Holy week and the Benedictine Office pt 3 - Thursday and the Triduum in the Benedictine Office

 In my last post, I pointed to the first three psalms of Sunday Matins as recapitulations of the events of the Triduum, with Psalm 20 pointing us to the Last Supper.

Today I'd like to expand a little on the Thursday Office more generally as part of a 'mini-Triduum' each week.

Many of the psalms of the day arguably go the agony in the Garden, most notably Psalm 87 at Lauds (in the Benedictine, but not Roman Office), often thought to be the darkest of all the psalms, and Psalm 138 at Vespers.

But there is also a strong Eucharistic theme, most notably in Psalm 140 at Vespers, and in the psalms of Matins.

Matins psalms

In the Roman Office, Thursday Matins each week - and hence the Triduum Office - starts at Psalm 68.  

In the Benedictine Office, however, the variable psalms start with Psalm 73, and go up to 84 (Psalm 75 is omitted in the Benedictine sequence as it is used at Friday Lauds, and Psalm 77 is divided in two).

And Psalm 73 opens with a lament for the destruction of the Temple, which can be interpreted as a reference to Christ's prophesy that the temple will be destroyed, then rebuilt in three days, as Cassiodorus' commentary on the psalm points out:

"In this psalm there is lamentation for the destruction of the city, so that the Jews' extreme hardness of heart should at least feel fear at the disasters to their city. The good Physician has done all he could, if the sick man wished to recover his health. Let us remember, however, that the authority of the Church relates that Jerusalem was ravaged in the days when the most cruel people of the Jews crucified Christ the Lord, so that there can be no doubt what temporal evil that obstinate transgression sustained."

Psalm 74, the second psalm of Matins, takes us to the events of Jesus' arrest.  

The psalm starts its narrative with a reminder that we are God's people, members of his flock, and pleads for God to convert us, to rise up and save us:  above all, for the Messiah to come and 'visit' the 'vineyard' he brought out of Egypt:

9  Víneam de Ægypto transtulísti: * ejecísti Gentes, et plantásti eam.	9 You have brought a vineyard out of Egypt: you have cast out the Gentiles and planted it.
10  Dux itíneris fuísti in conspéctu ejus: * plantásti radíces ejus, et implévit terram.	10 You were the guide of its journey in its sight: you planted the roots thereof, and it filled the land...
15  Deus virtútum, convértere: * réspice de cælo, et vide, et vísita víneam istam.	15 Turn again, O God of hosts, look down from heaven, and see, and visit this vineyard:

The parable of the wicked servants of the owner of the vineyard, who murder first the servants, and then the son of the vineyard owner, points to these verses.  And the allusion is reinforced by the psalm's ending, which takes us to the saving role of the Son, whose name we know, and whose face we have seen:

16  Et pérfice eam, quam plantávit déxtera tua: * et super fílium hóminis, quem confirmásti tibi.	16 And perfect the same which your right hand has planted: and upon the son of man whom you have confirmed for yourself.
18  Fiat manus tua super virum déxteræ tuæ: * et super fílium hóminis quem confirmásti tibi.	18 Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand: and upon the son of man whom you have confirmed for yourself
19  Et non discédimus a te, vivificábis nos: * et nomen tuum invocábimus.	19 And we depart not from you, you shall quicken us: and we will call upon your name.
20  Dómine, Deus virtútum, convérte nos: * et osténde fáciem tuam, et salvi érimus.	20 O Lord God of hosts, convert us and show your face, and we shall be saved

Psalm 77

The key to the day, though, is arguably the festal canticle at Lauds, the Song of Moses, which celebrates the passing of the people through the Red Sea.  

The events of the Passover, and their eucharistic connotations, are alluded to in several of the psalms set for the day, above all in Psalm 77, the second longest psalm of the psalter, which is common to the Roman ferial Office, but doesn't appear in the Triduum Office because it stops after the first nine psalms.

Let me just highlight a few of the key verses for you:

16  Interrúpit mare, et perdúxit eos: * et státuit aquas quasi in utre.	13 He divided the sea and brought them through: and he made the waters to stand as in a vessel.
17  Et dedúxit eos in nube diéi: * et tota nocte in illuminatióne ignis.	14 And he conducted them with a cloud by day: and all the night with a light of fire.
18  Interrúpit petram in erémo: * et adaquávit eos velut in abysso multa.	15 He struck the rock in the wilderness: and gave them to drink, as out of the great deep.

