Vigils Reading – St Benedict

BENEDICT’S DISCIPLES ARE FOREWARNED OF HIS DEATH

From “The Dialogues” of St Gregory the Great3 ◊◊◊

In the year that was to be his last, the man of God foretold the day of his holy death to a number of his disciples… Some others, however, who were stationed elsewhere he only informed of the special sign they would receive at the time of his death. Six days before he died he gave orders for his tomb to be opened. Almost immediately he was seized with a violent fever that rapidly wasted his remaining strength. Each day his condition grew worse until finally, on the sixth day, he had his disciples carry him into the chapel, where he received the Body and Blood of our Lord to gain strength for his approaching end. Then, supporting his weakened body on the arms of his brethren, he stood with his hands raised to heaven and as he prayed breathed his last.

That day two monks, one of them at the monastery, the other some distance away, received the very same revelation. They both saw a magnificent road covered with rich carpeting and glittering with thousands of lights. From his monastery it stretched eastward in a straight line until it reached up into heaven. And there in the brightness stood a man of majestic appearance, who asked them, ‘Do you know who passed this way?’ ‘No,’ they replied. “This,’ he told them, ‘is the road taken by blessed Benedict, the Lord’s beloved, when he went to heaven.’

Thus, while the brethren who were with Benedict witnessed his death, those who were absent knew about it through the sign he had promised them. His body was laid to rest in the Chapel of St. John the Baptist, which he had built to replace the altar of Apollo…

This holy man still works numerous miracles for people who turn to him with faith and confidence. The incident I am going to relate happened only recently. A woman who had completely lost her mind was roaming day and night over hills and valleys, through forests and fields, resting only when she was utterly exhausted. One day, in the course of her aimless wanderings, she strayed into the saint’s cave and rested there without the least idea of where she was. The next morning she woke up entirely cured and left the cave without even a trace of her former affliction. After that she remained free from it for the rest of her life…

There is no doubt… that the holy… can perform countless miracles where their bodies rest… In places where their bodies do not actually lie buried, however, there is danger that those whose faith is weak may doubt their presence and their power to answer prayers. Consequently, it is in these places that they must perform still greater miracles. But one whose faith in God is strong earns all the more merit by his faith, for he realizes that the <saints> are present to hear his prayers even though their bodies happen to be buried elsewhere.

It was precisely to increase the faith of His disciples that the eternal Truth told them, ‘If I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.’… As long as the disciples could see our Lord in His human flesh they would want to keep on seeing Him with their bodily eyes. With good reason, therefore, did He tell them, ‘If I do not go, the Advocate will not come.’ What He really meant was, ‘I cannot teach you spiritual love unless I remove my body from your sight; as long as you continue to see me with your bodily eyes you will never learn to love me spiritually.