I am the
gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and
find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have
come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:9-10
We lose
the Story every day. It is continually being stolen from us by the Evil One—the
ultimate desconstructionist. He twists and spins and pulls apart the truth
until the fragments we have left are unrecognizable. Or we lose it ourselves in
the marketplace of Vanity Fair. Bombarded by thousands of messages each day,
every one of them marked urgent, we leave behind the truly important things,
the only refuge for our hearts.
We must be more intentional about holding on to the truth. The
spiritual pilgrims who aligned themselves with St. Benedict took this task
seriously—far more seriously than we do, I’m afraid. A typical day in the lives
of Benedictine monks began in the middle of the night, when they arose for the
Night Office. No less than twelve psalms would be said, together with three
Scripture readings, several hymns, and prayers. Sunrise brought the Morning
Office, followed by six other breaks during the labors of the day for
remembering: Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline in the evening.
Seven times a day set aside for prayer and the recitation of psalms. Together
with their night vigil, more than twenty-nine psalms would be said, not to
mention numerous lessons, verses, prayers, and hymns.
Now, I’m not suggesting that we all adopt the Rule of Benedict.
But think about this: these men left the distractions of the world to focus
entirely on God. They lived in an environment designed to
keep them standing before God, and what did they discover? That they needed
reminders every hour of the day and night! Do we, who live in the hostile chaos
of the world, think we can do with an occasional visit?
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