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St.Benedict of Nursia
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https://youtu.be/HtteCsATX2c?si=r6IikUPNEaW6k0ZR
𝗦𝗧. 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗡𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗜𝗔
𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝟭𝟭𝗧𝗛 𝗝𝗨𝗟𝗬
Born: 2 March 480 (Nursia, Italy)
Died: 21 June 547 (aged 67)
Canonized : Year 1220
By Pope Honorius III
𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗗𝗢 𝗪𝗘 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘?
The only recognized authority for the source of St.Benedict’s life was a book written by Gregory the Great in around year 593-594. St. Gregory used testimonies from St. Benedict’s disciples to build a timeline of his life, and to piece together all the miracles that are attributed to him while he was alive, in order to present a proper account of St. Benedict and his work to the world.
𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘
Benedict was born in year 480 into a wealthy noble Roman family from Nursia, central of Italy. It was 168 years after Constantine the Great converted into Christianity subsequently Christianized the whole Roman empire. And 4 years after the Roman Empire crumbled and fell in 476.
His twin sister is the well known St. Scholastica, the founder of the Benedictine sisters. They have a very close relationship throughout their lives because their mother died at their birth.
Benedict’s family was a good Christian family. They sent him to a Roman school to study to become a lawyer, but Benedict was disgusted with the environment he was in. He discovered a disappointing capital city of Rome that was rampant with barbarism, paganism, heresy and immorality.
He dropped out of school and went to reside at the Subiaco mountain range to live as a hermit in a cave after an encounter with a Christian monk called Romanus. Benedict was 20 years old.
At first, Benedict did not intent to live as a hermit but he was attracted to the monk’s habit taught by Romanus, who live at the monastery nearby. He lived in solitude for 3 years isolated from everyone.
𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗢𝗧
After some three years alone, one day, some wandering shepherds stumbled upon his cave and they began to learn the faith from him. Soon, they brought some other men to his cave and his reputation for sanctity spread throughout the region and men who wanted to pursue the religious life flocked to him.
After the death of an abbot at Vicovaro monastery nearby, Benedict became its new abbot after the monks and men came to beg him. Due to his rigid expectations and strict regime, they attempted to kill him by poisoning his bread and wine, although the attempt failed, Benedict was left disappointed and he resigned and returned to Subiaco.
𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗖 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗧
Almost immediately, would-be monks began flocking to him, and he was left with no choice but to instruct them in the spiritual life. He began to organize them into functional monastic communities.
Indeed, he formed 12 different monastic communities all of which lived under his guidance. The monks were instructed in disciplined prayer and work. In Roman society of that time, manual labor was scorned by many as being beneath their dignity, but Benedict viewed it as an act of humility to engage in manual labor. Thus the notion of daily work was incorporated into his spiritual discipline.
Benedict and his fellow monks keep being attacked by other priests and lay men, some tried to introduce immorality by bringing prostitutes to their community. Fearing for his monks, he quietly led them out of Subiaco and settled at Monte Cassino.
This is a pagan site where Roman held pagan celebration and there situated a temple devoted to Roman God Apollo. Benedict believed it was an ideal site to start a Christian community. He settled in and began preaching the Gospel to all pagans who came to the site. And it wasn’t long before the pagan faith was replaced, the temple removed and, around 530, an abbey was built in its place.
Thus began the most famous chapter of Benedict’s life. It was during this time that he designed his famous “Rule,” which was to become the foundation stone of western spiritual discipline.
The rule included all the canonical offices for daily prayer, instructions on living according to the liturgical calendar, a list of expectations and functions for abbots and priors, rules of discipline for monks, work assignments and expectations, rules governing the consumption of food and drink, assignments of silence, rules for travel, and, most importantly, and perhaps inherent throughout the rule, counsel on the pursuit of humility.
Or in short, he provided the “rules and guidelines on how to live a Christocentric life on earth and how to run a monastery efficiently.” And it has become his most supreme achievement and one of the most influential works in all of Western Christendom and throughout Europe.
Benedict was born after Roman Empire fell and during his lifetime, there were lots of divisions in Roman Empire and lots of invasions by different Kings and Germanic tribes warlords including the Visigoths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Franks, Ostrogoths, and Lombards which took turns ravaging the Empire, eventually carving out areas in which to settle down.
He interpreted the signs of his own times as necessitating the founding of a new movement, and as the structures of the old Roman system were giving way, this new movement would lay the foundations of a new kind of civilization.
As the last vestiges of the Roman Empire gave way to factionalism and strife, and warlords struggled violently to establish kingdoms hacked out of the corpse of Rome, the Benedictines would offer an alternative way of life, a distinctively Christian culture.
𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦
enedict performed a number of miracles in his life such as broke a glass full of poison with the Sign of the Cross, brought a child back to life or moved a huge stone with his prayer, and many more.
There was also miracle attributed to his medal that originally came from a cross in honor of him. In 1647, during a witchcraft trial at Natternberg near Metten Abbey in Bavaria, the accused women testified that their spell didn’t work on Metten, which was under the protection of a cross with St Benedict icon and prayer abbreviation on it. An investigation found a number of painted crosses on the walls of the abbey with the letters now found on St Benedict medals.
