During a terrible famine, St. Benedict was very generous to those who came to his monastery in need. The saintly abbot trusted that God, Who sent the starving people to his monastery for aid, would not abandon these monks in their own need.

This trust was put sorely to the test. As Benedict continued to give freely from what they had, the monastery’s supplies grew thinner and thinner, until at last there was literally nothing left in the cellar… except a little oil in a glass bottle.

Even that was not long to stay. A sub-deacon named Agapitus came to the monastery, and begged for a little oil. Benedict, well aware that this was all they had left, ordered that it be given to the man.

The monk in charge of the cellar was very angry at this command. Their land was ravaged by famine, and Benedict was giving away all the monks’ food! He presumed that, as their abbot, Benedict should have more concern for the brothers entrusted to him than for all the outsiders who came begging! But instead, their monastery provisions were continually diminishing in the midst of the famine.

Faced with this difficult trial, the frustrated man did not think of his vow of obedience. Despite the fact that so little oil would hardly last long in their monastery, the hardened monk refused to give it away.

A little later, Benedict asked him if he had done as instructed. The monk hotly replied that he had not, because if he had, there’d be nothing left for the brethren! Benedict was very upset to hear this. A man who came to them in need had been refused. But worse than that was the sin and attitude of the monk - a man who had chosen monasticism and to strive for virtue, no matter how difficult.

The saint was resolved to teach the disobedient man a lesson. So he ordered one of the other monks to take the glass bottle of oil and throw it out the window. Outside was a very steep drop, with huge, rough rocks below. Charity had been refused and Benedict would not allow the oil to remain in the monastery as a result of disobedience.

And so it was done. Yet, to the monks’ amazement, the glass bottle did not shatter - nor did any oil spill. It was as if the bottle was unbreakable!

Seeing this as the clear intervention of God, Benedict commanded that the oil bottle be retrieved from the rocks and brought to Agapitus, the man who had asked for it in the first place. This time, there was no hesitation in following the abbot’s order and the relieved Agapitus went away with his much-needed oil.

Benedict called together all the brothers, and in their presence, rebuked the cellar-monk. At the root of his disobedience was his pride, which made him forget that first and foremost, he must yield to God’s Will in everything. In disregarding this, the man had been unfaithful to his calling and vows.

When the saint’s rebuke had ended, he and the assembled brethren proceeded to their prayers. Ironically, there was in the room with them an empty oil barrel. The monks hardly noticed it at first. But soon, as they happened to glance up from their prayers, they were astonished at what they saw.

The empty barrel was no longer empty. Its lid was literally pushed up from below, from the excess of oil gushing over the top and streaming down the sides into a pool on the floor! When Benedict himself witnessed this miracle, he ended his silent prayer - and at that instant, the miraculous fluid stopped spilling over.

Grateful in his heart for God’s loving Providence, the abbot turned once more to the unfortunate disobedient monk. The saint admonished him to have confidence in God and learn humility. These virtues are crucial to achieve the sole purpose of this life… which is to know, love and serve God with all one’s mind, heart and strength. Thus faithful, the persevering soul will win the eternal happiness of Heaven.