Saints Benedict and Scholastica

Sts. Benedict (480 – 547) and Scholastica (480-543) were siblings and both chose the monastic life and became saints.

From the life of St. Scholastica there is one famous episode when through the power of prayer, she caused a frantic downpour so as not to let her brother go back to his monastery because it was so late. There are a few details to add to this story. Instead, the evening when they spoke late, St. Benedict sought to return so that the brothers were not alarmed (the era of mobile phones was still far away). St Scholastica responded to his affectionate reproach: "I asked you, but you did not want to listen to me. So, I turned to God - and was listened to. " These wonderful words should be remembered by all, as they can be applied in cross-cutting situations. It is not always possible to talk to a person, even if it is a longtime employee, close friend, relative. Instead, God understands all of our true needs, of which, sometimes, we ourselves cannot properly convey to another person.

This meeting was their last on earth. Three days after Scholastics left this world, and St. Benedict saw a dove in her window. He buried his sister in a tomb that he was preparing for himself

St. Benedict is called the “father of western monasticism.” After living as a hermit, he was elected abbot of the nearby monastery to enact reforms. There he was poisoned by his brothers couple of times, but our Lord always sent him help. Once it was a crow, that took poisoned bread from the table. Another time he saw a snake in a chalice. Despite the danger he remained faithful. Therefore, he is often pictured holding chalice with a serpent and/or with a black crow with a bread in his peak.

Notice the peacock. In medieval times, it was thought that peacocks molt (shed their feathers) every year, and the new ones that grow are more beautiful than the old ones. Along with this idea, medieval legends included the theory that the gorgeous colors of a peacock’s feathers came from a special diet: It was believed that peacocks could kill and eat poisonous serpents, ingesting the poison and transforming it into the colors of their feathers. This too contributed to their being an apt symbol of Christ’s Resurrection, since Christ rose from the dead with his glorified body and wounds having conquered the powers of evil.