Saturday, July 16, 2005
The Medal of Saint Benedict
By Chic Fortich
WE WERE able to obtain from the Monastery of the Transfiguration in San Jose, Malaybalay, one of the Saint Benedict Medals available from there. The one we got was priced at P20 only.
If you wish to have a medal like this, you can write to Fr. Dominick Savio (who is the head of the Benedictine Order there), send him a postal order for the medals you wish to obtain. Please add some amount for the cost of their mailing it to you by LBC.
Saint Benedict was born in Mursia, Italy, in the year 480, and died in 547. He became the patriarch of western monasticism and founded the Benedictine Order.
His most ardent devotion was to the Holy Cross of Jesus Christ and to his fight with the demons.
His Order's monks are dressed in the black frock, which symbolizes their being against the demons.
A magnified version of the medal is available here, and the computer artist promised that he would try to highlight the letters, which are part of the message of Saint Benedict himself.
The medal of Saint Benedict shows him holding the Holy Cross in one hand, and the Holy Rule in the other. Fr. Anselmo Bernad, S.J., explained to us that the Holy Rule is Saint Benedict's own writings about the rules for holy men and women.
There are two reasons why I am featuring the medal here, aside from my promise to my readers to make it available to them.
The first is our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI who, I strongly believe is today's version of the first Saint Benedict, particularly in his determination to fight the demons, rather than to be afraid of them.
It cannot be counted how many demons there are today, both in this dimension and in other dimensions as well.
The Holy Father's desire to be a priest instead of a Nazi convinces me of his strength and his own determination to fight the demons present today.
Remember that we are now approaching the times of frantic fighting by the demons against the good, because the triumph of the good is getting near.
In our country alone, there are escalating trouble about the nation's economy, and everyone, including her closest friends, wants GMA to be out, but everyone else wants to keep her in.
This is the kind of highballing trouble that could erupt everywhere. People against people. And, to add to it, all types of weather disturbances.
As the Pope and his Papal Nuncio keep telling us: Pray!
The second reason involved some trouble I have just experienced myself, which will come out next issue.
(July 16, 2005 issue)
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