During his life, St.
Benedict of Nursia was known to work many miracles using the power of the Holy
Cross. Among these included his heroic flight from temptations and miraculous
escapes from traps set to kill him.
Saint
Benedict became known for his power over the Devil, with the Holy Cross of
Jesus Christ as his efficacious instrument to make the Devil flee.
The
Medal of St. Benedict is based on this tradition.
St.
Benedict was an incredibly important saint for the Church, most notably because
he was the founder of Western monasticism. Because of his uncommon sanctity and
miraculous powers, men gathered around him as disciples.
Benedict
paved the way for these men to consecrate themselves to a secluded,
disciplined, communal life of prayer, work, fasting, and penance dedicated
solely to the worship of God. He organized them together under a single Rule to
increase their spiritual effectiveness.
So, it
is not hard to see why Saint Benedict was often a specific target of the Devil.
The St.
Benedict medal as we commonly know it today (the Jubilee medal) was first made
in 1880 to commemorate the fourteenth centenary anniversary of St. Benedict’s
birth by the Archabbey of Monte Cassino, the most important monastery
established by the Saint in the 6th century.
The
meaning of the symbols used on the medal were at one time a mystery until an
ancient manuscript was discovered, as described below:
“It is doubtful when the Medal
of St. Benedict originated. During a trial for witchcraft at Natternberg near
the Abbey of Metten in Bavaria [a Benedictine monastery established in the 8th
century] in the year 1647, the accused women testified that they had no power
over Metten, which was under the protection of the cross. Upon investigation, a
number of painted crosses, surrounded by the letters which are now found on
Benedictine medals, were found on the walls of the abbey, but their meaning had
been forgotten.
Finally, in an old manuscript,
written in 1415, was found a picture representing St. Benedict holding in one
hand a staff which ends in a cross, and a scroll in the other. On the staff and
scroll were written in full the words of which the mysterious letters were the
initials. Medals bearing the image of St. Benedict, a cross, and these letters
began now to be struck in Germany, and soon spread over Europe. They were first
approved by Benedict XIV in his briefs of 23 December, 1741, and 12 March,
1742.”
This—combined
with accounts of the Saint triumphing over traps the Devil set for him—is how
the symbols on the St. Benedict medal became propagated as a form of protection
against, and exorcism of, evil.
FRONT OF THE MEDAL
·
Above the chalice and the raven in the center,
on either side of Saint Benedict:
Crux
Sancti Patris Benedicti
(Cross of the Holy Father
Benedict)
Words around the perimeter of the medal:
Ejus
in obitu nro praesentia muniamur
(May we at our death be
fortified by his presence)
BACK OF THE MEDAL
Initials on the cross in the center:
C. S.
S. M. L. – N. D. S. M. D.
Crux
Sacra Sit Mihi Lux
(The Holy Cross be my
light)
Non
Draco Sit Mihi Dux
(Let
not the dragon be my guide)2
Circles by the four corners of the cross:
C S P B
Crux
Sancti Patris Benedicti
(Cross of the Holy Father
Benedict)
Initials around the perimeter:
V R S N
S M V – S M Q L I V B
Vade
Retro Satana, Nunquam Suade Mihi Vana—Sunt Mala Quae Libas, Ipse Venena Bibas
(Step back, Satan, do not
suggest to me thy vanities —evil are the things thou profferest, drink thou thy
own poison)
And at the top: Pax
(Peace)
The St. Benedict medal is
one of the most popular among Catholics, and there are many indulgences
associated with this medal which you can read about here. There are also spiritual benefits associated with
the pious use of the medal including warding off evil and temptation, obtaining
the conversion of sinners, help for women during childbirth, strength in
preserving purity, granting the grace of a happy death, protection during
storms, and interceding for curing diseases.
Needless
to say, this is a very powerful medal for spiritual protection. However, it is
important to not be superstitious about Catholic medals; they are sacramentals
to be used as “sacred signs instituted by the Church to prepare us to receive
the fruit of the sacraments and to sanctify different circumstances of our
lives” (CCC, 1677).
The
Benedictine monks of Subiaco Abbey in Subiaco, Arkansas, explain the uses and
importance of the medal:
“There
is no special way prescribed for carrying or wearing the Medal of St. Benedict.
It can be worn on a chain around the neck, kept in one’s pocket or purse, or
placed in one’s car or home. The medal is often put into the foundations of houses
and building, on the walls of barns and sheds, or in one’s place of business.
The purpose of the medal in any
of the above ways is to call down God’s blessing and protection upon us,
wherever we are, and upon our homes and possessions, especially through the
intercession of St. Benedict. By the conscious and devout use of the medal, it
becomes, as it were, a silent prayer and reminder to us of our dignity as
followers of Christ.
The
medal is a prayer of exorcism against Satan, a prayer for strength in time of
temptation, a prayer for peace among ourselves and among the nations of the
world, a prayer that the Cross of Christ be our light and guide, a prayer of
firm rejection of all that is evil, a prayer of petition that we may with
Christian courage “walk in God’s ways, with the Gospel as our guide,” as St.
Benedict urges us.
The
lessons found there can be pondered over to bring true peace of mind and heart
into our lives as we struggle to overcome the weaknesses of our human nature
and realize that our human condition is not perfect, but that with the help of
God and the intercession of the saints our condition can become better.
The Exorcism Formula of the St. Benedict Medal article by Gretchen of the Catholic Company
