Few sacramentals are as recognizable, or as misunderstood, as the medal of Saint Benedict. Its face is crowded with letters, and many who wear it have never been told what they mean. Each one is the first letter of a short Latin prayer, and together they form a small catechism against temptation.
Who was Saint Benedict?
Saint Benedict of Nursia was born in Italy around the year 480. He left the corruption of Rome to seek God in solitude, then founded the monastery of Monte Cassino and wrote the Rule that has guided monks and nuns for fifteen centuries. Its spirit is summed up in two words, ora et labora, "pray and work." The Church honors him as patron of Europe and of a holy death.
The front of the medal
The front shows Saint Benedict holding a cross in his right hand and his Rule in his left. Beside him, on most medals, are a broken cup and a raven, recalling two stories from his life: a poisoned cup that shattered when he blessed it, and poisoned bread that a raven carried away.
Above or around him you will often read Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti, "the Cross of our Holy Father Benedict." Around the edge runs a prayer for the end of life:
Eius in obitu nostro praesentia muniamur
"May we be strengthened by his presence in the hour of our death."
The back of the medal
The back is where the letters gather. In the four corners of the cross are C S P B, again Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti.
Down the upright of the cross:
C S S M L: Crux sacra sit mihi lux, "May the holy Cross be my light."
Across the crossbar:
N D S M D: Non draco sit mihi dux, "Let not the dragon be my guide."
At the top, most medals bear the word PAX, "peace," the motto of the Benedictine order. Around the edge is the ancient rebuke of the devil:
V R S N S M V: Vade retro Satana, nunquam suade mihi vana, "Begone, Satan, never tempt me with your vanities."
S M Q L I V B: Sunt mala quae libas, ipse venena bibas, "What you offer me is evil; drink the poison yourself."
Where the medal came from
The prayers on the medal are old. In 1647, during a witchcraft trial in Bavaria, the letters were found painted on the walls of Metten Abbey, and a manuscript from 1415 in the abbey's library explained their meaning. Pope Benedict XIV approved the medal in 1742. The design most of us know today, called the Jubilee Medal, was struck at Monte Cassino in 1880 to mark the fourteen-hundredth anniversary of Saint Benedict's birth.
A sacramental, not a charm
The Catechism teaches that sacramentals "prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it." The medal has no power on its own. It is a sign of faith, a prayer you carry, and a reminder to turn to Christ when temptation comes. Worn that way, it has been a comfort to the faithful for centuries.
A few simple ways to wear it well:
- Have it blessed. The traditional Roman Ritual has a special blessing for the Saint Benedict medal, and any priest can bless it. Our bracelets are sent unblessed, as the Church asks, so they are ready for a priest's blessing. Here is how to ask.
- Pray its words. Learn the short prayers above and say them when you touch the medal.
- Keep the Rule's rhythm. Let it remind you to pray and to work, and to offer both to God.
Saint Benedict at Cor Meum
We string the Saint Benedict medal on several of our bracelets, including the Saint Benedict Bracelet Set, the Saint Benedict Protection Bracelet and the Men's Black Saint Benedict Bracelet. You will find them all among our saint and medal bracelets.
Saint Benedict, pray for us.
Wear your heart on your wrist,
The Cor Meum Family