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X-WR-CALDESC:During the winter season\, Vigils begin with the verse: 'O
God\, open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise (Ps. 51: 17)' A
fter this has been said three times\, the following order is observed: Psa
lm 3 with Doxology\; Psalm 9 with a refrain\, or at least chanted\; an Amb
rosian hymn\; then six psalms with refrain.\n\nWhen these three readings a
nd their responsories have been finished\, the remaining six psalms are su
ng with an 'alleluia' refrain. This ended\, there follows a reading from t
he apostle recited by heart\, a versicle and the litany\, that is\, 'Chris
t\, have mercy.' And so Vigils are concluded.\n\nIn his instruction on the
Night Office\, Benedict supplies even the technologically advanced twenty
-first century with valuable insights into prayer that may\, at first sigh
t\, get lost in the strange details of the prayer format itself. Benedict
asks for four elements of prayer\, each of which give a special dimension
to the spiritual life: a specific versicle\, the doxology or Glory Be\, re
sponsories and explanations of scripture.\n\nThe versicle Benedict puts in
our minds is a simple but important one. 'O God\, open my lips and my mou
th shall proclaim your praise\,' (Ps.51:17) he teaches us to pray. All lif
e is in the hands of God. Even the desire to pray is the grace to pray. Th
e movement to pray is the movement of God in our souls. Our ability to pra
y depends on the power and place of God in our life. We pray because God a
ttracts us and we pray only because God is attracting us. We are not\, in
other words\, even the author of our own prayer life. It is the goodness o
f God\, not any virtue that we have developed on our own\, that brings us
to the heart of God. And it is with God's help we seek to go there.\n\nThe
doxology or 'Glory be...' gave solemnity to the office but it gave witnes
s as well to the divinity of all Three Persons of the Trinity\, a concept
disputed by the priest Arius who held that Jesus was merely human\, but on
e held to firmly by the Church. To rise for the 'Glory be\,' then\, was to
make a public witness to the Divinity of Christ in an era when people wer
e still divided on the subject\, politically as well as theologically. It
was a literal call to stand up for the faith\, to claim the Gospel publicl
y\, a situation that is demanded in every day and age including our own.\n
\nThe direction to include responsories at prayer was a clear expectation
that every member of the group would participate consciously in the act of
prayer by reciting the responses that captured the spirit of what was bei
ng read to them in an age when manuscripts were rare and members were ofte
n illiterate and prayer was more oral than written. Prayer is not somethin
g that is done to us or on us under any conditions. It is meant to engage
us wholly--our minds\, our bodies and our souls--whatever its form. It is
not a passive exercise. It is the work of God in us and it demands our ful
l attention.\n\nFinally\, Benedict introduces in Chapter Nine what is cent
ral to Benedictine spirituality\, immersion in the Scriptures. He wants us
to do more than read them. He wants us to study them\, to wrestle with th
em\, to understand them\, to make them part of us\, to let them grow in us
through the work of traditional and contemporary scholarship so that the
faith can stay green in us.\n\nHere\, as a result of these concepts\, is a
prayer life grounded in faith\, witness\, attention and serious study. He
re is a prayer life that is serious\, not superficial\; concentrated not c
omfortable\; full of witness\, full of faith.
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UID:d8672b26-c715-4c43-a1f2-592b5bc3e77b
DTSTAMP:20260404T083604Z
DESCRIPTION:During the winter season\, Vigils begin with the verse: 'O G
od\, open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise (Ps. 51: 17)' Af
ter this has been said three times\, the following order is observed: Psal
m 3 with Doxology\; Psalm 9 with a refrain\, or at least chanted\; an Ambr
osian hymn\; then six psalms with refrain.\n\nWhen these three readings an
d their responsories have been finished\, the remaining six psalms are sun
g with an 'alleluia' refrain. This ended\, there follows a reading from th
e apostle recited by heart\, a versicle and the litany\, that is\, 'Christ
\, have mercy.' And so Vigils are concluded.\n\nIn his instruction on the
Night Office\, Benedict supplies even the technologically advanced twenty-
first century with valuable insights into prayer that may\, at first sight
\, get lost in the strange details of the prayer format itself. Benedict a
sks for four elements of prayer\, each of which give a special dimension t
o the spiritual life: a specific versicle\, the doxology or Glory Be\, res
ponsories and explanations of scripture.\n\nThe versicle Benedict puts in
our minds is a simple but important one. 'O God\, open my lips and my mout
h shall proclaim your praise\,' (Ps.51:17) he teaches us to pray. All life
is in the hands of God. Even the desire to pray is the grace to pray. The
movement to pray is the movement of God in our souls. Our ability to pray
depends on the power and place of God in our life. We pray because God at
tracts us and we pray only because God is attracting us. We are not\, in o
ther words\, even the author of our own prayer life. It is the goodness of
God\, not any virtue that we have developed on our own\, that brings us t
o the heart of God. And it is with God's help we seek to go there.\n\nThe
doxology or 'Glory be...' gave solemnity to the office but it gave witness
as well to the divinity of all Three Persons of the Trinity\, a concept d
isputed by the priest Arius who held that Jesus was merely human\, but one
held to firmly by the Church. To rise for the 'Glory be\,' then\, was to
make a public witness to the Divinity of Christ in an era when people were
still divided on the subject\, politically as well as theologically. It w
as a literal call to stand up for the faith\, to claim the Gospel publicly
\, a situation that is demanded in every day and age including our own.\n
\nThe direction to include responsories at prayer was a clear expectation
that every member of the group would participate consciously in the act of
prayer by reciting the responses that captured the spirit of what was bei
ng read to them in an age when manuscripts were rare and members were ofte
n illiterate and prayer was more oral than written. Prayer is not somethin
g that is done to us or on us under any conditions. It is meant to engage
us wholly--our minds\, our bodies and our souls--whatever its form. It is
not a passive exercise. It is the work of God in us and it demands our ful
l attention.\n\nFinally\, Benedict introduces in Chapter Nine what is cent
ral to Benedictine spirituality\, immersion in the Scriptures. He wants us
to do more than read them. He wants us to study them\, to wrestle with th
em\, to understand them\, to make them part of us\, to let them grow in us
through the work of traditional and contemporary scholarship so that the
faith can stay green in us.\n\nHere\, as a result of these concepts\, is a
prayer life grounded in faith\, witness\, attention and serious study. He
re is a prayer life that is serious\, not superficial\; concentrated not c
omfortable\; full of witness\, full of faith.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20231012T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20231012T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 9
SUMMARY:The Number of Psalms at the Night Office
END:VEVENT
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