Saint Benedict

The Rule of St Benedict is our guide in living the Gospel together in community. Our vocation has emerged out of a close friendship with Worth Abbey in Sussex, from whom we receive formation in the Benedictine tradition. 

St Benedict offers a life-giving way, with great wisdom for living the Gospel in the details of daily life. His vision is based on the call to love Jesus above all else, and to follow him in his path of obedience and humility: “The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all” (Rule of St Benedict 5).

The Monastic Tradition

Jesus, in the midst of his ministry, took time to leave the crowds and go to a lonely place to spend time in solitude with his Father: “Early in the morning long before dawn, Jesus got up and went off to a lonely place to pray” Mark 1:35.

In the early centuries of Christianity, many men and women heard the call to leave behind a worldly existence; going out into the desert, they sought purity of heart and an intimate union with God through an ascetical life of prayer and solitude. Over time, many Christians came together to seek God in organised communities, inspired by the vision of the early Church in Jerusalem – the “koinonia” in Acts 2 and 4.

St. Benedict of Nursia (480-547) wrote a Rule for monastic living, creating a “school of the Lord’s service” (Prologue to the Rule of St Benedict) as a context in which the members are to learn the ways of God: how to die to self and selfishness in order to be free to live for God and others. In the monastery, “good zeal” is to be “fostered with fervent love: They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other (Romans 12:10), supporting with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body or behaviour, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. No one is to pursue what he judges better for himself, but instead, what he judges better for someone else” (Rule of St Benedict Ch72).

In St Benedict’s vision of monastic living, we encourage and support each other in our search for union with God.

Worth Abbey

The Wellspring Community has a close connection with the monastic community of Worth Abbey, its founding members having met through the Lay Community of St Benedict (first established at the Abbey in the 1970s.) The monks of Worth are committed to supporting Wellspring in their formation.

Since January 2021, a small community of 4 monks has been established in Brighton who are more integrated into Wellspring's mission. They are involved in the University Chaplaincy, in teaching the Formation and Mission members, in shared liturgy, and in work with the young adults of the parish. To learn more about this "Brighton Mission" of Worth Abbey, and to access regular updates, see www.worthabbey.net/brighton-mission/.

Main photograph by Emma Duggan