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X-WR-CALDESC:Reading will always accompany the meals. The reader should
not be the one who just happens to pick up the book\, but someone who will
read for a whole week\, beginning on Sunday. After Mass and Communion\, l
et the incoming reader ask all to pray so that God may shield them from th
e spirit of vanity. Let the reader begin this verse in the oratory: 'O God
\, open my lips\, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise (Ps 51:17)\,' an
d let all say it three times. When they have received a blessing\, they wi
ll begin their week of reading.\n\nBenedictine spirituality was rooted
in prayer\, study and work. Every hour of the short days were filled with
one or the other and mealtime\, too\, was no exception. Monastics used fo
od for energy\, not for pleasure. It was spiritual nourishment that was th
e food that restored them and impelled them and made them strong and mealt
ime was a good time to get it. They rested in body and in spirit there and
\, even at a moment of physical need\, centered their hearts on higher thi
ngs. They filled their hearts as well as their stomachs.\n\nBenedict consi
dered reading such an important part of the meal\, in fact\, that he insis
ts that the person doing the reading be a good reader\, someone who would
inspire rather than irritate the souls of the listeners. The reading was t
o be an artistic event\, an instructive experience\, a moment of meditatio
n\, not a wrestling match with words. Nor was it to be a moment of persona
l display or lordship by those few educated who could read while the rest
of the community could not.\n\nThis paragraph is just as important now as
the day it was written. Maybe moreso. People who give too much attention t
o the body give too little attention to anything else. They make themselve
s the idol before which they worship and run the risk of forgetting to rai
se their minds to higher things because they are more intent on the rich s
auces and fine meats and thick desserts that fill their days than to the g
aping emptiness in their minds and hearts and souls.\n\nLet there be co
mplete silence. No whispering\, no speaking--only the reader's voice shoul
d be heard there. The members should by turn serve one another's needs as
they eat and drink\, so that no one need ask for anything. If\, however\,
anything is required\, it should be requested by an audible signal of some
kind rather than by speech. No one should presume to ask a question about
the reading or about anything else\, 'lest occasions be given to the devi
l (Eph 4:27\; 1 Tm 5:14).' The abbot or prioress\, however\, may wish to s
ay a few words of instruction.\n\nIn the course of the meal\, the mona
stics are to concentrate on two things: the words of the reading and the n
eeds of their neighbors. It is an astounding demonstration of the nature o
f the entire Christian life frozen in a single frame. We are to listen int
ently for the Word of God and be aware of those around us at the same time
. Either one without the other is an incomplete Christianity. And never\,
at any time\, are we to concentrate solely on ourselves in the name of rel
igion.\n\nBecause of Communion and because the fast may be too hard for
them to bear\, the one who is reader for the week is to receive some dilu
ted wine before beginning to read. Afterward they will take their meal wit
h the weekly kitchen servers and the attendants.\n\nOn Sundays and sol
emn feastdays\, when the community received communion\, the fast from the
night before to the meal which followed the Eucharist was a long one. It w
ould have been even longer for the reader who could eat only after the mea
l was ended. So Benedict\, the one more full of compassion than of law\, a
llowed the reader to take a little wine before starting in order to hold h
im over. The reader still fasts\, in other words\, but with help.\n\nIf an
ything\, this chapter on a now defunct practice\, is a lesson in the way t
hat gentleness softens rigor without destroying either the practice or the
person. Legalists too often opt for practice\, whatever the cost to the p
eople who are trying to do it\; liberals too often opt for people's conven
ience\, whatever the loss of spiritual practice. Benedict\, on the other h
and\, opts for a way of life that cares for people physically while it goe
s on strengthening them spiritually.\n\nThe contemporary question with whi
ch the chapter confronts us is an extremely powerful one: When we eliminat
e a spiritual discipline from our lives\, because it is out of date\, or i
mpossible to do anymore\, or too taxing to be valuable\, what do we put in
its place to provide the same meaning? Or do we just pare away and pare a
way whatever demands spiritual centering from us until all that is left is
a dried up humanism\, at best.\n\n'Prayer without study is like a soul wi
thout a body\,' the rabbis say. Benedict clearly felt the same. The purpos
e of reading at table was to prepare the monastic for prayer. It is necess
ary to understand the scriptures before it is possible to pray them. It is
essential to be steeped in the scriptures before it is possible to exude
them. Table reading\, in other words\, was not a way to get away from peop
le\; it was a way to get closer to God. It was also one of the few times i
