Our Monastic Day: in Sequence

Several years ago, we offered a series of posts that I called 'Our Monastic Day.'  It was our own little cloistered-in-the-midst-of-the-world-horarium, looking into how we can offer our own days to God morning through night. 

Reading another blog recently, I discovered a story that I was able to read in actual chronological order. The blogger simply gave a link to one post, and then linked from there to the next part of the story, and on and on.  No jumping back and forth, no reading in backwards-sequence (as blogs do)... just beginning and then continuing on if one wanted to do so. I loved it. I would like to try it.

I'd like to go back over our monastic day (a kind of cloistered-heart-refresher), and why re-invent the cloister wheel?

So I invite anyone who cares to go through a day in-the-cloister-in-the-world, little by little, to begin at the link below.  At the bottom of that link, there will be another link, and on and on.  When we get to Compline and the singing of the Salve Regina, we'll know that 'day' is done.

And for those who weren't around for our 'Parlor' comments-blog, I apologize for any confusion.  Comments are now open right here, but we've left the Parlor open in case anyone ever wants to go back and see what was discussed there.

Let's try this, shall we?   

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Monastic Goodnight

Darkness falls around the monastery.  Recreation is over, and it's time for the Night Office.  The Sisters end their day where they began it, in the presence of their Lord.

The chant of Night Office lulls, comforts, hushes, swaddles, soothes souls into rest.  As the prayer draws to a close, the Sisters will turn toward an icon of Our Blessed Mother and sing a hymn to conclude this monastic day.  And then Grand Silence will fall upon the monastery, after which no one will speak.  

Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:
my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:
a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace....

click picture for a monastic goodnight

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Talk About Talk

As the Sisters' quiet evening at home continues, they gather for evening recreation.  It's time for some relaxed conversation.  

One of the Sisters might bring along a bit of embroidery she's doing to sell in their gift shop.  Another nun is busy with crochet.  Sometimes Mother has an interesting letter from one of their friends to share with everyone.  Occasionally there will be an announcement of some kind. 

Oh, and that reminds me.  I have an announcement of some kind.  

As our monastic day is now drawing toward its close, I want to "announce" that another day will follow right behind it.

 

It won't be exactly the same, of course.  For one thing, I think it will put more emphasis on bringing elements of monasticism out into our own worlds.  I think.  And I only "think" because I really don't know.  I am trusting God to lead this adventure, and I'm asking for your prayer that He will continue showing us what it means to live totally for Him in this world. 

But I digress.  I suppose that's okay in the middle of a family conversation, which is what evening recreation in a monastery generally is.  A family conversation.  A bit of chatter among friends.  Yes, talk during recreation is that.... but is it exactly like other conversations in the world?  

Hmm.  I suspect not.  Today I was considering some of the possible differences. 

In a gathering of individuals who are bent upon serving God with every attitude and word, are we likely to hear:  

 

Gossip?  
Complaints about ""my headache," "my ear"?
Comparisons between the cooking abilities of, say, Sister Martha and Sister Julia?
Prayer requests for others that include sordid details?  

Making fun of people, whether those persons are present in the gathering or not? 
Criticism of one another?
Snapping at one another?

And what about me, out here in the "world?"  The next time I'm in a gathering of family members/friends/neighbors/co-workers..... might I be influenced by thinking of how Sisters would speak to each other during their Recreations?

© 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

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Supper

In most monasteries, the evening meal is simple but adequate.  Like everything else in the monastic life, it is balanced.  It's a harmony of proteins, vegetables, dairy products and fruits, all combining to build well-nourished bodies. 

And of course, there is again Refectory Reading.  It, too, is balanced.  Over any given month, there will be a variety of books, articles, writings of saints.  As the body is nourished, the mind and spirit are being fed as well.

For tonight's refectory reading, I've prepared a platter of brief selections for mind and spirit.  I, for one, intend to settle back for a few minutes, ask Our Lord to inspire my meditations, and enjoy a hopefully well-balanced sampling of thoughts....

