Holy Rule for February 22
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St. Mary's Monastery
Feb 21, 2026, 5:49:27 PMFeb 21
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Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
February 22, June 23, October 23
Chapter 18: In What Order the Psalms Are to Be Said (12-19)
At Terce, Sext and None on Monday let the nine remaining sections of Psalm 118 be said, three at each of these Hours. Psalm 118 having been completed, therefore, on two days, Sunday and Monday, let the nine Psalms from Psalm 119 to Psalm 127 be said at Terce, Sext and None, three at each Hour, beginning with Tuesday. And let these same Psalms be repeated every day until Sunday at the same Hours, while the arrangement of hymns, lessons and verses is kept the same on all days; and thus Prime on Sunday will always begin with Psalm 118.
REFLECTION
It is easy to think that St. Benedict included all this repetition - 6 day's worth - in the Psalms of the minor hours for its own sake, but that is not necessarily so. Remember that, in St. Benedict's time, the distinction of lay brothers or sisters, who did not say the full Office in choir, did not yet exist: everyone said the full Office, even while away or working at a distance. I am not sure that was the case often, but it could have been at times, like harvest time.
That provides a very likely possibility for the 6 days - all of them working days - of repetition. Try saying the same 9 short Psalms 6 days a week for a while and watch how fast they slip into memory. Monks could pray the minor hours in the fields or on the road to market with farm goods, anywhere.
That might not be a bad idea for rushed Oblates today. What if one chose just one of these short minor hours with Gradual Psalms and memorized it, maybe Sext for the lunch hour, or None for the drive home, even Terce for the ride to work? I often say parts of the Office I have memorized on public transport or while driving: no book, no fuss, and no worry.
It is a great freedom to require nothing but one's memory and heart to say part of the Office. Not only that, but moments of solitude for prayer often surprise us during the day, come when and where we least expect them. Memorized prayers let us always be ready for them.
The Psalms were dear to the early monastics because they were seen as a compendium of Scripture. In other words, all the basic elements of Scripture were to be found in them, including representatives of the most common literary forms: history, poetry, prophecy and wisdom/proverbs. No wonder they memorized the entire Psalter, but how that feat boggles our minds today.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
Br. Jerome Leo’s Daily Reflection on the Holy Rule
February 22, June 23, October 23
Chapter 18: In What Order the Psalms Are to Be Said (12-19)
At Terce, Sext and None on Monday let the nine remaining sections of Psalm 118 be said, three at each of these Hours. Psalm 118 having been completed, therefore, on two days, Sunday and Monday, let the nine Psalms from Psalm 119 to Psalm 127 be said at Terce, Sext and None, three at each Hour, beginning with Tuesday. And let these same Psalms be repeated every day until Sunday at the same Hours, while the arrangement of hymns, lessons and verses is kept the same on all days; and thus Prime on Sunday will always begin with Psalm 118.
REFLECTION
It is easy to think that St. Benedict included all this repetition - 6 day's worth - in the Psalms of the minor hours for its own sake, but that is not necessarily so. Remember that, in St. Benedict's time, the distinction of lay brothers or sisters, who did not say the full Office in choir, did not yet exist: everyone said the full Office, even while away or working at a distance. I am not sure that was the case often, but it could have been at times, like harvest time.
That provides a very likely possibility for the 6 days - all of them working days - of repetition. Try saying the same 9 short Psalms 6 days a week for a while and watch how fast they slip into memory. Monks could pray the minor hours in the fields or on the road to market with farm goods, anywhere.
That might not be a bad idea for rushed Oblates today. What if one chose just one of these short minor hours with Gradual Psalms and memorized it, maybe Sext for the lunch hour, or None for the drive home, even Terce for the ride to work? I often say parts of the Office I have memorized on public transport or while driving: no book, no fuss, and no worry.
It is a great freedom to require nothing but one's memory and heart to say part of the Office. Not only that, but moments of solitude for prayer often surprise us during the day, come when and where we least expect them. Memorized prayers let us always be ready for them.
The Psalms were dear to the early monastics because they were seen as a compendium of Scripture. In other words, all the basic elements of Scripture were to be found in them, including representatives of the most common literary forms: history, poetry, prophecy and wisdom/proverbs. No wonder they memorized the entire Psalter, but how that feat boggles our minds today.
Br. Jerome Leo Hughes, OSB (RIP)
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