March 21 — Saint Benedict Abbot Saint Benedict

he cures the sick, commands the elements, casts out devils, and raises the dead to life. The spirit of prophecy unfolds futurity to him ; and the most intimate thoughts of men are not too distant for the eye of his mind to scan. These superhuman qualifications are heightened by a sweet majesty, a serene gravity, and a tender charity, which shine in every page of his wonderful life ; and it is one of his holiest children who wrote it, St. Gregory the Great. It is this holy Pope and Doctor, who had the honour of telling posterity all the wonders which God vouchsafed to work in His servant Benedict.

Posterity had a right to know the life and virtues of a man, whose salutary influence upon the Church and society has been so observable during the ages of the Christian era. To describe the influence exercised by the spirit of St. Benedict, we should have to transcribe the annals of all the nations of the western Church, from the seventh century down to our own times. Benedict is the father of Europe. By his Benedictines, numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sands of the sea-shore, he rescued the last remnants of Roman vigour from the total annihilation threatened by the invasion of barbarians ; he presided over the establishment of the public and private laws of those nations, which grew out of the ruins of the Roman empire ; he carried the Gospel and civilization into England, Germany, and the northern countries, including Sclavonia ; he taught agriculture ; he put an end to slavery ; and to conclude, he saved the precious deposit of the arts and sciences from the tempest which would have swept them from the world, and would have left mankind a prey to a gloomy and fatal ignorance.

And Benedict did all this by that little book which we call his Rule. This admirable code of Christian perfection and prudence disciplined the countless

LENT legions of religious, by whom the holy patriarch achieved all these prodigies. During the ages which preceded the promulgation of this rule, so wonderful in its simple eloquence, the monastic life in the western Church had produced some few saintly men ; but there was nothing to justify the hope that this kind of life would become, even more than it had been in the east, the principal means of the Christian regeneration and civilization of so many nations. Once this rule was written, all others gradually give place to it, as the stars are eclipsed when the sun has risen. The west was overspread with monasteries ; and from these monasteries flowed upon Europe all those blessings, which have made it the privileged quarter of the globe.

An incredible number of saints, both men and women, who look up to Benedict as their father, purify and sanctify the world, which had not yet emerged from the state of semi-barbarism. A long series of Popes who had once been novices in the Benedictine cloister, preside over the destinies of this new world, and form for it a new legislation, which, being based exclusively on the moral law, is to avert the threatening prevalence of brutal despotism. Bishops innumerable, trained in the same school of Benedict, consolidate this moral legislation in the provinces and cities over which they are appointed. The apostles of twenty barbarous nations confront their fierce and savage tribes, and, with the Gospel in one hand and the rule of their holy father in the other, lead them into the fold of Christ. For many centuries, the learned men, the doctors of the Church, and the instructors of youth, belong, almost exclusively, to the Order of the great patriarch, who, by the labours of his children, pours forth on the people the purest beauty of light and truth. This choir of heroes in every virtue, of Popes, of bishops, of apostles, of holy doctors, proclaiming themselves as his disciples, and joining with the universal Church in glorifying that God, whose holiness and power shine forth so brightly in the life and actions of Benedict — what a corona, what an aureola of glory for one saint to have !

Let us now read the sketch of his life, as given us in the liturgy :

Benedictus, Nursiae nobili Benedict was born of a genere ortus, Romae libera- noble family at Nursia. He fibus disciplinis eruditus, ut was sent to Rome, that he totum se Jesu Christo daret, might receive a liberal educa- ad eum locum qui Sublacus tion ; but not long after, he dicitur, in altissimam spelun- withdrew to a place called cam penetravit : in qua sic Subiaco, and there hid himself per triennium delituit, ut in a very deep cave, that he unus id sciret Romanus mo- might give himself entirely to nachus, quo ad vitae necessi- Jesus Christ. He passed three tatem ministro utebatur. years in that retirement, un-

