Evelyn Underhill

O God, Origin, Sustainer, and End of all your creatures: Grant that your Church, taught by your servant Evelyn Underhill, guarded evermore by your power, and guided by your Spirit into the light of truth, may continually offer to you all glory and thanksgiving, and attain with your saints to the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have promised us by our Savior Jesus Christ; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict

How the Morning Office Is to Be Said

The Morning Office on Sunday shall begin with Psalm 66
recited straight through without an antiphon.
After that let Psalm 50 be said with "Alleluia,"
then Psalms 117 and 62,
the Canticle of Blessing (Benedicite) and the Psalms of praise (Ps. 148-150);
then a lesson from the Apocalypse to be recited by heart,
the responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, the verse,
the canticle from the Gospel book,
the litany and so the end.

Basil of Caesarea

Almighty God, who has revealed to your Church your eternal Being of glorious majesty and perfect love as one God in Trinity of Persons: Give us grace that, like your bishop Basil of Caesarea, we may continue steadfast in the confession of this faith, and constant in our worship of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict

How the Night Office Is to Be Said on Sundays

On Sunday
the hour of rising for the Night Office should be earlier.
In that Office let the measure already prescribed be kept,
namely the singing of six Psalms and a verse.
Then let all be seated on the benches in their proper order
while the lessons and their responsories are read from the book,
as we said above.
These shall be four in number,
with the chanter saying the "Glory be to the Father"
in the fourth responsory only,
and all rising reverently as soon as he begins it.

After these lessons
let six more Psalms with antiphons follow in order, as before,
and a verse;
and then let four more lessons be read with their responsories
in the same way as the former.

After these let there be three canticles
from the book of the Prophets,
as the Abbot shall appoint,
and let these canticles be chanted with "Alleluia."
Then when the verse has been said
and the Abbot has given the blessing,
let four more lessons be read,
from the New Testament,
in the manner prescribed above.

After the fourth responsory
let the Abbot begin the hymn "We praise You, O God."
When this is finished
the Abbot shall read the lesson from the book of the Gospels,
while all stand in reverence and awe.
At the end let all answer "Amen,"
and let the Abbot proceed at once
to the hymn "To You be praise."
After the blessing has been given,
let them begin the Morning Office.

This order for the Night Office on Sunday
shall be observed the year around,
both summer and winter;
unless it should happen (which God forbid)
that the brethren be late in rising,
in which case the lessons or the responsories
will have to be shortened somewhat.
Let every precaution be taken, however,
against such an occurrence;
but if it does happen,
then the one through whose neglect it has come about
should make due satisfaction to God in the oratory.

The Rule of Saint Benedict

How the Night Office Is to Be Said in Summer Time

From Easter until the Calends of November
let the same number of Psalms be kept as prescribed above;
but no lessons are to be read from the book,
on account of the shortness of the nights.
Instead of those three lessons
let one lesson from the Old Testament be said by heart
and followed by a short responsory.
But all the rest should be done as has been said;
that is to say that never fewer than twelve Psalms
should be said at the Night Office,
not counting Psalm 3 and Psalm 94.

Enmegahbowh

Almighty God, you led your pilgrim people of old with fire and cloud; grant that the ministers of your church, following the example of blessed Enmegahbowh, may stand before your holy people, leading them with fiery zeal and gentle humility. This we ask through Jesus, the Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict

How Many Psalms Are to Be Said at the Night Office

In winter time as defined above,
there is first this verse to be said three times:
"O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall declare Your praise."
To it is added Psalm 3 and the "Glory be to the Father,"
and after that Psalm 94 to be chanted with an antiphon
or even chanted simply.
Let the Ambrosian hymn follow next,
and then six Psalms with antiphons.
When these are finished and the verse said,
let the Abbot give a blessing;
then, all being seated on the benches,
let three lessons be read from the book on the lectern
by the brethren in their turns,
and after each lesson let a responsory be chanted.
Two of the responsories are to be said
without a "Glory be to the Father"
but after the third lesson
let the chanter say the "Glory be to the Father,"
and as soon as he begins it let all rise from their seats
out of honor and reverence to the Holy Trinity.

