Chapter 18: The order for reciting the psalms (paragraphs 1-2)
Each hour begins 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.)
I experience so deeply in my heart the resonance that Benedict begins each hour with the exact same verse that Cassian recommends for continuous prayer. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus!
I experience so deeply in my heart the resonance that Benedict begins each hour with the exact same verse that Cassian recommends for continuous prayer. Maranatha, come Lord Jesus!
Joan Chittister challenges me when she reminds me that Benedict wrote this rule for monks who had no manuscripts and many of whom were illiterate. They kept the psalter in their heads through memorizing the psalms and other prayers. Thus they could repeat them to themselves, like mantras, as they worked in the fields or wherever. I doubt I could recite a single one of the 150 psalms accurately. What runs through my mind, instead, during the routines of my day?
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