"Here I stand, knocking at the door.  If anyone hears me calling and opens the door, I will enter his house and have supper with him, and he with Me."  (Revelation 3:20)

"I Myself am the Bread of life.  No one who comes to Me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in Me shall ever thirst."  (John 6:35)

"Through the Eucharist those who live the life of Christ are fed and strengthened."  (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1436)

"From celebration to celebration, as they proclaim the Paschal mystery of Jesus 'until He comes,' the pilgrim people of God advances, 'following the narrow way of the cross,' toward the heavenly banquet, when all the elect will be seated at the table of the kingdom."  (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1344)

"It is no small penance to accommodate our taste to all kinds of food and keep it in subjection to all occurrences.  Besides, this kind of mortification makes no parade, gives no trouble to anyone, and is happily adapted to civilian life."  (St. Francis de Sales)

"An overfed belly will not study willingly."  (a medieval maxim)

"Sister Paula remarked ... how it was 'so nice' that the tornado did not kill us after all, as Sister Catherine's mother had just given us some shrimp and it would be a dreadful shame for a rare treat like that to be blown into Texas where people probably had shrimp any old day."  (Mother Mary Francis PCC, A Right to be Merry, p. 22)

"Happy are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" (Revelation 19:9)

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Vespers at Home

Over the years, the rooms in my house have become so familiar that I feel they're almost part of my skin.  Day after day I've cared for them, chatted and dreamed and prayed in them, memorized the view from almost every window.  

Today I had a thought that took me aback.  What if one of the rooms in my home was a chapel?  What if, after a hard day of work, the people in my household sat down to relax not on sofas and easy chairs, but in choir stalls and pews?

I suppose what struck me most about this thought was that a cloistered nun doesn't just visit her chapel.  She lives with it.  She lives IN it.  She spends at least as much time there as I do in my living room.  It's where she gathers with the rest of her monastic family:  morning, noon and night.  When she's tired from a day of work in garden or kitchen or sewing room, the chapel is where she begins her quiet evening at home.  

The quiet evening is ushered in with the Office of Vespers, which is technically (normally) in late afternoon.  Again Sisters slip noiselessly into choir stalls.  It is time to blend their voices into graceful hymns of praise.

The chant is back and forth, as always.  In most monastic settings, one row of choir stalls faces another.  Side one sings the first part in unison; side two calls out a response....

God, come to my assistance. 
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. 
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.  Amen.  Alleluia....

The chant gives praise to God.  It soothes the souls of its singers as well. How could it help but do so?  Its notes are even, practiced, measured, calming.  The surroundings are like a balm to those to whom they've become so familiar.

After all, this is home.

"Within us there is a palace of immense magnificence.  The entire edifice is built of gold and precious stones.... Truly there is no building of such great beauty as a pure soul, filled with virtues, and the greater these virtues, the brighter these stones sparkle... In this palace the great King lodges, Who has been pleased to become your Guest, and.. He sits there on a throne of tremendous value: your heart."  (St. Teresa of Avila)

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org       


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Laborare est Orare

 Laborare est Orare

 To work is to Pray

  motto of the Benedictine Order

The bell rings again; free time is concluded.  There is work yet to be done in this monastic day.   Quietly, residents of the monastery go back to the chores that have been assigned.... 

"Whatsoever good work you undertake, pray earnestly to God that He will enable you to bring it to a successful conclusion."  The Rule of St. Benedict

"He who labors as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands."  St. Bernard

"We must try to converse with God in little ways while we do our work... we should purely and simply reveal our hearts as the words come to us."  Brother Lawrence

"I love Him while I ply my needle..." Elizabeth of the Trinity

"Labor, as well as fasting, serves to mortify and subdue the flesh.  Provided the labor you undertake contributes to the glory of God and your own welfare,  I would prefer that you should suffer the pain of labor rather than that of fasting."  St. Francis de Sales 

