Marmion Opus Dei

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CHRIST

THE

IDEAL OF THE MONK

SPIRITUAL CONFERENCES

ON THE MONASTIC AND RELIGIOUS LIFE

BY

TH E RIGHT REV. D. C OLUMB A M A R M I O N , O. S. B.

ABBOT OF MA.REDSOUS ABDEY

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY A NUN OF TYBURN CONVENT

Guirid by the Gospel

let us walk in the path. of ( { h ' ~ i . St. Beaediot, R",/••

-

SANDS & COMPANY

LONDON AND EDINBURGH.

B. HERDER BOOK CO

17 , SOUTH BROADWAY, ST. LOUIS, MO

1926 ·



290 CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF TH E MONK

that I am tellbg the truth ... What I aim at showing is the reason,opinion, why obedience furnishes the readiest Or the best way forat so blessed a state. That reason is this: as we are never absoluteof ou r own will, so as to employ it purely and simply for God, tillit wholly to reason, obedience is the true means of bringing aboutt ion; which can never be brought about by much reasoning,nature an d self-love can furnish so much on their side that we shallto an end, and very often will make that which is most reasonable,no liking for it, to seem folly because we have no inclination to doFoundations, cb. V. Translated from the Spanish by David Lewis.

chap ter sh ould be read,

THE LIFE OF UNION WITH CHRIST

(...et secuti sumus te).

XIII. - TH E OPUS DEI, Divine Praise

. - God has made all things for His glory; how the DivineOffice procures this glory for God: St. Benedict rightly callsit the Opus Dei. - I. Ultimate basis of the excellence of the

Office: the canticle of the Word in the bosom of theDivinity and in creation. - II . The Word Incarnate hasbequeathed to the Church, His Bride, the mission of perpe tuating His canticle. - III. The Church confides a moreimportant part of this mission to some chosen souls. lV. The Divine Office becomes, through the heart and voiceof man, the hymn of all creation. - V. It forms a parti- '

cular homage of the virtues of faith, hope and charity_-VI. This homage is invested with a special spJendo.ur when itIs offered in suffering: Sacrificium laudis.

HEN we would judge of the absolute value ofanything or any work we ought to tr y to do sofrom God's point of view. God alone is the

, truth is the light in which God, Eternal Wisdom,all things; these are worth what they are in God's

tion. That is the ~ o l e infallible criterion of judgment,which we expose ours.elves to deception. It is a

familiar to us that our holiness is of the supernatural

that is to say above the rights, exigencies and

of our nature; all then that relates to this sllperorder, of which God alone is the Author, surpassestranscendency, all our human conceptions. God's

and ways are no t ours; He Himself tells usenim cogitationes meae, c o g i t a t i o n ~ s vestrae: neque

viae meae, dicit Dominus 1. Between our wayss there is the infinite: Sicut exaltantur cael£ a terra 2.

is .why, in order to know the truth ahout things of thetural domain, we must see them as God sees them,with the eyes of faiti1. Faith is the light that reveals

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29329 2 CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF THE MONK

the Divine thoughts to us and makes us penetrate intodesigns. Lacking this light, there is but darkness andin regard to spiritual things.

Now one capital truth God has granted lIS to knowHis designs is that He has created everything andeverything for His glory: Unt:vcrsa propter semetipsum

est Domimts 1. God gives us all tnings; He gives

in the person of His Well-Beloved Son Jesus, and withHe gives us all good things; He has prepared forall eternity an infinite beatitude in the fellowshipadorable Trinity . Bu t there is one thing thaL Hejealously for Himself, that He neither will nor canthat is His glory: Ega Dominus; gloriam meamdabo 2.

This being so, things are of value only in the meaSUIllwhich they procure this glory for God. There

works which, of their own nature, have no directwith this glory; for example, in the intellectualdevote oneself to literary work, to teaching; and,manual order, to sweep the cloisters or work in the

or kitchen; transformed bythe

love wherewithdone, these works become pleasing to God;

procure His glory indirectly, not of themselves, finethat is to say by reason of the right intention of the oneperforms them in view of pleasing God 3.

Other works go to procure this glory directly;

agreeahle to God not only on account of the loveone who accomplishes them but in themselves: finetheir direct end, like the elements that composesupernatural: such are Holy Mass and the administhe Sacraments. I t is quite evident that inabstraction made of the interior dispositions of theperforms them, these works surpass, from God's ,view, all other works.

The Divine Office belon8s to this second group.only in our intention, bu t by reason of its nature, itsposition, and the elements of which it is consrela tes entirely to God; of itself, fiJU operis, it hasview. With the Holy Sacrifice, around which it grait forms the most complete expression of religion; itexcellence "the work of God, " OPt'S Dei, Opus

1. Provo XVI, 4-; see what we have said on this subject in theon humility. - 2. Isa. XLII , 8. - 3. We are speaking·, ofsupematt<ral order; it is evident that every upright act, mof itself a certain glory to God, from the fact tha ti t en ersnatural order willed by Him.

TH E OPUS DEI, DIVINE PRAISE

the beautiful name by which our Holy Father calls it.the Divine Office contains petitions, prayers of

tion, but this is not its dominant element; beforeDivine Office is praise, and this praise is perfectlyup in the doxology which ends each psalm: Gloria

et· Filio et SpiritHi Sancto. The direct aim of the

is to confess and exalt the Divine perfections, toin them, and thank God for them: Gratias agimltS

rJI-hm-htcr magnam gloriam t1.tam 1. I t proceeds from this: "Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive ' glory and

" : Dignus es, Domine, Deus noster, gloriam accipere••• 2 This is the cry of the elect in heaven:

'.Iua.Ling God's.infinite perfections, they are necessarilypraise and adoration : Magnus Dominus et laudabilis

3

we, as religious, are seeking God; it was for this weto the monastery; what is more natural therefore

to adopt the Divine Office as our principal work, by

we especially devote ourselves to God's service?

we " to seek Him truly, " - si revera Demn quaerit',occupy ourselves first of all witn Him, with Hisand His works? Et laudabunt Dominum qu i

eum 5 . But in return, the more that we find Him,He reveals Himself to us, the more we feel the

of celebrating His perfections and works: Quaerentesinvenient cum, et invenicntes lawiabwl'tt eum 6.

after having pointed out the purpose of our life,ving established the authority of the head of the

I n ~ " t p r . T and defined the cenobitical life, after ha ving shownity and obedience achieve the work of removing

from the path of perfection , St. Benedict speaksthe Divine Office. He devo tes numerous chapters

ting i t; he makes the Divine Office, not the end

n the exclusive nor characteristic work of the monk,principal work to which the others, in the order of~ t i o n and action,are to be subordinate: Nihil Operi

aeponatur 7. He establishes a school of the Lord's: Dominici schola servitii 8, and the Divine Officetes, in this school the first" service of our devotion" :. servitium 9

• Doubtless, as we have already said,wenemct does not exclude other works, and history as

tradition for which we ought to have a humble respect,

of the Mass. - 2 . Ap oc. IV , I I . - 3. Ps. XLVII, I. - 4. Rule,- 5. Ps. XXI, 27. - 6. S. Augustin. Con!ess. ·I. I, ch. I. P. L. 32 ,

- 7. Rule, ch. XLlII. - 8. Prologue of the Rule. - 9. Rule, cb.



CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF TH E MONK294

shows us that in the course of ages cu r Order has filledmissions in the varied domain of Christian civilisabut it remains none the less true that the work which firstall claims our attention and energies is the DivineThis same Divine Praise is also, apart from the Sacramethe surest means for us monks of entering into -con

with God_ The Divine Office which gives so much glorythe Lord becomes for each of us an extremely fruitful

of sanctifi cation. We will reserve this second point

next conference; let us now endeavour to sec how theDei constitutes an infinitely pleasing homage of praiseGod.

To comprehend its excellence, we have to form a conceot.of its source, its nature, its elements an d it s end. Weof course, come to this study with eyes of faith; faith

can help us to penetrate into the truth. St . Paulthat only the Spirit of God is capable of searching into

deep things of God 1; while the natural . spirit, not

below the surface of things, falls frequently into error.Our love of the Divine Office depending moreover on

esteem we have for it, and on our faith in its value,is supremely useful to us that this faith should be

lightened and this esteem well an d solidly grounded.

I.

It is in lifting up our minds by faith - a faith fullreverence - - even to the heights of the Adorablethat we shall find the very fountainhead of praise.have the right to seek our examples thus high, for by

we are no longer strangers bu t SOIlS belonging,Christ, to the family of God: .TIlon estis hospites et a a v e n a e sed estis cives sanctorum et domestici Dei 2.

i What has Christ granted us to know of this ineffableof God in Three Persons ' .

The Word, says St. Paul, is " the brightness of His (Faglory, and the figure of His substance 3 . " The Word,Son, is essentially, the glory of His Father. From

eternity, this Son in a single infinite Word which is Himself"expresses, the Father's perfection, and this is the essenglory that the Father receives. The Eternal Word

Divine canticle singing the Father's praise. In 1Jrinci1J id

erat Verbum., et Verbum erat apudDeum,

I. I Cor. H, IO-II. - 2. Eph. H, 19. - 3. Hebr. I, 3.

TH E OPUS DEI, DIVINE PRAISE 295

From aU eternity He gives, has given an d will. in this infinite and unique act whIch is Himself, eternaladequate glory to His Father. This glory consists in

infinite knowledge that the Son has of His Father, of

perfections of His Father, and in the infinite appreciation

He utters concerning them: an appreciation equal

God, worthy of God; God has no need of any other

Word sees also in His Father the eternal decrees ofWisdom an d Bounty, all the merciful designs which are

t in the creation, in the Redemption, in the institution

Eucharist , and- realised da,ily in the sanctification of: Quod factum est in ipso vita est 2, ' He contemplates all

objects and glorifies His Father for them: Quam magni-

sunt opera ttta, Domine! omnia i'n sapientia fecisti 3.

is the infinite hymn tha[ ever resounds in sinu

and ever ravishes the Father. The Word is th ee that God inwardly sings to Himself, the Canticle

up from the depths of the Divinity, the Living

wherein God eternally delights, because it is th e

finite expression of His perfection.

The mystery of the Divine Life which we have just searched

with all reverence, bears in it,:elf the fundamental reason

value of the Divine Office.The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" :

Verbum caro factum est,et habitavit in nobis 5. But never

us forget this truth that we sing at Christmastide: Id

fuit permOinsit,' q·uod non erat assumpsit 6. In taking.human nature, the Divine Word is. not lessened; He

what He i.; - the Eternal Word, an d conseql1entlyremains the i n f i n i t ~ glorification of His Father. How

, as He ha;, united a human nature to Himself, in the

ty of His Divine Person, this Sacred Humanity enters,ugh the Word, into participation of the work of glori

Christ's Humanity is like the temple 7 where th e

ord sings the Divine canticle which glorifies the Father ;rather, the Sacred Humanity is carried along in th e

t of the Divine Life. Did not the Word Incarnate,

Jesus say: Ego vivo propter PatTem 8, " I live by th eather." All His activity tends to procure His Father's

I. Joan. I I. - 2. Ibid. I, 3- 4. - 3 . Ps. cm , 24· - 4. Joan. I, 18. - 5·I, 14. - 6. Antiphon of Lauds for the Feast of the Circumcision_ s image is evidently only an imperfect comparison, for the union of

Word with a human nature is no t accidental like that of the temple an dadorer; it is a personal and substantial union. - 8. Joan. VI, 58.




glory. This theandric activity remains that of anature; it glorifies God in a human fashion; but, asemanates from a Divine" Person, " as it depends uponWord, the praises it supplies, human in their x p r e s s i o n ,become the praises of the Word, and acquire on this accounta:n in finite value.

