Saint Benedict of Norcia, patron saint of Europe, established Western monasticism with the founding of the monastery of Monte Cassino. His Rule can be summed up in the famous motto «Ora et labora».
Throughout his life, Saint Benedict also found himself having to fight, on several occasions, against the devil, his temptations, and evil influences. This story of his struggle against evil makes him a true exorcist, and traces of it can be found on the medal that bears his name.
Let us take a closer look at this powerful “weapon” of prayer and protection against evil!
The medal
Saint Benedict had a deep faith in the power of the cross and worked miracles through this sign. Faith and special devotion to the cross are behind the spread of medals depicting the Saint holding a cross aloft in his right hand and his Rule in his left hand. This is why the cross has always been closely associated with the medal of Saint Benedict.
Front
On the front of the medal is an image of Saint Benedict. In his right hand he holds the cross, and in his left hand the Rule. On the pedestal, to Saint Benedict’s right, there is a poisoned cup: Gregory the Great, his biographer, recounts that the Saint had saved himself from the poison - which some monks who did not share his choices had put in a drink for him - by tracing the sign of the cross in the air. On the pedestal to the left is a raven about to carry away a loaf of poisoned bread that an envious enemy had sent to Saint Benedict. Above the cup and the raven are the Latin words: Crux S. Patris Benedicti (The Cross of Our Holy Father Benedict).
Around the edge of the medal, surrounding the figure of Benedict, are the Latin words: Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur! (May we be strengthened by his presence at the hour of our death!). The Benedictines have always considered Saint Benedict a special patron for a peaceful death: he himself died in the chapel at Monte Cassino while standing, with his arms raised toward heaven, supported by his brothers from the monastery, shortly after receiving Communion.
Back
On the back of the medal, the cross is prominent. On the arms of the cross are the initial letters of a Latin prayer: Crux sacra sit mihi lux! Nunquam draco sit mihi dux! (May the holy cross be my light! May the dragon never be my guide!).
At the corners of the cross, the letters CSPB stand for Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti (The Cross of our Holy Father Benedict).
Above the cross is the word pax (peace), a Benedictine motto. Around the edge of the back of the medal, the letters VRSNSMV – SMQLIVB are the initial letters of a Latin prayer of exorcism against Satan: «Vade retro Satana! Nunquam suade mihi vana! Sunt mala quae libas. Ipse venena bibas!» (Get behind me, Satan! Never tempt me with your vanities! What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!).
Let us never forget that the medal of Saint Benedict, like any object that expresses our faith, is not a talisman or a good-luck charm, but a sign that - worn with faith - can help us walk along the paths of the Lord.