The books to be read at the Night Office
shall be those of divine authorship,
of both the Old and the New Testament,
and also the explanations of them which have been made
by well known and orthodox Catholic Fathers.

After these three lessons with their responsories
let the remaining six Psalms follow,
to be chanted with "Alleluia."
After these shall follow the lesson from the Apostle,
to be recited by heart,
the verse
and the petition of the litany, that is "Lord, have mercy on us."
And so let the Night Office come to an end.

Saint Barnabas the Apostle

Grant, O God, that we may follow the example of your faithful servant Barnabas, who, seeking not his own renown but the well-being of your Church, gave generously of his life and substance for the relief of the poor and the spread of the Gospel; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict

On the Divine Office During the Night

In the winter time,
that is from the Calends of November until Easter,
the sisters shall rise
at what is calculated to be the eighth hour of the night,
so that they may sleep somewhat longer than half the night
and rise with their rest completed.
And the time that remains after the Night Office
should be spent in study
by those sisters who need a better knowledge of the Psalter
or the lessons.

From Easter to the aforesaid Calends of November,
the hour of rising should be so arranged that the Morning Office,
which is to be said at daybreak,
will follow the Night Office after a very short interval,
during which they may go out for the necessities of nature.

Second Sunday after Pentecost

O God from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that were right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Rule of Saint Benedict

On Humility

The twelfth degree of humility
is that a monk not only have humility in his heart
but also by his very appearance make it always manifest
to those who see him.
That is to say that whether he is at the Work of God,
in the oratory, in the monastery, in the garden, on the road,
in the fields or anywhere else,
and whether sitting, walking or standing,
he should always have his head bowed
and his eyes toward the ground.
Feeling the guilt of his sins at every moment,
he should consider himself already present at the dread Judgment
and constantly say in his heart
what the publican in the Gospel said
with his eyes fixed on the earth:
"Lord, I am a sinner and not worthy to lift up my eyes to heaven" (Luke 18:13; Matt. 8:8);
and again with the Prophet:
"I am bowed down and humbled everywhere" (Ps. 37:7,9; 118:107).

Having climbed all these steps of humility, therefore,
the monk will presently come to that perfect love of God
which casts out fear.
And all those precepts
which formerly he had not observed without fear,
he will now begin to keep by reason of that love,
without any effort,
as though naturally and by habit.
No longer will his motive be the fear of hell,
but rather the love of Christ,
good habit
and delight in the virtues
which the Lord will deign to show forth by the Holy Spirit
in His servant now cleansed from vice and sin.

Columba of Iona

O God, you called your servant Columba
from among the princes of this land
to be a herald and evanglist of your kingdom:
Grant that your Church, remembering his faith and courage,
may so proclaim the splendour of your grace
that people everywhere will come to know your Son
as their Saviour, and serve him as their king;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Book of Common Prayer, Church of Ireland

O God, by the preaching of your blessed servant Columba
you caused the light of the Gospel to shine in Scotland:
Grant, we pray, that, having his life and labors in remembrance,
we may show our thankfulness to you by following the example
of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Lesser Feasts and Fasts, TEC

Almighty God,
who filled the heart of Columba
with the joy of the Holy Spirit
and with deep love for those in his care:
May your pilgrim people follow him,
storng in faith, sustained by hope,
and one in the love that binds us to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Daily Prayer, Church of England

The Rule of Saint Benedict

On Humility

The eleventh degree of humility
is that when a monk speaks
he do so gently and without laughter,
humbly and seriously,
in few and sensible words,
and that he be not noisy in his speech.
It is written,
"A wise man is known by the fewness of his words"(Sextus, Enchidirion, 134 or 145).

