"Let everyone that comes be received as Christ." — The Rule of St. Benedict
The Way of Saint Benedict: An Ancient Guide for Modern Action
While our team members live and work out in the open secular marketplace rather than behind enclosed stone monastery walls, we are deeply bound by the 1,500-year-old spiritual lineage of Saint Benedict of Nursia. His ancient Rule was not written for isolated spiritual elites, but as a practical, wise, and deeply human handbook for ordinary people seeking to live a gospel-centered life in community.
For our dispersed fellowship, Benedictine spirituality provides two core pillars that sustain our front-line humanitarian relief operations:
Ora et Labora (Prayer and Work): We believe that contemplative prayer and active justice work are not separate tasks, but a singular, continuous breath. Our regular intervals of daily prayer protect us from the profound burnout and systemic trauma witnessed on the front lines, allowing us to work from our rest, rather than resting from our work.
Radical Hospitality: The Rule of Saint Benedict mandates that "all guests who present themselves are to be welcomed as Christ." At Diakonia Americas, we translate this monastic vow directly onto the streets, borders, and margins. We view the displaced migrant, the unhoused neighbor, and the vulnerable senior not as passive recipients of charity, but as sacred icons of Christ the Wanderer.
By anchoring ourselves in an interior monastery of the heart, our Benedictine heritage transforms ordinary secular labor into a living liturgy of protection, stabilization, and unconditional human dignity.
May the Holy Cross be my light, and let not the dragon be my guide. Get behind me, Satan! Never tempt me with your vanities. What you offer me is empty evil; drink your own poison.
Pour Your deep, unshakeable Peace into our hearts, O Lord, and let the shadow of this cross protect our worker-priests, our volunteers, and the vulnerable communities we serve across the Americas.
Amen.
The Shield of Faith: Understanding the Medal of Saint Benedict
Worn for centuries as a sacred sign of spiritual protection, the Medal of Saint Benedict is a silent, powerful prayer cast in metal. The back of the medal is inscribed with a series of cryptic letters, each representing a Latin word. When combined, these letters form an ancient spiritual framework used to drive away darkness, reject systemic evil, and claim Christ's healing light over our lives and frontline environments.
The Inscriptions on the Holy Cross
The letters arranged vertically and horizontally inside the central cross form the foundational anchor of the medal’s protective grace:
C.S.P.B. (Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti): The Cross of Holy Father Benedict — Signifying our spiritual lineage and monastic anchor.
C.S.S.M.L. (Crux Sacra Sit Mihi Lux): May the Holy Cross be my light — A daily declaration that we walk in divine illumination, not our own strength.
N.D.S.M.D. (Non Draco Sit Mihi Dux): Let not the dragon be my leader — A fierce refusal to submit our minds or missions to the deceptive forces of chaos and fear.
The Outer Rim: The Exorcism Formula
The letters encircling the outer edge of the medal represent a powerful, centuries-old liturgical prayer of renunciation, read clockwise starting from the top right:
PAX: Peace — The universal Benedictine motto and the ultimate goal of our contemplative service.
V.R.S. (Vade Retro Satana): Get behind me, Satan — Directly echoing Christ’s command in the gospels to push back spiritual oppression.
N.S.M.V. (Non Suade Mihi Vana): Never tempt me with your vanities — A deliberate rejection of worldliness, illusions, and systemic corruption.
S.M.Q.L. (Sunt Mala Quae Libas): What you offer me is empty evil — A recognition that the false promises of the world only lead to internal trauma and fracture.
I.V.B. (Ipse Venena Bibas): Drink your own poison — Commanding the destructive forces of malice, hatred, and harm to fold back upon themselves, leaving our sanctuary untouched.