In the briefest of paragraphs, St. Benedict offers a liturgy for early Sunday morning prayer. As dawn breaks, he instructs the gathered community to read four specific Psalms, which are follow by praying The Canticle of the Three Young Men taken from the Old Testament book of Daniel. Psalms 148 through 150 are read after the prayer. A reading from the Revelation of John (the Apocalypse) is recited from memory. That recitation is “followed by a responsory, an Ambrosian hymn, a versicle, the Gospel canticle, the litany, and the conclusion.”[1]
Simple obedience to the liturgical order of readings and prayers is enough to shape the mindset of the prayerful. However, in keeping with St. Benedict’s reason for offering this Rule for Life there are pearls of great value to be discovered by considering the currents that flow through these readings and prayers. Before considering the blessing that lays just below the surface of the liturgy of Lauds, there are some terms that are unfamiliar to contemporary ears. For example, Benedict guides us to share in a responsory, or responsive reading. He did not specify a responsory. Perhaps it was so familiar to the monastics that he did not need to be specific. Perhaps he offered latitude to the community to choose a respond to the occasion. There are various Suffrages (responsive praises) used by liturgical church families today. The following one is used in Anglican Morning Prayer.[2]
Officiant O Lord, show us your mercy;
People And grant us your salvation.
Officiant O Lord, save our nations;
People And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Officiant Clothe your ministers with righteousness;
People And make your chosen people joyful.
Officiant O Lord, save your people;
People And bless your inheritance.
Officiant Give peace in our time, O Lord;
People For only in you can we live in safety.
Officiant Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
People Nor the hope of the poor be taken away.
Officiant Create in us clean hearts, O God;
People And take not your Holy Spirit from us.
Perhaps the most familiar of the Ambrosian Hymns is the Te Deum Laudamus (We Praise You, O God). This hymn is an inspiring song of praise proclaiming that all creation worships The Lord; angels, apostles, prophets, white-robed army of martyrs, and the Church throughout the world.
Versicles and canticles may not be familiar terms, so I will provide some explanation. Versicles are short sentences, perhaps part of a verse from Holy Scripture, used to introduce a thought or movement. A few familiar versicles include; “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” and “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be always acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my redeemer.” Canticle is taken from the word for “song,” these Scripture selections are poetic hymns which are often sung in the liturgy. These canticles come from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Some examples are Daniel 3:52-90; Habakkuk 3:1-19; Luke 1:46-55; Luke 1:68-79; Philippians 2:6-11; and Colossians 1:15-20.
The Song of Mary is a Gospel canticle drawn from Luke 1:46-55;
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Lauds then concludes with The Litany and a blessing. A beautiful version of The Litany is presented in the 1928 edition of the Book of Common prayer. You can access that version by going to http://www.justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1928/Litany.htm.
With the mechanical details established, consider what this liturgical framework provides for worshippers. Benedict provided the liturgical order previously noted especially for Sunday mornings. At the break of day, the community gathered to ask for continual blessings for the week ahead, to confess sin and express deep remorse for disobedience, to recall the blessings of God, to call out their longing for God, and to burst forth in great praise.[3] Sunday Lauds fills the tank of our soul for the long journey of the week ahead. Worshippers hold to the confidence that God’s faithfulness exceeds ours and His strength is available to renew ours as we grow tired and faint. Lauds, which is also referred to as Matins, is rich food for the soul. Don’t miss the nourishment by focusing on the mechanics of the liturgy. God always creates structure before creating life. There is life to be enjoyed in the prayer of Lauds. Benedict knew our need for this meal because he shared in our hunger for it.
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[1] Benedict and Timothy Fry, Rb 1980: The Rule of St. Benedict in English (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1982, ©1981), 42.
[2] Texts for Common Prayer: Containing Forms for Daily Morning Prayer, Daily Evening Prayer and the Holy Communion, as Approved by the College of Bishops for Use Within the Province; Together with the Ordinal of the Anglican Church (Newport Beach, Calif.: Anglican House Publishers, 2013), 11.
[3] Joan Chittister, The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century (New York: Crossroad, ©2010), 110.
