Chapter 48: Daily manual labor (paragraphs 6-7)
Sunday is the day on which all should be occupied in lectio divina, except for those who are assigned to particular duties. (From para. 6 of Ch. 48 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Here St. Benedict relates for me the practice of lectio with the practice of holy leisure. Sunday, in particular, is a time for me to read the book of life with relaxed and alert attention, as I learn in meditation.
“Study”: how aversive I used to find that word! How it puzzled me to learn its etymology in high school Latin class. It comes from the Latin verb “studere” which means “to be eager for”. How strange that seemed to me then since I found study as an adolescent to be a drag, a necessary evil if I was to finish school. Then, at age seventeen as I approached high school graduation, I decided on a career path and a college that required that I really know Latin. I went to the local public library and checked out a Latin grammar and eagerly perused it. I also enrolled in a summer school Latin course. I became eager to learn, seemingly for the first time in my life. Benedict’s prescription that I choose a book for Lent and stick with it and study it now makes perfect sense. Again and again I discover that, when I bite the bullet, and begin a recommended book, it can soon become a joy, and I become eager to read on. I become, again, a student.
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