Dum igitur ei quadam die known to all save a monk, ardentes ad libidinem faces a by name Romanus, who sup- diabolo subjicerentur, se in plied him with the necessaries vepribus tamdiu volutavit, of life. The devil having one dum lacerato corpore, volup- day excited him to a violent tatis sensus dolore opprime- temptation of impurity, he retur. Sed jam erumpente rolled himself amidst prickly ex illis latebris fama ejus brambles, and extinguished sanctitatis, quidam monachi within himself the desire of se illi instituendos tradide- carnal pleasure by the pain he runt : quorum vivendi licentia thus endured. The fame of cum ejus objurgationes ferre his sanctity, however, became non posset, venenum in po- known beyond the limits of tione ei dare constituunt. his hiding-place, and certain

Verum poculum ei praeben- monks put themselves under tibus, crucis signo vas con- his guidance. He sharply re- fregit, ac relicto monasterio buked them for their wicked in solitudinem se recepit. lives ; which rebuke so irritated them, that they resolved to put poison in his drink. When he made the sign of the cross over the cup as they proffered it to him, it broke, and he, leaving that monastery, returned to his solitude.

LENT

Sed cum multi ad eum quotidie discipuli convenirent, duodecim monasteria aedificavit, eaque sanctissimis legibus communivit. Postea Cassinum migravit, ubi simulacrum Apollinis, qui adhuc ibi colebatur, comminuit, aram evertit, et lucos succendit : ibique Sancti Martini sacellum et Sancti Joannis aediculam exstruxit : oppidanos autem et incolas Christianis praeceptis imbuit. Quare augebatur in dies magis divina gratia Benedictus, ut etiam prophetico spiritu ventura praediceret. Quod ubi aecepit Totila Gothorum rex, exploraturus an res ita esset, spatharium suum regio ornatu et comitatu praemittit, qui se regem simularet. Quern ut ille vidit : Depone, inquit, fili, depone quod geris ; nam tuum non est. Totilae vero praedixit adventum ejus in Urbem, maris transmissionem, et post novem annos mortem.

Qui aliquot mensibus antequam e vita migraret, prsemonuit discipulos quo die esset moriturus : ac sepulchrum, in quo suum corpus condi vellet, sex diebus antequam eo inferretur, aperiri jussit : sexto-

But whereas many daily came to him, beseeching him to take them as his disciples, he built twelve monasteries, and drew up the most admirable rules for their government. He afterwards went to Monte Cassino, where he destroyed an image of Apollo, which was still adored in those parts ; and having pulled down the altar and burnt the groves, he built a chapel in that same place, in honour of St. Martin, and another in honour of St. John. He instructed the inhabitants in the Christian religion. Day by day did Benedict advance in the grace of God, and he also foretold, in a spirit of prophecy, what was to take place. Totila, the king of the Goths, having heard of this, and being anxious to know if it were the truth, went to visit him ; but first sent his sword-bearer, who was to pretend that he was the king, and who, for this end, was dressed in royal robes and accompanied by attendants, As soon as Benedict saw him, he said : ' Put off, my son, put off this dress, for it is not thine.' But he foretold to Totila, that he would reach Rome, cross the sea, and die at the end of nine years.

Several months before he departed from this life, he foretold to his disciples the day on which he should die. Six days previous to his death, he ordered them to open the sepulchre wherein he wished to be buried. On the que die defend voluit in ecclesiam: ubi sumpta Eucharistia, sublatis in coelum oculis orans, inter manus discipulorum efflavit animam : quam duo monachi euntem in coelum viderunt, pallio ornatam pretiosissimo, circum earn fulgentibus lampadibus, et clarissima et gravissima specie virura stantem supra caput ipsius dicentem audierunt : Haec est via, qua dilectus Domini Benedictus in coelum ascendit. sixth day, he desired to be carried to the church, and there having received the Eucharist, with his eyes raised in prayer towards heaven, and held up by his disciples, he breathed forth his soul. Two monks saw it ascending to heaven, adorned with a most precious robe, and surrounded by shining lights. They also saw a most beautiful and venerable man, who stood above the saint's head, and they heard him thus speak : ' This is the way whereby Benedict, the beloved of the Lord, ascended to heaven.'

