2 March

480 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian Christian saint. Founder of western monasticism.

From St. Benedict’s Rule, Chapter 4, The Instruments of Good Works:

“Your way of acting should be different from the world's way; the love of Christ must come before all else. You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge. Rid your heart of all deceit. Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, but speak the truth with heart and tongue.”

Also born on this day, in 1931, Mikhail Gorbachev.