A Reflection on Chapter 15 of the Rule of St. Benedict

Chapter 15 of the Rule of St. Benedict:
The Times to say "Alleluia" 

From holy Easter until Pentecost without interruption 

let "Alleluia" be said 

both in the Psalms and in the responsories. 

From Pentecost to the beginning of Lent 

let it be said every night 

with the last six Psalms of the Night Office only. 

On every Sunday, however, outside of Lent, 

the canticles, the Morning Office, Prime, Terce, Sext and None 

shall be said with "Alleluia," 

but Vespers with antiphons.

The responsories are never to be said with "Alleluia" 

except from Easter to Pentecost.

Reflection:

          In Chapter 15, St. Benedict regulates the times for saying Alleluia, which means “Praise the Lord!” So why is Benedict so concerned about limiting the use of such a magnificent word? It is because Benedict knew the tremendous meaning Alleluia signifies when it is used in a proper time and place. For instance, Benedict was probably very aware that the only time Alleluia is used in the New Testament is chapter nineteen of the Book of Revelation (verses: 1, 3, 4, 6), the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, the triumphal banquet where all the souls redeemed by Christ unceasingly Praise God for His Salvation. For Benedict, life at the monastery was supposed to be a foretaste of this life in Heaven, this Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Therefore, in anticipation of this Heavenly Life, Benedict might have said, “If we will be unceasingly acclaiming Alleluia when we are in Heaven, how could we not also acclaim it while we are still exiles here on earth?” Clearly Benedict knew and loved the beauty of this word! However, he also recognized that we lowly and sinful exiles have yet to fully attain this Blessed Life. Therefore, the most appropriate times for saying Alleluia are related to the times we most vividly remember the Resurrection: the entire season of Easter, Vigils, that is, early in the morning, the time of day that Christ rose from the dead, and Sunday, the day of Resurrection!                              

Lent

From Chapter 49 of the Rule of St. Benedict:
The Observance of Lent

The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent. Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times. This we can do in a fitting manner by refusing to indulge evil habits and by devoting ourselves to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and self-denial. During these days, therefore, we will add to the usual measure of our service something by way of private prayer and abstinence from food or drink, so that each of us will have something above the assigned measure to offer God of his own will with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 1:6). In other words, let each one deny himself some food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting, and look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing. Everyone should, however, make known to the abbot what he intends to do, since it ought to be done with his prayer and approval. Whatever is undertaken without the permission of the spiritual father will be reckoned as presumption and vainglory, not deserving a reward. Therefore, everything must be done with the abbot's approval.

St. Benedict on Prayer

From the Rule of St. Benedict: Chapter 20 (Reverence in Prayer)

When we wish to suggest our wants to persons of high station, 
we do not presume to do so 

except with humility and reverence. 
How much the more, then, 
are complete humility and pure devotion necessary 
in supplication of the Lord who is God of the universe! 
And let us be assured 
that it is not in saying a great deal that we shall be heard (Matt 6:7),
but in purity of heart and in tears of compunction. 
Our prayer, therefore, ought to be short and pure, 
unless it happens to be prolonged 
by an inspiration of divine grace. 
In community, however, let prayer be very short, 
and when the Superior gives the signal let all rise together.

Reflection on Chapter 20 

In Chapter 20, St. Benedict’s instruction on “Reverence in Prayer” requires us to have certain dispositions: humility, devotion, purity of heart, and tears of compunction.  Firstly, when we pray to God, we must approach Him with “humility” and “devotion” because this is how God first approached us; in “humility” God took on flesh and became man, and in “devotion” to us He poured out His life for the sake of our Salvation.  Therefore, in “humility” we approach God as one who is redeemed at His cost, and in “devotion” we offer ourselves wholly to Him as one who seeks to do His Will. 

Secondly, God does not judge our prayers by their many words, but by our “purity of heart and tears of compunction”.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8).  When man is blinded by worldly desire, he cannot “see God,” but when man’s heart solely desires God, he approaches God with the reverence due to Him alone.

Finally, reverence in prayer requires “tears of compunction”.  Tears indicate that we have been touched by Grace.  Therefore, they are both tears of sorrow for our sins and tears of joy for the salvation that has been won for us!     

