Everyday Monks: Holding the World in Grace

by

Special to United Methodist Insight

I was sleeping soundly when the open window seemed to amplify the peeling bells of the Abbey Cathedral. The room was dark as I reached for my phone, half conscious, to check the time. It was 3:30 a.m.! The monks of the Abbey of Gethsemani, nestled in the hills of Kentucky, were being called to the first prayer office of the day. As a pilgrim staying in the guest house, I was welcome to attend, or not, but the bells would persistently ring in the beginning of a new day, while the rest of the world, mostly unaware, slept soundly or paced anxiously through another uneasy night.

Monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani, and other monasteries, pray up to seven times each day. The first is at 3:30 a.m. and the last at 7:30 p.m. In the short video at the monastery welcome center, it states that since the early 1840s the monks there have been holding the world in prayer, seven times a day, every day. There was something about that fact that made me feel better about life, that we are held in a grace of which we are often completely unaware.

That is a powerful ministry, holding the world in God’s grace! It doesn’t require a complicated program or expensive technology, only a heart dedicated to being in the presence of God and holding the world up in prayer. The great spiritual writer, Thomas Merton, himself a monk at the Abbey of Gethsemani, once described this life as follows: “The whole day is supposed to eventually to become a prolonged prayer in which the monk remains united with God through all his occupations.” (from Sign of Jonas, p. 4)

Over the last ten years, I have adopted the practice of praying daily a form of the prayer hours. I don’t do seven offices each day, nor do I get up at 3:30 a.m., but I am consistent with two, morning and evening. I use a simple liturgy along with daily Psalms and scripture readings. I have a journal to write gratitude and concerns, and then finish with the Lord’s Prayer. It is first thing I do each morning, after getting my cup of coffee, and if I have something scheduled for early morning, I get up earlier. My morning prayer office is the threshold of the new day.

The night practice is a little more flexible. I usually do my evening prayer liturgy (and Psalm readings) anywhere between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. This office is a little shorter, but another threshold and practice for closing out the day and preparing for a night of rest.

In each of these prayer offices, I come into the presence of God and hold up myself, my family and friends, the Church, and the world. It is not always exciting. Sometimes I “feel it”, sometimes I am going through the motions. Sometimes I am awake with energy, sometimes I am working hard to keep from nodding off. Still, it feels authentic. It is a reminder that God’s grace is greater than my feelings and emotions. Just because I am not “feeling it” doesn’t mean God is not there.

Praying consistent hours gives a rhythm for life. After doing it for a time, you will be amazed at how something feels “off” if you miss your appointed prayer office. The rhythm begins to feel natural. One finds peace through the practice. It is a means of grace that brings us daily into the presence of God so that all of life may become a prayer.  

In this time, when churches are trying to figure out how to get people back to worship, to programs and events, I wonder how teaching people to adopt a simple rhythm of prayer may tend the soil of spiritual growth and renewal, one that is based more on living simply in the grace of God, as opposed to seeking entertainment or consumer satisfaction in the spiritual marketplace. Worship and participation in the life of church community could be an extension of a deep life of prayer, rather than the once-a-week requirement for ecclesial participation.

Here are a few simple suggestions for beginning a regular rhythm of prayer:

  • Decide which prayer offices you are called to commit to…everyday, so that it becomes the practice other things will have to be scheduled around: Perhaps it is morning and evening, or maybe to get started it is only one of these. Some people will pray a short mid-day prayer office as well.  It is really up to you, but I would suggest start simple and add on later if you feel so called.
  • Find a prayer liturgy that you can use consistently. There are some really good resources available. The United Methodist Hymnal and Book of Worship both contain short services for daily prayer at different hours. The Book of Common Prayer has the same, as well as daily Psalms and Scripture readings.  If you need further suggestions, please feel free to contact me and I will share a list of such resources with you: bopalin@emory.edu.
  • Make sure that your prayers include not only yourself and those closest to you, but also strangers, enemies, the Church, and world.
  • View this practice as a ministry that you have committed yourself to, for the sake of the Church and the world. Like the monks of Gethsemani, perhaps you are being called to consistently and regularly hold the world in God’s grace and trust that the Holy Spirit will be at work.
  • Begin!

Perhaps this article is a bell of sorts, calling you to a rhythm of prayer; a calling to become an “everyday monk.” It is not the printed words, but perhaps the Holy Spirit stirring in your soul…calling you to hold yourself, the Church, the World in God’s grace; a high calling for sure.

Dr. Brett M. Opalinski serves as assistant dean of Methodist studies, assistant professor in the practice of spiritual formation and church leadership at UMC-related Candler School of Theology, Emory University.