A manuscript written in 1415 was eventually found that had a picture of Benedict holding a scroll in one hand and a staff which ended in a cross in the other.
On the scroll and staff were written the full words of the initials contained on the crosses. Medals then began to be struck in Germany, which then spread throughout Europe. This medal was first approved by Pope Benedict XIV in his briefs of 23 December 1741 and 12 March 1742.
𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 & 𝗦𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗗
Benedict died of fever in 547. Due to his contribution to European civilization and culture, in 1980, Pope John Paul II declared him as patron of Europe. He was canonized as Saint in 1220 and thus became the beloved St.Benedict we knew today.
*𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑖 𝑘𝑒 𝐵𝑎ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑎 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑎
𝗕𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗛 𝗞𝗜𝗧𝗔 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗔𝗛𝗨𝗜 𝗧𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘?
Satu-satunya pihak berkuasa yang diiktiraf untuk maklumat sumber kehidupan St.Benedict ialah sebuah buku yang ditulis oleh Gregory the Great pada sekitar tahun 593-594. St. Gregory menggunakan kesaksian daripada murid-murid St. Benedict untuk membina garis masa hidupnya, dan untuk menyatukan semua keajaiban yang dikaitkan dengannya semasa dia masih hidup, untuk membentangkan kisah yang tepat tentang St. Benedict dan karyanya kepada dunia.
𝗞𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗗𝗨𝗣𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗟
Benedict dilahirkan pada tahun 480 dalam keluarga Rom yang kaya raya dari Nursia, tengah Itali. Ia adalah 168 tahun selepas Constantine the Great menukar iman kepada Kristian seterusnya mengkristiankan seluruh empayar Rom. Dan 4 tahun selepas Empayar Rom runtuh dan jatuh pada 476.
Kakak kembarnya ialah St. Scholastica yang terkenal, pengasas biara Benedictine sisters. Mereka mempunyai hubungan yang sangat rapat sepanjang hayat mereka kerana ibu mereka meninggal dunia semasa kelahiran mereka.
Keluarga Benedict adalah keluarga Kristian yang baik. Mereka menghantarnya ke sekolah Rom untuk belajar menjadi seorang peguam, tetapi Benedict berasa jijik dengan persekitarannya. Dia menemui ibu kota Rom yang mengecewakan yang berleluasa dengan kebiadaban, paganisme, bidaah dan maksiat.
Dia berhenti sekolah dan pergi tinggal di banjaran gunung Subiaco untuk hidup sebagai pertapa di sebuah gua selepas pertemuan dengan seorang paderi Kristian bernama Romanus. Benedict berumur 20 tahun pada masa ini.
Pada mulanya, Benedict tidak berniat untuk hidup sebagai seorang pertapa tetapi dia tertarik dengan tabiat biarawan yang diajar oleh Romanus, yang tinggal di biara berdekatan. Dia hidup sendirian selama 3 tahun terasing daripada semua orang.
𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗖𝗧 𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗝𝗔𝗗𝗜 𝗔𝗕𝗕𝗢𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗬
Selepas kira-kira tiga tahun bersendirian, pada suatu hari, beberapa gembala yang mengembara terjumpa guanya dan mereka mula belajar iman daripadanya.
Tidak lama kemudian, mereka membawa beberapa kawan ke guanya dan reputasi kesuciannya tersebar di seluruh wilayah dan mereka yang ingin meneruskan kehidupan beragama semakin ramai yang datang kepadanya.
Selepas kematian seorang abbot di biara Vicovaro berhampiran, Benedict menjadi abbot baru di situ selepas paderi2 dan ramai orang datang memohon kepadanya. Disebabkan jangkaan tinggi dan rejimnya yang ketat, mereka cuba membunuhnya dengan meracuni roti dan wainnya, walaupun percubaan itu gagal, Benedict kecewa dan dia meletak jawatan dan kembali ke Subiaco.
𝗞𝗘𝗛𝗜𝗗𝗨𝗣𝗔𝗡 𝗕𝗜𝗔𝗥𝗔 𝗕𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗞𝗔𝗥
Hampir serta-merta, bakal paderi2 mula berpusu-pusu kepadanya, dan dia tidak mempunyai pilihan selain mengajar mereka dalam kehidupan rohani. Dia mula menyusun mereka menjadi komuniti monastik yang berfungsi.
Sesungguhnya, dia membentuk 12 komuniti monastik yang berbeza yang semuanya hidup di bawah bimbingannya.
Para paderi diarahkan hidup untuk berdoa dan bekerja. Dalam masyarakat Rom pada masa itu, aktiviti buruh kasar dihina oleh orang ramai kerana merendahkan maruah mereka, tetapi Benedict melihatnya sebagai tindakan merendahkan diri. Oleh itu pengertian kerja harian ini telah dimasukkan ke dalam disiplin rohaninya.