"I find a heaven in the midst of saucepans and brooms."  St. Stanislaus Kostka

"You will become a saint by complying exactly with your daily duties."   St. Mary Joseph Rossello

"Work done with impetuosity and precipitation is never done well; we must make haste slowly.... Accept all the duties that come your way peacefully, taking them in order one by one.  St. Francis de Sales

"Your heart to God and your hands to work."  St. Mary Joseph Rossello 

"During the greater part of His life Jesus shared the condition of the vast majority of human beings:  a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life of manual labor."  Catechism of the Catholic Church #531 

"Each small task of everyday life is part of the total harmony of the universe."  St. Therese of Lisieux 



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WELCOME!

Deo Gratias!

I would like to take a moment to especially welcome anyone who has just stumbled across this blog, or who might have been away from "screen visitations" for a few weeks.  

It can be strange to return from vacation, or from getting the children settled into a new school year.... and then come back to a blog to find writers and readers in the midst of something like "a monastic day." 

What's this all about, anyway?  Would I even be able to "catch up?"  

To answer the first question:  we are in the middle of looking into a few facets of a "monastic day."  We're proceeding more or less in order, from morning to night.  

And to answer the second question:  yes.   

If you look at the top of this screen, you should see the words "A Monastic Day" at the far right.  If you click on that, you'll find all of the parts so far of this "monastic day," placed in the order in which they were posted.  As you probably know, if you click on a title, it will open right up. 

Welcome back!  Or welcome for the first time, whichever the case may be.  And you can leave comments if you like, by clicking this line to get to the "parlor."  It's good to have you here! 

"As soon as anyone knocks, the doorkeeper must answer Deo Gratias, or give him a blessing, and open the gate quickly."  (from the Rule of St. Benedict)

Free Time

Yes, those living the monastic life do have some time to themselves during the day (were we beginning to wonder?). There are moments when the nuns or monks can do what they please.  Of course, what they do in these moments will please God too, for their whole lifestyle is one of pleasing Him.  Pleasing God is the purpose of their lives.

Perhaps a nun will spend a few minutes in the garden, giving herself time to savor the glories of creation.  She may read a book, or catch up on personal correspondence.  She might even have a brief rest in her cell.  And if Sister nods off, there is no fear of oversleeping.  There will always be a bell.....

In our lives in the world, we have free time also.  Some of us, of course, have more of it than others.   But there are moments in each day when even the busiest among us may not be shuffling papers or cooking meals or sorting laundry.

I, for one, would like to form such a habit of pleasing God that no matter what I may be doing with my time, I can know that what I do is great with Him.  Whether I'm writing a letter, reading a book, talking on the phone, visiting a friend, seeing a movie, I want my lifestyle to be one of pleasing Him.

I want pleasing God to be the purpose of my life.

(Nancy Shuman photo)


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My Choir Stall

The bell clangs again, it's time for midafternoon prayer.  Once more, residents of the monastery gather in the choir stalls to sing His praise.

Again the swish of habits, the sliding of soft soles across floors, the quiet rustle of Breviaries being opened and pages being turned.  Sisters move to their places without hesitation; there is no wondering where any one goes today, for it's always the same.  Once choir stalls*  are assigned, they are easily remembered.  After all, a nun prays in the same one numerous times a day, seven days a week.

The swell of the organ, a blending of voices, the singing of praise.  Outside, potatoes for dinner may be half dug from the garden, but Sister Gardener left them behind at the summons of the bell.  Perhaps there's a prospect of rain this afternoon, and Sister Gardener might have disliked dropping her shovel to come indoors for this brief Office.  She may be distracted, listening for a rumble of thunder; but here she is, and here she sings.

My life in the world is not like this.  I say again:  my life in the world is not supposed to be like this.  I might hope for a particular time today for prayer, but I don't drop a pan or the baby to rush away to it. 

There is something I can do, however.  I can bring the prayer to me.  My "choir stall" is both permanent and portable.  My designated prayer place is the choir stall of my heart.  So:  while boiling water, shuffling files in an office, diapering the baby, I can praise God.

