For more than one thousand five hundred years, Benedictine monks have framed all of their lives, all of their being, around a tiny set of guidelines: The Rule of St. Benedict. But where did the Rule come from? Who is St. Benedict?
Born in the year 480 to Roman nobles, Benedict of Nursia was raised in a time of upheaval – The Roman empire had fallen and licentiousness and conflict ruled the day. Disillusioned during his studies, he struck out from Rome entering the wild, seeking solitude.
In his youth, he had already performed miracles. The simple mending of a plate — a foretelling of greater things to come.
Traveling alone to the east, traversing the Apennine Mountains, he came upon a cave at Subiaco. There, he lived as a hermit sustained only by the secret kindness of the monk, Saint Romanus, who lowered bread by a rope to Benedict’s cliffside home.
After battling temptation and the devil for three years in his mountain cave, a group of monks pleaded with him to lead their community. Over time, the monks grew to resent his radical way of life, and sought to dispose of him by poisoning his wine. Upon blessing the wine, the glass shattered and the monks’ treachery was revealed. St. Benedict departed again to seek God alone in the wilderness.
As time wore on he sought to share his love of Christ with others, founding twelve monasteries, ultimately settling in Monte Cassino. He began writing a set of principles for his monks to live by, having the knowledge of a life of seeking Christ. thus was born The Rule. At the base of Monte Cassino, St. Benedict’s twin sister, St. Scholastica, established the first Benedictine community of women.
At the age of 67, St. Benedict was struck with a fever. Knowing his hour was approaching, he summoned monks to pray by his side, and on March 21, 547, St. Benedict died as his brothers raised his arms in one final prayer as he passed from this life.
Today, St. Benedict is hailed as the father of western monasticism. He is the patron Saint of Europe and of a happy death, and the Holy Father of the Benedictine Order. What would western civilization look like without St. Benedict? It is impossible to say – but for more than one thousand five hundred years monks across the world have carried on his great work forever living his directive, that in all things God may be glorified.
The Medal or Cross of Saint Benedict
The Medal of St. Benedict is a very effective way to ward off evil spirits and witchcraft. It can also be used for extraordinary favors by praying the novena or triduum, making each day the Way of the Cross, or reciting 5 Our Fathers and Hail Mary’s in honor of the Five Wounds of Our Lord, and saying some prayers in honor of St. Benedict. In time of temptation, it is advisable to hold the Medal in one’s hand, kiss it reverently and make use of the ejaculatory prayers on the Medal.
Medals, crosses, rosaries, statues, paintings, and other religious articles have long been used as a means of fostering and expressing our religious devotion to God and the saints. Icons, or painted images of Christ and the saints, are especially popular among Eastern Christians as an aid to Christian piety and devotion.
The use of any religious article is therefore intended as a means of reminding us of God and of stirring up in us a ready willingness and desire to serve God and our neighbor. With this understanding we reject any use of religious articles as if they were mere charms or had some magic power to bring us good luck or better health. Such is not the Christian attitude.
Origin of the Medal of Saint Benedict
For the early Christians, the cross was a favorite symbol and badge of their faith in Christ. From the writings of St. Gregory the Great (540-604), we know that St. Benedict had a deep faith in the Cross and worked miracles with the sign of the cross. This faith in, and special devotion to, the Cross was passed on to succeeding generations of Benedictines.
Devotion to the Cross of Christ also gave rise to the striking of medals that bore the image of St. Benedict holding a cross aloft in his right hand and his Rule for Monasteries in the other hand. Thus, the Cross has always been closely associated with the Medal of St. Benedict, which is often referred to as the Medal-Cross of St. Benedict.
CROSS OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT…An Exorcism
Holy Cross be my light and never should satan be my chief! Get behind me satan!…are evil the drinks you pour me. Drink yourself your own poison. In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit Amen.
Gathering Song:
VENI, Creator Spiritus,
mentes tuorum visita,
imple superna gratia
quae tu creasti pectora.
Qui diceris Paraclitus,
altissimi donum Dei,
fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
et spiritalis unctio.
Tu, septiformis munere,
digitus paternae dexterae,
Tu rite promissum Patris,
sermone ditans guttura.
Accende lumen sensibus:
infunde amorem cordibus:
infirma nostri corporis
virtute firmans perpeti.