What Now!

With the Easter Season behind us, how are we to live? Do we embrace the new life that we have freely received in Christ, or do we return to our old selves awaiting once again the cyclical return of the resurrection story?

It seems to me that the focus of this Season of Ordinary Time invites us more deeply into the promise of the risen Christ and calls us to shed the dying skin of our mortality by learning to do those things that do not come easy for us.

Only through faith have we been transfigured and changed. The resurrection was not magical, nor does it require of us to do something against our will. It does, however, challenge our old way of doing things calling us into a new creation. At the heart of our risen life is our willingness to live for God, to serve and worship him, and draw all people into unity with him through Christ. When we are unable to live the new life it means that we have allowed the gravitational pull of our former self to have its way with us.

The Rule of Saint Benedict

On Humility

The tenth degree of humility
is that he be not ready and quick to laugh,
for it is written,
"The fool lifts up his voice in laughter" (Eccles. 21:23).

Oh, my!

This afternoon, we received a call from a nearby Episcopal Parish asking if we would check in on one of their parishioners who is in the medical center. The reason why they needed our intervention was due to the fact that the grandson told them that "under no uncertain terms, were they to see her, because she had been in the hospital for over a week, and they failed to visit her!" He went on to say that he was "going to contact the local vicar and ask him to watch over his grandmother." Well, it turns out that the clergy of the nearby parish was never told that their parishioner was sick and in the hospital. The grandson made several assumptions and now is condemning his grandmother's clergy for the lack of care, and they didn't even know!

As I talked with the secretary of the parish, I told her that I would not get involved until the grandson called me, and then I would do absolutely nothing until I reported my conversation with her. Well, I never heard from the grandson!

It is amazing how many people think clergy are blessed with clairvoyance and the ability to know things without being informed! I think such thinking is a trap and a way for people who are upset with the parish to discover an excuse to remove themselves. Oh, my!

The New Monastics

"New Monasticism" is the term used for a current religious movement of groups of Christians living within and serving communities of need. According to the site for the Rutba House, a New Monastic community in Durham, North Carolina, the term was coined by Jonathan Wilson, in his book, Living Faithfully in a Fragmented World. Wilson drew heavily on writings of philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, who wrote in After Virtue:

What matters at this stage is the construction of local forms of community within which civility and the intellectual and moral life can be sustained through the new dark ages which are already upon us. And if the tradition of the virtues was able to survive the horrors of the last dark ages, we are not entirely without grounds for hope. This time however the barbarians are not waiting beyond the frontiers; they have already been governing us for quite some time.

The Rutba House defines new monasticism as having 12 distinguishing characteristic, including:

1 Relocation to the abandoned places of Empire.
2 Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us.
3 Hospitality to the stranger
4 Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities combined with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation.
5 Humble submission to Christ's body, the church.
6 Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate.
7 Nurturing common life among members of intentional community.
8 Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.
9 Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life.
10 Care for the plot of God's earth given to us along with support of our local economies.
11 Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18.
12 Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life.

You may read more:

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/newmonastics/particulars.shtml

The Rule of Saint Benedict

On Humility

The ninth degree of humility
is that a monk restrain his tongue and keep silence,
not speaking until he is questioned.
For the Scripture shows
that "in much speaking there is no escape from sin" (Prov. 10:19)
and that "the talkative man is not stable on the earth" (Ps. 139:12).

The Rule of Saint Benedict

On Humility

The eighth degree of humility
is that a monk do nothing except what is commended
by the common Rule of the monastery
and the example of the elders.

The Feast of Boniface of Mainz

Almighty God, you called your faithful servant Boniface to be a witness and martyr in Germany, and by has labor and suffering you raised up a people of your own possession: Pour out your Holy Spirit upon your Church in every land, that by the service and sacrifice of many your holy Name may be glorified and your kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one god, for ever and ever. Amen.