22  Et male locúti sunt de Deo: * dixérunt: Numquid póterit Deus paráre mensam in desérto?	19 And they spoke ill of God: they said: Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?
23  Quóniam percússit petram, et fluxérunt aquæ: * et torréntes inundavérunt.	20 Because he struck the rock, and the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed.
24  Numquid et panem póterit dare, * aut paráre mensam pópulo suo?	Can he also give bread, or provide a table for his people?
25  Ideo audívit Dóminus, et dístulit: * et ignis accénsus est in Jacob, et ira ascéndit in Israël.	21 Therefore the Lord heard, and was angry: and a fire was kindled against Jacob, and wrath came up against Israel.
26  Quia non credidérunt in Deo: * nec speravérunt in salutári ejus :	22 Because they believed not in God: and trusted not in his salvation.
27  Et mandávit núbibus désuper: * et jánuas cæli apéruit.	23 And he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of heaven.
28  Et pluit illis manna ad manducándum: * et panem cæli dedit eis.	24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven.
29  Panem Angelórum manducávit homo, * cibária misit eis in abundántia.	25 Man ate the bread of angels: he sent them provisions in abundance.

May we, unlike those wanderers in the desert, always be grateful for the great gifts God has given us through Christ, as we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist on Maundy Thursday.

The 'monastic' last psalms of Vespers - Ps 140 on Thursdays

Psalm 140 can be interpreted several ways including as referring to the Passion (the evening sacrifice) and institution of the New covenant; the Office as a substitute for the Temple sacrifices; on the need to resist pressure to conform, but instead stay on the path of righteousness; and more.

All of these are clearly relevant to monks.

The verse I want to suggest has a particular importance though, is verse 3, set a watch before my mouth. 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David.	A psalm of David.
1 Dómine, clamávi ad te, exáudi me: * inténde voci meæ, cum clamávero ad te.	I have cried to you, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to you.
2  Dirigátur orátio mea sicut incénsum in conspéctu tuo: * elevátio mánuum meárum sacrifícium vespertínum.	2 Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
3  Pone, Dómine, custódiam ori meo: * et óstium circumstántiæ lábiis meis.	Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.
4  Non declínes cor meum in verba malítiæ: * ad excusándas excusatiónes in peccátis.	4 Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins.
5  Cum homínibus operántibus iniquitátem: * et non communicábo cum eléctis eórum	With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them
6  Corrípiet me justus in misericórdia, et increpábit me: * óleum autem peccatóris non impínguet caput meum.	5 The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.
7  Quóniam adhuc et orátio mea in beneplácitis eórum: * absórpti sunt juncti petræ júdices eórum.	For my prayer shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased: 6 Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
8  Audient verba mea quóniam potuérunt: * sicut crassitúdo terræ erúpta est super terram.	They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: 7 As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground:
9  Dissipáta sunt ossa nostra secus inférnum: * quia ad te, Dómine, Dómine, óculi mei: in te sperávi, non áuferas ánimam meam.	Our bones are scattered by the side of hell. 8 But to you, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in you have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
10  Custódi me a láqueo, quem statuérunt mihi: * et a scándalis operántium iniquitátem.	9 Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
11  Cadent in retiáculo ejus peccatóres: * singuláriter sum ego donec tránseam.	10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.

 St Benedict on keeping silence

St Benedict refers to the importance of control over speech in many places in his Rule, but key summaries of his teaching on the subject are contained in chapter 4 the tools of good work), 6 (On silence) and 7 (where he devotes three of the twelve steps of humility to the topic).

In these chapters St Benedict built on an already well established monastic tradition that taught that speech too often and easily constituted sin, but even where it did not, it could be an impediment to the receptive listening necessary to progress in the spiritual life. 

Both Chapters 4 and 6 include commentary that uses words that echo Psalm 140.  Chapter 4 contains a series of injunctions on the subject of control over what is said including 'Guard your lips from harmful or deceptive speech' (os suum a malo vel pravo eloquio custodire).  And chapter 6 opens with a quote from Psalm 38:

Let us do as saith the prophet: I said, I will take heed unto my ways, that I offend not with my tongue. I have set a guard to my mouth [posui ori meo custodiam]. I was dumb and was humbled, and kept silence even from good words.

The key distinction between Psalm 38's text and Psalm 140 goes to the role of grace: in Psalm 38 the speaker has made a deliberate decision not to speak, lest he stir up those who inevitably attack the good; in Psalm 140 we ask for God's help in withstanding such assaults.

Compline and the Great Silence

Presumably in part because the verse corresponds well to the verse that opens each day in the monastic life, O Lord open my lips that I may announce your praise, a seventh century document describing Roman Benedictine practices (Ordo XVI) instructs it to be used as the last thing said each night after Compline, to mark the start of the Great Silence. 

