A letter from a Benedictine monk

A letter from a Benedictine monk THE DISPOSITIONS FOR PRAYER I: THE LORD’S PRAYER

Calx Mariae is pleased to continue the series of letters from a Benedictine monk discussing some of the most important virtues and principles in the Rule of St Benedict – the rule on which the Western monastic tradition and Christian civilisation in Europe were founded.

In the Prologue of his Rule, St Benedict, the patron saint of Europe writes: “We have therefore to establish a school of the Lord’s service, in the institution of which we hope we are going to establish nothing harsh, nothing burdensome. But if, prompted by the desire to attain to equity, anything be set forth somewhat strictly for the correction of vice or the preservation of charity, do not therefore in fear and terror flee back from the way of salvation of which the beginning cannot but be a narrow entrance. For it is by progressing in the life of conversion and faith that, with heart enlarged and in ineffable sweetness of love, one runs in the way of God’s commandments, so that never deserting His discipleship but persevering until death in His doctrine within the monastery, we may partake by patience in the suffering of Christ and become worthy inheritors of His kingdom.” After looking at virtues like humility, obedience, prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice in the Rule of St Benedict, in this edition we continue with St Benedict’s teaching on prayer.

SAINT BENEDICT'S VISION OF THE GLOBE AND THE THREE ANGELS (1658 - 1660). ALONSO CANO. PRADO MUSEUM, MADRID.

I would like to dedicate my next series of reflections to St Benedict’s teaching on prayer.

This is not as straightforward as it might seem, however, because St Benedict does not give a systematic teaching on prayer. And yet, one could say that the whole Rule is ultimately about prayer. That which St John Cassian says in his ninth conference about the life of a monk could aptly summarise the entire purpose of St Benedict’s Rule: The end of every monk and the perfection of his heart incline him to constant and uninterrupted perseverance in prayer. What St Benedict often stresses in the Rule is the proper disposition one should have for prayer, or better, the disposition one must have in order for prayer to spontaneously come forth from the heart. This disposition is formed by the three monastic virtues of humility, silence and obedience: humility before the perfect holiness of God; silence before the awesome mystery of God, and obedience to the God who is our Creator, Redeemer and Lord. Our obedience, furthermore, is made possible by the four cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice. If you’ve noticed, it is precisely these virtues that have formed the themes of my reflections to you thus far. Without having planned it so, we have already been preparing the way to speak about prayer.

The word St Benedict uses that best summarises the proper disposition for prayer is compunction. It is to this sublime spiritual state that I will dedicate my next letters, but the subject for the present meditation is the prayer Christ Himself taught us: The Pater Noster.

In Chapter 13 of the Rule, St Benedict establishes that the Pater Noster should be sung out loud by the Abbot for all the monks to hear at the conclusion of Lauds and Vespers, while at the other hours it should be prayed silently. This means St Benedict expected his monks to pray the Pater Noster at least eight times every day; if we include attendance at the daily conventual Mass, at private Mass, at morning chapter, and at meal prayers, we end up praying it about 12 -15 times a day. It is thus a central part of our lives as Benedictines, and, furthermore, at the heart of all Christian prayer. Pater Noster. Our Father. The opening words unveil to us the source of every blessing: to have God as our Father, begotten by His grace at baptism. Having received Christ in faith, we have become His brothers and sisters, and with Him, through Him and in Him can call upon His Father as our own Father. Christ alone can say “My Father”; we dare not speak like this, but always say “Our Father”, that is, Christ’s and ours. He is always “Our Father”, even for the hermit who prays in solitude, even when we pray by ourselves in the privacy of our room, because He is only Our Father insofar as we are in union with Christ.

Qui es in caelis. Who art in heaven. By saying that God is in heaven, we remind ourselves that we should be seeking heavenly gifts – His grace, love and mercy, for us and for our loved ones, which will fully blossom in eternal life.

Sanctificetur nomen tuum. Hallowed be Thy name. The name of God is infinitely holy, regardless of whether we acknowledge it to be so or not. Thus, when we say “hallowed be Thy name”, we are asking that His name be made sanctified in us by a holy way of life. Essentially, we are asking that we may “hallow” His name by leading a life consonant with His goodness and perfection, and in this way make known to others His unspeakable holiness. Adveniat Regnum tuum. Thy kingdom come. In asking that God’s kingdom come to us we are praying first for ourselves, that His dominion of mercy and goodness may increase more and more in our souls, and secondly for the whole world, that His peaceful rule may gradually establish itself in every human heart.