With a simple three word aspiration, I can praise Him.  I can do so silently (the recommended prayer-style in the workplace!); while in the solitude of my home or car - and especially while rocking a baby - I might even want to sing a hymn.

Wherever I am and whatever I'm doing, I have a choir stall in my heart. 

"Let my soul live to praise You."  (Psalm 119:175) 

"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth."  (Psalm 34:2)
__________________________________________________________________
* a choir stall is a chair in the chapel, where a nun or monk prays

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      


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Nothing Else But Christ

At some time during the day, nuns or monks are likely to have a time of study.  Certainly this is true for postulants and novices, but classes are often conducted for the long-professed as well.  After all, there is much to learn about the God they have come here to serve.  There is also a lot to learn about any given order, about its charisms and reasons for being.  

As a "heart-monastic," what is MY reason for being?  For being HERE ... in a monastery of the heart?

More than twenty years ago, Father Michael Scanlan T.O.R. placed the Cloistered Heart on a sure path with one solid nugget of advice. "Study Orders of Consecrated life," Father said to me. I have been doing this ever since. 

For our "study time" today, I'd like to share some of the gems I've uncovered. These speak to the most basic core of monasticism, and thus - in ways we might each reflect upon if we listen to the Holy Spirit of God - they can speak to us.

"The fundamental question: ' does he really seek God.'  Let us state the fact without beating about the bush:  a monastic institute which ceased to put this question to its postulants, or which inserted some different question in its place, would cease ipso facto to have any right to the name monastic.  The search, the true search, in which the whole of one's being is engaged, not for some thing but for some One:  is the search for God.  That is the beginning and end of monasticism.  If it is to be truly God which we seek, we have to seek him as a Person."  (The Meaning of the Monastic Life, Lois Bouyer of the Oratory, PJ Kenedy and Sons, NY, 1950,p. 8)

"The Christian life is nothing else but Christ; the monastic life is nothing else but Christ.  The requirements for the Christian and for the monk are in substance the same....  whether it is union with Him in the world or in the cloister, it is union that is the soul's purpose.  Nothing else matters but this."  (The Yoke of Divine Love, Dom Hubert Van Zeller, Templegate, Springfield IL, 1960, p. 182)

"In every Christian vocation lies the germ of a monastic vocation."   (Bouyer, The Meaning of the Monastic Life, from preface)

"Monastic life is nothing else, no more and no less, than a Christian life whose Christianity has penetrated every part of it."  (Bouyer, The Meaning of the Monastic Life, p. 13)

Can Christianity penetrate every part of MY life, out here in the midst of the world?
How?

Do I see the germ of a monastic vocation in myself?
If so, how can I nurture it and help it grow?

Do I really want to seek the living Person of God?

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Recreation

Silence is the normal language of a monastic community.  That changes, however, during Recreation.

Afternoon Recreations may be indoors (especially during inclement weather), perhaps with most of the Community together.  Sometimes Sisters take strolls around the grounds, however, or engage in outdoor games, or relax in the garden and chat.  I knew of one cloistered nun who (I'm sorry to say!) broke a limb sledding down a "monastic hill" in the snow.  And if there is a lake or pond on the property, the photo on this post would not be an altogether surprising sight.

"To take the air," says St. Francis de Sales, "to walk, to entertain ourselves with cheerful and friendly conversation.... these are such innocent recreations that in a proper use of them there is need only of that common prudence which gives to everything its due order, time, place and measure." 


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Turnips for Potatoes

The noon meal is "Dinner" in the monastery.  It is the main meal, taken when bodies and minds are in need of sustenance to equip them for the rest of the day's duties.

This time the nuns sit to eat, which they do in silence.  One of the Sisters reads aloud to all, from a holy book or article.  Minds and bodies are thus nourished and refreshed. 

(I assume the men reading this will forgive my continued use of the words "sisters" and "nuns".... for being a woman, it is with such that I identify.  However, the word "monk" can apply just as well).  

