Menas of Samnium

Contents

Menas of Samnium (Latin: Sanctus Menna Samnii) is a 6th-century hermit venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. The primary source for details of his life is an account written by Pope Gregory the Great and also published in the sixth century.[1]

Veneration

The Catholic Church commemorates SAINT Menas on November 11 with an entry in the Roman Martyrology. The 2004 edition of the Martyrology reads: "In the province of Samnium, the commemoration of Saint Menas, hermit, whose virtues Pope Saint Gregory the Great commemorates."[2] His entry in the 1956 edition of the Martyrology (representing the Tridentine tradition) is nearly identical.[3]

Pope Gregory's account

Pope Gregory the Great gives the following account of Menas's life in his Dialogues, published c. 593:

This holy solitary had nothing from which to supply his needs except a few beehives. When a Lombard tried to rob him even of these, the holy man gave him a sharp rebuke. Instantly, the barbarian fell to the ground at the saint's feet, violently tormented by the evil spirit. With this miracle the name of Menas became as renowned among the barbarians as it was among the people of Samnium. Thereafter, no one would enter his dwelling except with deep humility.

Often, bears would come out of the neighboring forest to eat up his beehives. Whenever the holy man saw them coming, he would beat them off with a wooden cane he used to carry with him. And these ferocious beasts would grunt and growl as they fled in terror from the blows of the small rod, though ordinarily even swords do not frighten them.

It was his determination not to have anything or look for anything in this world. His zeal urged him to stir up the hearts of all his kind visitors with a longing for eternal life. If as times he noticed faults in some of them, he would not fail to rebuke them. But when he used harsh words, he always strove to speak from a heart burning with the fire of charity.

References

  1. 1.Trzeciak, Frances (July 12, 2020). "Gregory the Great, in his Dialogues (3.26), describes three miracles effected by Menas, 6th c. hermit of Samnium". Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity. University of Oxford. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  2. 2.Martyrologium Romanum (in Latin) (2nd ed.). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2004. p. 616. In província Sámnii, commemorátio sancti Mennæ, solitárii, cuius virtutes sanctus Gregórius papa Magnus commémorat.
  3. 3.Martyrologium Romanum (in Latin) (revised post-typical 4th ed.). Justitias Books. 2017 [1956 with 1960 revisions]. p. 277. In província Sámnii, beáti Mennæ solitárii, cuius virtútes et mirácula sanctus Gregórius Papa commémorat. [In the province of Samnium, the blessed Mennas, hermit, whose virtues and miracles Pope St. Gregory commemorates.]