it, and down through the years, its foremost leaders set an example of joyful renunciation in the way they embraced poverty, chastity, and obedience. When St. Benedict was tormented by temptations of the flesh, he threw himself, half naked, into a bed of thistles and thorns. It left him bleeding from head to toe, but never again was he tempted in the same way. One might add that monks like Benedict were not the only ones who made use of pain. A large number of Catholic laymen and laywomen have done