I started this blog a year ago (it seems longer than that to me) because I was interested in sharing things that moved me spiritually. Before long I was writing about the Divine Hours of prayer because I had begun to practice them in my own haphazard way. I learned it is difficult to be consistent in practicing the Hours unless you live in a community where bells are rung and everyone stops where they are or hurries to the Chapel to pray together, but as I studied them I found they gave shape to my prayer life. I found it was good to learn about them and let them help me be more mindful about prayer.
In this final entry I am going to write about Compline and the Great Silence. This Hour is one of the sweetest and most weighty of them all and I am glad to finish these blog entries by writing about it.
Compline comes at bed time. It is the closing of the circle of the day, the end of the spoken prayers and chants that mark the other Hours. Compline is the doorway to the Great Silence, the time when the monks return to their own cells to sleep. Its hallmarks are confession, seeking forgiveness, facing fears and failures and, finally, putting our entire trust in God to carry us through the night and prepare us for a better tomorrow.
The darkness of nightfall may remind us of the darkness within ourselves, creating tension and disturbing our sleep. Compline is the opportunity to kneel and confess all of this to God. Before Him in prayer we can admit our failures and sins and ask for forgiveness and cleansing. We can tell Him about the things that trouble us and the things we want to change, and we can ask for His help.
God is interested in our peace and rest. He promises peace to His people and He promises to see us through the night when we are most defenseless and most subject to our fears. David said, with gratitude, in Psalm 139:17-18
"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.
when I awake I am still with you."
Following Compline is the Great Silence. In the monastery this time is sacred and not to be interrupted by careless noise or unconcern for those who are sleeping. The community has entered the womb of the night and will rest until dawn gives birth to a new day at Vigils. Then the circle of Hours begins again.
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One of the things I learned in my reading this past year is that in the ancient monasteries the day began and ended much differently than today. In those medieval days, before electric lights, people went to bed an hour or two after sunset. They could easily have eight hours of sleep before the birds and animals began to stir and wake them between 2:00 and 4:00 a.m., depending upon the time of year.
For them to rise and pray at Vigils, while it was still dark, was not difficult. It gave them time to pray, study, and pray again before the sun was high enough to light the work they had to do with their hands. The rhythm of monastic life closely paralelled the rhythms of nature and the seasons.
Benedict provided for variations in the Divine Hours during the longer days of summer and at the time of harvest. He also provided for multiple festivals and celebrations throughout the year. Quite often the monastery was alive with anticipation of the next celebration in the liturgical calendar. Flowers, music and lights were changed and arranged especially for each new observance.
I have learned that monastic life was serious, but not sad. Every day there were many opportunities to do life over, correct what was wrong and rejoice in a new start. Every day the monks were encouraged to face their fears, to give thanks for their gifts an talents and find joy in service. In a well-run monastery, the members of the community had all they needed and were secure in their place in the community. They were cherished and cared for, especially those who became old and feeble or those who were sick or crippled. The highest task in the monastery was to care for needy members.
Benedict's Rule, which established the Divine Hours, was probably seldom fully observed; people are prone to all kinds of failings; but it was close to the ideal of what a community can be. In my own life, reading it daily over the past year has given me great peace and helped bring order to my life. I recommend Joan Chittister's volume, The Rule of Benedict, with her very helpful commentary in daily readings.
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I have recently come to understand that silence is a rich gift that gives to oneself and to others in the most unexpected ways. I have also learned that many times words lead to grief and misunderstanding. It is so easy to offend, to bore and to waste people's time with too many words. With that in mind, I am now bringing this blog to a quiet end. For those who had the fortitude to read its lengthy entries, thank you. I hope it was helpful. It brought me joy, as writing always does, but not everything that is thought or written is worth publishing. God bless all who, with me, love to pray and hope to do it a little better everyday.
Salaam...selah
Peace....pause
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