Chapter 52: The oratory of the monastery
The oratory must be simply a place of prayer, as the name itself implies, and it must not be used for any other activities at all nor as a place for storage of any kind.
(From Ch. 52 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry OSB, 1997.)
Jesus teaches me to pray contemplatively in my heart: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret" (Matt 6:6). My inner room is my heart, my oratory, where Jesus dwells. In practicing selfless attention to Him, there is no room for egotism or psychological baggage of any kind.
"If at other times some choose to pray privately,they may simply go in and pray,not in a loud voice, but with tears and heartfelt devotion." I am glad Benedict brought up this kind of private prayer. I am realizing that I need to make time for this kind of prayer, a "God-me" talk, voicing words from my heart which can often be accompanied by tears. No one else hears, and I let it all out. Meditation is sitting in the presence of God focusing on one word and listening with the heart. Devotional prayers use prescribed words and I can almost hypnotize myself into thinking I am really praying when I am not. What Benedict describes here is what I feel I have been avoiding and am making a real effort to do- talk with God in the car,and at home. After all, this is the ultimate relationship and dialogue is essential for any relationship to develop
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