When Christ prayed, when He recited the P ~ a l m ~ , whe n,as the Gospel says, He spent the night in prayer: Eratnoctans in oratione Dei 1, these were the human accents of aGod; of an absolute simplicity in eternity, the canticle ofthe Word was multiplied, detail ed, upon the lips of His

Manhood. Thus this same canticle which, from all eternity.the Word causes to resound in the sanctuary of the Godhead,was prolonged and sung upon earth when the Word becameincarnate.

Henceforward it will be prolonged for ever in creation.For ever, Christ's Humanity will therein sing, to the gloryof the Father, a canticle of human expression but of

incommensurable price and comequently alone worthy of

God: this is the Opus Christi. On the last day of His life,Christ summed up allHisworkins<l.ying toHisFather:Egote clarificavi super terram 2 . His whole life was but a continualpraise to His Father's glory. This was His essent ial work;

for Him, nothing came before the glorification of His Father.Certainly, He glorified Him by all His actions, in spending

Himself for souls . in giving Himself to them as no apostlehas ever done, in going about doing good evcrywhere ; butthese were secondary forms of His praise . Above all,Christ, the Word Incarnate, praised His Father in exalting theDivine perfections in ineffable communings. Who shall tellus how J e ~ u s worshipped the Father and how fnll thisworship was of profound adoration! What incense of praise

was that which went up unceasingly from His blessed soul toGod His Father! Jesus contemplates the Divine perfectionsin all tneir splendour and this is the source of ineffablc praise.

-He rendered to His Father, in the name of the human raceto which He authentically belongs, all the duties of adora tion,praise and complacency which we owe to God. The perfectknowledge, the sublime comprehension that He had of

the inspired canticles made His pra ise infinitely worthy ofGod.

Christ also contemplated the creation : in Him, the DivineWord, the creation was full of life: In Ipso vita erato I t wasneedful that the whole order of created things should be

I. Luc. VI 12 . - 2 . Joan. XVII, {.


once perfectly com prehend ed by a human soul; Christexulted in looking upon the wonders of nature, as

God in the d<l.Ys of creation contemplated the

~ O Q n e s s and beauty of the work come forth from His hands:De'us cuncta quae fecerat." et erant valde bona 1. Withdid Christ, seeing in creatures the reflection of the

s perfections, constitute Himself their High Priest, into bring all things back to His Father! Hence wasin the sou l of Jesu s that perfect worship which it

Christ to offer as the supreme High Priest in

the Father finds all His delighP.II.

Sut, as you know, Christ does not separate Himself fromMystical Body. Before ascending into Heaven, He

ths His riches and mission to His Church . Christ,ting Himself to the Churc:h, gives her His power of

and praising the Father; this is the Wurgy. I t is

praise of the Church united to Jesus, supported by; or rather it is the praise of Christ, the Incarnate

ord, passing through the lips of the Chnrch.Seeing her, the Angels as k each other: "Who is this

t cometh up from the desert flowing with delights leaningher Beloved 3 ?" I t is the Church, we reply, he r

and charm come to her from the Bridegroom Himsel!,arms uphold her ; her voice is ever sweet and her facef

Dowered with (he riches of Christ, the Churcn, His Bride,introduced by Him into the palace of the King of Heaven,

the Father's presence, an d there, united to Jesus Cnrist,sings - as she will do until the end of ages - the canticle

in sinu Patris by the Word, and brough t by Him to

The Apocalypse shows us the elect adoring" Him thatsi tteth on the throne, " and exalting His ineffable perfections:

es, Domine Deus noster, acc-ipere gloriam et honorememf>," that is the choir of the Church Glorious. Here

is formed the choir of the Church Militant, called also

take her place one da y in the ranks of the blessed; butchoir is united, by faith an d love, with that of Heaven,

res,ounds too before the throne of God; for the Church

one in Christ, her Divine Head. In Heaven, says St. Au-

I. Gen . I, 31. - 2. Cf. Mgr. Gay. Elevation 99· Si1/-g to th.e Lord a newg for He hath. done wonderful tll-"gs. - 3· Cant. VIII, 5· - 4· Ibid. II , 1 4·

5. Apo c. IV, IO-II ; ct. V, 12-13 ;




gustine, satisfied love sings the Alleluia in the plenitudeeternal enjoyment; here below, yearning love seeks topress the ardour of its desires; Modo cantat amor ew ·m' .tunc cantabit arnor fruens 1 . But it is th e same choirparts, the choir of one Church, singing thecanticle of Divine glory animfl.tE'd, bol"h here on earth and

in Heaven, by the same supreme High Prie;t, Christ JesThe office is the official voice of the Bride of Christ.Church, by her faith, confidence and love and by herwith Jesus, bridges the space that separates her froman d sings His praise, like the Word Incarnate, in theof the Divinity. She sings, united to Christ, under Godvery gaze; because of her title of Bride, she always meritsto' be heard . The great work, the triumph of the Divinityof Jesus, is to raise us, poor mortals, even up to His Father.God has given to the Sacred Humanity of the Word thepower of drawing us with I t where this Humanity Itselr is :Ascendo ad Patrem met,m et Patrern vestrum, Deum meum etDeum vestrum 2: " I ascend to My Father and to your Father,to My God an d your God." And again: Pater, vola %d 1 ego sum, et i lti sint mecum 3. ' " Father, I will that wheream, they also whom Thou hast given Me may be withMe." After death, we shall be - we truly hope to be in a real and immutable way, where the Saviour is ; bu t evennow we are there by faith. The Word dwells in us byfai th : Ch,istum hab£tare per /idem in cordibl'('s vestris 4. WIare especially united to the Word Incarnate when we joinourselves to Him in order to sing, through Him and withHim; the glory of His Father.

Such is the fundamental reason of the transcendency ofthe Opus Dei; such is the incommunicable an d untransferableprivilege attached to this prayer, the Work of God, accomplished with Christ, in His name, by the Church, His Bride.

III.

The Church associates all her children in this praise. Thereis a part of the public worship which ordinary Christiansthemselves must perform if they are to be counted amongthe disciples of Jesus. However, the Church has not contented herself with this worship common to all. In the sameway as she chooses some from among her children to associatemore particularly and preferably with the eternal Priesthood

r. Sermo CCLV, 5. P. L. 38, II83. - 2. J oan. xx , 17. - 3.- 4. Eph. 1II, 17.


her Spouse, so she confides to some chosen ones a morent and special share in her mission of praise: this

x is formed of priests and religious orders investedthe functions of the choir. The Church, in he r name

that of he r Bridegroom, deputes them as her ambassadors

God's throne. - - bassador does not present himself in his own privatety, he stands in the place of his sovereign or of his; these are involved when he speaks in virtue of his

Therefore he has a right to all the honours andwhich would be given to his sovereign, and there

obligation that these shonld be granted to him.ons and arguments that he brings to bear in his

cQlDlomatic interviews have not only a private value resultingthe qualities and talents of the man, bu t they acquire

a special weight, more or less powerful, according to theof the country or the rank of the sovereign repre-

by him. This is not a simple fiction, bu t is aand juridical reality which defines the very rNe

of the ambassador.I t s proportionately the same with those whom the Church,the Bride of Christ, deputes in her name to hold her placebefore God, that is to say the priests an d religious obliged tothe Divine Office in virtue of the rules approved by ecclesiastical authority. They stand before the Father as ambassa

appointed by the Church, whose homage they offer,whose interests they represent. And a3 the Church is

1's Bride, these ambassadors share in the privilegesconferred upon the Church by her supernatural dignity, as,the Spouse of Jesus. When we are in choir, we bear a twofoldpersonality: our own individual perso_uality, that of our

misery, our frailty, our faults, bu t also that of members ot

Christ's Mystical Body deputed by the Church. In this

second capacity we have to guard the numerous an d variedinterests of Christendom. If We know how to use our power,we are sure, in spite of our imperfections, of being pleasingto God an d heard by Him. For, when we are acquitting

ourselves of our official functions, all our miseries are as itwere veiled by the prestige with which the Bride of Christinvests us . The Father sees us, during these hours of theIJivine Office, no longer as souls coming before Him with

th ,eir private interests and personal merits, bu t as ambassaqors of the. Bride of His Well-Beloved Son, treating of the

c-ause of souls with every right to do so ; we are officiallyinvested with the dignity and power of the Bride \of Jesus,



30 0 CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF TH E MON K

an d with those of Jesus Himself. Moreover, Christ

is in the midst of U S; He has formally promised to beHe is the supreme Hierarch Who receives our prayersga thers up our praises to bear th.em to the throne of

I Ad thronttm gratiae 1• Therefore, in God's sight, this

} surpasses, in value an d efficacy, all other praise, all prayer, all other work 2.

Thi:; truth is absolutely beyond doubt, and thewho lived in God's light, so understood it. St.

of Pazzi pu t assistance in choir before all the private

tions that pious persons can make; an d when one ofnuns asked to be dispensed from choir in order to

up to mental prayer, she replied: "No, my

should certainly deceive you in giving you such a

for i t Would be making you believe that this private devotjwould honour God more and render you more pleasingthe Divine Majesty, while in comparison \vith this pu

office which you sing mth your sisters, private prayer is

bu t a small thing3." St. Alphonsus Ligu-ori relates, while

making this opinion this own, the saying of a wise religiou!> :

" I f time is lacking to us, it is much better to shortenmental prayer, an d give more time to the Divine Office

that we ma y be enabled to recite it m th the devotion dueto it 4. "

Such is the opinion of the saints, such is the language of

faith. There is no work that Comes anywhere near theDivine Office. All other works are opera hominum. Thisis t ru ly" the Work of God" pre-eminently, because it is awork of praise that comes from God through the WordIncarnate and is offered by the Church, in Christ's Name.

IV.

Another reason of the transcendency of the Divine Praiseis that it directly tends to procure God's glory.

Doubtless, as we have said, God finds His essential gloryin Himself independently of an y crea ture: Deus meus es t t ~ , bonorum meorttm non eges 5. Bu t from tne moment that

there are creatures, " i t is truly mee t an d jus t" that they

should praise God, magnify His name and give thanks ' toHim; this is in the right order of things, it is justice; it isfrom this principle that the virtue of religion is born: Vere

1. Hebr. IV. r6 . - 2. Evidently supposing that the degree of love be thesame, and setting apart the Sacraments. - .1, Lite by P. Cepari, S. j. _{. L'O/fice meprise; (E".Dres c01npll:les. Paris, IS36, t. XI, p. 39 . _ 5. Ps. xv,2.