Lent 2009

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and thus the beginning of Lent.  As Catholics and as men and women discerning the monastic way of life it is important to reflect upon what our Holy Father St. Benedict has to say in the Holy Rule concerning Lent.  Here is the 1949 translation of Chapter  49 the Holy Rule from our daughter house's website: www.kansasmonks.org

 "Remember Man that you are made of dust and to dust you shall return"

+On the Keeping of Lent+

The life of a monk ought always to be a Lenten observance. However, since such virtue is that of few, we advise that during these days of Lent he guard his life with all purity and at the same time wash away during these holy days all the shortcomings of other times. This will then be worthily done, if we restrain ourselves from all vices. Let us devote ourselves to tearful prayers, to reading and compunction of heart, and to abstinence.

 During these days, therefore, let us add something to the usual amount of our service, special prayers, abstinence from food and drink, that each one offer to God "with the joy of the Holy Ghost" (1 Thes 1:6), of his own accord, something above his prescribed measure; namely, let him withdraw from his body somewhat of food, drink, sleep, speech, merriment, and with the gladness of spiritual desire await holy Easter.

Portrait of a Monk in Prayer - French Painter about 1500

Let each one, however, make known to his Abbot what he offereth and let it be done with his approval and blessing; because what is done without permission of the spiritual father will be imputed to presumption and vain glory, and not to merit. Therefore, let all be done with the approval of the Abbot.

Reflections from the Novitiate (by Br. Gabriel Myriam)

The following is a reflection by one of our novices (Br. Gabriel Myriam Kurzawski) given to his classmates concerning Chapter 58 of the Holy Rule. Please look for more articles like this from the Novices in the next couple of days.

A few weeks ago, I spoke with a good friend of mine who I met almost 5 years ago while attending a “Come and See Weekend” with a missionary religious order based in Queens, NY. Little did we know, at the time, that we would both eventually join this order, spend over 2 years developing our prayer life and friendship within this order, and later leave this order in order to follow Christ even more closely, myself as a Benedictine monk and my friend as a diocesan seminarian. Yet, we remain united to each other by our love for Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church. He jokingly remarked that we had both DISCERNED to leave this order and follow the Lord on a similar but different road. For one reason or another the word my friend used “discern” stuck with me. For days I just kept thinking about what does it mean to truly follow the Lord? How can one "discern" not to follow a Divine calling? Since we are free people, how could God call some and not others as I am so accustomed to hear in our modern Catholic lingo? To answer these questions I decided to start with the trusty Novitiate Webster’s Dictionary.…The dictionary states that to discern is, “to know or recognize mentally” while the act of discernment is, “the quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure.” I must state that as an individual that has always admired St. Anselm’s argument for the existence of God, “I believe because it is absurd” the dictionaries definitions did not resonate well with me, not so much as a thinker, but a spiritual being, a being thirsting for truth, and a being who has come to realize that my thirst can only be quenched with the spiritual waters of faith in Jesus Christ, who, as we know, is beyond comprehension. As I internalized and processed the word (discern) and how the dictionary explained its meaning I came to the concluded that discernment is probably one of the most overly used and misunderstood words we as Catholics through around on a day to day basis to the point where often times it seems as though one needs to contact the local vocation director in order to choose or, for the sake of this reflection, (discern) whether or not we should purchase the steak or the salad. For me, the word “discern” and my understanding of the what the word means just did not seem to add up with why I am here at St. Vincent, why I am preparing to take Monastic Vows, why I feel God is calling me to serve Him and His Church as a monk. This being stated, one might be wondering why I have been hung up on the word “discernment” for the past few weeks and what does this have to do with Chapter 58 of the Holy Rule. Well, to answer this question I feel it would be accurate for me at least to admit that I have not been able to grasp or comprehend what the dictionary calls “obscure,” of course I am referring to grasping or comprehending the monastic vocation. Therefore, I wish to dive into Chapter 58 of the Holy Rule, which describes, as you know, the process of entering the monastery and the Novitiate.

Two days ago, my classmate commented that, “it seems as though what brought us to the monastery is certainly not what keeps us here.” I think that is why St. Benedict was and is opposed to the usual nice and opened armed Benedictine welcome for all who come to his door seeking the life of the monk, for as we have all seen during our various experiences here at St. Vincent, Monastic Life is not always internally what it appears to be externally (nor is the human being) and therefore if a man is not at least willing to open his heart, his soul, his entire self to the will of the Father then he will only progress as far as he selfishly and foolishly limits himself in his search for God’s holy truth. Today this tradition of not allowing the newcomer and easy entry is on full-display each time a potential candidate for the Novitiate sits before the Abbot, the prior, the Novice or Junior Master, or the Vocation Director. Each of these men within our community are, as the Holy Rule instructs, testing the spirits to see if they are from God. But I must caution you and myself that this “spirit testing” is not something we in the Monastic Life need to be concerned of only at the time of our entry, for as we have learned during the Novitiate, the life of the monk is a continual interaction with the Father (or as the Holy Rule states, “a continuous Lent”) and therefore, we, as true seekers of the will of God must make prayer, spiritual direction, and the celebration of the sacraments the focal point of our monastic existence in order that we are constantly testing our own spirits to see if what we seek is from God.

