When we bring before you, Brethren, the subject of public worship, you will of course suppose that it is principally with a view to the devotions, which, with an extraordinary degree of harmony and much previous deliberation, have been constituted our established Liturgy.
I am giving Thee worship with my whole life,
I am giving Thee assent with my whole power,
I am giving Thee praise with my whole tongue,
I am giving Thee honour with my whole utterance.
The essence of prayer is to hear the voice of another, of Christ, but likewise to hear the voice of each person I meet in whom Christ also addresses me. His voice comes to me in every human voice, and his face is infinitely varied. It is present in the face of the wayfarer on the road to Emmaus;
It is not necessary that we should discover new ideas in our meditation. It is sufficient if the word as we read and understand it penetrates and dwells within us. As Mary pondered in her heart the tidings that were told by the shepherds, as what we have casually heard follows us for a long time,
If it should perhaps happen that we swear carelessly to something which, if carried out, would have most unfortunate consequences, we should be willing to change it in accord with wiser counsel.
Note well the weakness of the tyrant compared to the power of the one in prison. Herod was not strong enough to silence his own tongue. Having opened it, he opened up countless other mouths in its place and with its help.
As God draws near in silence and we receive God into our hearts, we are transformed so that we become fully the persons we really are in Christ. We seldom notice this change while it is happening. Rather, we awake one morning and realize that something is different in us. We are gentler, less frantic and anxious, better able to enjoy small daily gifts, more delighted with others.
Founded as it is on the Gospel, the Rule, like the Gospel itself, never grows old or goes out of fashion. Like the Gospel it is full of both urgency and compassion. Benedict has such a respect for each one of us, created as unique son or daughter, made in the image of Christ, that he shows a very real concern about stifling that God-given freedom and responsibility.
Benedictines frame their day with times of public prayer and private prayer. Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours may be celebrated two or three times daily, or upwards of seven times per day.
A journey, a quest, the search for the holy, answers a deep need in all of us, the outer journey which reflects the inner journey. The twentieth century has brought easier travel and made it possible for people in their thousands to visit all the great shrines and places of pilgrimage.