Rule of Saint Benedict QUESTION from Jeffrey Allan October 20, 2000 In Saint Benedict's Rule on the section of The Order of the Psalmody, he writes that the full complement of 150 Psalms is to be carefully maintained every week. Then he goes on to add that our holy ancestors, energetic as they were, did all this in a single day. Who are these holy ancestors that Saint Benedict is referring to?
ANSWER by Mrs. Suzanne Fortin, B.A. on October 23, 2000 Dear Jeffrey,
St. Benedict was alluding to the first Egyptian monks. His was reference was The Lives of the Fathers.
It is to be noted that the passage that St. Benedict alludes to makes the recitation of the 150 psalms appear to be something exceptional. It is thought that Benedict used this ideal in order to spur his monks to greater holiness, just as a minor hockey coach might point to Wayne Gretzky as an example to follow: it's almost certain that the players won't attain that level of greatness, but they need the model to follow.
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