Benedict dan rakan-rakan paderinya terus diserang oleh paderi2 lain, ada yang cuba memperkenalkan maksiat dengan membawa pelacur kepada komuniti mereka. Risau memikirkan tentang paderi2 di bawah bimbingannya, dia dengan senyap-senyap memimpin mereka keluar dari Subiaco dan menetap di Monte Cassino.
Ini adalah tapak pagan di mana Rom mengadakan perayaan pagan dan di sana terletak sebuah kuil yang dikhaskan untuk Dewa Rom Apollo. Benedict percaya ia adalah tapak yang ideal untuk memulakan komuniti Kristian.
Dia menetap dan mula memberitakan Injil kepada semua orang pagan yang datang ke tapak itu. Dan tidak lama selepas itu, kuil pagan diganti, kuil itu dialihkan dan, sekitar 530, sebuah biara dibina di situ.
Maka bermulalah bab paling terkenal dalam kehidupan Benedict. Pada masa inilah dia merancang "Peraturan"nya yang terkenal, yang akan menjadi batu asas disiplin rohani barat.
Peraturan itu termasuk semua pejabat kanonik untuk doa harian, arahan tentang hidup mengikut kalendar liturgi, senarai jangkaan dan fungsi untuk abbot dan prior, peraturan disiplin untuk para paderi, tugasan kerja dan jangkaan, peraturan yang mengawal penggunaan makanan dan minuman, tugasan berdiam diri, peraturan untuk perjalanan, dan yang paling penting ialah nasihat tentang mengejar kerendahan hati.
Atau ringkasnya, dia menyediakan "peraturan dan garis panduan tentang cara menjalani kehidupan bertengahkan Kristus di bumi dan cara mengendalikan biara dengan cekap."
Dan ia adalah pencapaiannya yang paling tinggi dan salah satu karya paling berpengaruh di seluruh Kristian Barat dan di seluruh Eropah.
Benedict dilahirkan selepas Empayar Rom jatuh semasa hayatnya, terdapat banyak perpecahan dalam Empayar Rom dan banyak pencerobohan oleh Raja-raja yang berbeza dan panglima perang puak Jerman termasuk Visigoth, Vandal, Angles, Saxon, Frank, Ostrogoth, dan Lombard yang bergilir-gilir. memusnahkan Empayar itu, akhirnya mengukur kawasan untuk penetapan tetap puak2 mereka.
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Dia menafsirkan zamannya sendiri sebagai tanda bahawa mereka memerlukan penubuhan gerakan baru, dan ketika struktur sistem Rom lama semakin hilang, gerakan baru ini akan meletakkan asas kepada jenis tamadun baru.
Ketika sisa-sisa terakhir Empayar Rom memberi laluan kepada perpecahan dan perselisihan, dan panglima perang bergelut dengan ganas untuk menubuhkan kerajaan yang digodam dari mayat Rom, Benediktin menawarkan cara hidup alternatif, budaya Kristian yang tersendiri.
𝗞𝗘𝗔𝗝𝗔𝗜𝗕𝗔𝗡
Benedict melakukan beberapa keajaiban dalam hidupnya seperti memecahkan gelas penuh racun dengan Tanda Salib, menghidupkan semula kanak-kanak atau memindahkan batu besar dengan doanya, dan banyak lagi.
Terdapat juga keajaiban yang dikaitkan dengan pingatnya yang asalnya berasal dari salib sebagai penghormatan kepadanya. Pada tahun 1647, semasa perbicaraan ilmu sihir di Natternberg berhampiran Metten Abbey di Bavaria, seorang wanita tertuduh memberi keterangan bahawa mantera mereka tidak berkesan pada Metten, yang berada di bawah perlindungan salib dengan ikon St Benedict dan singkatan doanya. Siasatan mendapati beberapa salib dicat pada dinding biara dengan huruf yang kini ditemui pada pingat St Benedict.
Sebuah manuskrip yang ditulis pada tahun 1415 akhirnya dijumpai yang mempunyai gambar Benedict memegang skrol di sebelah tangan dan tongkat yang berakhir dengan salib di tangan yang lain.
Pada skrol dan tongkat itu tertulis perkataan penuh. Dan inisial doa terdapat pada salib tersebut. Ia kemudiannya dihasilkan untuk sebaran di Jerman, yang kemudiannya tersebar ke seluruh Eropah. Pingat ini pertama kali diluluskan oleh Paus Benedict XIV dalam taklimatnya pada 23 Disember 1741 dan 12 Mac 1742.
𝗞𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗔𝗡 & 𝗞𝗘𝗞𝗨𝗗𝗨𝗦𝗔𝗡.
Benedict meninggal dunia akibat demam pada tahun 547. Disebabkan sumbangannya kepada tamadun dan budaya Eropah, pada tahun 1980, Paus John Paul II mengisytiharkan beliau sebagai penaung Eropah. Dia telah dikanonkan sebagai orang kudus pada tahun 1220 dan dengan itu menjadi Saint Benedict yang dikasihi yang kita kenali hari ini.
-Article researched by Lovoline M.Chin, July 4, 2023