Reflections on Order

Chapter 18 of the Rule spells out carefully the order in which the psalms are to be recited during the week.

I am not a person who is overly fond of order....actually I am probably much more comfortable with chaos than order in my life. There is wisdom in placing a specific pattern and system to important activities, especially when working with a group.

I am reminded of an incident that happened during prayers a few years back. There was an slightly longer than usual pause one day between psalms. Everyone was waiting for the next psalm to begin. Sister Mary Louis, one of our elder Sisters, called out from her wheel chair, "Well, since no one seems to know what we are supposed to be doing, let's just end prayers right now and go to breakfast." This was a very unusual comment but it broke the tension and we all laughed as we continued our prayers.

In this instance, this unexpected comment called us back to the moment and lightened the tense awkwardness enough that we were grateful to Sister Mary Louis and still retell this story often.

Sr. Catherine, OSB