On Giving the Signal for the Time of the Work of God
July 27
The indicating of the hour of the Work of God by day and by night shall devolve upon the Abbot, either to give the signal himself or to assign this duty to such a careful brother that everything will take place at the proper hours.
Let the Psalms and the antiphons be intoned by those who are appointed for it, in their order after the Abbot. And no one shall presume to sing or read unless he can fulfil that office in such a way as to edify the hearers. Let this function be performed with humility, gravity and reverence, and by him whom the Abbot has appointed.
Reflection
The service of God – that is the Divine Office – is at the centre of the monastic life. So an oblate will do his or her best to find time to take part in one or several Offices every day in communion with our brother monks. The last verse of this chapter provides us with three nouns as a programme for life: it ‘must be performed with humility, gravity and reverence’ These three things remind us that we are rooted ‘hic and nunc’ – ‘here and now’ – in a milieu where we are responsible for bearing witness to the presence of God wherever we are.
knowledge, we discover the source of our true being, hidden in God behind all our interior chatter, we shall be able to rest there in humble expectation.