The Benedictine Order celebrates the praise of its illustrious patriarch in these three hymns :

Laudibus cives resonent canoris, Templa solemnes modulentur hymnos ; Hac die summi Benedictus arcem Scandit Olympi. Hie florentes peragebat annos,

Cum puer dulcis patriae penates

Liquit, et solus latuit silenti Oonditus antro. Inter urticas rigidosque sentes

Vioit altricem scelerum ju- ventam : Inde conscripsit documenta vitae Pulchra beatae. JSream turpis Clarii figuram,

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Let the faithful give forth their songs of praise ; let our temples echo with solemn hymns : for on this day Benedict ascended to the highest heavens.

When a boy, and in the flower of youth, he left his sweet home, and hid himself from the sight of all in a lonely cave.

He conquered his passions of youth by rolling amidst nettles and prickly thorns. After this, he wrote a beautiful rule of a holy life.

He destroyed a brazen statue of the vile Apollo, and a 28

LENT

Et nemus stravit Veneri dicatum,

Atque Baptistae posuit sacrato Monte sacellum. Jamque felici residens Olympo, Inter ardentes Seraphim catervas, Spectat, et dulci reficit clientum Corda liquore. Gloria Patri, genitaeque Proli,

Et tibi compar utriusque semper

Spirit us alme, Deus unus, omni

Tempore saecli. Amen. grove that was sacred to Venus : and on the holy mount he built an oratory in honour of the Baptist.

Now he dwells in the happy land above, amidst the burning Seraphim : he looks down on those that invoke him, and refreshes their hearts with a nectar of sweetness.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son that is begotten of him ! To thee, also, O Spirit of love, coequal with them, one God, be glory for endless ages. Amen.

HYMN II

Quidquid antiqui cecinere vates,

Quidquid aeternae monimenta legis,

Continet nobis celebranda summi Vita monarches. Extulit Mosen pietas benignum, Inclytum proles Abraham decorat, Isaac sponsae decus, et severi Jussa parentis.

Ipse virtutum cumulis onustus,

Celsior nostri patriarcha coetus

Isaac, Mosen, Abraham sub uno

Pectore clausit.

Ipse, quos mundi rapuit procellis, Hie pius flatu statuat se- oundo,

All that the ancient prophets preached, and all that the books of the divine Law tell us of holiness, is contained in the life of the great patriarch which we are now extolling.

Moses was celebrated for his meekness ; Abraham for his being father of all believers ; Isaac for the beauty of his bride, and his obedience to the trying commands of his father.

The sublime patriarch of our family was richly laden with every virtue ; and in his single person represented Isaac, Moses, and Abraham.

May he have a loving care of those whom he has delivered from this stormy world, and lead them with

Pax ubi nullo, requiesque prosperous gales to the port gliscit where there is no fear that

Mista pavore. can ruffle peace and repose. Gloria Patri, genitseque Glory be to the Father, and

Proli, to the Son that is begotten of

Et tibi compar utriusque him ! To thee, also, O Spirit semper of love, coequal with them,

Spiritus alme, Deus unus, one God, be glory for endless omni ages. Amen. Tempore saecli. Amen.

The third hymn was composed by the celebrated Peter the Venerable, abbot of Cluny, and friend of St. Bernard.

HYMN III

Inter aeternas Superum coronas, Quas sacro partas retinent agone,

Emicas celsis meritis coruscus, 0 Benedicte.

Sancta te compsit puerum senectus, Nil sibi de te rapuit voluptas, Aruit mundi tibi flos ad alta

Mente levato.

Hinc fuga lapsus, patriam, parentes Deseris, fervens nemorum colonus, Edomas carnem, subigisque Christo Tortor acerbus.

Ne diu tutus latebras foveres,

Signa te produnt operum piorum,

Amidst the saints that glitter with the crowns they have won in the holy contest, thou, 0 Benedict, shinest resplendent with thy sublime merits.

