Celebrating Sacred Time
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Now we are moving on through the centuries into the Middle Ages and the Office is assuming its fixed and regular daily cycle, which became the major priority in the lives of the monks and formed the outline of their monastic horarium. The Rule ascribed to St Benedict said that the monks must 'prefer nothing to the Work of God (ie the Divine Office, the Liturgy of the Hours). Now this prayer had become much more firmly ordered and ritualised than it had been for the early monks in the desert. So here we see the fixed daily cycle: Lauds at daybreak; Prime, the first Hour; Terce at 9.00 am; Sext at midday; None at 3.00 pm; Vespers at 5.00 pm and Compline before going to bed. The monks rose during the night to sing the Office of Matins and they sang the whole psalter - 150 psalms - in the course of the week.




And here are the monks in the Choir singing their Office chorally - ie one side singing a verse of the psalm and then the other side singing the next verse.
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