WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Lord. I thank you for the gifts you have given me, especially for life, love, family and friends. Help me to know myself better and to know my talents, as I pray study and decide on my life’s work. Help me to see and understand the path that you have opened for me.

Detailed explanation-2: -Monks are not allowed to own personal property. Therefore, the monastery gives them everything they need in order to survive, but they are to have no more than basic necessities. Around the year 500 monks began to get around this rule.

Detailed explanation-3: -Prayer, in a Benedictine monastery, was to consist of the opus Dei (the work of God – Psalms recited in common) and lectio (the reflective reading of Scripture whereby God’s word becomes the centre of the monastic’s life). Prayer was marked by regularity and fidelity, not mood or convenience.

Detailed explanation-4: -Most Benedictine monasteries today have four scheduled times for communal prayer: Morning Prayer, also known as Lauds; Midday Prayer around noon; Evening Prayer, also known as Vespers; and Compline, the last prayer of the day, sometimes prayed in private. This daily round of prayer is also called the Divine Office.

Detailed explanation-5: -Benedictine monks live a monastic life with the purpose of glorifying God in all things. For centuries, Benedictine monks have embraced Benedict’s Rule as their guide to monastic life. The Rule is comprised of 73 short chapters, containing two kinds of wisdom: spiritual and administrative.