Thy boyhood was graced with the holy gravity of old age ; the pleasures of the world had no hold on thee, and its flowers seemed but as withered weeds to a soul like thine, that was fixed on heavenly things.

Therefore didst thou flee from the world, leaving thy country and thy parents, and becamest a fervent solitary. Thou didst tame the rebellion of the flesh, and by sharp mortification thou didst bring it into subjection to Christ.

But thy fond hope of concealment was to be cut short : thy holy miracles betrayed thee, and the glorious fame of

LENT

Spargitur felix oeleri per orbem Fama volatu.

Gloria Patri, genitaeque Proli,

Et tibi, compar utriusque semper

Spiritus alme, Deus unus, omni.

Tempore saecli. Amen.

The monastic missal con in honour of St. Benedict thy sanctity swiftly spread through the world.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son that is begotten of him ! To thee, also, O Spirit of love, coequal with them, one God, be glory for endless ages. Amen. ains the following sequence

Laeta quies magni ducis, Dona ferens novas lucis, Hodie recolitur.

Charis datur piae menti, Corde sonet in ardenti Quidquid foris promitur.

Hunc per callem orientis Admiremur ascendentis Patriarchae speciem.

Amplum semen magnae prolis

Ilium fecit instar solis, Abrahae persimilem.

Corvum cernis ministrantem ;

Hinc Eliam latitantem Specu nosce parvulo.

Eliseus dignoscatur, Cum securis revocatur De torrentis alveo.

Ilium Joseph candor morum,

Ilium Jacob futurorum Mens effecit conscia.

We celebrate, this day, the happy death of our great leader, which brings us the blessings of new light.

On this day grace is given to the souls of his loving children. Oh! may the fervent heart re-echo what the voice sings forth !

Let us admire the beauty of our patriarch, as he ascends to heaven by the path of the east.

He shines as a sun in the world, he is most like to Abraham, for he is the rich seed from which a countless race hath sprung.

When thou seest him fed by the crows thou thinkest of Elias, that hid himself in the little cave.

He reminds us of Eliseus, when he makes the head of the axe return from the bed of the stream.

He is like Joseph by the

Surity of his life, and like aoob by the spirit of prophecy.

Ipse memor suae gentis, Nos perducat in manentis Semper Christi gaudia. Amen.

May he be mindful of his children, and lead us safe to the joys of our Lord Jesus Christ, who abideth for ever. Amen.

The Greek Church has not forgotten, in her liturgy, the praise of the great patriarch of the monks of the west. We take from the mensea some of the stanzas, in which she celebrates the name of Saint Benedict :

HYMN

(Die XXI Martii)

Mihi laudabilem memonam tuam, o sancte, hymnis celebrare aggresso gratiam ac peccatorum omnium remissionem tribui, Benedicts, Sancto deprecare.

In eremo tuam a pueritia crucem tollens, Omnipotentem insecutus es, atque carne mortificata vitam, o beatissime, promeruisti.

Angusta semita calcata pedem in Paradisi latitudine fixisti, o prorsus beate, ac dsemonum caUiditates et insidias elusisti.

Lacrymarum tuarum profluviis fructiferi ligni instar irrigatus, o Benedicte, divinos virtutum ac miraculorum fructus, Dei virtute, ubertim attulisti.

Per continentiae certamina, o beate, carnis membris mortificatis, mortuos preci-

0 holy Benedict ! pray to the holy God for me, who now begin to sing a hymn to thy praiseworthy name. Obtain for me that I may receive grace and the forgiveness of all my sins.

From thy childhood, 0 most blessed one ! thou didst carry thy cross in the desert, walking in the footsteps of the Omnipotent. Thou didst merit life, by putting thy flesh to death.

Treading the narrow path, O truly blessed ! thou didst take thy stand in the spaciousness of paradise, and didst elude the craft and snares of the devils.

Watered by the streams of thy tears, O Benedict ! thou, like unto a fruitful tree, didst, by God's power, bring forth in abundance the divine fruits of virtues and miracles.