Looking back on our Novitiate year and more specifically on our study of Chapter 58, I feel that it is safe to state that the contents of this chapter are just as relevant to the monk with the jubilee cain as they are to the unhooded newby. Each of us, no matter where we are at on our Monastic journey, our walking with Christ, and are bound to face hardships along the way, but as Vs. 8 states, these are “hardships and difficulties that will lead him (the monk) to God.” Therefore, there is much to be joyful about in the monastery for each of us, that is if we truly believe in the words of our Holy Father St. Benedict, and thus the words of Christ, which assure us that if we persevere in the monastery living faithfully to the best of our ability the vows which we professed, then we are guaranteed eternal happiness with Christ the High Priest. For this reason I finally understand why an old man once told me that there is nothing sadder in the world than a miserable monk. As you, my brothers can attest to, we have heard the term, “living word” many times throughout this year to accurately describe the Book that the Lord has given us, the Holy Bible. Yet as monks, I wish to make the argument that indeed we have been doublely blessed with another living and breathing book, that being St. Benedict’s Holy Rule. The Rule not only speaks to us through its rich and carefully selected instructions on who, what, and how the monastery is to be run, but also for the monk, the Holy Rule speaks to the inmost segments of the human heart, calling the follower to “listen carefully…to the master’s instructions, and to attend to them with,” (not just with ones mouth or hands or mind, but even deeper than that, with ones heart) the organism that gives us life! For this reason, one can see why St. Benedict wishes the newcomer not to receive an easy welcome, for, our Holy Father is not just concerned with the affairs of the community but rather with the state of the spirit, the state of the soul of the newcomer in order that he may progress on the ladder which leads to salvation faithfully bearing all trials and tribulations that are bound to occur as one follows the Lord in the monastery. As I have often thought, “for a full dose of reality I will have a day in the monastery please!!!

This leads me back to my to the definition of discernment, the “grasp(ing) and comprehend(ing) of what is obscure” and a few final points concerning Chapter 58. Point blank, I can honestly say that in no way have I, or will I ever be able to “grasp and comprehend” why the Lord has allowed me this amazing opportunity to serve Him here at St. Vincent nor, I would argue, can a married couple fully grasp and comprehend how the Lord guided them faithfully and lovingly into each others lives and, quite honestly, I am really not to concerned with trying to figure it out. Simply put, we are not called to discern, to grasp, to comprehend the vocation that we have freely chosen in this life (and I must make the point to follow up an early statement I made, that the Lord calls each of us to Him daily… truly to serve Him is to Love Him as He himself is the servant to the servants, the model of priesthood, the one who laid down his life for His friends) this is important because as we continue to knock on the monastic door, asking the Lord, to take us deeper into His house, we know in advance that our Lord has given us a 24/7 365 day invitation to not just visit but to stay. Yet, it is our choice to either accept or deny His invitation. Either way, He will continue to call us back to Him faithfully.

To conclude, Chapter 58 of the Holy Rule provides us with not just the tools for allowing a man to enter into this monastic way of life but for me it provides a wonderful opportunity not to discern (to comprehend) why God has brought me here, it provides me with the opportunity to just be, to be joyful, to be hopeful, to be thankful that the Lord has allowed me to follow Him in this vocation that I have chosen in life in order to serve not just myself, but with His blessing, His people. “Receive me, Lord as you have promised, and I shall live; and do not disappoint me in my hope. Amen

Thoughts for Lent

Here is what our Holy Father Saint Benedict writes about Lent in Chapter 49 (vs. 1-7) of the Holy Rule:

The life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent. Since few, however, have the strength for this, we urge the entire community during these days of Lent to keep its manner of life most pure and wash away in this holy season the negligences of other times. 

This we can do in a fitting manner by refusing to indulge in evil habits, and by devoting ourselves to prayer with tears, to reading, to compunction of heart and self-denial. During these days, therefore, we will add to the usual measure of our service something by way of private prayer and abstinence from food or drink, so that each of us will have something above the assigned measure to offer God of his own will with the joy of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess 1:6). In other words, let each one deny himself some food, drink, sleep, needless talking and idle jesting, and look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing.

 

Taken from RB 1980 - The Rule of St. Benedict in English (The Liturgical Press)