And most importantly coming together to pray the Divine Office seven (7) times each per day.

Benedictine Traditions of prayer (Traditions of prayer)

Living a balanced life filled with prayer and work. The vows of stability, conversation and obedience commit us to serve God in a monastery for the whole of our lives.

Lectio Divina

‘Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path’ (Ps. 119:105)

St. Jerome said that ‘ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ! Monks and nuns are lovers of the Word. By spending time pondering scripture we grow into a relationship with Christ, the living Word. This is a characteristically Benedictine way of praying.

            In our daily ‘Lectio Divina’ we listen, meditate and respond to Christ speaking to us. Lectio Divina is primarily an exercise in listening; we read slowly and attentively, waiting for Lord to speak to us through a word or phrase. Learning how to do Lectio can be tricky at the beginning, but our monks and nuns are always happy to help the ‘beginner’.

“With Christ’s help, keep this little Rule that we have written for the beginners”

Mass:

‘Do this in memory of me…..’

The Eucharist makes the Church, the Body of Christ. It also “makes” the monastic community. Mass is a privileged time when we offer ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord along with the gifts of bread and wine, and, by receiving him in Holy Communion, allow him to transform us too into the Body of Christ, just as surely as the gifts are transformed. St. Benedict wanted all goods of the monastery to be treated as sacred vessels of the altar.

            The dignity in the way we behave and pray in church is echoed in the way we live out the rest of the day. Our daily celebration and reception of the Lord’s gift of himself sustains and shapes our monastic day and indeed our whole lives, both as individuals and as a community.

Divine Office:

The principal work of a monk or nun is prayer and especially that of the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office). A community comes together seven times a day to pray the prayer of the Church and consecrate the whole day to God. Liturgical prayer call us to open our hearts to the Word of God as  it is addressed to us in the Psalms and other inspired books of Scripture and in the writings of the Fathers of the Church’.

‘O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall proclaim your praise’