Saints Maur and Placid, among the early disciples of St. Benedict, serve as examples of two phenomena of Benedictine life that would long influence the monastic order in Western Europe.
 
First, they came to the monastery as children. Their fathers, according to Gregory the Great’s Dialogues, chose to entrust their education to the abbot Benedict. This pattern would continue throughout the Middle Ages. Until the rise of universities, opportunities for education were scarce outside the monasteries, which locations, moreover, offered training in the spiritual life as well as the development of the mind. For a variety of motives, therefore, parents might commit their children to the care of Benedictine houses. St. Benedict’s Rule provides evidence both of the practice itself and the challenges presented by having pre-adolescents in the community. But, in a society where even elementary education was becoming rare, training potential future monks as children was one of the best ways to assure the supply of educated monks able to perform and appreciate the Divine Office.
 
Both Maur and Placid, according to later legends, were eventually sent off by Benedict to found new monasteries. The one major exception to the practice of stability established by the Rule was the foundation of new communities, a necessity in times when vocations were plentiful and the resources of any given spot were limited. With the blessing of the abbot, some number of community members (twelve was a popular choice) went forth under the leadership of one designated to guide them in founding a new house intended to become an abbey itself.
 
In several ways, therefore, Maur and Placid can be considered harbingers of the future of Benedictine life. They are best known, however, for a charming incident related in the Dialogues. One day at Subiaco, Placid fell into the nearby lake. Benedict, praying within the monastery, was made aware of this by God, and he directed Maur to run to the aid of his drowning confrere. And run Maur did, out of the monastery, down the hill, and over the surface of the lake, out of which he pulled Placid to safety. Only then did it occur to Maur that not even good monks can usually run across water. (Myself, I’ve gone weeks at a time without doing so).
 
How did the wonder occur? Benedict explained that so total had been Maur’s obedience that it was rewarded by God with a miracle of mercy. A great deal might any of us be allowed to accomplish, if we less think about ourselves than simply do our best to carry out, in hope and faith, the tasks that superiors or circumstances provide us.