Fiat voluntas tua sicut in caelo et in terra. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It seems to me that this petition is the heart and soul of the whole prayer. It is in this union of our will with God’s will that Our Lady’s whole perfection is to be found, and she expressed it perfectly in her words to the Angel Gabriel, “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Be it done unto me according to your word.” Our Lord prayed in almost the same words in the garden of Gethsemane, when, uniting His human will to that of His heavenly Father, and

GOD THE FATHER (C.1510–1517). ATTRIBUTED TO GIOVANNI BATTISTA CIMA DA CONEGLIANO. COURTAULD INSTITUTE OF ART, LONDON.

thereby effecting our redemption, said, “Pater, si non potest hic calix transire nisi bibam illum, fiat voluntas tua. Father, if this chalice cannot pass without me drinking of it, Thy will be done.” In continual prayer of the Our Father, we learn from Christ and His holy Mother to pronounce our own Fiat to God, especially amidst trying circumstances in which He seems to have abandoned us.

Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Give us this day our daily bread. One could say that in this petition are focused all requests concerning temporal needs. By asking for bread, the most basic source of human nourishment, we bring before God every bodily and merely earthly need. But we are not asking for earthly sustenance alone; the Greek word epiousion, which is translated into Latin as quotidianum, “daily”, is also be rendered by the word supersubstantialem, “supersubstantial”, which signifies a spiritual and supernatural food, i.e. one that feeds our unseen soul even as it feeds our visible body. This food, of course, is Christ Himself in the most holy Eucharist, for He says “Ego sum panis vivus qui de caelo descendi. I am the living bread that came down from Heaven.” We are thus asking God to share with us the bread that the angels themselves feed upon, the Incarnate Word and Son of God. We receive this bread in Holy Communion, and beyond that moment of sacramental Communion, we can renew, deepen, and enjoy our union with Christ in spiritual communion, especially when linked to prayerful reflection of Christ in the Scriptures or meditation on His life, passion, death and resurrection.

Et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. This petition is the most difficult part of the whole prayer. In it we promise to forgive our enemies so that God may forgive us! To be sure, we all want to be forgiven by God; but perhaps our desire to forgive others who have wronged us may not be so strong, especially when they seem to have seriously wronged us. St John Cassian tells us of some people who would fall silent at the words, “as we forgive those who trespass against us”, so as to hold on to their grudges! St Benedict willed that the Pater

DETAIL FROM THE LAST JUDGEMENT (C.1440). FRA ANGELICO. GEMÄLDEGALERIE, BERLIN.

Noster be sung out loud by the Abbot precisely so that the monks would hear those words and cleanse themselves of ill will and resentment.

By holding on to grudges we only hurt ourselves, for we deprive ourselves of mercy. Christ assures us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) that unless we forgive our enemies, our heavenly father will not forgive us. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. St Anthony the Great once said, “Whoever has not experienced temptation cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” He even added, “Without temptations no-one can be saved.”1 What these surprising words reveal is that it is by means of temptations that God tests our virtue and makes it grow. Through temptations He allows us to know our fragility and recognize our need for His grace, and this makes us humble. Since there are not a few hidden boons in temptations, we do not want Him to take them away absolutely, but simply ask Him not to test us beyond our strength, and to assist us in the hour of temptation with His grace so that we may resist and stay in His good favour. And this interpretation is made clear by the last petition, which asks to be delivered from evil. According to St John Cassian, the only evil is sin, and it is ultimately that from which we ask to be delivered. Consequently, we ask to be delivered from all evils that would test us beyond our strength, as well as from the evil one, who incessantly seeks to separate us from God.

In closing, I would like to offer you Dante’s poetic rendition and commentary on the Pater Noster:

Our Father, you who dwell in Heaven above, not circumscribed by what you fashioned first but dwelling there to show your greater love, Praised be your name, praised be your power and might by every creature in the universe, as thanking your sweet Spirit is but right. Let the peace of your kingdom come to us, for should it not, with all our inborn powers we never will attain it on our own. And as your angels make a sacrifice of their wills unto you, singing hosanna, so may we men make sacrifice of ours. Give us this day our daily bread, the manna without which he who struggles all the more goes backward through this bitter wilderness. And as we pardon everyone from whom we suffer wrong, be kind to pardon us, and never look upon what we deserve. Put not our strength, so easily cast down, to the test with the ancient adversary, but free us from the one who goads us on.

2

Endnotes:

1. Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Abba Anthony, #5 2. Purgatorio, XI, 1-19; Anthony Esolen translation.