Oblates Enquiry

Daily Reading from the Rule of St Benedict

CHAPTER 43: THOSE WHO COME LATE TO THE WORK OF GOD OR TO MEALS
AT the time for the Divine Office, as soon as the signal is heard all must drop whatever they are doing and hurry along as quickly as they can, but with self-control, so that there may be no provocation to misbehaviour. Nothing therefore is to be put before the Work of God.
At the Night Office, if anyone arrives after the ‘Glory be to the Father’ of the 94th psalm - which for such cases we wish to be said very slowly and deliberately - he is not to take his own place in choir; but he must stand last of all or in a place set apart by the Abbot for such careless people, so that they may be in full view of himself and all the rest, until, after the Work of God is finished, atonement is made by public penance. The reason why we think they ought to stand in the last place or apart from the others is this: that for very shame at being seen by all they may amend their ways. For if they stay outside the oratory, perhaps there would be someone who would go back to bed and go to sleep again, or at any rate sit down comfortably outside and spend the time chatting, and so the devil would be given his chance. No, they must come inside, so that they may not lose the whole Office, but make amends for the future.
At the Day Hours, one who has not arrived for the Work of God until after the opening verse and the ‘Glory be’ of the first psalm that follows it, is to stand in the lowest place, as we said above. He is not to presume to join the choir until he has made satisfaction, unless the Abbot has let him off and given permission; yet even so the offender must do penance afterwards.