*3.1. Dimensions of Prayer*

Prayer is the top priority of monks in their daily schedule, in a temporal and spatial sense, as Benedict states: "On hearing the signal for an hour of the Divine Office, the monk will immediately set aside what he has in hand and go with utmost speed, yet with gravity and without giving occasion for frivolity" (Fry 1980, vol. 43, pp. 1–2). The promptness of following the signal, even running (currere) may be surprising because of the calmness that seems to be a characteristic of monastic life. However, there is a theological meaning in this command. By training the strictness of the prayer rhythm, "monks prepare themselves for the ultimate signal at the end of times", as Böckmann comments on this passage (Böckmann 2013, p. 507). This is a rule that seems unrealistic in almost all circumstances

outside the monastery. According to a commentary on this passage for lay people, "the lesson of this chapter is this: when the time has come for doing something we must immediately do it, whether it is setting off for our afternoon fresh-air exercise or getting out of bed when we intend. [ ... ] These are little, unspectacular opportunities for self-control and for doing God's will, fitting in with his design" (Cary-Elwes 1992, p. 115). Still, the question remains how oblates enact this prompt readiness and how they maintain the attitude of being ready for the signal to prayer, albeit symbolically, in their life.

Three types of prayer were found in the oblates' experiences: the Liturgy of the Hours, creative personal forms, and spontaneous moments of prayer during the day. How are these forms understood ritually? The Divine Office, as described in St Benedict's Rule, can be interpreted as a "rite", a traditional and rule-governed model of prayer that has to be strictly followed (Grimes 2000, p. 24). In different circumstances, the Rule offers some flexibility. Monks should adhere to the rhythm of their brethren, but are sometimes able to do this in a more flexible form: "Brothers who work so far away that they cannot return to the oratory at the proper time—and the abbot determines that is the case—are to perform the Work of God where they are, and kneel out of reverence for God" (Fry 1980, vol. 50, pp. 1–3). Benedict prescribes a ritual transfer that adheres to the rite, because the brother "may not neglect their measure of service" (Fry 1980, vol. 50, p. 4), but gives freedom at the same time. Oblates, it can be assumed, apply creative solutions when confronted with this conflict on a daily basis. They might use ritual elements from the Office said by the monks and implement these individually in their own way. Ritually speaking, this could be called a "ritualising" process (Grimes 2000, p. 25). Still, this implementation will imply that prayer becomes part of the daily routines and connected to them. It can even be so familiar that it is not mentioned or planned separately. But, if you reflect upon it, it can be interpreted as a ritual prayer. This third dimension can be called a "ritualization" (Grimes 2000, p. 25). The following figure provides two representative quotes from the respondents for each type (Figure 1):


**Figure 1.** Dimensions of prayer—quotes.

The respondents usually pray at home, mostly in a place set aside in their house with an icon and candles. They use all the elements of the rite of the Divine Office of the monks, which in all three monastic contexts is the most important praying activity (Table 4). Most frequently, oblates mention "the Breviary" (liturgical book for the liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church), smaller editions by monasteries, and online tools such as prayer apps that provide the psalm texts of the hours together with the biblical lessons of the day. Most also mention the morning and the evening as ritual moments. The groups affiliated to the three abbeys differ regarding the creative invention of prayer. This is much stronger than average in St Willibrord. As already mentioned, the abbey has a large group of oblates and a tradition of using new techniques such as meditation. This may be the reason that the respondents from that group talk more frequently about ritualising processes such as finding personal moments of meditation or making up personal prayer texts. The ritualization is mentioned more than average by the respondents of St Benedict Abbey, which implies that prayer is a self-evident ingredient in their daily routines. One reason might be that this abbey represents a stricter rhythm of prayer, which may motivate oblates to work on the link between their prayer and their daily activities.


**Table 4.** Dimensions of prayer—monastic context.

n = 53; numbers: relative number of merged quotes in %.

The different age groups displayed interesting differences, too (Table 5). The rite of using the official form of the Liturgy of the Hours was mentioned most frequently by middle-aged oblates, whereas young oblates talk more often about creative adaption. Perhaps the middle-aged respondents are in the midst of their professional life and are at the same time still familiar with the idea that liturgy is given by the church. Older oblates talk much more often than average about making prayer a self-evident daily routine. The reason may be that their daily schedule offers more possibilities to do so than with the other two groups.

**Table 5.** Dimensions of prayer—personal context—age.


n = 53; numbers: relative number of merged quotes in %.

Finally, church affiliation was considered an important element of the personal context of oblates (Table 6). It was found that the members of mainline churches—Catholic and Protestant—talk more often about the rite, which is the ecclesial form of the daily prayer. The Protestant oblates are more explicit about the creative manner of praying. The reason might be that the Catholic form is not their original form of prayer, therefore they are inclined to think about adjusting it. The members of smaller ecclesial groups—other affiliations—mention most that daily prayer becomes a part of their routine, and that all the activities during the day can also mean an occasion for prayer. It seems that their engagement is more overarching in this respect than with respondents who belong to mainline churches.

**Table 6.** Dimensions of prayer—personal context—church affiliation.


n = 53; numbers: relative number of merged quotes in %.

To summarise the dimensions of prayer distinguished in the answers of the respondents: generally speaking, the most frequently mentioned manner of praying for all is the rite of the Divine Office. Half of the oblates mention this. A quarter of them also talk about prayer becoming a daily routine, whilst another quarter mention creative adaption and invention. The monastic context demonstrates parallels between the ritual accents of the abbey that the oblates affiliate to. Concerning their personal context, it was found that their age and church affiliation highlighted differences among them, as would be expected.