Hostem repellas longius,
pacemque dones protinus:
ductore sic te praevio
vitemus omne noxium.
Per te sciamus da Patrem,
noscamus atque Filium;
Teque utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore.
Deo Patri sit gloria,
et Filio, qui a mortuis
surrexit, ac Paraclito,
in saeculorum saecula.
Amen.
First Day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
Listen, O my son, to the precepts of the master, and incline the ear of your heart, and cheerfully receive and faithfully execute the admonitions of your loving Father, that by the toil of obedience you may return to Him from whom by the sloth of disobedience you have gone away.
To You, therefore, my speech is now directed, who, giving up your own will, take up the strong and most excellent arms of obedience, to do battle for Christ the Lord, the true King. (Holy Rule – Prologue)
You spent your early days in the university studying to be someone in the world, but all these you left behind, inspired by the Holy Spirit, to seek solitude in the mountains of Subiaco, Italy. You lived in a cave and survived by eating root crops and other food available in those mountains. You searched for God and God also found you. Inspire us, dear saint, to understand that God is within us and we can only encounter him in the silence of our hearts. Make us aware that the noise within us keeps us away from God—the noise of our ambitions, love for money, and honor. Wherever we are we can silence this noise. Help us, dear saint, to obtain silence within us. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.
(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.
(Go to Litany to St. Benedict on the last page)
Second day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
What, dearest brothers, can be sweeter to us than this voice of the Lord inviting us? See, in His loving kindness, the Lord shows us the way of life. Therefore, having our loins girt with faith and the performance of good works, let us walk His ways under the guidance of the Gospel, that we may be found worthy of seeing Him who has called us to His kingdom (cf 1 Thes 2:12).
If we desire to dwell in the tabernacle of His kingdom, we cannot reach it in any way, unless we run to it by good works. But let us ask the Lord with the Prophet, saying to Him: “Lord, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle, or who shall rest in Your holy hill” (Ps 14[15]:1)? . (Holy Rule 1)
You attracted followers to whom you gave a rule known for its moderation. You, St. Benedict, became a father to many monasteries and monks through this rule where you emphasized that the monastery is for people who want to change their bad habits into good. Make us aware of our bad habits and inspire us not to be comfortable with them. Our bad habits, dear saint, will keep us away from Jesus and engrained in us the power of sin. O dear St. Benedict, help us that we may work for the transformation of our bad habits. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.
(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.
(Go to Litany to St. Benedict on the last page)
Third Day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
Brothers, the Holy Scripture crys to us saying: “Every one that exalts himself shall be humbled; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted” (Lk 14:11; 18:14). Since, therefore, it says this, it shows us that every exaltation is a kind of pride…
Hence, brethren, if we wish to reach the greatest height of humility, and speedily to arrive at that heavenly exaltation to which ascent is made in the present life by humility, then, mounting by our actions, we must erect the ladder which appeared to Jacob in his dream, by means of which angels were shown to him ascending and descending (cf Gen 28:12). Without a doubt, we understand this ascending and descending to be nothing else but that we descend by pride and ascend by humility. The erected ladder, however, is our life in the present world, which, if the heart is humble, is by the Lord lifted up to heaven. For we say that our body and our soul are the two sides of this ladder; and into these sides the divine calling has inserted various degrees of humility or discipline which we must mount. . (Holy Rule 7)
O dear St. Benedict, because of your work as a father in the monasteries, certain evil people wanted to poison you. You did not want to compromise the monastic ideals of silence and mortification; yet to their amazement, you drunk their poison and nothing happened to you. Jesus protected you. We live in a world today that is heavily poisoned by pollution and degradation of our forests and seas. Make us sensitive to the presence of these poisons and give us the wisdom not to be blinded by progress and easy money. Inspire us to contribute our part in making our world a better place to live in. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.
(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.
(Go to Litany to St. Benedict on the last page)
Fourth Day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
The first degree of humility, then, is that a man always have the fear of God before his eyes (cf Ps 35[36]:2), shunning all forgetfulness and that he be ever mindful of all that God has commanded, that he always consider in his mind how those who despise God will burn in hell for their sins, and that life everlasting is prepared for those who fear God. And while he guards himself evermore against sin and vices of thought, word, deed, and self-will, let him also hasten to cut off the desires of the flesh.
