Labore et Ore

[Postulare42]

Psalms 119:164

[Danage]

'Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgements' (Authorised (King James) Version)

Do you do this Postulare42?

I do not. I pray occasionally.

'And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you' (Luke 11:9)

'And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive' (Matthew 21:22)

[Postulare42]

Yes, Danage. I do. I keep the Trappist Benedictine Hours, and recite the modern simplification of the Divine Office as the basic structure of my day.

[Danage]

Now, as a Lay Oblate of the acOSB, I keep to the seven times a day prayer routine, although at present I keep to these times:

7am, 9am, 12 midday, 3pm, 6pm, 7pm and 9pm

When I have read the Rule of Saint Benedict I will be able to keep to the Benedictine hours, I am sure.

[Postulare42]

In your researches, it might help to look for the words, "Primitive Rule" or "Strict Observance".

Also, the schedule of the "choir" monks is stricter, with more time in formal prayer; while that of the "lay" brethren is similar, but tends to combine some of "the little hours" into one to facilitate more manual labor.

The RoSB is designed to be strict, but not rigid, with room for practical variation to the needs of community survival.

There is practical wisdom, too, in the ways it uses the liturgical calendar in conjunction with the seasons of the Northern Hemisphere. (It has never worked very well in the Southern, where the seasons are reversed). When new seed is in the ground, the trees are not yet bearing, and the fish in the fishpond are spawning, then the "black fast" of Lent is very practical. lol. Similarly, the Advent fast serves to stretch the winter supplies.

The dedication to contemplative prayer and the time spent singing the office produced some of the greatest innovations in farming techniques and technology the world had yet seen . . . all to facilitate more time for prayer. Advances in clock technology, too, grew directly out of a near obsession with calcuating the proper times for the offices throughout the shifting seasons.

Most of these innovations came from the first reform of the Benedictines . . the Cistercians. (The later reformations were more history-bound, and so, less innovative). The Cluniac reform took the office and liturgy to Baroque proportions . . with the office taking up to 15 hrs in some seasons. The first reform by the Cistercians seems to have produced the best return to the original intent of the rule.

The modern proverb to "Live simply that others might simply live" is very RoSB in spirit.

Under the Rule, the monasteries were not prohibited from being innovative, productive and successful. BUT. The healthy simplicity of diet combined with the fasting was supposed NOT to be merely an ascetic or penitential practice for the discipline of the senses, but also to allow for surplus to be available for the poor, and for the recipients of hospitality . . . both cardinal points in the rule. To treat each guest and the poor as though they were Christ.

The true practical beauty of the RoSB is in the manner in which it affords integration of flesh and spirit in a stucture and rhythm that sanctifies all parts of life . . . and all of life itself . . . if one sees beyond the rules to where they are pointing. To NOT do so is to go the way of the failed De Rance' reform of the 1700's.

The old Office, when linked with the litugical calendar and the seasons, produced an annual cycle not unlike breathing . . . much as properly done, unaccompanied Gregorian plainsong phrases are not so much sung, as breathed, like the ebb and flow of the waves on a gentle shore.

They are even called "neume" . . . breaths.

Current recordings DON'T do it justice, and frequently sound like concertising.

btw: The old recordings pre-VaticanII (recently re-released) of the very old monks at the Abbey de Solesme are the finest to be heard anywhere . . . especially the "Requiem + Dedication" CD. The Dies Irae and Lacrimosa will make you weep. It is a re-release of the recording that I was fortunate enough to have as a child. I was extrememly fortunate to have my tastes set by the acknowledged BEST in the world. I can't recommend them highly enough. here's the link:

http://www.solesmes.com/GB/disques/d...QmZjPTImc2M9OA==

They are a real experience NOT to be missed.

[Postulare42]

Somebody recently posted a copy of old-school Solesme chant recording. It is by far the finest I've ever heard. Here's the Dies Irae and Lacrimosa sections of the Missa Pro Defunctis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fMHm...eature=related