Benedictine Spirituality 3

Benedictine Spirituality: Prayer and The Psalmnody

Benedictine prayer is based on the psalms, the very prayers that Jesus used. Prayer is an unceasing act of presenting ourselves before the face of God and begging for insight and courage to go on. The Divine Office is the set of psalms, Scripture readings, and prayers that have been identified as the official prayer of the church.

To quote Sr. Joan Chittister in her commentary, “There are three dimensions of the treatment of prayer in the Rule of Benedict that deserve special attention. In the first place, it is presented immediately after the chapter on humility. In the second place, it is not a treatise on private prayer. In the third place, it is scriptural rather than personal. Prayer is, then, the natural response of people who know their place in the universe. It is not designed to be a psychological comfort zone though surely comfort it must. And lastly, it is an act of community and an act of awareness.” (p. 75)

Sr. Joan explains that what modern life sees as inhumanly rigorous in the application of hours of prayer throughout the day and night is more a reflection of how we choose to spend our time today. In a world without electricity, people naturally went to bed at sundown, about 6:00 pm. Waking at 2:00 am to pray actually followed a full eight hours of sleep. The remaining hours until daybreak were spent in prayer and study until the beginning of the workday. Nowadays we extend our day after the workday hours, but we fill the time with television, parties, or even more work. As she says, “We fill our lives with the mundane. They [the monastics] got up to pray and to study the Scriptures. They filled their souls with the sacred.” (p. 76)

For me in this time of Lent, I am more attuned to my own “soul work.” With many in our congregation, I set aside time for Lenten study, attend an extra service of Evening Prayer during the week, and reflect on the 40 days of preparation for Easter. I ponder the quality of my life and the values underlying decisions I make on spending my time, energy, and money. As I anticipate our return to the monastery in April to celebrate the Triduum and our Lord’s Resurrection with the Benedictine sisters, my impatience grows to resume time as measured by the hours of prayer.