The Benedictines celebrate the feast of Saint Maurus, a first disciple of Saint Benedict on January 15 and the Roman Martyrology notes his feast day as today. Liturgical calendars of religious aren't always the same, sometimes for very good reasons. For Saint Maurus' feast day in January I posted a prayer for the sick through his intercession which may interest you. Today, we're honoring Saint Benedict and his student Maurus, by giving this prayer more "press" recalling the profound love they had for the Cross of Christ.
Let us pray:
Through the intercession of the Immaculate Mother of
God, ever a virgin, and by the intercession of St. Benedict and of St. Maurus, may
the power of God + the Father, the wisdom of God + the Son, and the might of
God + the Holy Spirit, deliver you from this infirmity. Amen.
May God's
will be done in all things, and so may it be done in your case, just as you
seek and desire only the praise and honor of the all-holy Cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Lastly, the priest blesses the sick person with the relic of the holy cross, saying:
May the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son + and Holy Spirit, come upon you and remain with you forever. Amen.
This formula provided by Abbot Maurus Wolter OSB, the then Abbot-President of the Beuronese Congregation, was approved by the Sacred Congregation for all priests and deacons, to impart the blessing, provided the formula approved by the Holy See is used.
The life of Saint Maurus is filled with terrific narratives of healings at the request of this saint at the Throne of Grace. One such miracle was a man's diseased arm that needed healing Maurus prayed prostrate "at the foot of the altar, pouring forth his soul in fervent prayer. Having finished praying, he took from the altar the case of relics which had been sent him by his master, St. Benedict, and went to the bedside of the sick man. Having exposed the relic of the Cross, he made the sign of the Cross over every part of the arm from the shoulder to the fingers," saying:
O God, the Creator of all things, You ordained that Your only Son should take flesh of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit for the restoration of your people, and You deigned to heal the wounds and infirmities of our souls by the redemption accomplished upon the sacred and glorious wood of the life-giving Cross: do You also vouchsafe through this powerful sign to restore health to Your servant.
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