n the monastic day\, outside of prayer times\, that the spiritually thirst
y but hard working Benedictine could spend concentrated time on the things
of God.\n\nThe point is that it isn't so much the practice of reading at
table that is important in this chapter\, it is the idea of groundedness i
n the spiritual life that should make us stop and think. We're all busy. W
e're all overscheduled. We're all trying to deal with people and projects
that consume us. We're all spiritually thirsty. And\, we're all responsibl
e for filling the mind with rich ideas in order to leaven the soul. Prayer
\, contemplation\, and spiritual adulthood don't happen by themselves. We
have to work at them. If mealtime isn't a good time for study because the
children or the family or the guest demand an attention then that no other
time will provide\, the question becomes\, what periods do we set aside t
o become as comfortable with the ideas of God in life as we do the televis
ion schedule or the daily paper?\n\nMonastics will read and sing\, not
according to rank\, but according to their ability to benefit their hearer
s.\n\nThe proclamation of the Word is the sowing of the soul. It is no
t to be done idly. It is not to be done without artistry. The proclamation
of the Word of God must become part of the process of experiencing God. P
rima donnas who do it more for their own sake than for the sake of the ass
embly\, who come to perform rather than to blend in with the tone and them
e of the liturgy\, do not enrich a service. They distract from it. On the
other hand\, the ungifted or the unprepared interrupt the flow of the pray
er and call equally disturbing attention to themselves. Lectors\, homilist
s\, and musicians\, liturgy teams and pastors and teachers\, all have some
thing to learn here that is just as important for our own time as it was f
or this one. Good will is no excuse for a lack of artistry. Authority is n
o substitute for education. The spiritual nourishment of an entire people
is in our hands. We do not have the right to treat liturgy lightly. We do
not have the right to reduce the sacraments to such rote in the name of tr
adition that their dryness leaves the people dry. We do not have the right
to make performance a substitute for the participation of the praying com
munity.\n\n
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DTSTAMP:20260427T185622Z
DESCRIPTION:Reading will always accompany the meals. The reader should n
ot be the one who just happens to pick up the book\, but someone who will
read for a whole week\, beginning on Sunday. After Mass and Communion\, le
t the incoming reader ask all to pray so that God may shield them from the
spirit of vanity. Let the reader begin this verse in the oratory: 'O God\
, open my lips\, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise (Ps 51:17)\,' and
let all say it three times. When they have received a blessing\, they wil
l begin their week of reading.\n\nBenedictine spirituality was rooted
in prayer\, study and work. Every hour of the short days were filled with
one or the other and mealtime\, too\, was no exception. Monastics used foo
d for energy\, not for pleasure. It was spiritual nourishment that was the
food that restored them and impelled them and made them strong and mealti
me was a good time to get it. They rested in body and in spirit there and\
, even at a moment of physical need\, centered their hearts on higher thin
gs. They filled their hearts as well as their stomachs.\n\nBenedict consid
ered reading such an important part of the meal\, in fact\, that he insist
s that the person doing the reading be a good reader\, someone who would i
nspire rather than irritate the souls of the listeners. The reading was to
be an artistic event\, an instructive experience\, a moment of meditation
\, not a wrestling match with words. Nor was it to be a moment of personal
display or lordship by those few educated who could read while the rest o
f the community could not.\n\nThis paragraph is just as important now as t
he day it was written. Maybe moreso. People who give too much attention to
the body give too little attention to anything else. They make themselves
the idol before which they worship and run the risk of forgetting to rais
e their minds to higher things because they are more intent on the rich sa
uces and fine meats and thick desserts that fill their days than to the ga
ping emptiness in their minds and hearts and souls.\n\nLet there be com
plete silence. No whispering\, no speaking--only the reader's voice should
be heard there. The members should by turn serve one another's needs as t
hey eat and drink\, so that no one need ask for anything. If\, however\, a
nything is required\, it should be requested by an audible signal of some
kind rather than by speech. No one should presume to ask a question about
the reading or about anything else\, 'lest occasions be given to the devil
(Eph 4:27\; 1 Tm 5:14).' The abbot or prioress\, however\, may wish to sa
y a few words of instruction.\n\nIn the course of the meal\, the monas
tics are to concentrate on two things: the words of the reading and the ne
eds of their neighbors. It is an astounding demonstration of the nature of
the entire Christian life frozen in a single frame. We are to listen inte
ntly for the Word of God and be aware of those around us at the same time.
