Praying the Full Psalter

Above all else we urge that if anyone finds this distribution of the psalms unsatisfactory, he should arrange whatever he judges better, provided that the full complement of one hundred and fifty psalms is by all means carefully maintained every week, and that the series begins anew each Sunday at Vigils. For monks who in a week’s time say less than the full psalter with the customary canticles betray extreme indolence and lack of devotion in their service. We read, after all, that our holy Fathers, energetic as they were, did all this in a single day. Let us hope that we, lukewarm as we are, can achieve it in a whole week. (RB80.18.22-25)

This passage from the end of Chapter 18 of the Rule is reminiscent of the concern many elders have about subsequent generations. Oftentimes, the elders among us lament the fact that the younger generations don't have the same energy, fervor or zeal as they had--sometimes forgetting that the same was said of them 50 or 60 years ago.

There is a sense in reading this passage from the Rule that Benedict is trying to encourage his followers to maintain the fervor, zeal and love for prayer, scripture and lectio that previous generations possessed. He points out that our monastic ancestors in the desert managed to recite the entire psalter in one day--we should at least be able to do this is 7 days.

Benedict is not so much promoting mindless recitation of prayers as he is emphasizing the spirit which needs to be present in disciples. He is promoting us taking the psalms so seriously that in a sense we become a living "scripture" through the continued recitation, prayer and encounter with the sacred texts.

There is a saying that states that I might be the only version of the scripture that others encounter today. What is the message that I am giving others? How am I reflecting God's word to others today?