Reading From the Rule

The first link at the right will take you to today's reading from the Rule of St. Benedict!

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Liturgy of the Hours

-->
Praise God seven times a day: morning prayer (lauds), the little hours (9, noon, three – terce, sext, none), evening prayer (vespers) as the sun sets, compline before bed, and then vigil – when we awaken in the middle of the night.  In a Benedictine Monastery, a bell would mark these hours.  What modern equivalent marks our hours and rings us through our days?  When do we stop and pray?  What is our prayer habit?

Until recently, I have worked in a school, a private Catholic school.  We open each day with prayer about 8 am – this is terce -- and the day closes with prayer around 3 – none, the ninth hour.  These are the little hours, and these community prayers kept me in the presence of God between morning prayer and my evening reading of The Rule. As I have moved out of this routine, I have lost this ritual, and I am seeking new rituals and routines which put this practice back into the rule of my life.

As life changed, I am still adapting to these shifts.  I moved from a school schedule, to a summer schedule, to a time of healing after the aneurysm.  Now I am moving into a new time.  I find myself surprised that I am still struggling to discern the new rules.

In the midst of all this change, I find Benedict’s discussion of times for prayers and schedules of prayers, disconcerting.   I find that I am drifting a bit, and his clearly ordered discipline of prayer seems distant from me right now. 

How do you discipline your prayer?  What is your rule for marking time for prayer as the day progresses?  What rule orders your day?

No comments:

Post a Comment