Either one without the other is an incomplete Christianity. And never\, a
t any time\, are we to concentrate solely on ourselves in the name of reli
gion.\n\nBecause of Communion and because the fast may be too hard for
them to bear\, the one who is reader for the week is to receive some dilut
ed wine before beginning to read. Afterward they will take their meal with
the weekly kitchen servers and the attendants.\n\nOn Sundays and sole
mn feastdays\, when the community received communion\, the fast from the n
ight before to the meal which followed the Eucharist was a long one. It wo
uld have been even longer for the reader who could eat only after the meal
was ended. So Benedict\, the one more full of compassion than of law\, al
lowed the reader to take a little wine before starting in order to hold hi
m over. The reader still fasts\, in other words\, but with help.\n\nIf any
thing\, this chapter on a now defunct practice\, is a lesson in the way th
at gentleness softens rigor without destroying either the practice or the
person. Legalists too often opt for practice\, whatever the cost to the pe
ople who are trying to do it\; liberals too often opt for people's conveni
ence\, whatever the loss of spiritual practice. Benedict\, on the other ha
nd\, opts for a way of life that cares for people physically while it goes
on strengthening them spiritually.\n\nThe contemporary question with whic
h the chapter confronts us is an extremely powerful one: When we eliminate
a spiritual discipline from our lives\, because it is out of date\, or im
possible to do anymore\, or too taxing to be valuable\, what do we put in
its place to provide the same meaning? Or do we just pare away and pare aw
ay whatever demands spiritual centering from us until all that is left is
a dried up humanism\, at best.\n\n'Prayer without study is like a soul wit
hout a body\,' the rabbis say. Benedict clearly felt the same. The purpose
of reading at table was to prepare the monastic for prayer. It is necessa
ry to understand the scriptures before it is possible to pray them. It is
essential to be steeped in the scriptures before it is possible to exude t
hem. Table reading\, in other words\, was not a way to get away from peopl
e\; it was a way to get closer to God. It was also one of the few times in
the monastic day\, outside of prayer times\, that the spiritually thirsty
but hard working Benedictine could spend concentrated time on the things
of God.\n\nThe point is that it isn't so much the practice of reading at t
able that is important in this chapter\, it is the idea of groundedness in
the spiritual life that should make us stop and think. We're all busy. We
're all overscheduled. We're all trying to deal with people and projects t
hat consume us. We're all spiritually thirsty. And\, we're all responsible
for filling the mind with rich ideas in order to leaven the soul. Prayer\
, contemplation\, and spiritual adulthood don't happen by themselves. We h
ave to work at them. If mealtime isn't a good time for study because the c
hildren or the family or the guest demand an attention then that no other
time will provide\, the question becomes\, what periods do we set aside to
become as comfortable with the ideas of God in life as we do the televisi
on schedule or the daily paper?\n\nMonastics will read and sing\, not a
ccording to rank\, but according to their ability to benefit their hearers
.\n\nThe proclamation of the Word is the sowing of the soul. It is not
to be done idly. It is not to be done without artistry. The proclamation
of the Word of God must become part of the process of experiencing God. Pr
ima donnas who do it more for their own sake than for the sake of the asse
mbly\, who come to perform rather than to blend in with the tone and theme
of the liturgy\, do not enrich a service. They distract from it. On the o
ther hand\, the ungifted or the unprepared interrupt the flow of the praye
r and call equally disturbing attention to themselves. Lectors\, homilists
\, and musicians\, liturgy teams and pastors and teachers\, all have somet
hing to learn here that is just as important for our own time as it was fo
r this one. Good will is no excuse for a lack of artistry. Authority is no
substitute for education. The spiritual nourishment of an entire people i
s in our hands. We do not have the right to treat liturgy lightly. We do n
ot have the right to reduce the sacraments to such rote in the name of tra
dition that their dryness leaves the people dry. We do not have the right
to make performance a substitute for the participation of the praying comm
unity.\n\n
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20240717T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20240717T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 38
SUMMARY:The Reader for the Week
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR