Feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia:

Feast day : 11 July

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Benedict of Nursia, a Catholic priest who lived during the period (480 to 547 AD) in Italy. He is honoured as the Father of Western Monasticism and was a greatly gifted holy man who renounced the world at a very young age to lead a solitary life of prayer and penance. He founded several communities for monks and is the author of the ‘Rule of St. Benedict’, a set of guidelines that he wrote for leading a monastic life in a community. The Rule of St. Benedict is based on the principle of ‘ora et labora’ meaning ‘pray and work’. It continues to be followed by the Benedictines till date and has been the most influential founding document for many monasteries and communities over the ages. He is the patron saint of dying people, farm workers, monks, people in religious orders and students. He is believed to have died on 21 March 547. He was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared him co-patron of Europe, together with Saints Cyril and Methodius. His feast is celebrated in the Catholic Church on 11 July.

Early life:

Saint Benedict was born in Nursia in the year 480 AD to a Roman noble family. He had a twin sister named Scholastica who is also a Saint and lived a religious life. He had the privilege to good education and was sent by his parents to Rome for higher studies. There he was greatly troubled to see the sinful life led by his fellow students. He abandoned his studies and fled to the mountains to safeguard his soul from being condemned to sin. On his way he met Romanus of Subiaco, who was a monk of a nearby monastery on the mountain. On his advice Benedict became a hermit and lived in a cave hidden in the mountains for three years. During these years, God mysteriously provided for his food through Romanus and later through a raven.

Monastic life:

The years that he spent in solitary confinement made him mature and deeply connected to God. However, he was also often attacked by the devil with temptations. He overcame his temptations through prayer and penance and grew in holiness. An example often narrated about him is of how he overcame his sexual temptations. Once when he was tormented by the devil by being reminded of a beautiful woman he overcame the temptation by rolling naked on a thorn bush. After that day, he rarely struggled with sexual temptations.

Soon his popularity spread in the neighbouring areas and when one of the abbot of a nearby monastery passed away, the monks came and invited Saint Benedict to be their abbot. He initially refused knowing that their way of life would not agree with his discipline. But on further insistence from them, he relented and became their Abbot. But soon the monks regretted their decision as they could not subject themselves to his way of living and discipline. They decided to do away with him by poisoning his wine. But when Saint Benedict blessed the food by making the sign of the cross, the wine glass shattered into pieces. He immediately recognised what had happened and asked the monks to find a new Abbot for their monastery. He forgave them and returned back to his cave in Subiaco. There he founded twelve communities of monks.

His holiness grew by the day and several miracles were attributed to him. He could read minds and souls, heal the sick, raise the dead, prophecy and people came to the holy man seeking blessings and guidance from him in their needs. However, his popularity also gave rise to enemies and one of them was Florentine, another priest who lived nearby. He once sent a poisoned bread loaf to Saint Benedict. Knowing his intentions, Saint Benedict did not eat the bread but rather asked a raven to drop it where no man could eat it. But he was greatly grieved by the extent of evil and decided to leave the place. He alongwith a few monks re-located to Monte Cassino where he founded the Benedictine Monastery which lies between the hilltop of Naples and Rome.

Death and Later years:

Much of what is known about him today is from the writings of Pope Gregory in his book ‘Dialogues’ where he has documented an account of the personal life events of Saint Benedict. He is believed to have written it based on the personal testimonies of the closest followers of Saint Benedict who lived with him and went on to succeed him as Abbots of the monasteries. He is believed to have died of a fever at Monte Cassino on 21 March 547 not long after his twin sister, Saint Scholastica, and was buried in the same place as his sister. He had a great influence on Europe especially during the Middle Ages that followed the fall of the Roman empire. He was named patron protector of Europe by Pope Paul VI in 1964. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared him co-patron of Europe, together with Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The Benedict Medal is a very popularly used devotional medal. The exact origin of it is not known but it was first struck in 1880 to commemorate the fourteenth centenary of Saint Benedict's birth and is also called the Jubilee Medal. In 1647, during a witchcraft trial at Natternberg near Metten Abbey in Bavaria, the accused women testified they had no power over Metten, which was under the protection of the cross. An investigation found a number of painted crosses on the walls of the abbey with the letters now found on St Benedict medals, but their meaning had been forgotten. A manuscript written in 1415 was eventually found that had a picture of Saint Benedict holding a scroll in one hand and a staff which ended in a cross in the other. On the scroll and staff were written the full words of the initials contained on the crosses. Medals then began to be struck in Germany, which then spread throughout Europe. This medal was first approved by Pope Benedict XIV in his briefs of 23 December 1741, and 12 March 1742.

On one side, the medal has an image of Saint Benedict, holding the Holy Rule in his left hand and a cross in his right. There is a raven on one side of him, with a cup on the other side of him. Around the medal's outer margin are the words "Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur" ("May we, at our death, be fortified by His presence"). The other side of the medal has a cross with the initials CSSML on the vertical bar which signify "Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux" ("May the Holy Cross be my light") and on the horizontal bar are the initials NDSMD which stand for "Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux" ("Let not the dragon be my overlord"). The initials CSPB stand for "Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti" ("The Cross of the Holy Father Benedict") and are located on the interior angles of the cross. Either the inscription "PAX" (Peace) or the Christogram "IHS" may be found at the top of the cross in most cases. Around the medal's margin on this side are the Vade Retro Satana initials VRSNSMV which stand for "Vade Retro Satana, Nonquam Suade Mihi Vana" ("Begone Satan, do not suggest to me thy vanities") then a space followed by the initials SMQLIVB which signify "Sunt Mala Quae Libas, Ipse Venena Bibas" ("Evil are the things thou profferest, drink thou thy own poison").