RB Reflection: 1 August 2008

Chapter 50

Brothers who work so far away that they cannot return to the oratory at the proper time--and the abbot determines that is the case--are to perform the Work of God where they are, and kneel out of reverence for God.

So too, those who have been sent on a journey are not to omit the prescribed hours but to observe them as best they can, not neglecting their measure of service.

Whether at home, in the fields, or on a journey, when it is time to perform the Work of God, then we are to do it, then and there. In the monastic life the meaning here is quite clear. In the life of lay people, or Lay Cistercians, it must be adapted to our situations in life. If a real estate agent stops showing people a house because it is time to say terce, then they won't last long as a real estate agent. If the same real estate agent has the time and fails to say vespers, then something is lacking in their commitment to God and their Rule of Life.

Part of being Lay Cistercian is not acting like a monk/nun in the secular world. At the same time, part of being a Lay Cistercian is to remember that we share the values, and the spirit of the prayer life of monks/nuns. In this chapter Benedict is telling his monks "don't get out there and act like fools, goofing around and neglecting the prayers." I suppose he could be saying the same thing to us. "Living in the secular world is not a reason to fail in doing the Work of God."

Think about that. The Work of God--both as praying the hours, and as being the hands of Christ in the world--is something we will never be released from doing. We willingly took upon ourselves the Rule of Life that all LCG take, so then to fail in the Work of God, be it prayers or being the hands of Christ in the world, is to make a mockery of our vows.