Again I hope the publishers of what I'm about to share might forgive my use of a rather substantial quote - for I am recommending this book.  I now prepare to "stand before you" and read to you as you "dine."  Before I do so, I need to mention that the Poor Clares referred to in this reading do not eat meat.

I find the following selection particularly appropriate for a Refectory Reading, for this scene opens with exactly that:

"Sometimes the reading is momentarily interrupted by an important announcement from Mother Abbess to the effect that 'the squash is for potatoes.  The salad is the third portion.'  After years of listening to these quaint flashes, I still relish them with secret mirth, and not least because of the judge-like gravity of countenance and tone with which Mother Abbess unfailingly makes them.  A Poor Clare meal consists always of soup, vegetable, potato, fruit and the famous 'third portion.'  That last is an ancient monastic term for the main dish of the meal..

"The nuns are very set in their monastic ways.  If we have no potatoes, then some understudy must be summoned from the culinary wings to play their role.  Thus, the pronouncement: 'Dear Sisters, the turnips are for potatoes.'   Now, the turnips will most likely be accompanied by cabbage, and the mystery as to which of these two plebs is to rise to potato status is known only to cooks and abbesses... the implication is that a Poor Clare's digestion would be seriously impaired if she did not know whether cabbage is this day passing itself off as potatoes or preserving the integrity of its name... 

"'Dear Sisters, the carrots are for potatoes,' Mother Abbess would solemnly announce on Friday.  On Saturday we heard:  'Dear Sisters, the carrot salad is the vegetable.'  When all of us sat on the edge of our chairs on Monday, wondering what variations could possibly remain, Mother Abbess would declare sweetly and gravely:  'Dear Sisters, the carrots and turnips are mixed vegetables and potatoes.'  Poor Clare abbesses are not easily worsted."  

(Mother Mary Francis PCC, A Right To Be Merry, Franciscan Herald Press, 1956  and 1973, pp.  25-126. This book is now published by Ignatius Press)


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The Bell Again

Work continues in the monastery this morning.  Just as Sister Anne pours cheese sauce for dinner and Sister Jeanne explains the Order's history to a postulant, the bell rings. 

Sauce is covered swiftly with a cloth, a book is closed, and Sisters quickly gather in the chapel.  They seem to have sprung suddenly from everywhere, yet they come in silence.  Only the swish of habits and the muffled sounds of  footsteps can be heard.

The nuns enter easily into prayer, for they have never really left it.

The bell has signaled communal prayer again.  Nuns align themselves in an orderly fashion, in places assigned to them.  The transition from scrubbing to praying is seamless, as they bow to the One Who is their reason for being.  In the midst of a world swarming with those who do not know that God is the Reason for everything, the Sisters stand and proclaim this Truth.  They sing with all their hearts to Him; they chant and offer praise.

As we look around in our own world day by day, we may not find many who know that God is the Reason for being.  We may not live surrounded by others praising Him.

In this world where Jesus is not loved (for the most part), adored, thanked, glorified - we can be His praisers.

Think of it!

It's possible that in the office where you work, or in a grocery line, or in a dentist's waiting room, YOU could be the only person praying at any given time.  To think of this one thing has been a revolutionary idea for me. 

I can adore Our Lord wherever I may be!  I can sing to Him inwardly.  I can love Him in the cloister of my heart, in the very midst of a world where He is not loved. 

I may not go to a chapel in late morning.  But in the midst of daily duties, I can offer praise.

© 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org    

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The Cloister: a Video Visit

As our monastic day continues, I've realized that we have a precious resource right at our fingertips.  Quite literally.

All it takes is a few taps of fingers on keys and we can "be" right in the very monastery I wrote of in our "breakfast" post.

Over the months, I've grown so accustomed to the precious resource of monastic links on this blog's sidebar that I haven't thought to look at them in awhile.  Last night, however, I did so, and - lo and behold.  There was the very refectory I had written about visiting, and there were the Sisters standing, having breakfast in silence.