Let a man consider that God always sees him from Heaven, that the eye of God beholds his works everywhere, and that the angels report them to Him every hour. The Prophet tells us this when he shows God thus ever present in our thoughts, saying: “The searcher of hearts and reins is God” (Ps 7:10)…Therefore, in order that he may always be on his guard against evil thoughts, let the humble brother always say in his heart: “Then I shall be spotless before Him, if I shall keep myself from iniquity” (Ps 17[18]:24) . (Holy Rule 7)
O dear St. Benedict, you understood prayer as basking in God’s presence, experiencing his loving hands in our day to day struggles. While you worked in the fields, your heart sang hymns to your creator and you offered him a constant prayer of thanksgiving. May we imitate you in your unending prayer to the most High; wherever we go and whatever we do, may we remember Jesus and offer him our thanksgiving. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.
(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.
(Go to Litany to St. Benedict on the last page)
Fifth Day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
The second degree of humility is, when a man loves not his own will, nor is pleased to fulfill his own desires but by his deeds carries out that word of the Lord which says: “I came not to do My own will but the will of Him that sent Me” (Jn 6:38). It is likewise said: “Self-will has its punishment, but necessity wins the crown.”
The third degree of humility is, that for the love of God a man subject himself to a Superior in all obedience, imitating the Lord, of whom the Apostle says: “He became obedient unto death” (Phil 2:8).
The fourth degree of humility is, that, if hard and distasteful things are commanded, even though injuries are inflicted, he accept them with patience and even temper, and not grow weary or give up, but hold out, as the Scripture says: “He that shall persevere to the end shall be saved” (Mt 10:22). (Holy Rule 7)O dear St. Benedict, despite your material poverty, you were always mindful of the poor and the needy. From the little produce of your monastery, you happily shared something for the poor who knocked daily at your door. Through you, the hungry had always their fill. May we learn from your charity and open our doors to those unprivileged. Inspire us to understand that our faith’s best expression is the help we extend to the needy. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.(Go to Litany to St. Benedict on the last page)
Sixth Day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
The twelfth degree of humility is, when a monk is not only humble of heart, but always let it appear also in his whole exterior to all that see him; … and always saying to himself in his heart what the publican in the Gospel said, with his eyes fixed on the ground: “Lord, I am a sinner and not worthy to lift up mine eyes to heaven” (Lk 18:13)…
Having, therefore, ascended all these degrees of humility, the monk will presently arrive at that love of God, which being perfect, cast out fear (1 Jn 4:18). In virtue of this love all things which at first he observed not without fear, he will now begin to keep without any effort, and as it were, naturally by force of habit, no longer from the fear of hell, but from the love of Christ, from the very habit of good and the pleasure in virtue. May the Lord be pleased to manifest all this by His Holy Spirit in His laborer now cleansed from vice and sin. (Holy Rule 7)O dear St. Benedict, you showed us that if we want to be close to God, we must be able to discipline ourselves. You taught your disciples how to mortify their senses, control their passions, and thoughts so that Jesus can live in their hearts and minds. You emphasized that sanctification begins in our minds when we are able to distinguish the impure thoughts that lead us to sin. We ask your help, St. Benedict, that we may always be able to stop these deadly thoughts from influencing us, that we may not entertain them. Lead us to purification of mind and heart. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.
