Benedictine Shorts
Description: The word PAX, the Latin word for ‘peace’, surrounded by the crown of thorns has long been a Benedictine symbol. It is the visual representation of the motto ‘pax inter spinas’, or ‘peace among thorns.’ This motto represents the peace which monks are able to acquire even while suffering, which suffering is a participation in Christ’s own passion, death, and resurrection.
Description: On the arms of the cross are the initial letters of the rhythmic Latin prayer: The Holy Cross My Light, Sin Never my Guide. (Crux sacra sit mihi lux! Nunquam draco sit mihi dux!) In the angles of the cross, the letters C S P B stand for Crux Sancti Patris Benedicti (The cross of our holy father Benedict). Above the cross is the word pax (peace), the Benedictine motto. Around the margin of the back of the medal, the letters V R S N S M V - S M Q L I V B are the initial letters, of a Latin prayer: Vade retro Satana! Nunquam suade mihi vana! Sunt mala quae libas. Ipse venena bibas! (Begone Satan! Never tempt me with your vanities! What you offer me is evil. Drink the poison yourself!)
Description: The Super Moon rises over Whitby Abbey, the view that inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. Whitby Abbey is a ruined Benedictine abbey overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England. It was disestablished during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the auspices of Henry VIII.
