Walking Prayers before Prayers. A Benedictine oblate blog

On my visit to the abbey today, I arrived early to spend some time in the church before 8:00 pm compline (the last divine office of the day).

The monks begin entering the church about 7:30 pm. The monks come in at different times and through any one of several doors into the church. Although even the young monks have done many complines, the monks are not rushed as they walk in — they are not distracted. The monks have already set their time to an ancient liturgical clock. They are like walking prayers before the community begins praying together.

The monks coming into the church are a proper example of John Cassian’s comment, “we need to prepare ourselves before the time for prayer to be as we would wish to be found when we pray, since the mind is shaped in its petitions by its previous state.”1

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Footnote

1. "Saint John Cassian on Prayer," translated by A.M. Casiday, page 12.

The picture above is of the new interior remodeling of the church without the large lift scaffold that blocked my getting a full picture before.

On Sundays and other special days the monks walk into the church in two columns, but on days like tonight, the monks walk in on their own. They are dressed all in black in floor-length cloaks. They have hoods, but do not pull them over their heads until the end of compline when they all put on their hoods at the same time — they enter the great silence until morning laudes at 7:00 am.

Monastic Diurnal Compline. A Benedictine oblate blog

Ethereal

By The Wandering Angel

I used the Monastic Diurnal (info here and here) for the first time today — for Compline(1) which I finished a few minutes ago. I thought Compline would be the easiest office for starters.

Compline in the Monastic Diurnal had several words I had never heard before, like “hebdomadary,” “Confiteor,” and “Fidelium anime.” The word “collect” was also used. I know “collect” is a type of prayer, but I know there is more to it than that.

Not knowing what I am reading causes the reading to be more difficult, but I am not going to regret too much the sad state of my education! But there is so much that is new.

OK, on to an overall assessment of my first Compline from the Monastic Diurnal. I am familiar with “Benedictine Daily Prayer — A Short Breviary” and will use the BDP as the comparison.

Overall I like the Monastic Diurnal better because Compline seems a little longer than in BDP and the Monastic Diurnal seemed more monastic — spiritually prayerful and contemplative might be the core of the difference.

The Monastic Diurnal’s English translations carried more meaning than the English in BDP, and because the Monastic Diurnal also has the Latin for the offices, I was able to glance over at the Latin a couple of times to see how a particular section of Compline would be read/sung in Latin, but I glanced right back to the Engish when my head began to spin.

I know that the Nunc Dimittis(2) was not part of St. Benedict’s Compline when he wrote his Rule(3) and the Nunc Dimittis is not in the Monastic Diurnal (at least I did not spot it in my first reading of Compline), and I like that part of the Roman office added to Compline in BDP.

I especially liked the Compline hymn in the Monastic Diurnal, one line is, “To Thee, before the close of day, Creator of the world we pray...” Yes.

And in Thee may we reach the end of day — Compline — complete.

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Footnotes:

The Picture is Ethereal by The Wandering Angel.

Comparison of "Benedictine Daily Prayer" and "The Monastic Diurnal" here.

(1) Compline is part of the Divine Office.

(2) The Canticle of Simeon in St. Luke's Gospel (2:29-32)

(3) A prior blog talked about the Nunc Dimittis and the divine office.