I've been privileged to go for retreat a number of times at the Visitation Monastery in Tryingham, Massachusetts, and I really would like to "take you back with me!"  These two videos should do this quite well.  If you have seen these before, I recommend a re-viewing, keeping in mind the physical elements of "our monastic day."

This particular monastery does not use grillwork (I say this lest you wonder why it isn't there).  The Community relocated from Delaware in the mid 1990s, and in the new building there are partial walls and altar railings marking the boundaries of enclosure.

If you are interested in the atmosphere and life of a cloistered community, I think you will find these visits well worth your time. (click on them to view)

We Begin Because of Love

Someone e-mailed yesterday with a beautiful insight.  Work, said my friend, should come from our desire to love God with all that is in us.  

She wrote: "If I can't yet perform the action with love, perhaps I can begin by doing it because of love. The Little Flower didn't necessarily love washing dishes, but she loved God and because of it, she washed the dishes."

I love this.  I can live with this.  I can, hopefully, remember this and apply it in my daily life. 


 
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The Monastic Workday

I was once under the impression that contemplatives in monasteries spent every moment in adoration, reading holy books, kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament with hands upraised, weeping with joy at the nearness of God.

Not exactly. 

The truth is: once breakfast has been finished, in most monastic communities it's time for work.  The world behind enclosure walls needs as much maintenance as the world inside a ranch house.  And of course it needs more, for a monastery is usually much larger .. thankfully there are more hands to do the work!  

Just think of what you might do in a given day.  Plan and prepare and serve and clean up from meals.  Dust furniture and floors.  Scrub sinks and toilets.  Care for laundry.   Tend to lawns and gardens.  Pay bills.  Do some honest labor to earn money TO pay bills (think monastery cheese, coffee, fruit cake, vestments, icons, crafts...).  Read and answer mail.  Ideally, a monastery also has postulants and novices, who most be guided through formation and study... homeschooled students taught by stay-at-home nuns.  

"Every day lived for God is a rare adventure," wrote Mother Mary Francis PCC in her classic book A Right to be Merry.  "and a Poor Clare nun feels this strongly when she leaves the refectory each morning, in soul refreshed with many blessings, and in body fortified with hot coffee and homemade bread."

Mother goes on:  "Now the big monastery stretches its long cloisters like arms, the windows yawn wide with sunlight, and sounds and smells awaken everywhere.  Soon the fragrant odor of cooking apples and baking bread comes spiralling out of the kitchen.  Typewriters begin their tap dance..... the sacristan goes to see about the Lord's accessories for His next public appearance..."

We will talk more about work as "our monastic day" continues.  We will, God willing, talk more about everything.  For prayer has not ceased with the baking of apples (during which many aspirational prayers are surely offered).  Meals come in cycles.  There is chant to be sung; there are books to be meditiated upon and savored.

And now an aside:  One book that we might savor as we continue through this "exercise of a monastic day" is A RIGHT TO BE MERRY by Mother Mary Francis PCC... the book I quoted above.  Because I am strongly recommending it, I hope the late author's Community will forgive my ample use of quotes as these posts go on!  The book is available from Ignatius Press (click here to view), where it is currently a sale item.  It's also on Amazon... and I've just learned it's "on sale" there as well.  I could write pages of my own love for this poetic and real and wonderfully humorous book, but one of the people going through our "monastic day" with us probably said it best, in an e-mail that I received yesterday: 

"Your blog right on top of reading A Right To Be Merry is absolutely stunning.  I think the combination is the most energizing thing to happen to my own heart in quite a long time."

I'm now reopening my own dog-eared copy.  I expect to again be stunned.    

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

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All I Must Do is Accept

I have been privileged to spend time in monasteries of nuns on several occasions.  As a retreatant, I've been able to live inside the enclosure for a few days at a time... praying with the Sisters, joining them for Mass, taking meals with them, sleeping in a cell.

