Yesterday, July 11th.
The Feast Day of one of my patrons,
Saint Benedict of Norcia
Saint Benedict was born in A.D. 480.
The Roman Empire had collapsed, barbarians had invaded and Benedict, while studying law in Rome, became disgusted with the resurgent depravity and paganism and so he retreated to Subiaco where he sought to contemplate his identity in Christ in solitude for 3 years while living in a cave.
Soon, many Romans heard about him and surrounded him, eventually begging him to become their abbot, which he finally did, reluctantly. The great Roman families sent their children to him. He was not always loved however as his monks, at one point, tried to poison him. Upon Benedict's blessing on the cup, it shattered.
He founded twelve monasteries in the mountains, "schools of the Lord's service," where, under the direction of an abbot, monks learn, by the exercise of public prayer, of private prayer and of work, to forget their egos and find their true selves in Jesus Christ.
Many miracles are attributed to Saint Benedict and he is greatly known for his encounters with Satan. As such, he and his prayers are often invoked in Exorcism and deliverance ministry. The backs of Saint Benedict medals are inscribed with prayers of exorcism.
The Benedictine order still exists to this day in an unbroken tradition since it's founding by Benedict himself, living according to Benedict's Rule, the very model of monasticism in the East and the West. They have influenced nearly every aspect of the civilized world for more than one thousand five hundred years.
Ora et labora.