THE OPUS DEI, DIVINE PRAISE 30r

et i u s t l ~ m t:st, aeqUt,m et salutare, nos tibi semper t:t

gratias agert: 1., in creation, there are many beings who do not know

They assuredly praise Him after their manner by the

fact of their obedience to the laws that He ordained

m on their coming forth from nothingnf'ss: Caelint gloriam Dei et opera manumn ejus anmtntiat firma

2 However the heavens do no t know their own, an y more than they know their Crea tor. Whence issong of inanimate creation to take life? Upon our own

the lips of humanity. Hear what Bossuet so admirably

; .he text is rather long bu t it renders the idea very

. "The inanimate creature cannot see, it is seen;

cannot love, it urges us to do so ; an d this God Whom

knows not, it does no t allow us to ignore. Thus imper

an d in its own manner it glorifies the Heavenly Father.

n order that it may consummate its adoration, ma n

be its mediator. He must lend a voice, an understand-

an d a heart burning with love, to all visible nature that

ma y love, in ma n an d through him, the invisible beauty

the Creator. This is why he is placed in the midst of the

himSelf the world in brief... a great world in the

world, because although the world contains him, hea mind an d a heart greater than the world; in order

contemplating the whole universe and gathering it up

himself, he ma y offer, sanctify, an d consecrate it to theving God 3. "

acquit ourselves of this sublime r6le each da y at theOffice. The Church wills that every creature should

life upon the lips of the priest or religious, so that

creature may praise i Is Lord: B enedicite omnia operalJommi Domino, laudate et s-uperexaltate eum in saecula 4.

Upon ou r lips as in the Word, in ipso vita erat, all thesecreatures become animate that they may sing the Creator's

perfections. "Come," we sa y to all these creatures, " come;you know not God, bu t you ma y know Him through themedium of my understanding, an d sing to Him through my

lips. Come, sun, moon, stars that He has sown in thefirmament; come, cold an d light, mountains and valleys,seas. an d rivers, plants and flowers, come and magnify Him

Who created you. 0 my God I love Thee so much that I

I. Preface of the Mass. - 2. Ps. XVIII, 2. - 3. Sermon for the Feast of tlteAnmmc',atOon, r662. 3rd point. The great orator has taken up this idea againand developed it in his Sermon on the worship due to God, April 2

nd• I666.

- {. Canticle for S\lnday Lauds; Dan. III 57.

"



30 2 CHRIST, TH E IDEAL OF TH E :MONK

would have the wnole earth adore and praise Thee " :terra adoret Te et psallat Tibi l! Through our lips, allpraise of creation rises up to God.

I t rises up to Him because Christ, the Divine Word,His own this praise which we, guided by the Church, offe rHim . Man is the mediator of creation; but, says Ba g a i n ~ , man himself neeos a media tor and thisis Christ the Word Incarnate. We lend our lips to C

so that, through Him, our praise ma y be accepted inBosom of the Father: Per ipsum et wm ipso et .n ipsotibi Dco Patri omnipote-nti in un itate Spiritus sancti,honor et gloria 3. All things are ours, and we are

and Christ is His Father 's : Omnia vestra sunt, vasChristi, Christus autem Dei 4

. " Rej oice, 0 human

thou lendest th y heart to the visihle world that it may

its Almighty Creator, and J esus Chri st lends thee HisHeart wherewith thou mayest worthily love the Onecan only be worthily loved by another llimself 5

Through the Divine Praise, we associate creation andourselves, as intimately as possible, with the eternal pra isethat the Word gives to His Father. This participation inthe eternal, thrice-holy canticle is r ealised above all in thedoxology of the Gloria, repeated at the end of each psalm,and again in many other parts of the Office. As we bow downto give " glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to theHoly Ghost U we unite ourselves to that ineffable glorythat the Holy Trinity finds in It self from all eternity: Sic uterat i'n principio et nunc et semper et in s a e c t ~ l a saeculorum.I t is like the echo of the infinite mutual complacency of theDivine Persons in the plenitude and bliss of their adorablefellowshi p.

What work equals this in greatness? What work is

pleasing to God? None; le t us be dee ply convinced ofThe Opus Dei is what is most precious in the inheritanceof our Order : Funes ceciderunt mihi in praeclaris, etenimhereditas mea praeclara est mt'hi 6. There are no other houtswhen we can do more for God's glory than those we spendin choir, in union with the Divine Word praising His Father;pernoctans in oratione Dei 7. There is no work more pleasingto the Father than that whereby we join, in order to glorifyHim, in the canticle .mng in sinu Patris by " the Son of

His love 8. " There is no work that bett er pleases the Sonthan this which we borrow from Him and that is like the

I. Ps. LXV,, . . - 2. Continuation of passage quoted. - 3. Canon of theMass. - 4 . I Cor. III , 22-23. - 5. Bossuet, ibid . - 6. Ps. XV, 6. - 7. Luc. VI,

12 . - 8. Col. I, 13 . '

TH E OPUS DEI, DIVINE PRAISE 30 3

ex[enslOn of Hi., very essence as the Word, the splendour ofte glory. Neither is there any work that glorifies the

more: for by the formulas that He has Himself inspired,our love under its most delicate forms, admiration

renewed, and unending complacency. Gloriao et S1J1'rihti Sancto.

When this wor'k is performed with all the faIth, all thecit can fidence and a ll the love whereof our soul i3

it surpasses every oth er work, and therefore ourPatriarch .. filled with the spirit of all the just 1, "nothing to rank before this work: Nihil Op eri Dei

( 1 P . h ( ) n a t u r 2 ,' without being exclusive,it come.; before eve rywith us. Although we are not Canons Regular, wepu t this work in the second place, because it concerns

directly an d we came to the monastery especially toGod. Ardent love of the Divine Praise is one of the

t indubitable signs that we "are truly seeking God" :revera Deum quaerit ... si sollicit,us est ad opus Dei 3.

v.

What further renders the Divine Praise extremely pleasingGod is that itcollstitutes a homage of those vircues of

hope and love which are the specific virtues of ·ouras children of God_

Everything here - le t us repeat it - is to be judgedfrom the point of view of faith. To gather togethpr severalhours da y by da y to praise God is a homage of onr fai th ;

thereby confess an d proclaim that this Unseen God isworthy of adoration and praise. The acts of reverence,

thanksgiving an d complacency that we accomplish in the

of this work consecrated solely to extolling God, are,all, acts of faith. Faith alone gives its meaning to

the Divine Office. Those whose faith is null, pity men whopass a part of their life in chanting God's praises; they do

not comprehend how people c:J.n, at certain hours, occupythemselves solely with the Infinite Being: Ut quid perditiohaec 4. Where faith is weak, the Divine Office is undervalued

and other works are preferred before it . Souls which, likethat of our Blessed, Patriarch are bathed in "the deifying

Jight6" of faith, give tne first place to Divine Praise; they

do so at least in their estimation, even if, in consequence oftheir state in life, they cannot devote themselves to it .Divine Praise becomes uninterrupted when the eternal

I . S. Greg. Dialog. Lib. II, C. VIII - 2. Rule, ch. XLIII. - 3. Ibid . ch.1-"111. {. Matth. XXVI, 8. - 5. Prologue of the Rule.




light of VlSlOn succeeds the obscure light of faith:

fine laudant.

In the second place, ou r praise is a homage of hoDuring the divine psalmody we rest upon the intiniteof Christ J esus. We hope for everything from the S a l ] S I a Ctions of our Divine High Priest. In fact no prayer of

Office terminates without explicitly seeking its sOur Lord: Per Dominum nostrum Jesmn Christt'""make our claim through this All-Powerful Mediator Who" lives and reigns for ever with the Father, " an d pleadswith Him unceasingly in order to render Him propitious tous : Semper vivens ad interpellandum pro nobis 1.

In leaving everything in order to hasten to the choir, itis like saying to God: "There is nothing of which I ammore certain than of Th y goodness; I come to .and bless Thee, leaving in Thy hands the care ofrest. I have nothing more at heart than to praise Thee,being persuaded that if I leave every other work forthis , Thou wilt know how to take better care than if coulddo

ofmy

dea restinterests;

Iwant

only tothink

of Thee,knowing that Thou wilt think of me." To go to the choirevery day, and several times a day, in this disposition ofsoul; to pu t in practice the" one thing necessary", Unumest necessarium 2, to lay aside all our cares, all that regardsour personal work, so as to occupy ourselves during severalhours with Him alone, what an evident proof of our absolutecan tidence in Him!

Finally, our prCt.ise contains above all a homage of love.In it every form of love finds expression, especially in thePsalms which form the most considerable element ofDivine Office. Admiration, complacency, delight, the loveof benevolence, contrite love, grateful love, all these affections

find a place in an almost uninterrupted manner. Loveconfesses, admires, exalts the Divine perfections . Compla-cency whereby we rejoice in the joy an d beatitude of theperson beloved is one of the pures t and most perfect fo rmsof love. When we truly love, we find nc sweeter joy thanin praising and glorifying. St. Francis of Assisi composinghis "Canticle, " St. Teresa writing her "Exclamations,"

such is the soul overflowing with love, and seeking t o expressit. Such is also the love that transported the Psalmist.With the sacred writer, the soul passes in review all the Divine

1. Hebr. VII, 25 . - 2. Luc. X, 42 .

THE OPUS DEI, DIVINE PRAISE 30 5

ons in order to exalt them : Exaltare Domine, in

tua, cantabimus et psallemus virtHtes tuas ... 1 N arrabomirabilia tua 2. "Exalt ye the Lord our God, an d

His footstool, for it is holy": Exaltate Domi1Hf.mnostrum ... quoniam Sanctus Dominus Deus noster 3.

shall walk before Him' ; the searcher of hearts

reins is God 5 ." "The mercies of the Lord I will sing

ever 6 . " " 0 Lord God of has ts, who is like to Thee?ar t mighty 0 Lord, and Th y truth is round about

7 . " "How great are Th y works, 0 Lord? Thou hast

all things in wisdom" : Quam mag-nificata sunt operaDomine, omnia t'n sapientia fecisti 8. Then the soul

to God to express it s grateful love: " I will sing toLord Who giveth me good things" : Cantabo Dominobona trt' but'! mihi 9. "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul: an d

all that is with in me bless His holy name. Bless theo my sonl, an d never forget all He hath done forWho forgiveth all th y ini'll1ities; Who healeth all

diseases. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction:

crowneth thee with mercy and compassion, Who satis

th th yd e ~ i r e

with good things. " Then feeling inca pableglorifying God as He should be glorified, the soul invitesAngels to unite in praising Him: Benedicite Domino omnes

ngeli ejus, benedicite omnes virtutes ejus 10 . At other times,with the sacred singer, the soul convokes peoples

na tions to joi n in this praise: Regna terrae cantate Deo 11,

"from the ris.ing of the SUll until the going down ofsame, the name of the Lord is worthy of praic;c 12, admir... in the whole earth 13 . " Yet again, the soul poursits jo y and gladness before God in being admitted to

Him : Exsultabunt labia mea cum cantavero tibi ... If.etexsultationis laudabit os meum IS . This joy is so deep

overflowing that the soul asks God for power to praise.unceasingly : Repleatur os meum laude ut cantem gloriam.. . 16 Psattam Deo meo quamdiu luero l7 .

Where could love find accents as burning and ever new asAt every instant in the psalms this love is mani

and diffused. A truly extraordinary conde3censionDivine Goodness has more than once shown to what an

nt these praises are agreeable to God . We see Our Lord

pe lgning with infinite kindness to teach ignorant souls the

t . Ps. xx , 14 . - 2. Ibid. IX , 2. - 3· Ibid. MCVU!, 5, 9· - 4· Ibid. LXXXIV,

_ 5. Ibid. vll , 10 . - 6. Ibid. LXXXVIII, 1. - 7. Ibid . 9· - S. Ibid.24 . - 9'. Ibid . xu , 6. - 10 . Ibid. ClI, 1'5,20-21. - I I. Ibid. LXVII,

. 12 . [bid. CXll, 3. - 13 . Ibid. VIII, 1. - 14 . Ibid. LXX, 23 · - IS · Ibid.

6. - 16. Ibid. LXX, 8. - 17. Ibid. CXLIV, 2.



306 CHRIST, TH E IDEAL OF TH E MONK

Latin tongue, so that having this knowledge they

able to penetrate into the meJ.ning of the sacred

A like trait is met with in the life of a certain BeneUH ..

nun, the Blessed Bonomo. "Often, during her ecssays a biographer, "she was heard reciting the

Office; bu t a curious thing was that she pronouncedverses alternatively, as if the inhabitants of Hee>ven

repeating the psalms with her; she recit.ed the whole witomitting a single syllable, whatever was the Office of

1) )day .

Then, do not let us forget that in the Divine Office theexalts these perfections as is befitting, in a manner

worthy of God, a manner which He has HimselfLeft to ourselves, we could not rend('r due homage toDivine attribute; God alone can tell us how we can

ought to praise Him; God alone knows how worthy

of being magnified, blessed, glorified; and it is the

Spirit, the Spirit of Love, Who places upon our lips theformulas we are to use in singing to God. These

in theIr origin, are not of earth, they come to us fromfrom the innermost depths of the Godhead and ofAnd when we appropriate them to ourselves with

above al l when we recite or sing them in union wiDivine Word, our canticle becomes infinitely pleasing tobecause it is presented to Him by the Word in person.

St. Gertrude had the revelation of this truth in oneher visions. As Vespers were being intoned on the Fof the Holy Trinity, Christ, holding His Heart in His hlike a melodious lyre. presented it to the glorious TUpon this lyre the fervour of souls and all the words of 'sacred canticles resounded before the Lord in a hymn

heavenl y delight!.

VI.

One circumstance often occurs in our monastic lifeenhance funner this homage of love: it is when we haveoffer it to the Lord in suffering.

I. Dom du Bourg. Vae exlalique du XVII" siecle, w. Bsebenedictine," p. II an d 52 . We likewise see S' Catherine of SienaLord to teach her to read in order to be able to chant the Psalmsof God during the Canonical Hours. Often, too, Our Lord walked upwith her in he r cell amI recited the Office with the Saint. It wasreligious might have done. Lile 131. Raymund of Capua. - 2. The01 Divine Love. 13k. IV, ch. 41 . S' Gertrude often expresses this idea.Ibid..Bk. II , ch. 23 ; 13k. III, ch. 25 ; 13k. IV, ch. 48 and 51 ; cf. Dolan, 5t, r u d ~ Great. Ch. II . The D i v i ~ Office.

TH E OPUS DEI, DIVINE PRAISE 30 7

Suffering gives to love a special splendour an d a singular

; to love God in suffering is truly the height of self'nhl"i:lOn ; our Divine Saviour loved His Father with immense

at each instant of His life, bu t this love shone out in anl0U4wmparable way during His Passion, when Christ endured

rable sufferings for love of His Father: Ut cognoscat

quiad i ~ i g o

Patrcm1.

The Divine Office can become, and even frequently doesfor certain souls, a veritable sacrifice. In this case

expression Sacrificimll laudis 2 truly takes on a specialof meaning. This can happen in various ways; to

with we must not spare ourselves; we must give al l :we have. To use our voice unsparingly, to submit

manifold and varied details of the ceremonial,Iy to accept an d follow the indications of tne cantor,

when our opinion differs from his on such and such aof musical interpretativn: all this requires continualon. We must keep our imagination from wandering,

this requires generosIty. Frequently renewed efforts' needed to overcome our natural apathy or levity;

are so many sacrifices pleasing to God.Next come the sufferings that the common life necl:ssarily

entails. Certainly common life is a stimulus; the fact of

being together in our stalls excites fervour, bu t it allowsof a number of inevitable small sacrifices, often repeated:

homines /ragilcs... qui jaci'lmt imJiccm ang1tstias 3.

possi!->ility of tiny annoyances jarring upon us is inherent

our poor human nature; this is true even of prayer in.I,u,nmon. A ceremony awkwardly performed, false movemen ts

choir, a melody badly rendered, discord in the rhythm

those around us, all this can set our nerves on edge,when, ill addition, fatigue Qr an ailing state of

weighs upon the body and superexcites the sensihility.

we have to hymn God's glory under these conditionsis room for a real sacrifice, a veritable immolation .Heaven, when we possess God, we shall praise Him ineternal harmony of overflowing gla.dness ; here below, invalley of tears, it may happen that we have to praise

in suffering; bu t ou r sufferings add a new degree ofto our praise, and prove the sincerity of ou.r seeking

God '. Jesus sang tbe praises of His Father not only

I. Joan . XIV, 31 . - 2. Ps. XLIX, 23 . - 3. S. Augustin . Scrmo LXIX, C.

P. L. 38, 440. - 4. Laudemlls el modo Dominum, quallt"m possumus,_is gemilibus; quia w.udando eum tkskiera"lus e .m, .t rondu". t."emus :tenueY1mus, sublra/.-(ur omnis Cem-itus et remallebit sow. et pura et aelerna;

S. Augustin. Enarr. in Psalm. LXXXVI, c. 9. P. L. 37, I I09 ·

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/recit.ed

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/recit.ed



30 8 CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF TH E MONK

upon Thabor, but on the Cross. St. Augustineexplicitly 1 that upon Golgotha Our Lord recited .that begins with these words: Deus, Deus 11Ieus resptceq'uare me dereliqu£sti 2. . This striking Messianicexpressed not only the circumstances of the Passion,also tHe affections of Our Blessed Saviour's soul. In

darkness of Calvary, in the midst of indescribable tChrist Jesus recited" the Office," and, at that

because He was suffering, he gave, much more thanon Thabor, infinite glory to His Father.

We too, following His example, must praise God, not

when the Holy Spirit replenishes us with His consolatibu t likewise when we suffer. Loving souls followeverywhere, as well and even more willingly toto the Mount of the Transfiguration. Who remaifoot of the Cross witq Jesus? His Virgin-Mother whoHim wi th a love into which not the least self-seeking enMagdalen whom Jesus had forgiven much becausemuch; St. John who possessed the secrets of theHeart . These three stayed there near to Jesus;remained " in their stalls" when the soul of Christ,

supreme High Priest, sang it s sorrowful canticle forworld's salvation. The other Apostles, Peter himself,had so loudly protested his love, would willingly have rered on Thabor, where it was good to be : Bonum est nosesse,' /aciamus hic tria tabernac1.(,la 3, bu t not at the footthe Cross.

Christ Jesus Who loves us, Who has chosen us in

to so many others to associate us in His workallows us sometimes to feel, by the sufferings that

in common brings with it , by the desolations and

to which it may subject us, what it is to chant the\ with Him on Calvary. If really you seek God solely," -: is to sa y His Holy Will, and not His con.-;olations, prove

by continuing even then,and even especially at such momen!.:>"to sing ex TOTO corde vestro " do not run away, stay with

as long as H e will have i t so, near the Cross. The Cross israised, as a reminder, upon the altar that the choir surrounds.Let us then repea t with the Psalmist: Benedicam Domimltnin omni tempore, semper laus ejus in ore mea 4. " I

bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall bemy mouth . " Whether He fills my soul with the s

x. S. Augustin. Enarr. in Psc>im LXXXV, C. I. - 2. Ps. XXI. - 3.XVII, 4. - 4. Ps . XXXIII, 2.

TH E OPUS DEI, DIVHIE PRAISE 309

His Spirit of Lov e, or leaves it like a desert land where

is no water 1, I will ever praise Him with all the energy

y hea rt , because He is my God, my Lord and my King,is worthy of all praise: Exaltabo te, Deus meus Rex

benedicam nomini tuo 2, confitebor tibi Domine Deus meus

toto corde meo, et glorificabo nomen ttlUm in aeternum 3.

Recited in these dispositions, the Divine Office becomessacrificium laudis pre-eminently, the most agreeable

ifice to God, because, united to Christ's Sacrifice, ittitutes the most perfect homage that the creature can

Him : Sacrificizem laudis honorificabit me. Moreover,not allowing Himself to ' be out-done in generosity, the

sacrifice of praise becomes for the one who accomplishesthe way of salvation and beatitude: Et ittic iter quo oslen-

itti salutare Dei 4.

I. Ps. LXII, 3. - 2. Ibid. CXLIV, 1. - 3. Ibid. LXXXV, 12 . - 4. Ibid.

23·



XIV. - TH E OPUS DEI, Means of Union with God.

SUMMARY. - Divine praise, the Opus Dei, is likewise a means of

with God and of sanctification. - I. It furnishes e v ~ " I I " n + ' forms of prayer and impetration. - II. It provides _. ,tunities of practising the virtues well. - III. It MM t i t l lt p ,

the best manner of being made one with Christ.In which the Divine Office ought to be accomplished: ipreparation; intentions to be formulated. - V. Att

the soul during the Divine Office: to pray worthily,attention, and devotion. - VI. Final exhortation. '

IF the Opus Del were presented exclusively as a

rendered to the Divine perfections in union with CJesus, it would already, an d on this ground, emineuu)'

merit all our fervour. In the last conference we tried to

what a lofty work the Divine praise constitutes; it is

Opus Dei by excE:llence, the voice of the Churchherself officially to the Father, being entitled, asBride, to offer Him her adorations; it is the homagesoul wherein faith is active, hope assured an d loveI t is for these reasons that liturgical prayer is so pleasmgto God: Laudabo nome'n Dei cum cantico, et -blacebitsuper vit'ulum novellum 1.

Worship is also a conversation, an exchange; man,full of needs, asks at the same time that he adores;

God gives more than He receives. This is why theDei is an abundant source of precious graces for theAfter having said in the Psalm, that the sacrifice ofis pleasing to Him, God, Who is magnificence itself an

bestows the hundredfold, adds that this sacrifice becomesfor him who offers it, a way of salvation: Et illic i,

ostendam itli salutare Dei. I t is impossible indeedsoul to come near to God, to come before Him in theof His Son Jesus, and, findingstrength in the infiniteof this supreme High Priest, to offer unceasing hOIlldKe

God, without the Father delighting in this soul andspecial graces upon it. When He sees in us "theHis love 2, " - and He sees Him during the Divinecelebrated in the aforesaid dispositions - the Father

Whom comes down "every perfect. gift 3," cannot

; I. ,Ps. LXVlll, 31-32. - 2. Col. I, 13 . - 3. Jac. I, 17 .

THE OPUS DEI, MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 31 I

us with heavenly favours. In one of he r collects,t' s Bride h e r s e l ~ logically links together thcse two

of the Divine Office: " Grant, 0 Lord, to the peoplernn",,,,,r,, ted to Thee to find the sO'urce of increase in the

of pious devotion, that, being taught by therites, they may be filled with favours so much the

precious, according as they become more pleasing toDivine Majestyl." Gor!, being moreover the first Author

our sanctification, the daily and repeated contact thathave with Him in the Divinc Praise veritably constitutesus an inexhaustible principle of union and holiness.

This principle is true for every soul, even for those oflie Christians; the faithful who, although in it more

manner, take part in Divine worship with faith

devotion, imbibe the Christian spirit as from its fount.is what Pius X, of holy memory has so explicitly said:

The active participation of the faithful in the sacrE:d mys"ies and in the public an d solemn prayer of the Churchthe first an d indispensable source whence is drawn the

Christian spirit 2. "

t is it not manifest that this truth is to be appliedmore appropriately to those who, like us, have theincss of the monastic vocation? Besides the means

fication that are common to all the members ofMystical Body, such as the Sacraments, there exists,

to speak, in each Order, a special means corresponding toinstitution and to which souls belonging to this Order

preferably to be attached, so as to arrive at perfection.Christian predestination, God has engrafted for us

Benedictine predestination; we must no t think indeedt God has left our monastic vocation to chance; every

lellrnous vocation, constituting a signal grace, is the fruit offinite and privileged love which Christ Jesus bears to

soul: I ntuittts eum dilexit eum 3; and it is only by an actHis oovereign and Divine will that the Word gives us this;immense grace. We definitely responded to this call on the

of our profession; bu t do not le t us lose sight of thethat we have made profession secundum RegulamN. Benedicti 4. The particular character like the singula r

of the holiness that God expects of us, should befrom the monastic code of our great Patriarch. I t

1. P,oficiat, quaesumus, Domine, plebs tib i dicata piae aevotiollis a//ect u:slUris actionibus erud'ita, QUANTO MAJESTATI TUAE FIT GRATIOR, TANTO

POTIORIBUS AUGEATUR (Saturday in Passion Week. - 2. Motl' proprio'22 nd . 1903. - 3. Marc. x, 2I . - 4. Ceremonial of Monastic Profes



3 I 2 CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF THE MONK

is not in following the Rule of St. Augustine or the instiof the Carthusians, however great and lofty they be,we shall arrive at the perfection that Christus. To a particular vocation, a special perfection, ora special form of holiness, ought to respond.

Now our Holy Father ordains that among all the n{)"itiv;;

works of pietythat

ilis monks areto

perform, noneprecedence of the Divine Office : Nihil OperiDei praepOllaHm

Doubtless, it is right to repea t that this work is not incase exclusive of the others ; but being the one which,the Rule of St. Benedict, is given the first place, it becomesby that fact, for us monks, a very sure and authentic

of attaining that form of perfection which God willedwhen He called us to the cloister. Thus if it is averred

we are pleasing to God in the measure that we giveselves up to this work, it will not be less truly averred the Divine Praise constitutes one of the most infaUible of realising in ourselves the eternal and special idea God has of our perfection.

Le t us then explain how the Divine Office is a means

union with God and uf sanctification; it will nextfor us to point out the requisite conditions in orderthis means ma y produce all its fruits in our souls.

1.One of the most important truths of the spiritual life

incontestably the necessity of prayer for obtaining the help: " Ask, " said Our Lord, "and it shall be given seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be to you 3." Our needs are imm ense, an d without

grace we can' do nothing. How are we to obtain help? By prayer: Petite et aeeipietis 4 " onmis {'nim qui aeeipit 5. Now, the Divine Office con tains wonderful cations as pressing as they are varied. Undoub we have seen, it is first and before all a Divine Praise, cry of the soul that, full of faith an d love, admiresmagnifies God's perfections: Afagnus Dominus et laudaOl£ls

nimis 6. We do not come to the choir primarily to

no ; we come to praise God, to glorify Him, to think

His glory, to lend material creation our lips withsing, and Ollr heart with which to love God: The first

I. "Positive" in opposition to works of a rather" negative" character.1such as the exercise of the virtues of poverty, humility, etc ., which seabove all to remove obstacles. - 2. Rule, ch. XLIII. - 3. Matth. VII, 7.4· Joan. XVI, 24· - 5. Luc. Xl, 10. - 6. Ps. LVlllX. 2.

THE OpUS DEI, MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 3I 3

end of the Divine Office is the glory of the Creator:, Dominu.s noster, quam admirabile est nomen tuum

universa terra I ! The dominant idea of the Opus Dei isfrom these words of the Psalmist, as it is summed

the ever recurring doxology of the Gloria.the Divine Office contains, however, numberless forms

prayer and supplication. The psalms, for example, exnot only admiration, joy, exultation of soul ill presenceGod's admirable perfections; all the needs of the soul are

found therein set forth as it were in God's sight. Wewith the Psalmist, beseech forgiveness of our sins:

ve mercy on me, 0 God, according to Thy great mercy.according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies blotmy iniquity. Wash me yet more from my iniquity,cleanse me from my sin .. . Turn away Thy face from

sins, and blot ou t all my iniquities .. Cast me not away

Th y face ; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me I.

sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember:fttventutis meae et i gnorantias meas ne memineris 3 ;

oeeultis 1'/leis 1twnda me, et ab alienis paree servo tuo '.

of the depths I have cried to Thee, 0 Lord... if Thou,Lord, wilt mark iniquities, Lord who shall stand. Hope,

o my soul, hope in Thy Lord, for His Redemption, and He shall redeem thee from all thy ini

: Et eopiosa apud eum redemptio 5. Thou shalt washand I shall be made whiter than snow. To my hearing

shalt give joy and gladness: an d the bones that havehumbled shall rejoice .. . Restore unto me the joy of

s2Jvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. .., Thou wilt open my lips: and my mouth shall declare

6 "

the soul is in trouble, in distress, when beset bytion, when sadness overpowers it , when discouragement

takes possession of it, it has bu t to open th e inspired Book:" 0 God come to my assistance; 0 Lord, make haste tohe lp me· . Why, 0 Lord, are they multiplied that afflict

? many are they who. rise up against me. Many sayto my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God. ButThou, 0 Lord, ar t my protector, m.y glory, and the lifter

of my head ... Arise, 0 Lord, save me 8." Why art

sad, 0 my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me ?Hope in God, for I will still give praise to Him: the salvationof my countenance, and my God 9. And let all them

1. Ps. VIII, 2. - 2.. Ibid. L, 3-4, II , 13. - 3. Ibid. XXIV, 7· - 4- Ibid. XVI.II,13- 14. _ 5. Ibid. CXXIX, I , 3, 5-8. - 6. Ibid. L, 9-10, 14, 17· - 7. IbId.

2. - 8. Ibid . III, 2-4, 7. - 9. Ibid. XLII, 5·



CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF THE MONK3I 4

be glad that hope in Thee .. . 0 Lord, Thou hast crown",us, as with a shield of Th y good will" : Et laetenturqui sperant in te ... Scuto bonae volU1:tatis tuac coronasti nos

" In the Lord I put my trust, how then do you say to soul: Get thee away from hence to the mountain 2 ? o Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to when I lift up my hands to Th y holy temple .. . Save, 0 Th y people, an d bless Thy inheritance: and rule them exalt them for ever s. "

Does the soul need light? strength? courage?

wherewith to invoke God flow endlessly to our lips: " soul is as earth without water unto Thee 4. Send Th y light and Th y truth, they have conducted me, brought me unto Th y holy hill, an d into Thy ta

And I will go to the altar of God: to God Who giveth j to my youth. To Thee, 0 God my God I will give upon the harp" : Confitebor tibi in cithara Deus, Detts

Then, above all, the holy longings of the soul to

one da y to God rise ardently from the sacred poesy, expression of its thirst for the divine nlfeting: For

ha ve I in Heaven? an d besides Thee wha t do Iupon earth?... Thou ar t the God of my heart, and

God that is my portion for ever" : Quid milzl est in'eaeloa te, quid volui super terram 6 ? .. "As the hart

after the fountains of water; so my soulThee... when shall I come and appear before the faceGod 7? I shall be satisfied when Th y glory shall appear "Satiabor cum apparuert"t gloria tua 8! Thus, the soul'sintense desires, its deepest aspirations, its most

an d extensive needs find wonderful forms of express

nished by the Holy Spirit. And each soul can appronrito itself these forms as if they had been made foralone.

To the inspired texts are to be added the "Collects "the prayers composed by the Church herself, where are

gathered up the supplications that the Bride of Jesus

in her children's name, in union with her DivineThey are ordinarily vcry concise, bu t contain, in their brethe true pith of doctrine. As you know their structure

almost always the same: the Church addresses her homage.:

to the power an d goodness of the Eternal F ~ t h e r , petition in correlation with the Feast of the day, the

. 1. Ps . v, 12-13. - 2. Ibid. x, 2. - 3. Ibia. XXVII, 2, 9. - 4. Ibid.6. - 5. Ibid . XLII, 3-4. - 6. Ibid. XLXII. 25-26. - 7. Ibid. XLI, 2'3. ,

Ibid. XVI, 15.

TH E OPUS DEI, MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 3 I 5

a condensed, but often profound form; finally, theof the infinite merits of Christ Jesus, the Beloved

equal to His Father, Who lives an d reigns with Him

the Spirit, in the heavens: Per Domimtm nostr·utnChristum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivum et regnat...

How should a like prayer fail to be powerful with God?

could God refuse His grace to whomsoever beseechesaccording to the words He Himself has inspired 1 ?loves all that comes from Himself or from His Son,so this prayer which we address to Him in the name

Son is most pleasing to Him, an d efficacious for U5 :

ego seiebam quia semper me a'udis 2.

On this head, the Divine Office possesses great power of

·fication. I am certain that a monk who gives hi.mselfit with devotion cannot fail to obtain from it an

iaDunuance of divine help for every circumstance of his life.is so much the more true in that the devout recitation

the Office familiarises us with these holy forms of prayer:y then, in the course of the day, these arise

from his soul under the form of " ejaculatory .. prayers,but ardent aspirations, whereby the soul is lifted up

to remain united to Him. St. Catherine of Siena

a special devotion to the Deus, in adiutorium meum inten-.. she often repeated it during the daya. So many verses

the Psalms, after having served us in choir can thus

lbecome, outside the Divine Office, bonds of union between

an d ourselves, uprisings from the heart to beseech Hisor to tell Him that it is our will never to turn awayHim: " I t is good for me to adhere to my God, to put

hope in the Lord God 4. Preserve me, 0 Lord, for I have

my trust in Thee. I have said to the Lord, Thou artGod 5. When my strength shall fail, do not Thou forsake

My soul hath coveted to long for Th y justi fications,all times ... I have stuck to Th y testimonies , 0 Lord:

me not to shame 7 ..Each soul can thus choose from among 30 many formulas

which most aptly express its innermost aspirations,

which best help it to remain united to Our Lord.it has no need to seek them. When the Divine Office

recited with fervour, it is the Holy Spirit Who throwsDivine light upon some text of the Psalms or of th e

1. We evidently do not give the word, " inspired" the same sense when itthe elements, of diverse origin, of the Divine Offi.ce. - 2. Joan., XI ,

Life by Drane, 1 " part., ch. v. - 2. - 4. Ps. LXXII, 28 . - 5· Ps. xv ,_ 6. Ps. LXX, 9. - 7. Ps , CXVllI , 20 , 31.




Liturgy; this text then particularly strikes the soul, andthis vivid, penetrating and effectual action of theof J esus, it he reafter becomes a principle of light and

and like a wellspring of living water where the soulconstantly allay its thirst, renew it s strength, and findsecret of patience and inward gladness: Psalter£umgaudium meum 1.

II .

I t is not only in itself and directly that the Divineis a means of sanctification; it also gives us the OccaSIOnpractising many virtues several times a day. Nowpractice, according to the Council of Trent 2, is a sourceunion with God and of progress in perfection.

When a soul is in God's friendship, each ac t of virtue

' - J makes increases grace in it, and this is above all true charity which is the queen of every virtue. Now, the Di Office recited wilh fervour, is a continual exercise of most varied virtues. We saw, in the last conference, frequency with which acts of faith, hope, and charity

in the course of the Divine Office; charity especially ou t in it ; it finds the purest and most perfect expression lhe Opus Dei, namely, complacency in God; and this placency is manifested at almost each moment in accen admiration and joy3. When, for example, we have

Matins and Lauds with devotion, we have made numerousacts of perfect love.

To th e theological virtues, which are the specific virtuesour state of children of God, must be joined the virtue

religion. Religion has no purer manifestation than t heDivine Office gravitating around the Eucharistic Sacrifice

-. which is its crown. The Divine Praise encompassi ng the

altar, where the holy oblation is offered, is the pures texpression of the virtue of religion; it is also the mostpleasing to God, because this expression is ddermined bythe Holy Spirit and by the Church, Christ's Bride; worshipfinds its plenitude in the Divine Office 4.

1. S. Augustin. Enarrat . i n Psalm. 137, n . 3, P. L. 37, col. 1775. _ 2.

VI. C. 10-11. - 3· " It is a great mistake to imagine that a sacrifice is oDlyvaluable and agreeable to God if it is sad and mortifying to nature. TheHoly Bible ! i i v e ~ testimony that God receives flowers ilnd fruits as' well as

blood, an d JOY well as tears . There are certainly many tears insacrifice of praise which is named the Psalter, bn t how joy overflows j,

and how often one is made a\':are of a jubilant and ravished soul!" M Gay. Entretie,1S sur les mystcres du Rosa-ire, 1. p p ~ 80-81. __ 4. Cf. LottUl,L'dme du culte, la vertu de religiot,.

TH E OPUS DEI, MEANS OJ' UNION WITH GOD 317

is in the Divine Office too that we learn reverence towards

; the Liturgy is the best school of respect; all withinregulated by the Church herself in view of magnifying

Sovereign Majesty. When the soul performs all the

, even the smallest, ..:arefully and lovingly, it is

y formed to that inward reverence which is, as wethe very root of humility. I t is impossible for

to be devoutly assiduous at the "Work of God"

gaining in a short time a great knowledge of the divine, and without that r t"spect and reverence springing

in his ~ ) O u l from this con tern pIa tion.We have likewise seen how the Divine Office is moreover

school where, on account of the common life, may be. ;ed the virtue of patience and self-forgetfulness.

. ___ 5 the virtues most necessary to our state as childrenGod, faith an d confidence, humility, love, an d religion,

each day no t only the means of being exercised, bu t ofmaintail1ed, and strengthened; the Divine Office hence

an abundant source of holiness.

lIT .

The sanctifying power of the Divine Office however goesr than this. Not content with being the best form

of impttration for our spiritual necessities and givingthe opportunity of daily practising lofty virtues, this. : constitutes for us the best way of being made one

Christ 1. We must never forget this capital truth of. ritual life : all is summed up, for the monk as for the

Christian, in being united, in faith an d love to Christin order to imitate Him. Christ being the very

form 2" of our predes tina tion, is at the same time theideal of all holine :.;s for us. He is the centre of monasticismas of Christianity: to contemplate Christ, to imitate Him,

to unite our wiII to His will in order to please His Father,that is the sum total of all perfection. The Father hasplaced all things in His beloved Son ; we find in Him allthe treasures of redemption ,justification, wisdom, heavenlyknowledge, sanctification; for us everything lies in contemplating Him an d drawing near to Him. For the thought

of Jesus, the looking upon Jesus, are not only holy, bu t

sanctifying.And nowhere can we better contemplate Our Lord in HisI. See a remarkable commentary on this thought in D. Festugi')re. La

liturgie catilolique, essai de synthese, en. XIII. La L-it-urgie comme s ource tt causedevie religj.euse, pp. III, sq . - 2. Cf. Rom. VII, 29 .



31B CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF THE MONK

P erson and in His mysteries, than in following the Ii

cycle established by the Church, His Bride, she herself in this by the Holy Spirit. From Advent to the liturgy is Christoccntric; in it all leads back to all converges towards Him; it is a r epresentatio n, living representation of His mysteries: His Incarnation,

most sweet Nativity, His h idden life, His public life, sorrowful Passion, the triumph of His Resurrection, admirable Ascension ; the Mission of the Holy Spirit. Church leads us by the hand in Jesus' footsteps; we only to listen, only to open the eyes of fait>t: we following Jesus.

The mysteries of Jesus thus contemplated with faithlove, give rise within us to the affections that wehave felt had we been present at the Birth of Jesus, had

followed Him to Egypt, been with Him at Nazareth,His discourses, in the Garden of Gethsemani, uponWay of Sorrows, and at Calvary; as we should haveif we had been present at His Resurrection, and AscensionThis is what was said by a holy Benedictine, Mother Deleloc

" At Christmastide, during all those solemnities of ourviour's Birth, I received great favours; His Majestygave me a vivid light so that I knew these divine Tnm t " .. i ....

as if they wr:re then really taking p l a c e ~ "Indeed, although Christ is no longer upon earth, a l l l l u u K I . 4

th e historical reality of His mysteries has gone by, He

remains our Head and the virtue of His actions and oflife is ever fruitful: ]c'suP Christus her; et hodie.' ipse etsaecttla 3. I t is as the Head of the human race, andthe human race, that He has lived these mysteries:

fore, simply by contemplating them with faith, the smoulded little by little u pon Christ, its Ideal, and is

transformed into Him, by entering into the sentiments

by His Divine Heart when He lived each of His mysteries.Jesus lives the reality of His mysteries in us, and whenwe have faith, and rest lovingly united to Him, He drawsus ''lith Him, making us partakers of the virtue proper to

each of these states. Each year, as the soul followsLiturgical cycle, it shares ever more intimately in thesemysteries, and is identified more and more with Chris t;with His thoughts, His feelings, His life . Hoc mim s e n t i t ~ in vobis, quod et in Christo]esu, 4. Gradually it is transfonlledinto the likeness of the Divine Model; not only because

1. See the development of this idea in our work : C M ~ < t in His Mysterit&.

1st Conference: Christ's Mysteries a,e our mysteries. - - z. La M&e JeaDcleloe, p. 247, Collection" Pa x ". 3. Hebr. XHI, 8. - 4. Philip. II , 5.

TH E OPUS DEI, MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 319

Model is represented in each stage of His terrestrial, bu t above all because a divine virtue goes out

these mysteries to sanctify ns, according to the measurefaith, and to make of the soul the living reproduction

Who is our Elder Brother. Does not all our preall our holiness consist in being made conform

to Christ for the glory of His Father?

t is this custom of following, under the Church's guidance,mysteries of Jesus that gives to Benedictine spirituality

a specifically Christ ian character: the piety of the soul,II the very piety of the Bride of Christ, becomeslucid. I t is a fact of experience that with souls,

say the Divine Office devoutly, who let themselves beished with the truths of the Psalms and follow Our

step by step in each of His mysteries, the spiritual

is very limpid, sane, and at the same time abundant

fruitful; in these souls piety is exempt from all complinor is there anything forced about it . If we tr y to

te or arrange our own spiritual life, there is danger of

ting much of ourself into it much that is human, andis the risk at times of not taking the way that God

us to follow in order that we mav attain to Him.in the footsteps of the Church, there is no risk of

y. The secret of the safety, as of the simplicityth, of Benedictine spirituality lies in the fact that

borrows not from ever fallible man, but from the Chtirch,the Holy Spirit, all its elements even to its framework,

is nothing else than the representation of the life of

hrist.

This is a point of extreme importance. Our holinessd is of the supernatural order, absolutely transcendent,

its source, not in us, bu t in God. Now, says St. Paul,know not how we ought to pray, we know not, inthis unique affair of our sanctification, what is befitting;bu t the Spirit of Jesus, Who is in us since our Baptism,

directs the Church, Who is as it were the Soul of theBody, prays in us with ineffahle groanings 1.

the Liturgical Office, everything is inspired by thisSpirit or created under His action. Th e Holy Spirit,

of the psalms, deeply ingraves in the docile and

t soul, the truths whereof they give admirable formulas,He fills the soul with the affections that the sacred canticles



320 CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF TH E 1rIONK

express. Little by little HIe soul lives on these truths ,nourished on these sentiments which make it see and

all things as God sees and judges them; it livesin the supernatural sphere; it cleaves to Him Whounique object of all our religion, the One Who isunceasingly before our eyes in the reality of Hisand the power of His grace .

There is no surer way than th is of keeping united to ]an d consequently going to God. The Church, guidedthe Holy Spirit, leads us to Christ, Christ leads us toFather and makes us pleasing to Him: what incomparablesecurity and what powerful fecundity of the inner life thisspiritual way guarantees to us !

IV.

The Divine Office will produce its prec ious fruits in 'us

only if it be well accomplished; it does not ac t in the mannerof th e Sacraments, ex opere operato; its fruitfulness dependsin great part on th c dispositions of the soul. I t is a divinl

work , extremely acceptable to God; it is a privileged meansof union and sanctification; - on condit ion however thatwe bring the necessary dispositions. What are these dispo si bons ?

Before the Office, we mus t first of all, prepare ourselves. The perfection with which we acquic ourselves ofthe Work of God depends ill great part on the preparationof the heart; it is the heart which God looks at first of all:

Praeparationem cordis eorum al,divit auris tua 1. "Whatever

good work thou undertakest," our holy Patriarch 'says,speaking to us in general, "beseech God with most earnestprayer to vou chsafe to bring to a good end" : Quidquid agen-dum i'lchoas bonum, a Deo perfici INSTANTISSIMA ORATIONE

deposcas2.

If

this recommendation exteildsto

allOll[

undertakings, how much more expressly is it to be applied to awork which dcmands of us faith, love, patience, the senseof reverence, and which is for us the "work" by excellence,because it is " th e Work of God?" If we do not beg thehelp of God before giving ourselves to toe Divine Praise, wesln ll never accomplish, it well. Not to recollect o u r ~ e l v e s before the Office, but to let our minds wander, th en begin ex

a b r l ~ p t o , and imagine that fervour will be born of itself inth e soul, is to be under a sin gular illusion. Scripture tells us :" Before prayer prepare thy soul: and be not as a man that

x. Ps. x, 17 . - 2. Prologue of the Rule.

TH E OPUS D E J . MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 321

th God" : A·nle o r a t i o t ~ e m , praepara animam t'uam, et

esse quasi homo qui te1ttat Deum 1. What is "to tempt? " I t is to undertake an action without being assured

means of carrying it ou t . I f we begin the Divinewithout preparation, we cannot recite it as is befitting;

xpect the necessary dispositions to come to us from onwithout first using the means of producing t.hem within

is to cempt God.The first disposition required of us then is that we prepare

soul by most fervent prayer: instantissima oratione. I t

with this obj ect in view tha.t we assemble at the" station"the dois ter before entering the Church . The silence of

station ought to be inviolable. I t is important thatone should respect the recollection of his brethren and

trouble (even by words which are necessary bu i mightsaid at other moments) tne work of a soul that is preparing

to be united to God. The moments which pass at theion are golden moments . Experience proves that fervour

during the Divine Office is to be very exactly measured by theimmedia.te preparation. Almost infallibly, if we do not

prepare ourselves, we come out from the" \Vork of God" aswe en ered, with, moreover, the culpa bility of our negligence.

In what then does this preparation consist 2? As soon asthe bell calls us, ve ·nite ado remus s, we ought to leave everyother work: Mox exoccupatis manibus, et quod agebartt;,mperfectum relinq·uentes 4; direct our thoughts towards Godand say to Him by a movement of the heart: "Behold Icome, 0 my God, to glorify Thee; may I give myself altogether to Thy work!" We ought secondly, if needs be by

a generous and vigorous effort of the mind, to put from llS

every irrelevant preoccupation, every distracting thought,and gather up our energies that all may be concentrated

upon the work about to begin: our intellect, our will, our

heart; our imagination, in order that our whole being, bodyand soul, may praise the Lord. We should be able to sayin all truth: Benedic artima mea Domino, et OMNIA, QUAE

INTRA ME SUNT, nomini sancto ejus 5 ; to say like David,the sacred singer: Fortitudinem meam ad te cltstodiam0:I will keep my strength for Thee, 0 Lord, and for Thyservice ; I wish to consecrate to Thy praise every power

within me.1. Eccli. XVlll , 23 . - 2. We speak of the immediate preparation, supposing

the remote preparation to be understood and admitted. The remotepreparation is, in the moral order, purity of heart and the habit of thepresence of God, and, in the in tellectual order, knowledge of the sacred texts,of the rubrics and Ghant etc . 3. Ps. X CIV, 6. - 4. Rule, ch. v. - s· Ps. Cll,

1. - 6. Ps . LVIII, 10 .

Cllrlll, I ue d ~ ' : \ ot the lJQuk. 21

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/immedia.te







Then le t us unite ourselves, by a spiritual communion offaith and love, to the Word Incarnate. We must haverecourse to Christ Jesus; in this as in all things He is ollrModel and our Head. Christ Tesus loved the Psalms. Wesee Him, in the Gospel, more 'than once making use of

'- Jinspired songs, for example, the magnificent psalm

Dominus Domino mea 1, wherein is exalted theChrist, the Son of God, triumphant over Hi:> enemies.

Divine lips have recited th ese canticles" in such a manm:cthat manifestly His soul took possession of the sacred

as belonging to Himself 2." We then recited the

Him, as now He recites them in us 3, in virtue of that marvellous union which grace establishes between Christ and

His members. This is what Our Lord Himself made SaintMechtilde understand. One day when she asked Him

He had really celebrated the Hours upon earth, Hedeigned to reply to her: " I did not recite them as you do ;however, at these hours, I rendered homage to God theFather. All that is observed among .My disciples, I Myselfinaugurated, as for example Baptism. I observed and ac-complished these things for Christians, thus sanctifying and

perfecting the works of those who believe in Me." Our DivineSaviour gave the following counsel to the Saint: "In beginning the Hours, le t these words then be said with tneheart and even with the lips: Lord, in union with the atten-

tion wherewith when upon earth Thou didst observe theCanonical Hours in honour of the Father I celebrate thisHour in Th y honour. Secondly let all our attention be keptfor God. And when this practice having been often repeatedhas become a ha.bit, thIs exercise will be so lofty and noblein the sight of God the Father, that it will seem to make blltone with that which I Mvself practised 4. "

I. Ps. CIX. - 2 . D. Festugiere, I. c., pp. I l 4 - I l S . - 3. Oramtls ergo adilllim, per ilium, in i/lo, et dicimus cum ;'1/0 et dicit nobiscum; dicimus in illo,

dicit in nobis psalm;' hujus orationem. S. Augustin. Ena". in Ps . LXXXV, IP . L. 37, col. 1082. All this § I should be read. - 4. Th . Book of SPecialGrace, 3'd part, ch. 3r. Our Lord deigned still more explicitly to teach tbesame doctrine to another Benedictine nun, Mother Deleloe. "One day, ..this holy nu n relates, " the Well·Beloved drawing my hea.rt close to Him,it st"cmed to me that truly this m_ost lovable Spouse plunged it with warmcaresses and demonstrations of 10"e into the recesscs of His Divine Heart, asin a furnace of infinite Love. I t was then given me to understand how thisfavour was granted me by the Well·Beloved, in order that my soul whichbelonged entirely to His Majesty, should not come alone into th c presenceof th e Eternal Father to confess and love Him, bu t that being accompaniedby this Di\'ine Saviour, united to Him, and a5 it were altogether tra!lsiormed into tbe unique object of His ~ t e r n a l delight, it should love an d honoDi vine Majesty the more, - with an d by th e most adorable H e ~ r t of Hisbegotten SOD, my Beloved, - and be more acceptably received, through

TH E OPUS DEI, MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 32 3

We must not forget that if Christ Jesus recited the psalms,was" not only individually but, moreover, as the Head

humanity, morally identifying Himself with all An.am'sbeing touched at Heart with every peril, struggle and

with every regret an d hope of men, uttering to Hisher, at the same time as His own prayer, the supreme

universal prayer of all humanity 1 . " This truth appliesall the prayer of Jesus, to all His works, and to His

rificc.This is why, with its eve ry movement, the Liturgy finds

its support in Christ J esus, th e Son of dilection. All itsend in recalling Christ's merits and Divinity: Per

'iJotmnum Nostrum Jesum Chrt'stum .. . At the Mass, whichthe centre of the liturgy and of all our religion, the" Ca

" that most sacred part of the holy oblation, beginst solemnly by having recourse to Christ's mediation:

Father most clement, we beseech Thee: accept thesethrough Jesus Christ Th y Son and Our Lord." I t endsthe same thought, still more explicitly formulated: Per

et cum Ipso, et in Ipso: it is through Christ, with

an d in Christ that we can render all honour and all

glory to the Father. Wh y so much insistence? Becausethe Father has appointed His Son as the one universal

Mediator. St. Paul, who penetrated so far into the mystery

of Christ, exhorts us in these terms: " By Him therefore letus offer the sacrifice of praise always to God, that is to say,

fruit ()f lips confessing to His Name" : PE R IPSU'\f ergohastiam laudis semper Deo, id est fntctutn labiorum

con(itentiu1n nomi'lti ejus 2 .

In Christ Jesus, we find our best support; He suppliesr our deficiencies. Let us entreat Him to ' be in us the

that praises His Father. In the Sacred Humanity,

personal principle of every work was the Word; let ust Him also to take the initiative in all our praises;

us unite ourselves to Him in the infinite love wherebv,the Trinity, He glorifies His Father, an d in that immense

He bears to the Church, His Mystical Body, Christu.s't Ecclesiam a. Let us further unite ourselves to Him,

Him for the glory that He gives to the (hllrch

nt , which is 'without spot or wrinkle in H i ~ holynon habens maclllam aut rltg.'lnt 4, ' let liS beseech

to increase the glory of His Blessed Mother, of His

b}' the Sovereign Bounty." La Mere Deleloe, p. 231. CollectiooPax XVI"

r. D. F e s t u ~ r e , I. c. p. lIS. - 2. Hebr. XIII, I j . -,3. Eph . v, 2S. - 4-

Ibid. 27.



324 CHRIST, THE IDEAL OF THE MONK

Angels and of Hi, Saints; then let U5 unice OUI loveHi3 love for the Church suffering, in order that wehelp those of His members wbo are waiting in theof expiation; let us unite ourselves to Him in that

which He made at the Last Supper for all His Chubelow: Pater, rago pro eis qtti credit'Uri sunt in me 1.

As the ages sHcceed one another, Christ leaves Histo accomplish a part of the prayer that He recited whenon the point of offering His sacrifice. Although thisis of in fini te efficacy, Our Lord wills us to join our own toit. One day our Divine Saviour, casting His gaze upon themultitude of souls to be redeemed, said to His Apostleswhom He was about to send to preach the Gospel: Rodominum messis ut mit t at operarios. i 1 ~ messem suam 2, "

ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He send lainto His harvest." The Apostles might have replied:"Lord, why dost Thou tell us to pray? Does not Thyprayer suffice?" No, it does not suffice: Rogate: " Pray, "you also. Christ Jesus chooses to have need of our prayersas of those of His Apostles . Let us think, at the momentswhen we are recollecting ourselves at the "station" tha t

from the depths of the tabernacle, Christ is about to sayus : Rogate Dominum messis: "Lend Me your lips and heartsthat I ma y prolong My prayer here below while in HeavenI offer My merits to the Father. Prayer first of all: thelabourers will only come afterwards and their work willbear fruit only in the measure that My Father, attentiveto your prayer, which is Mine, will pour down the heavenlydew of His grace upon earth. "

Before beginning the Divine Office, let us then cast aglance over the world: the Church, the Spouse of Christ, is

ever in travail of redemption. Let us behold the SovereignPontiff, the pastors of dioceses and parishes, the religiousOrders, the missionaries who carry the good word to the

heathen in order to extend the Kingdom of Jesus; let usbehold, in spirit, the sick in the hospitals, the dying whoseeternal salvation is about to be decided at this very moment ;let us think of prisoners. of the poor, of those who suffer ,of souls in temptation; of sinners who wish to return toGod bu t are weighed down by the burden of their chains ;of the just who ardently long to advance in divine love .Is it not tllis that the Church herself does on Good Friday ?Remembering the sacrifice for the redemption of the Wholeworld, and feeling herself strong in the very strength of

1. Joan . XVII, zo. - 2. Luc. X, 2.

TH E OPUS DE I , MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 325

.viour, the Church lets her motherly gale travel over theseries of souls who have need of help from on high.

sne offers special supplications for each. Let us imitate

example of our mother and approach God with,wl1Iidence. for at this moment we are the mouth of the

Church: Tutiu,s Ecclesiae OS l

I was saying in the preceding conference that, in choir.are the Church's ambassadors. Now what is the most

quality of an ambassador? To be clever?

to have a large fortune at his disposal? toinfluence? to shine by his personal talents? to be

lofl"".M1./1 grata with th_ sovereign to whom he is sent? Alluseful and necessary; all these qualities wouldte without any doubt to the success of his mission,

they would be insufficient and sterile, they would evente from the end in view did not the ambassador

himself first of all, and as perfectly as he possiblywith the intentions and opinions of the sovereign who

him. with the interests of the country he represents.Church deputes us to the King of kings, to the throne

God. We must then identify ourselves with her viewsand wishes; the Church confides to us her interests, which

those of souls. those of eternity. This is not a trivial! Let us then take into our hearts all the needs, all

necessities of the Church - so dear to Jesus since shepurchased by His Blood - the anguish of souls in pain.

perils of those who are at this moment grappling withdevil, the anxiet ies of those who have to direct us ; in

that all ma y receive God's help. This is what wasby the holy Sister Mechtilde of Magdebourg. She took

Christendom in the arms of her soul to present it to theI Father that it might be saved. "Let be, ,. said

Lord to her, " it is too heavy for thee. " " No, Lord, ,.

d the Saint, " I will lift it up and bear it to Thy feetThine own arms, that so Thou mayest bear it Thyselfu'pon the Cross 2 ! " An example of the faith of great souls\vhich constrains them to put the dogma of the Communionof saints into the highest and most perfect practice.

Let us imitate these models, and we may be assured that

light, consolation, help. and the grace of forgiveness willdown abundantly from the throne of rpercy upon the

Church. Remember what 'Our Lord Himself said:Amen, amen, I say to ·you; if you ask the Father

1. S. Bern. Senen. Sumo xx . - 2 The Light 01 the Divinity. b. U, eh. 12 .




anything in My Name, He will give it you 1." Rely this promise, ask much, ask in all confidence, an d the F from Whom "every perfect gift comes down 2, willI

His hands to fill every soul with blessings 3. For it iswe who pray, who intercede at this moment; it is the

it is Chlist, our Head, the supreme High Priest Who praysin us, <;tnd stands before His Father to plead the cause ofthe souls He has redeemed: Ut appareat vultui Dei PRO

NOBIS.. . 4 Semper vivens ad interpellandum PRO NOBIS 5.

I t is true that men of the world shrug their shoulderswhen they learn that we stay such long hours in choirpraising God. For them, nothing is worth anything unlessit is exterior, unless the results can be touched or fel t,unless it is something that is talked about, that is successfulan d brilliant; but, says St. Paul, in his inspired energeticlanguage, the sensual man, whose natural reason is his onlyguide, cannot understand the things of God: Animalis homonon percipit quae sunt Spiritus Dei 6 " the supernatural sensei3 lacking to him. For him, these hours are lost and wasted

hours; bu t to the eyes of faith, in the sight of God, - andwho is just and true as God? - these hours are rich ingraces for the Church, and of great weight for souls as regardseternity. I t is at these hours we fulfil the most excellentapostolic work, even towards our neighbour; we obtain forhim the grace of God, we give him God: this is the greatestgood for a soul. St. Bernard, that great monk an d apostle,consumed with zeal, says, "all apostleship demands threethings: the word, example, prayer. But of these threeprayer is the most important, because it is prayer whichobtains the grace and efficacy of the word an d example 7. "

Indeed "unless the Lord build the house, they labour invain that build it. Unless the Lord keep the city, he watch

eth in vain that keepeth iiB." I t is truly God \Vho holdsthe eternal destinies of souls within His hands: In manibustuis sortes meae 9

; an d when we fervently recite the DivineOffice for the whole Church, in union with Christ J esus, welabour for t he sal vation an d sanctifica tion of souls in a measure we cannot compass 10.

r. Joan. XVI, 23 · - 2. Jac. I, 17. - 3. Cf. Ps. eXLIv, 16. - 4. Hebr. IX,24· - 5· Ibid. VII, 25. - 6. I C or . II, 14. - 7. Man-ent tria haec: verbu.m,exemplum, oratio; maior autem h.is· est oratio; nam, etsi ~ o c i s virtus sit opus,et oper;, tamen el voei gratiam etJicaciamque promcretur orat,:o. Epistola,201,n. 3· P. L. 182, co. 370. A discip!e of SI Bernard, Dom Chautard, AbbototSept.Fons, has written on this subject a most valuable work translated into Englishunder the title of "The Tru.e Apostolate", which we cannot sufficientlyrecommend . - 8. PS, ex.xvI, 1. - 9. PS , xxx, 16. - 10 . See La Vie con-templative et son role apostolfque, by a C a r t h u ~ i a n monk.

THE OPUS DEI, MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 327

The "Work of God" is an eminently apostolic: work,although this does not appear outwardly; this character ofthe Office is perceived by faith alone, bu t for those whohave faith, how much the value of this work is enhanced!

Sister of Charity can count the number of sick personshas assisted, the number of the dyin g for whose conversion

has laboured; a missionary can verify the success ofpreaching, take into account the good that he does, andin find encouragement for his efforts an d motives for

thanksgiving. We cannot keep an y such register. I t is in

the obscurity of faith that, during the Divine Office, we wo ,rkfor souls; it is in heaven alone that we shall see all theglory we have given to God by devoutly singing His praises,all the good we have gained for the Church and for souls;b,elow we cannot gauge it ; this is one sacrifice the more thatfa ith asks of us. But although the apostolic efficacy of theWork of God well performed does not appear to our bodilyeyes, it is no less cieep and far-reaching.

Let these great thoughts occupy our minds at the momentof beginning the Divine Office; they enlarge the horizon

of the soul; they increase its energies tenfold, they preventroutine. When we habitually act in this spirit of faith,when we thus forget our personal pain and troubles, in orderto occupy ourselves with the needs and interests of souls,we go out of self; we praise God with fervour, in spite ofthe weariness that may befall us, in spite of the repugnancewhich God sometimes permits us to feel; and le t us be assuredthat if we think, before all things, of God's glory and ofChrist's Mystical Body, Jesus will think of us and will pour

down blessings upon our souls surpassing all our hopes and

desires. Has He not promised this Himself? "Giveand it shall be given to you" : Date, et dabitur vobis 1

v.

After having formulated our intentions, in a few rapid bu t

intense acts, let us ask God "earnestly" instantissimaoratione, to open our lips that we may praise His holy name;

to cleanse our hearts from vain, perverse, or simply irrelevant

thoughts; to enlighten our understanding, to enkindle ourlove, that we ma y praise Him worthily, with attention and

devotion. This is all cont ained in the prayer Aperi whichwe recite before each Office; we snould endeavour to say itwith humility and fervour, for it points out the d i ~ p o s i t i o n s

1. Luc VI, 38.




that we ought to have during the work of God:attente et devote.

To pray worthily, - that is to observe faithfully the

monial,. the rubrics, the rules of chanting, all that

the protocol imposed lJy the King of kings upon thosepresent themselves before Him. If , being admitted tocourt of an earthly sovereign, we did not troubleabout etiquette, we should be quite reasonably taxedbeing guilty of great disrespect. The Church, under

Holy Spirit's action, has arranged the ceremonial ofprayer with extreme care. By this she manifestsreverence she bears to her Divine Spouse. Under theCovenant, God Himself gave the details of the worship tobe paid to Him, and we see that He shed blessings 1

the Jewish people in the measure that they observedordinances. And yet, what was the immediate object of tworship? The ark of the covenant, containing the tables ofthe Law, and the manna . I t was bu t a figure, a symbol, animperfect shadow - egena elementa, to speak in the languageof St. Paull . Ours is the true tabernacle, for it contains tha

true Manna of souls; it contains the One Who alone isholy: Tu solus sanctus, Jesu Christe 2• The Divine Officeis celebrated around the tabernacle, under the eyes ofChrist. The Father lovingly beholds a soul who seeksprocure the glory of His Beloved Son Jesus: Et clarificavl,et iterum clarificabo 3; therefore all is pleasing to Him that

composes or enhances the worship whereof Jesus is the centre.Let us then take care not to exempt ourselves from the cere.·monial nor to recite or chant th e Office according to

own fancies or caprices; this would be wanting in respectto God ; it would be exposing ourselves to a wrong kindof familiarity which could only be harmful to us . Godremains God, that is to say the Infinite Being, full of in

communicable majesty, even when He admits us to praiseHim. Neither let us say that the rubrics are small matters;

yes, these things are materially small; but they are greatby reason of the love with which we should observe them ;great because they so closely concern God's honour ; a soulwho loves Our Lord shows this love by putting as muchfidelity into small things as into great actions, for nothingis really small which is according to the Divine good pleasure.

Let us pray attentively. Attention mnst be distinguishedfrom intention, although the one is not without influence

I . Cf. Gal. IV; 9. - 2. GLoria of the Mass. - 3. Joan. xu , 28.

TH E OPUS DEI, MEANS OF UNION WITH GOD 32 9

he other. We have just now pointed out the intentionst to have in the course of the divine psalmody., too, is very necessary, for the Divine ' Praise is a

action, performed by a being endowed with reasonwill. Fail ing this attention, we should fill the mechar6le of a series of well tuned phonographs; we should

like the praying-wheels of the monks of Thibet.

But what is the kind of attention required? St. Thomasn g u i s h e s first : the attentio ad verba, the mental applito pronounce the words well ; it is this that beginners

to strive after first of all; secondly, the attentio adattention to the meaning of the words; finally,

attentio ad Deum,' this is, according to St. Thomas,most necessary".: Quae quidem est maxime necessaria 1.

r holy Lawgiver combines the whole in a sufficientlymanner in his beautiful chapter De d i s c i p l i t ~ a

He first of aU lays down the principle: U b i q ~ l e r., Mtmus divittam esse praesentiam, maxime tamen .. . cum ad

divinum assistimus.· "W e believe," he says, "thatis present everywhere, bu t especially, maxime, when

are assisting at the Divine Office. " From this principledraws two conclusions; we must sing God's praises withtest reverence: Ideo semper memores simus qtt.od ait

!propneza: servite Domino in timore; with understanding,ikrtowing well what we ar e doing and saying; Et iterum:

sapienter. Then at the end of the chapter, he linksr the two dispositions with these words: Ergo c 0 1 ~ s

qualiter oporteat in conspectu Divinitatis ess e, et sic

ad psallend-u1n ut me"s ]£astra concordet voGi "ostrae 2 :

us consider with what reverence we ought to behave's presence, and so assist at the psalmody that our

be in accord with our lips. " We should weigh this

[(lH.Clllng carefully.We are first of all told that during the Office, we ought

to remain interiorly prostrate in adoration before God. Godis Infinite Holiness, "the Lord God of all things," our

Blessed Father reminds us in the chapter De reverentia ora#onis 3. When Abr aham, th e father of believers, spoke tothe Lord , he called himself dust and ashes 4. When Mosesconversed with God, such was his profound sense of the DivineMajesty that he durst not raise his eyes to look upon Him:

1. Trip/.ex attentio orati01.i vocal'; potest adhiberi : una qlddam qua aUendit-u,.44 ,verba, aliquis in eis erret ; secunda qua aUmditur ad se;.sum 1!erborum;lertia q.ua attend'itur ad finem oraUonis sc. ad Dettm et ad rem pro qua oratur.

1, q. ~ 3 , a. 13. _ 2 . Rule , ell. XI X. - 3· Rule, eh. xx . - 4· Gen. XVIU ,

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