Thursday, February 28, 2013

Chapter 23: Faults which deserve excommunication


If an individual in the community is defiant, disobedient, proud or given to murmuring or in any other way set in opposition to the holy Rule and contemptuous of traditions of the seniors, then we should follow the precept of our Lord.
(From Ch. 23 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Nowadays, it seems to me that excommunication can be seen as something damaging to the recipient and arrogant on the part of the authority. So what I find useful in this chapter is the list of faults that Benedict mentions, all of which are damaging to community. His compelling point, for me, is that my negative and self-centered behavior impedes relationships, impedes love.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Chapter 22: Sleeping arrangements for the community


In the morning, as they are getting up for the work of God, they should quietly give encouragement to those who are sleepy and given to making excuses for being late.
(From para. 2 of Ch. 22 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

The tiny oblation of quiet encouragement can quicken the spirit of another, and, in giving it, it can also quicken my own.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Chapter 21: The deans of the monastery


If any of the deans are affected by some breath of pride which lays them open to adverse criticism, they should be corrected once or twice or even three times.
(From para. 2 of Ch. 21 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

To me, the breath seems to be a very positive and and vital image. But Benedict uses the breath to describe the subtle nature of pride. This reminds me that the ego can insinuate itself into any aspect of just about anything, no matter how good it seems. Whatever authority is entrusted to me, should totally grounded in the Author of life.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Chapter 20: The ideal of true reverence in prayer


When we come, then, with our requests in prayer before the Lord, who is God of all creation, is it not all the more important that we should approach him in a spirit of real humility and a devotion that is open to him alone and free from distracting thoughts?
(From Ch. 20 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

For me, true reverence has become an awareness of the space "between" between me and others, the the space in which love and relationship is transmitted, the "space" which may be God. How important then, to practice selfless attention, and to be free of distracting thoughts.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Chapter 19: Our approach to prayer


That will lead us to make sure that, when we sing in choir, there is complete harmony between the thoughts in our mind and the meaning of the words we sing.
(From Ch. 19 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

John Main speaks of the mantra, metaphorically, as a harmonic. Sounding the word in my heart, it harmonizes all parts of my being, and it harmonizes my being with all of creation.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Chapter 18: The order for reciting the psalms (paragraphs 4-6)


After all, we read that our holy Fathers had the energy to fulfil in one single day what we in our lukewarm devotion only aspire to complete in one week.
(From para. 6 of Ch. 18 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Sometimes I wonder if the Buddhists are "better" meditators than me. Or if other Oblates have more "disciplined" spiritual practices than I do. But although Jesus warned me against being lukewarm, he did not teach me to be compare myself to others in ego-centered ways. The best rule of thumb I know for my own spiritual growth is an overarching sense of liberty of spirit.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Chapter 18: The order for reciting the psalms (paragraph 3)


These same psalms are repeated daily until Sunday and the identical arrangement of hymns, lessons and verses is retained every day.
(From para. 3 of Ch. 18 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

The image that comes to my mind, as Benedict creates a consistent and comprehensive plan for reciting all of the psalms weekly, is that of pearls on a strand. There is the faithful discipline of attentive beading, and there is the transforming beauty which is liberty of spirit.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Chapter 18: The order for reciting the psalms (paragraphs 1-2)

Each  hour beings with the following verse: O God come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me.
(From para. 1 of Ch. 18 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict begins each hour with the same verse that Cassian used as an example of a "formula" that one could recite over and over to practice continuous prayer. I sense a wonderful and mysterious continuity between the orderly observance of communal prayer and the faithful practice of meditation.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Chapter 17: The number of psalms to be sung at the hours


We have already set out the order of the psalms for Vigils and for Lauds. Now let us look at the order of the psalms for the rest of the Hours.
(From para. 1 of Ch. 17 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

St. Benedict's emphasis on order throughout praying the Hours suggests to me both discipline and consolation.  But mostly it suggests to me a quality of consciousness -- a quality of continuous prayer.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Chapter 16: The hours of the work of God during the day


The words of the psalm are: I have uttered your praises seven times during the day. We shall fulfil that sacred number of seven if at the times of Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline we perform the duty of our service to God, because it was of these day hours that the psalm said: I have uttered your praise seven times during the day.
(From Ch.16 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Like St. Benedict, John Main has taught me to meditate at least twice a day. But from both teachers I see that the reason for "uttering praise" in this way is not to make time holy -- it's to realize that time is already holy.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Chapter 15: When the Alleluia should be said

From the holy feast of Easter until Pentecost the Alleluia must always be said in the psalms and the responsories. From Pentecost until the beginning of Lent it is said only with the last six psalms in the night office. On every Sunday outside Lent, however, the Alleluia is included in Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext and None, but at Vespers an antiphon is intoned instead.
(From Ch. 15 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Benedict suffuses the year, outside of Lent, with Alleluia. For me it is the prayer of mystical vision, of resurrection emerging from within each moment that God holds me in being.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Chapter 14: The celebrations of Vigils on feast of saints


On the feasts of saints and on all other solemnities Vigils should follow the order laid down for the celebration of Sunday except that the psalms, antiphons and readings that are appropriate to the day should be recited; the order of the liturgy itself reamins the same as that described for Sunday.
(Ch. 14 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)


My place in the universe is in relation to the communion of saints, just as it is in relation to "[my] brothers and sisters in all the world [who] are undergoing the same kinds of suffering" as me. (1 Pet 5:9)

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Chapter 13: Lauds on ordinary days (paragraph 2)

