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X-WR-CALDESC:From the first of October to the beginning of Lent\, the me
mbers ought to devote themselves to reading until the end of the second ho
ur. At this time Terce is said and they are to work at their assigned task
s until None. At the first signal for the hour of None\, all put aside the
ir work to be ready for the second signal. Then after their meal they will
devote themselves to their reading or to the psalms.\n\nDuring the days o
f Lent\, they should be free in the morning to read until the third hour\,
after which they will work at their assigned tasks until the end of the t
enth hour. During this time of Lent each one is to receive a book from the
library and is to read the whole of it straight through. These books are
to be distributed at the beginning of Lent.\n\nDuring Lent\, the monks
are to go on working but to increase their reading time. In this period\,
they are to be assigned a book to read 'straight through.' In Lent they a
re to put themselves on a regimen and study what they are told to study in
a serious and ordered way. Nevertheless\, the work continues. Benedictine
s were to 'earn their bread by the labor of their hands' and no devotion w
as to take the place of the demands of life. These were working monastics
who depended on God to provide the means of getting food but who did not\,
as the ancients said\, depend on God to put it in the nest.\n\nAt the sam
e time\, work is not what defines the Benedictine. It is the single-minded
search for God that defines Benedictine spirituality. That is what the mo
nastic pursues behind every other pursuit. That is what gives the monastic
life meaning. That is what frees the monastic heart. The monastic does no
t exist for work. Creative and productive work are simply meant to enhance
the Garden and sustain us while we grow into God.\n\nIn today's culture i
n which people are identified more by what they do than what they are\, th
is is a lesson of profound importance. Once the retirement dinner is over
and the company watch is engraved\, there has to be something left in life
that makes us human and makes us happy or life may well have been in vain
. That something\, Benedictine spirituality indicates\, is a mind and a he
art full of a sense of meaning and an instinct for God.\n\nAbove all\,
one or two elders must surely be deputed to make the rounds of the monaste
ry while the members are reading. Their duty is to see that no one is so a
pathetic as to waste time or engage in idle talk to the neglect of their r
eading\, and so not only harm themselves but also distract others. If such
persons are found--God forbid--they should be reproved a first and a seco
nd time. If they do not amend\, they must be subjected to the punishment o
f the rule as a warning to others. Further\, members ought not to associat
e with one another at inappropriate times.\n\nStudy is hard work. It i
s so much easier to find something else to do in its place than to stay at
the grind of it. We have excuses aplenty for avoiding the dull\, hard\, d
aily attempt to learn. There is always something so much more important to
do than reading. There is always someone we have to talk to about somethi
ng that can't wait until the reading time is over. There is always some ov
erwhelming fatigue to be dealt with before we can really begin to concentr
ate. There is always some excuse for not stretching our souls with new ide
as and insights now or yet or ever. But Benedictine spirituality says life
is to be struggled through and worked at and concentrated on and cultivat
ed. It is not a matter of simply going through it and hoping that enough o
f the rust of time is removed by accident to make us burnished spiritual a
dults.
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DTSTAMP:20260415T023708Z
DESCRIPTION:From the first of October to the beginning of Lent\, the mem
bers ought to devote themselves to reading until the end of the second hou
r. At this time Terce is said and they are to work at their assigned tasks
until None. At the first signal for the hour of None\, all put aside thei
r work to be ready for the second signal. Then after their meal they will
devote themselves to their reading or to the psalms.\n\nDuring the days of
Lent\, they should be free in the morning to read until the third hour\,
after which they will work at their assigned tasks until the end of the te
nth hour. During this time of Lent each one is to receive a book from the
library and is to read the whole of it straight through. These books are t
o be distributed at the beginning of Lent.\n\nDuring Lent\, the monks
are to go on working but to increase their reading time. In this period\,
they are to be assigned a book to read 'straight through.' In Lent they ar
e to put themselves on a regimen and study what they are told to study in
a serious and ordered way. Nevertheless\, the work continues. Benedictines
were to 'earn their bread by the labor of their hands' and no devotion wa
s to take the place of the demands of life. These were working monastics w
ho depended on God to provide the means of getting food but who did not\,
as the ancients said\, depend on God to put it in the nest.\n\nAt the same
time\, work is not what defines the Benedictine. It is the single-minded
search for God that defines Benedictine spirituality. That is what the mon
astic pursues behind every other pursuit. That is what gives the monastic
life meaning. That is what frees the monastic heart. The monastic does not
exist for work. Creative and productive work are simply meant to enhance
the Garden and sustain us while we grow into God.\n\nIn today's culture in
which people are identified more by what they do than what they are\, thi
s is a lesson of profound importance. Once the retirement dinner is over a
nd the company watch is engraved\, there has to be something left in life
that makes us human and makes us happy or life may well have been in vain.
That something\, Benedictine spirituality indicates\, is a mind and a hea
rt full of a sense of meaning and an instinct for God.\n\nAbove all\, o
ne or two elders must surely be deputed to make the rounds of the monaster
y while the members are reading. Their duty is to see that no one is so ap
athetic as to waste time or engage in idle talk to the neglect of their re
ading\, and so not only harm themselves but also distract others. If such
persons are found--God forbid--they should be reproved a first and a secon
d time. If they do not amend\, they must be subjected to the punishment of
the rule as a warning to others. Further\, members ought not to associate
with one another at inappropriate times.\n\nStudy is hard work. It is
so much easier to find something else to do in its place than to stay at
the grind of it. We have excuses aplenty for avoiding the dull\, hard\, da
ily attempt to learn. There is always something so much more important to
do than reading. There is always someone we have to talk to about somethin
g that can't wait until the reading time is over. There is always some ove
rwhelming fatigue to be dealt with before we can really begin to concentra
te. There is always some excuse for not stretching our souls with new idea
s and insights now or yet or ever. But Benedictine spirituality says life
is to be struggled through and worked at and concentrated on and cultivate
d. It is not a matter of simply going through it and hoping that enough of
the rust of time is removed by accident to make us burnished spiritual ad
ults.
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20250729T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20250729T235900
LOCATION:Chapter 48 continued
SUMMARY:The Daily Manual Labor
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR