt where a growing network of hermitages was forming. Pachomius organized them into a religious community in which the members offered prayer together and shared of their own goods. His rule for monastic life eventually influenced both Eastern and Western Christianity, serving as the base for both the Rule of Basil and the Rule of Benedict.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God,
we praise you for your servant Pachomius
through whom you brought unity and direction to the monks of Upper Egypt.
Raise up in our own day men and women
who, with willing hearts, will offer themselves to a monastic vocation.
May their voices intercede for the world,
and may their example give strength to your Church.
We make our prayer through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
now and ever,
and unto ages of ages.