O blessed one ! by the struggle of continency thou didst mortify thy bodily mem

LENT bus exsuscitasti, ac debilibus expeditam gradiendi vim tradidisti, morbumque omnem curasti, cum fide in admiratione habitus, o pater.

Siccas, atque aridas animas vivifico sermone tuo, o beate, frugiferas reddidisti, miraculorum exhibitione, et pastor divinitus inspiratus, et speciossisimus monachorum decor effectus.

Misericordem Deum deprecatus, sapiens pater, olei thecam, quemadmodum Elias, illico replevisti, o beatissime, a videntibus cum fide in admiratione habitus.

Utpote mente purus, utpote extra te raptus, universam terram conspexisti, ceu ab unico radio Dei te honorantis illustratus, o beatissime Benedicte.

In Christo imperans fontis aquam, precibus bonorum datorem obsecrans, emanare fecisti, quae miraculum depraedicans, o Benedicte, adhuc perseverat.

Spiritus splendore collustratus, pravorum etiam daemonum tenebras dissipasti, o miraculorum patrator Benedicte, splendidissimum monachorum luminare.

Te, o beate, venenatis potionibus interimere insipienter volentes, quern divina universi Creatoris manus custodiebat, insipientes confusi sunt. Quos praevia bers : thy prayers raised the dead to life, gave to the lame the power to walk, and cured every disease, for men were in admiration at thee and had faith in thee, O father !

Thy life-giving words, O blessed one ! and the sight of thy miracles, gave f ruitfulness to souls that before were parched and dry. Thou wast the divinely inspired shepherd, and the fairest glory of the monastic life.

O wise father ! thou didst beseech the God of mercy, and like Elias, thou didst suddenly fill the vessel with oil, for men were in admiration at thee, and had faith in thee, 0 most blessed Benedict !

Because of thy clean-heartedness, and because thou wast out of thyself with rapture, thou didst behold the whole earth, for God honoured thee with a ray of his own light, 0 most blessed Benedict !

Thou didst command in the name of Christ, thou didst pray to the Giver of all good gifts, and a fountain of water sprang up at thy bidding : it still exists, O Benedict! the abiding witness of thy miracle.

Enlightened by the bright rays of the holy Spirit, thou didst dispel the darkness of the wicked devils, O Benedict, thou worker of miracles, thou fairest light of monasticism !

Those foolish men that madly plotted to destroy thy life by poison were confounded, for thou wast guarded, 0 blessed one! by the divine hand of the great

Creator. The knowledge thou hadst from the holy Spirit forewarned thee of their plot.

The choirs of monks, whom thou hast called, celebrate thy name day and night. They possess thy body, which is enshrined in their midst, and from which flow abundant streams of miracles, and an unfading light that illumines their path, O father full of wisdom !

By thine obedience to the divine precepts, O father ! thou hast been made brighter than the sun, and hast been taken to the land where the light sets not. Pray for them that have confidence in thee and honour thee ; pray that they may receive the forgiveness of their sins, 0 Benedict ! thou whose name is known throughout the world,

0 Benedict ! thou vessel of election, thou palm of the wilderness, thou angel of earth, we offer thee the salutation of our love ! What man was ever chosen to work on the earth more wonders than thou hast done ? The Saviour has crowned thee as one of His principal co-operators in the work of the salvation and sanctification of men. Who could count the millions of souls who owe their eternal happiness to thee ? Thy immortal rule has sanctified them in the cloister, and the zeal of thy Benedictines has been the means of their knowing and serving the great God who chose thee. Around thee, in the realms of glory, a countless number of the blessed acknowledge themselves indebted to thee, after God, for their eternal happiness ; and upon the earth whole nations profess the true faith, because the Gospel was first preached to them by thy disciples. tua per Spiritum scientia deprehendit.

Te monachorum turbae a te convocatae diu noctuque concelebrant, corpus tuum in medio positum servantes, quod largos miraculorum fluvios effundit, o pater sapiens, eorumque gressus perenni hi mine collustrat.