One of the (many) things that struck me during such experiences was the simplicity of monastic life, and I probably noticed this most during mealtimes.  The monastic meal stands in stark contrast to meals in the world.  The food is nourishing but simple, adequate but not overly abundant.  Normally, meals are taken in silence.

In one monastery I have visited, breakfast is eaten while one is standing.  The nuns file into the "refectory" (dining room) after Mass, pour themselves coffee or juice, take a piece of toast or fruit, and move to their assigned places at table.  Each Sister goes quietly about the business of eating.  She accepts the food necessary for her to move forward into this day.  It is all very efficient, basic, and starkly simple.

Nourishment of the spirit has come first, nourishment of the body follows immediately after.  Both are important, but priorities are in their proper order.  There is work to be done:  spirit and body must be ready to do it.

For me, there is work to be done - no matter what shape that may take.  I need the nourishment of spirit and body to meet whatever the day ahead shall bring.   I may see, as I look forward with "morning eyes," some of the things awaiting me.  Others will be surprises.

God, however, knows what lies ahead.  Nothing that happens today will surprise Him.  Because He knows, He has already made preparations.  He has provided nourishment for me ahead of time.  All I must do is accept it.

It is all very efficient, basic, and starkly simple.  All I must do is accept. 

"My God, I give You this day.  I offer You, now, all of the good I shall do - and I promise to accept, for love of You, all of the difficulty that I shall meet.  Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to You."  (St. Francis de Sales, Direction of Intention)

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org      

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Embracing the Mass

"They recounted what had happened to them on the road, and how they had come to know Him in the breaking of the bread."  (Luke 24:35)

Mass is the highlight of the monastic day.  The other prayers prepare for it, revolve around it, highlight and underscore it... and carry its themes into every other part of the afternoon and evening.  This is reasonable, logical, for "The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life...  In brief, the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith."  (Catechism of the Catholic Church #s 1324 and 1327)

Before the great Wonder of the Eucharist, of Jesus with us in Flesh and Blood, I am, frankly, speechless.  So I look to one more eloquent than I as I pass along these words: 

"We must continually remind ourselves that the greatest need in the world today is to centre our lives more and more in the oblational aspect of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; for today, when the whole world is galloping away from the very shadow of the Cross, we must embrace it and cling to it ever more firmly, in union with Jesus Christ.... We should never come to Holy Mass without preparation, and it is for this reason that, in Religious Houses, the Community Mass is celebrated after the Spiritual Exercises of the morning.  Of all the works of the Sacred Heart here below, Holy Mass together with Holy Communion is the Masterpiece."  (from The Living Pyx of Jesus by 'A Religious,' Pelligrini, 1941, p. 443)

Can I get to Mass today?  If so, I ask for the grace of opened eyes.  Eyes that can truly see Him in the breaking of the Bread. 

But perhaps I am limited - maybe by familly needs, illness, work, disability.  What then?   I can at least make a spiritual communion, perhaps using words like these: 

"My Jesus, I believe You are truly present in the most Blessed Sacrament.  I love You above all things, and I desire to possess You within my soul.  Since I am unable now to receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.  I embrace You as if You were already there, and I unite myself wholly to You; never permit me to be separated from You."  (St. Alphonsus)


Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
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The Monastic Morning

In a monastery, Morning Prayer is usually prayed soon after the nuns or monks have awakened, dressed, and prepared to begin their day.  I realize that in many Orders, the "day" has begun in the middle of the night, but for the sake of our purposes here, I'm taking my comparisons from a Community whose routine is a bit more useful for the sake of our analogies.

Residents are up and on their feet inside the monastery, they've dressed and had a speedy morning wash-up; now they file silently into the chapel. One by one they slip into their seats.  The world outside is dark and hushed.

In some monasteries, private meditation and the Office of Morning Prayer and then Mass flow smoothly together.  They weave one into another, forming one long strong unit of prayer.  Overnight silence is broken with the Morning Office, and "broken" is perhaps too sharp a word for what happens.  I think of the Sisters as easing out of quiet, sliding their voices into it like whisperings of early-rising birds.  Melodies are chanted.  Praises are sung.

