The Rule of St Benedict Chapter 49
Of the observance of Lent
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Text
It is fitting that at all times the life of a monk should have a Lenten character; however few have the strength for this, therefore we recommend that these days of Lent are to be kept with all purity of life, so that these holy days may wash away all the negligences of other times.
Licet omni tempore vita monachi Quadragesimæ debeat observationem habere; tamen quia paucorum est ista virtus, ideo suademus istis diebus Quadragesimæ omni puritate vitam suam custodire, pariter negligentias omnes aliorum temporum his diebus sanctis diluere.
We will do this worthily if we abstain from all vices and give ourselves to the work of prayer with weeping, reading and compunction of heart, and also abstinence.
Quod tunc digne fit, si ab omnibus vitiis nos temperemus: orationi cum fletibus, lectioni, et compunctioni cordis, atque abstinentiæ operam demus.
Therefore in these days let is add something to the usual duty of our service: personal prayers, abstinence from food and drink, each one offering something of his own will to God above his [normal] measure with the joy of the Holy Spirit: that is, withholding from his body some food, drink, sleep, talk, laughter, and awaiting holy Easter with the joy of spiritual longing.
Ergo his diebus augeamus nobis aliquid ad solitum pensum servitutis nostræ: orationes peculiares, ciborum et potus abstinentiam, unusquisque super mensuram sibi indictam aliquid propria voluntate cum gaudio Sancti Spiritus offerat Deo: id est, subtrahat corpori suo de cibo, de potu, de somno, de loquacitate, de scurrilitate, et cum spiritualis desiderii gaudio sanctum Pascha expectet.
However, let each one inform his Abbot of what he offers, and let it be done with his prayer and agreement: for what is done without the permission of the spiritual father will be considered presumption and vainglory, not to be rewarded. Therefore everything is to be done with the permission of the Abbot.
Hoc ipsum tamen, quod unusquisque offert, Abbati suo suggerat, et cum eius fiat oratione et voluntate: quia quod sine permissione patris spiritualis fit, præsumptioni deputabitur et vanæ gloriæ, non mercedi. Ergo cum voluntate Abbatis omnia agenda sunt.
Comment
In the last chapter, St Benedict mentions each monk being given a book to read through in Lent and in this chapter he moves on to the observance of Lent in the monastery.
Even monks can do more during Lent than at other times, he says. Human nature being what it is, everyone does a little more than they would normally. I think that this chapter is actually something which helps those of us who are not monks too.
St Benedict lists the things that monks can add to their routine during Lent.
Abstain from vices – this is often translated as “abstain from sin” but the meaning of the word is a little wider than that and can include bad habits we may have collected over the past year.
Prayer – notice this comes before abstinence; prayer is the first duty of a Christian and so we should prioritise this above all else. More time in prayer each day, perhaps more attendance at Mass or Adoration, these are all things we can do to refocus our lives during Lent (in this I am really preaching to myself, being quite a slacker!).
Reading – as mentioned in the last chapter, Lenten reading is key and we should choose a book which deepens our faith or relationship with God at this time, according to our state of life.
Abstinence – we always think about giving up some kind of food or drink, but it’s a good idea to remember why we do it.
Dom Guéranger sets out in his guidance for novices:
They will remember the mortified life of St John the Baptist, the austerities of the Desert Fathers, the works of our holy Patriarch and those of all the saints of our order; and they will be more and more convinced that the struggle against the flesh, by the means of bodily mortification, is a fundamental principle of the life of a monk.
Dom Delatte explains further in his commentary on the Rule for this chapter:
Mortification is good because it establishes us in moral health and reduces the demands of our bodies or of self-will; because it helps us to expiate and make amends for sin; and above all because it associates us with the sufferings of Our Lord Jesus Christ; it is good as a method and as a means, not as an end.
“What are you giving up for Lent” is a question we are often asked, but it’s important to remember, I think, that this is not an end in itself. I try to give up chocolate every Lent. It’s hard, and every year it reminds me that I am a slave to my desires. Sometimes giving up small luxuries is harder than giving up big ones! But the thing itself is not the point, as Dom Delatte makes clear.
St Benedict talks about giving up sleep, presumably rising in the night to pray in the quiet and probably in secret. If I wake in the night and cannot get back to sleep, I pray a rosary. This usually has the effect of sending me back to sleep before I finish it, but what if, instead of doing that, I get up in the cold and pray properly, on my knees? I’m not convinced I can do this, but perhaps I will try this Lent.
Talk and laughter – monks don’t talk much, so why give up talking?
Dom Delatte explains this by referring to a monks’ retreat, where recreational interaction, i.e. talking, is curtailed for a week:
Recall how often the Rule invites us to keep silence; it is part of the very fabric of our lives. Here too the purpose of silence, as for our spirit of retreat, is to foster contemplation, I do not think that silence is prescribed as a form of mortification; it is rather a condition of our recollection and fruit of the spirit of prayer. Like our retreat, silence is one of the arts that will bring us closer to God. And is that not the object of our mortification and work, and the reason why they have a place in our life? We do not mortify ourselves in order to destroy or exasperate ourselves. By mortification we put to death everything in us that is rough, everything that stirs up trouble, all those tendencies in ourselves that oppose prayer and union with God.
Note on the Spiritual Life, VI; Benedictine Life, 1899
In Ancrene Wisse, a 13th century guide written in England, anchoresses are advised to keep silence on all Fridays, on Wednesdays and Fridays during Advent and Ember weeks, on three days in Lent and all of Holy Week. The only exception given is that they may speak briefly to their servant and to someone who has come from a distance to visit them. This is prescribed on a section about custody of the heart through the senses. So as Dom Delatte says, it’s in order to foster a focus on God, not just a mortification or penance in itself.
For those of us in the world, perhaps we can spend less time on chatting and entertainment, and more on reading and prayer instead.
The purpose of this is to purify us so we can await “holy Easter with the joy of spiritual longing”.
As always there are checks and balances here; the benedictine life is one of moderation and extreme penances or ascetic practices are discouraged. So everything must be done with the permission of the Abbot. We in the world should be wary of attempting anything too demanding; there is nothing worse than trying something heroic and giving up because it is too hard to sustain.
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This really gives deeper meaning to the word “mortification.” There are perspectives here around the word that I haven’t yet considered. But now I will. I appreciate it.