St. Benedict of Nursia, Italy, 480-547
Feastday 11th July
Born 480
Died 543
The
patron Saint of speliologists (cave explorers). Founder of Western Monasticism,
he was the son of a Roman nobleman of Nursia. His boyhood was spent in Rome where
he lived with his parents and attended the schools until he had reached his
higher studies, then forsaking his books, and his fathers wealth, he sought
only to serve God. He lived the life of a hermit, and while ruling his monks
(most of whom including Benedict, were not ordained) he counseled rulers and
Popes, ministered to the poor and destitute about him and tried to repair the
ravages of the Lombard Totila’s invasion.
1.
Eschatological Prophecy
“During
the three and a half years of Antichrist's reign God will send Henoch and Elias
to help the Christians…” 1
2.
General Prophecies
“Far
from confining his attention to those who accepted his Rule, Benedict extended
his solicitude to the people of the countryside. He cured the sick, relieved the
distressed, distributed alms and food to the poor, and is said on more than one
occasion to have raised the dead. When Campania suffered from a famine, he gave
away all the provisions stored in the abbey, with the exception of five loaves.
"You have not enough today," he said to his monks, noticing their
dismay, "but tomorrow you will have too much." Benedict's faith had
its reward. The next morning a large donation of flour was deposited by unknown
hands at the monastery gate. Other stories were told of prophetic powers and of
an ability to read men's thoughts. A nobleman he had converted once found him
in tears and inquired the cause of his grief. Benedict astounded him by
replying that the monastery and everything in it would be delivered to the
pagans, and the monks would barely escape with their lives. This prophecy came
true some forty years later, when the abbey was wrecked by a new wave of
invaders, the pagan Lombards….”
“Meanwhile,
Totila, King of the Goths, had defeated the Emperor Justinian's army at Faenza
and in 542 was making a triumphal progress through central Italy towards
Naples. On the way he wished to visit Benedict, of whom he had heard marvelous
tales. He therefore sent word of his coming to the famous abbot, who replied
that he would see him. To discover whether Benedict really possessed the
supernatural insight attributed to him, Totila ordered Riggo, captain of the
guard, to don his own purple robes, and sent him, with the three counts who
usually attended him, up to Monte Cassino. The trick did not deceive Benedict,
who greeted Riggo with the words, "My son, take off what thou art wearing;
it is not thine." Confounded, Riggo threw himself at Benedict's feet and
then withdrew in haste to report to his master….”
“Totila
now came himself to the abbey and, we are told, was so awed by Benedict that he
fell prostrate. Benedict, raising him from the ground, rebuked him sternly for
his cruelties and foretold in a few words all that should befall him. "Much
evil," he said, "dost thou do and much wickedness hast thou done.
Now, at least, make an end of iniquity. Rome thou shalt enter; thou wilt cross
the sea; nine years thou shalt reign, and die the tenth." Totila
begged for his prayers and departed, and from that time on, people said, was less
cruel. In course of time he advanced on Rome, sailed thence to Sicily, and in
the tenth year, lost both his crown and his life.[3] Benedict did not live long
enough to see the prophecy fulfilled…”
“…He
who had foretold so many things was forewarned of his own death, and six days
before the end bade his disciples dig a grave. As soon as this was done, Benedict was
stricken with a fever, and on the sixth day, while the brethren supported him,
he murmured a few words of prayer and died, standing, with hands uplifted
towards Heaven. He was buried beside his sister Scholastica,[4] on the site of
the altar of Apollo which he had thrown down. In art Benedict is commonly
represented with King Totila, or with his finger on his lips, holding the Rule,
or with the opening words, "Ausculta, O fili," ("Hearken, O
son") proceeding from his mouth. His symbols are reminders of various
incidents in his life: we see him with a blackbird, a broken sieve, a rose
bush, a scourge, a dove, a globe of fire, or a luminous stairway up which he is
proceeding to Heaven; occasionally he is depicted with King Totila at his feet.
The order which Benedict founded has spread over the earth. It was mainly
responsible for the conversion of the Teutonic races, and has left its mark on
the education, art, and literature of Europe. Within its cloisters, always
marked by an atmosphere of industry and peace, were copied and recopied the
great writings of the past, to be cherished and passed on to succeeding
generations.” 2
1. Yves Dupont Antichrist
World Trends Magazine, September, 1975
2. St Benedict
Abbot http://www.thesacredheart.com/sts/benedct.htm