Divinis mandatis obsecutus, o pater, super solares radios effulsisti, atque ad inocciduum translatus es, exorans propitiationem peccatorum concedi iis, qui te cum fide colunt, Celebris Benedicte.

LENT

0 father of so many people ! look down upon thine inheritance, and once more bless this ungrateful Europe, which owes everything to thee, yet has almost forgotten thy name ! The light which thy children imparted to it has become dimmed ; the warmth they imparted to the societies they founded and civilized by the cross has grown cold ; thorns have covered a large portion of the land in which they sowed the seed of salvation. Come and forward thine own work ; and, by thy prayers, keep in its expiring life. Give firmness to what has been shaken. May a new Europe, a Catholic Europe, spring up in place of that which heresy and false doctrines have formed.

0 patriarch of the servants of God ! look down from heaven on the vineyard which thy hand hath planted, and see into what a state of desolation it has fallen. There was a time when thy name was honoured as that of a father in thirty thousand monasteries, from the shores of the Baltic to the borders of Syria, and from the green Erin to the steppes of Poland. Now, alas ! few and feeble are the prayers that ascend to thee from the whole of that immense patrimony, which the faith and gratitude of the people had once consecrated to thee. The blight of heresy and the rapaciousness of avarice have robbed thee of these harvests of thy glory. The work of sacrilegious spoliation is now centuries old, and unceasingly has it been pursued ; at one time having recourse to open violence, and at another pleading the urgency of political interests. Sainted father of our faith ! thou hast been robbed of those thousands of sanctuaries, which, for long ages, were fountains of life and light to the people. The race of thy children has become almost extinct : watch over them that still remain, and are labouring to perpetuate thy rule. An ancient tradition tells us how our Lord revealed to thee that thy Order would last tp the end of the world, and that thy children would console the Church of Rome and confirm the faith of many in the last great trials : deign to protect, by thy powerful intercession, the remnants of that family which still calls thee its father. Raise it up again ; multiply it ; sanctify it : let the spirit which thou hast deposited in thy holy rule flourish in its midst, and show, by thus blessing it, that thou art ever Benedict, the servant of God.

Support the holy Church, by thy powerful intercession, dear father ! Assist the apostolic See, which has been so often occupied by disciples of thy school. Father of so many pastors of thy people ! obtain for us bishops like those sainted ones whom thy rule has formed. Father of so many apostles ! ask for the countries which have no faith preachers of the Gospel, who may convert the people by their blood and by their words, as did those who went out missioners from thy cloisters. Father of so many holy doctors ! pray that the science of sacred literature may revive, to aid the Church and confound error. Father of so many sublime ascetics ! rekindle the zeal of Christian perfection, which has grown so cold among the Christians of our days. Patriarch of the religious life in the western Church ! bless all the religious Orders which the holy Spirit has given successively to the Church ; they all look on thee with admiration, as their venerable predecessor : do thou pour out upon them the influence of thy fatherly love.

Lastly, 0 blessed favourite of God ! pray for all the faithful of Christ during these days which are consecrated to thoughts and works of penance. It was in the midst of the holy austerities of Lent that thou didst mount to the abode of everlasting delight ; ah ! help us Christians, who are, at this very time, in the same campaign of penance. Rouse our courage by thy example and precepts. Teach us to keep down

LENT the flesh, and to subject it to the spirit, as thou didst. Obtain for us a little of thy blessed spirit, that, turning away from this vain world, we may think on the eternal years. Pray for us, that our hearts may never love, and our thoughts never dwell on, joys so fleeting as are those of time.

Catholic piety invokes thee as one of the patrons, as well as one of the models, of a dying Christian. It loves to tell men of the sublime spectacle thou didst present at thy death, when standing at the foot of the altar, leaning on the arms of thy disciples, and barely touching the earth with thy feet, thou didst give back, in submission and confidence, thy soul to its Creator. Obtain for us, dear saint ! a death courageous and sweet as was thine. Drive from us, at our last hour, the cruel enemy who will seek to ensnare us. Visit us by thy presence, and leave us not till we have breathed forth our soul into the bosom of the God who has made thee so glorious a saint.