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X-WR-CALDESC:Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore\, the communit
y members should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for pr
ayerful reading.\n\nThere is little room for excursion into the quixot
ic in the Rule of Benedict. If any chapter proves that point best\, it may
well be the chapter on work. Benedict doesn't labor the point but he clea
rly makes it: Benedictine life is life immersed in the sanctity of the rea
l and work is a fundamental part of it. The function of the spiritual life
is not to escape into the next world\; it is to live well in this one. Th
e monastic engages in creative work as a way to be responsible for the upb
uilding of the community. Work periods\, in fact\, are specified just as p
rayer periods are. Work and prayer are opposite sides of the great coin of
a life that is both holy and useful\, immersed in God and dedicated to th
e transcendent in the human. It is labor's transfiguration of the commonpl
ace\, the transformation of the ordinary that makes co-creators of us all.
\n\nWe believe that the times for both may be arranged as follows: From
Easter to the first of October\, they will spend their mornings after Pri
me till about the fourth hour at whatever work needs to be done. From the
fourth hour until the time of Sext\, they will devote themselves to readin
g. But after Sext and their meal\, they may rest on their beds in complete
silence\; should any members wish to read privately\, let them do so\, bu
t without disturbing the others. They should say None a little early\, abo
ut midway through the eighth hour\,and then until Vespers they are to retu
rn to whatever work is necessary. They must not become distressed if local
conditions or their poverty should force them to do the harvesting themse
lves. When they live by the labor of their hands\, as our ancestors and th
e apostles did\, then they are really monastics. Yet\, all things are to b
e done with moderation on account of the fainthearted.\n\nBenedictine
spirituality exacts something so much harder for our century than rigor. B
enedictine spirituality demands balance. Immediately after Benedict talks
about the human need to work\, to fill our lives with something useful and
creative and worthy of our concentration\, he talks about lectio\, about
holy reading and study. Then\, in a world that depended on the rising and
the setting of the sun to mark their days rather than on the artificial nu
mbers on the face of a clock\, Benedict shifts prayer\, work and reading p
eriods from season to season to allow for some of each and not too much of
either as the days stretch or diminish from period to period. He wants pr
ayer to be brief\, work to be daily and study to be constant. With allowan
ces for periodic changes\, then\, the community prayed and studied from ab
out 2:00 am to dawn and then worked for a couple of hours until the hour o
f Terce at about 10:00 am. Then\, after Terce they read for a couple of ho
urs until Sext before the midday meal. After dinner they rested or read un
til about 2:30 and then went back to work for three or four hours until Ve
spers and supper in the late afternoon. After saying a very brief Compline
or evening prayer they retired after sundown for the night. It was a gent
le\, full\, enriching\, regular\, calm and balanced life. It was a prescri
ption for life that ironically has become very hard to achieve in a world
of light bulbs and telephones and cars but it may be more necessary than e
ver if the modern soul is to regain any of the real rhythm of life and so\
, its sanity as well.
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UID:1cc18a08-a039-43b4-8e49-6ad9250af724
DTSTAMP:20260404T140848Z
DESCRIPTION:Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore\, the community
members should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for pra
yerful reading.\n\nThere is little room for excursion into the quixoti
c in the Rule of Benedict. If any chapter proves that point best\, it may
well be the chapter on work. Benedict doesn't labor the point but he clear
ly makes it: Benedictine life is life immersed in the sanctity of the real
and work is a fundamental part of it. The function of the spiritual life
is not to escape into the next world\; it is to live well in this one. The
monastic engages in creative work as a way to be responsible for the upbu
ilding of the community. Work periods\, in fact\, are specified just as pr
ayer periods are. Work and prayer are opposite sides of the great coin of
a life that is both holy and useful\, immersed in God and dedicated to the
transcendent in the human. It is labor's transfiguration of the commonpla
ce\, the transformation of the ordinary that makes co-creators of us all.
\n\nWe believe that the times for both may be arranged as follows: From
Easter to the first of October\, they will spend their mornings after Pri
me till about the fourth hour at whatever work needs to be done. From the
fourth hour until the time of Sext\, they will devote themselves to readin
g. But after Sext and their meal\, they may rest on their beds in complete
silence\; should any members wish to read privately\, let them do so\, bu
t without disturbing the others. They should say None a little early\, abo
ut midway through the eighth hour\,and then until Vespers they are to retu
rn to whatever work is necessary. They must not become distressed if local
conditions or their poverty should force them to do the harvesting themse
lves. When they live by the labor of their hands\, as our ancestors and th
e apostles did\, then they are really monastics. Yet\, all things are to b
e done with moderation on account of the fainthearted.\n\nBenedictine
spirituality exacts something so much harder for our century than rigor. B
enedictine spirituality demands balance. Immediately after Benedict talks
about the human need to work\, to fill our lives with something useful and
creative and worthy of our concentration\, he talks about lectio\, about
holy reading and study. Then\, in a world that depended on the rising and
the setting of the sun to mark their days rather than on the artificial nu
mbers on the face of a clock\, Benedict shifts prayer\, work and reading p
eriods from season to season to allow for some of each and not too much of
either as the days stretch or diminish from period to period. He wants pr
ayer to be brief\, work to be daily and study to be constant. With allowan
ces for periodic changes\, then\, the community prayed and studied from ab
out 2:00 am to dawn and then worked for a couple of hours until the hour o
f Terce at about 10:00 am. Then\, after Terce they read for a couple of ho
urs until Sext before the midday meal. After dinner they rested or read un
til about 2:30 and then went back to work for three or four hours until Ve
spers and supper in the late afternoon. After saying a very brief Compline
or evening prayer they retired after sundown for the night. It was a gent
le\, full\, enriching\, regular\, calm and balanced life. It was a prescri
ption for life that ironically has become very hard to achieve in a world
of light bulbs and telephones and cars but it may be more necessary than e
ver if the modern soul is to regain any of the real rhythm of life and so\
, its sanity as well.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240328T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240328T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 48
SUMMARY:The Daily Manual Labor
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR