Good day,

There does not appear to be much going on right now but, coming up in The Parish of St. Joseph and St. George is our annual worship on the beach at the W. I Park in Richards Landing. 10am followed by a picnic brunch. 

If anyone has anything else to let me know about, please email me. 🙂 (susan.montague2@gmail.com)

A Liturgical Note For You: Well, since we are acknowledging Benedict of Nursia this week, I thought perhaps you’d like to know when it is that monks and nuns pray…

In the “Rule” of Benedict of Nursia, we read of Matins or Vigils (not the same as what we now call Morning Prayer), Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Compline. These are the “Divine Offices” and generally consist of psalms, scripture reading, prayers, and perhaps a hymn or two. 

Matins or Vigils is the “night office” so it may be best to refer to this office as Vigils since the word matins actually means morning and could cause confusion. This office is always sung (or said) before the sunrise – not at sunrise, before sunrise when it is very dark. There is no set time for Vigils but it is often prayed at about 3am.  Lauds (meaning “praise”, associated with the resurrection of Christ) is the morning office, sung at daybreak. 

Next come Prime, Terce, Sext, and None – the “little hours”. The Office of Prime is prayed at about 7am and was actually added – according to John Cassian – in order to prevent the monks at Bethlehem from going back to bed in between Lauds and Terce. Some communities pray the Office of Prime and some do not. Terce, Sext, and None are Latin terms that mean “third”, “sixth”, and “ninth”, respectively. So, Terce is at the third hour (9am), Sext is at the sixth hour (noon), and None is at the ninth hour (3pm).  

Vespers means “shadows” and so it is the office sung at sunset. Clearly the time of this office will vary according to what season you are in.  This office is strongly aligned with our Evening Prayer and predates monasticism since it has its roots in the sunset sacrifices of the Jerusalem Temple. Compline is the closing office of the day and is prayed when it is fully night, i.e. completely dark. There is no set time for this prayer office although it would typically come before midnight and is considered the church’s “bedtime prayer”. 

For Your Devotions:

Tuesday, July 11th is the memorial of Benedict of Nursia. Perhaps you recognize Benedict as the father of Western monasticism as we know it.  Benedict was born in Italy in the late 5th century and began his spiritual career as a hermit. News of his sanctity spread and he was encouraged to become the abbot of a monastery. True to form, the lives of these early church heroes are never easy…Someone did not take kindly to Benedict’s zealous reforms (aimed at adding structure and spirituality to these sometimes questionable institutions), and tried to poison him. Benedict returned to his life as a hermit but, thankfully, returned to monastic life to develop his now famous “Rule” providing the structure of prayer, work, and study for a monk’s day. For more info:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Benedict-of-Nursia

Thursday, July 13th is the commemoration of Henry, Missionary Bishop in Finland during the 12th century. Despite being venerated as a saint, the life and martyr’s death of Henry, an English bishop, is actually quite mysterious. Among other interesting ‘facts’, his murderer is said to have lost his scalp when he put on the dead bishop’s mitre. For more info:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_(bishop_of_Finland)

In the hope of Christ,

Susan