It is important that the celebration of Lauds and Vespers should never be concluded without the recitation by the superior of the whole of the Lord's prayer so that all may hear and attend to it. This is because of the harm that is often done in a community by the thorns of conflict which can arise. Bound by the very words of that prayer 'forgive us as we also forgive' they will be cleansed from the stain of such evil.
(From para. 2 of Ch. 13 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

"Thorns of conflict" is, in my experience, a very vivid and precise image of the pain that can arise from trying to live together in love. Meditation teaches me that healing is borne of true self-knoweldge, of selfless attention to the other.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Chapter 13: Lauds on ordinary days (paragraph 1)


On ordinary days Lauds should be celebrated like this: the sixty sixth psalm should be said with its antiphon but rather slowly, as on Sunday, to make sure that all are present for the fiftieth psalm which is said with its antiphon.
(From para. 1 of Ch. 13 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

I am that slow-comer: I hear the urgency in Fr. John's voice about commitment and discipline, and yet I also hear his compassionate reminder that, in meditation, I am always beginning again.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Chapter 12: The celebration of solemn Lauds


For Lauds on Sunday the sixty sixth psalm should be said first of all straight through without an antiphon.
(From Ch. 12 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

O God, be gracious and bless us/and let your face shed its light upon us. (Ps. 66/67:1-2). This verse has always expressed extraordinary energy for me, of the penetrating and enlivening power of the sun, and of the love of the creator for his creatures. It also speaks to me of the human consciousness of Jesus who lives in and illumines my heart.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Chapter 11: Vigils or night office on Sunday


In these Vigils the arrangement should be that six psalms and a verse should be chanted, as described above, and then, when everyone has sat down in an orderly way on the benches, four lessons should be read from the book on the lectern with their responsories.
(From para. 1 of Ch. 11 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

I'm drawn to something as simple as sitting down in an orderly way on the benches. Again Benedict brings me back to the body in prayer -- selflessly attentive, fully present.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Chapter 10: The night office in summertime


From Easter until the first day of November the same number of psalms should be said as we have established for winter, but because the nights are shorter, instead of reading three lessons from the book on the lectern only one should be recited by heart from the Old Testament with a brief responsory to follow.
(From Ch. 10 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

This directive from Benedict speaks to me of the way prayer can flow with the mysterious rhythms of the natural world, especially from a realized heart.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Chapter 9: The number of psalms at the night office


During this winter season the office of Vigils begins with this verse recited three times; Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise.
(From para. 1 of Ch. 9 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

This morning a full-force blizzard rages outside my windows; the incessant wind stirs up my own restlessness. But Benedict's brave verse reminds me that God can order even my restlessness, if I offer it to him. 

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Chapter 8: The Divine Office at night 


It seems reasonable that during wintertime, that is from the first of November until Easter all should arise at the eighth hour of the night. By that time, having rested until a little after midnight, they may rise with their food well digested.
(From Ch. 8 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

I think good digestion concern Benedict, not just because he's solicitous for others' comfort, but because of his firm grasp that the body participates in the prayer of being.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraphs 19-20)


The humility of their hearts should be apparent by their bodily movements to all who see them.
(From para. 19 of Ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

The words that come to mind from Fr. John's teaching are integrated and incarnational. In the practice of meditation, all aspects of my being come to be integrated in my heart, in the most incarnational form of prayer there is.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 18)


We should speak gently and seriously with words that are weighty and restrained. We should be brief and reasonable in whatever we have to say and not raise our voices to insist on our own opinions.
(From para. 18 of Ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Because I may never know when I'm speaking to an angel, as Hebrews reminds me, or when an angel is speaking through me.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 17)


The tenth step of humility teaches that we should not be given to empty laughter on every least occasion because: a fool's voice is for ever raised in laughter.
(Para. 17 of Ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

I think that if there's empty laughter, there must also be full laughter -- laughter of the soul, full of delight in life, full of joy.  Maybe soul-laughter is even silent sometimes.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 16)


The ninth step of humility leads ut to refrain from unnecessary speech and to guard our silence by not speaking until we are addressed.
(From para. 16 of Ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

In light of Benedict's teaching, perhaps I can understand being "addressed" as being recognized by the spirit, or recognizing the spirit, and speaking from that place of unity. 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 15)


The eighth step of humility teaches us to do nothing which goes beyond what is approved and encouraged by the common rule of the monastery and the example of our seniors.
(Para. 15 of Ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Is St. Benedict telling me to squelch my initiative?  How could that possibly be, when, in seeking God, I enter more and more into God's creative energy? And yet, I'm grateful to those mentors, and to those who've gone before me in faith, who help me to understand how I'm called to manifest God's energy in the world.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 14)


The seventh step of humility is that we should be ready to speak of ourselves as of less importance and less worthy than others, not as a mere phrase on our lips but we should really believe it in our hearts.
(From para. 14 of ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

My ego is less worthy than another's true nature.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 13)


Yet I am always in your presence.
(From para. 13 of ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Whatever conditions that I find myself in, unacceptable to my ego, begin to be transformed by this truth.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraph 12)


The fifth step of humility is that we should not cover up but humbly confess to our superior or spiritual guide whatever evil thoughts come into our minds and the evil deeds we have done in secret.
(From para. 12 of Ch. 7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

The practice of selfless attention leads me to appreciate the beauty of the transparent spirit, reflected in the face of one who is truly humble.  That "one" can, with the grace of God, also be me.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Chapter 7: The value of humility (paragraphs 10-11)


The fourth step of humility is to go even further than this by readily accepting in patient and silent endurance, without thought of giving up or avoid the issue, any hard or demanding things that may come our way in the course of that obedience, even if they include harsh impositions which are unjust.
(From para. 10 of Ch.7 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)

Sometimes willing behavior change makes possible what my weak and injured ego cannot achieve on its own.