(Go to Litany to St. Benedict on the last page)Seventh Day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
We believe that God is present everywhere and that the eyes of the Lord behold the good and the bad in every place (cf Prov 15:3). Let us firmly believe this, especially when we take part in the Work of God. Let us, therefore, always be mindful of what the Prophet says, “Serve the Lord with fear” (Ps 2:11). And again, “Sing wisely” (Ps 46[47]:8). And, “I will sing praise to Thee in the sight of the angels” (Ps 137[138]:1). Therefore, let us consider how it becomes us to behave in the sight of God and His angels, and let us so stand to sing, that our mind may be in harmony with our voice. (Holy Rule 19)O dear St. Benedict, you taught your followers to welcome visitors as if they were Christ in his person. Your rule of hospitality enabled you to treat with respect strangers and offer for them the warmth of your welcome. Teach us to be welcoming in our homes, to treat our guests with respect, and enable them to feel the warmth of Christ’s embrace. Teach us to develop a listening ear that our guests and visitors may easily feel that we are authentically interested in their welfare and well-being. Make our homes a place where the sorrowful may encounter relief of their sufferings. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.(Go to Litany to St. Benedict on the last page)
Eighth Day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
If we do not venture to approach men who are in power, except with humility and reverence, when we wish to ask a favor, how much must we beseech the Lord God of all things with all humility and purity of devotion? And let us be assured that it is not in many words, but in the purity of heart and tears of compunction that we are heard. For this reason prayer ought to be short and pure, unless, perhaps it is lengthened by the inspiration of divine grace. At the community exercises, however, let the prayer always be short, and the sign having been given by the Superior, let all rise together. (Holy Rule 20)O dear St. Benedict, for you the highest kind of prayer is when you kneel in silence and uttering just one word, you come into contact with Jesus himself. You established monasteries that they may become the birthplace of contemplatives, people who in silence utter your name and experience your presence in their hearts. Teach us this kind of prayer, when your presence becomes everything. Enable us to be contemplatives, who put our utter trust in Jesus and who really believe that God’s Kingdom is already in our midst. Amen.
Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.(Go to Litany to St. Benedict on the last page)
Ninth Day
In the Holy Rule, St. Benedict you have said:
As there is a harsh and evil zeal which separates from God and leads to hell, so there is a virtuous zeal which separates from vice and leads to God and life everlasting.
Let the monks, therefore, practice this zeal with most ardent love; namely, that in honor they forerun one another (cf Rom 12:10). Let them bear their infirmities, whether of body or mind, with the utmost patience; let them vie with one another in obedience. Let no one follow what he thinks useful to himself, but rather to another. Let them practice fraternal charity with a chaste love.
Let them fear God and love their Abbot with sincere and humble affection; let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and my He lead us all together to life everlasting. (Holy Rule 72)Daily Prayer
Glorious St. Benedict who taught us the way to perfection by the practice of mortification, humility, obedience, prayer, silence, and detachment from the world, I kneel at your feet and humbly beg you to take my present needs under your special protection (here make your request). Recommend it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace to meet God face to face with you, Mary, and all the angels and saints to praise him through all eternity. O most powerful St. Benedict, do not let me lose my soul, but obtain for me the grace of winning my way to heaven and there worship and enjoy the most holy and adorable Trinity forever and ever. Amen.(3) Our Father, (3) Hail Mary, (3) Glory Be
St. Benedict, pray for us.
THE LITANY OF ST. BENEDICT
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Pray for us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us.
Holy Father, Saint Benedict, Pray for us.
Father most reverend, Pray for us.
Father most renowned, Pray for us.
Father most compassionate, Pray for us.
Man of great fortitude, Pray for us.
Man of venerable life, Pray for us.
Man of the most holy conversation, Pray for us.
True servant of God, Pray for us.
Light of devotion, Pray for us.
Light of prayer, Pray for us.
Light of contemplation, Pray for us.
Star of the world, Pray for us.
Best master of an austere life, Pray for us.
Leader of the holy warfare, Pray for us.
Leader and chief of monks, Pray for us.
Master of those who die to the world, Pray for us.
Protector of those who cry to thee, Pray for us.
Wonderful worker of miracles, Pray for us.
Revealer of the secrets of the human heart, Pray for us.
Master of spiritual discipline, Pray for us.
Companion of the patriarchs, Pray for us.
Equal of the prophets, Pray for us.
Follower of the Apostles, Pray for us.
Teacher of Martyrs, Pray for us.
Father of many pontiffs, Pray for us.
Gem of abbots, Pray for us.
Glory of Confessors, Pray for us.
Imitator of anchorites, Pray for us.
Associate of virgins, Pray for us.
Colleague of all the Saints, Pray for us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.Intercede for us, O holy father Saint Benedict, R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray: O God, Who hast called us from the vanity of the world, and Who dost incite us to the reward of a heavenly vocation under the guidance of our holy patriarch and founder, Saint Benedict, inspire and purify our hearts and pour forth on us Thy grace, whereby we may persevere in Thee. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
Final Blessing & Dismissal
Closing Song:
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae:
Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, Advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis, post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens: O pia: O dulcis
Virgo Maria.