Our lives in the world are not like this.  It helps me to remember that our lives in the world are NOT SUPPOSED to be like this. "Make your devotion pleasing, especially to your husband," advised gloriously practical St. Francis de Sales.  Husbands and children would not be pleased with silent wives and mothers; employers wouldn't long employ those who showed up late day after day... even if they reeked of incense and their faces gently glowed. 

So - what aspects of the monastic morning CAN be applied to OUR lives, here and now?   The answer will be different for every one of us.  Unlike nuns in a monastery, we do not have the same circumstances in our lives.  We don't gather together in a chapel, pray the Office at the same times or at all, hear the same homily.  We rush off to offices, drive carpool, homeschool, change diapers, jam into subways, deal with traffic.

The important thing, for me, is to at least have SOME time of prayer.  Dedicated time, when I can have a few minutes for a visit with God.

What do I do in this time?  It varies.  I often pray parts of the Office, although I rarely never pray every bit of it.  But I do like knowing I'm praying with the whole Church as I pray a psalm for the day, or read the Office of Readings.  I often pray with Scripture, where I listen for the still voice of God dealing with my situations.  Where do I get the scriptures I use?  The Divine Office is a good source, and the Mass readings of the day as well. 

Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise.  

God, come to my assistance.  Lord, make haste to help me. 

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever.  Amen.  

Text not in quotes © 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
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It Starts With a Bell

Morning in the monastery:  it starts with a bell.  

Come to think of it, most activities in the monastery start with a bell.  Time to rise:  the bell rings.  Time to pray, eat, study, work, have recreation: the bell rings.

Anyone who has spent time in a monastery knows the bell as at least a background.  Monastics look upon it as the voice of God.

In the dark silence of our monastery morning, the bell calls.  It may not be all that welcome.  It shatters our darkness and our dreams.  If we don't live in a physical monastery, our bell might be a baby's cry.  Or the insistent bleep of an alarm clock.  And oh, our slumber has been so comfortable.  Go away, we think as we slap at the snooze button; give me just a few more minutes.  Let me have time with this enchanting dream.....

But the monastery is not a place for idle dreaming.  There is discipline in monastic life.  I, for one, am drawn to that idea - even while I run from it in terror.  Being by nature an undisciplined person, I long to have schedules imposed upon me.  And I balk whenever they are.  I don't want to be awakened by a bell; I want to indulge myself in dreams.

Monastics, whether nuns or monks, pop out of bed when the bell rings.  And:  they "pop" with a prayer.  Putting aside their dreams and throwing off their covers, they think of God immediately.  A sign of the cross, a mental aspiration, a word or two of praise for this new day - these are (ideally) the first things in their minds and hearts.  It helps me to realize that they probably didn't react like this in their first days of monastic life.  It took time and PRACTICE for this to happen, and after many years it may still be a struggle

I don't usually think of God the second I awaken.  I'm sorry to say that I don't automatically think to pray.  So I help myself out a little.  I use reminders.  I put holy pictures where I can see them, and in fact I move them around (because if I have something in the same spot for too long, I stop "seeing it").  I have even resorted to writing the word "PRAY!" on paper and sticking it to my door or mirror.

Now I'm at least at the point where I generally remember to utter a word of praise to God, and / or to make the Sign of the Cross before climbing out of bed (or as I do so).  It is often at that time when I make some kind of "morning offering," committing the day to God.  Sometimes, for me, this is a formal, verbal prayer.  At times it is more spontaneous.  But at least it's a commitment, a beginning.

My own "monastic day" has begun.

"To You I pray, O Lord; at dawn You hear my voice.."  (Psalm 5:4)

"O Lord my God, teach my heart this day where and how to see You, where and how to find You."  (St. Anselm)

What helps you turn to God as you awaken?  

© 2012 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
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