St Jerome's commentary on the psalm includes a reference to the verse now used to open Compline, perhaps helping to explain the reason for its selection:

'Death and life are in the power of the tongue'; and again: 'I tell you, that of every idle word men speak, they shall give account on the day of judgment.' The prophet prays, therefore, that his words may not be vain, but holy and pleasing to God. 'A guard at the door of my lips.' He is asking for a guard round about his lips like the rampart of a castle, that he may never capitulate to sin...The prophet prays earnestly, therefore, that a sentry be placed around all his senses, that his whole household be fortified against the invasion and conquest of his adversary the devil. St. Peter writes: 'Our adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour.' Not ordinarily does the devil make his attack through grave faults but through slight ones, that in some way or other he may gain admittance, win his victory, and ultimately impel his man to greater vices. Not through fornication or avarice, but through lesser sins, he secures an entrance.

Psalm 140 v 11: Christ in his Passion

 The final verse of Psalm 140 reminds of the certainty of God's justice. 

Looking at the Latin

11	V	Cadent in retiáculo ejus peccatóres: * singuláriter sum ego donec tránseam.
	OR	cadent in retiaculo eius peccatores singulariter sum ego donec transeam.
	NV	Cadent in retiacula sua peccatores simul, ego autem ultra pertranseam.
	JH	Incident in rete eius impii simul: ego autem transibo.
	Sept	πεσοῦνται ἐν ἀμφιβλήστρῳ αὐτοῦ ἁμαρτωλοί κατὰ μόνας εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ἕως οὗ ἂν παρέλθω

[Key: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

St Jerome's translation captures the Masoretic Text sense of the text, that once they have been caught in their own traps, I can pass on.  The Septuagint version, though, which says I am alone until I pass, was given a Christological interpretation by the Fathers, so should not lightly be dismissed.

 Phrase by phrase

Cadent in retiáculo ejus peccatóres singuláriter sum ego donec tránseam.

[they] shall fall in his net: The wicked I am alone until I pass.

 Word by word 

Cadent (they shall fall) in retiáculo (in the net) ejus(their) peccatóres (sinners): singuláriter (alone) sum (I am) ego (I) donec (until) tránseam (I have passed on by [safely]) . 

Key vocabulary 

cado, cecidi, casum, ere 3  to fall, esp. in battle; to bow down, fall down, prostrate one's self; to happen, fall, befall.
retiaculum i n a net
singulariter, adv.  alone, only
donec, conj., till, until
transeo, ivi and ii, itum, ie,  pass by, on, or away visit, to go to a place; to pass over as waves; to go through, 

Selected translations 

DR	The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.
Brenton	Sinners shall fall by their own net: I am alone until I shall escape.
MD	Let the sinners be caught in their own net: whilst I alone shall pass unharmed.
RSV	Let the wicked together fall into their own nets, while I escape.
Cover	Let the ungodly fall into their own nets together, and let me ever escape them.
Knox	Into their own net, sinner upon sinner, may they fall, and I pass on in safety.
Grail	Let the wicked fall into the traps they have set while I pursue my way unharmed.

  [Key: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

God's net

The first half of the verse is a statement that justice will ultimately prevail.  As Theodoret put it:

The sinners will fall in his net, that is, God's: those who set traps for others will be caught up in divine retribution like a kind of netting, will have to bear whatever they commit, and will suffer what they inflict on others. 

There is in this life, though, always hope of conversion, and so St John Chrysostom interprets the net to be more all-encompassing:

Whose net will they fall into? God's very own. That is to say, they will be snared, they will be caught: the righteous, to the point of correction and awakening their sound values; sinners, suffering incurable ailments as they are, to the point of punishment and retribution. 

Preserving our souls until we reach our true home

The sense of the second half of the verse is, according to St Robert Bellarmine, that by observing the precepts listed out in the psalm - shunning worldly gatherings, and keeping guard of heart, mind and words and so forth - we will eventually pass over into our true home, heaven:

 I will keep aloof from the whole world, until I should have passed all snares and stumbling blocks. Though I may be kept an exile for a time in this world, I will not belong to it. “I am alone,” until I shall have passed to my country, where I shall have no shares or stumbling blocks to encounter.

Christ reopens the way 

The final phrase, though, surely refers above all to Christ in his Passion, as St Augustine pointed out: 

Pascha, as they say who know, and who have explained to us what to read, means Passover. When then the Lord's Passion was about to come, the Evangelist, as though he would use this very word, says, When the hour had come that Jesus should pass over to the Father.  We hear then of Pascha in this verse, I am alone, until I pass over. After Pascha I shall no longer be alone, after passing-over I shall no longer be alone. Many shall imitate me, many shall follow me...Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone; but if it die, it bears much fruit...

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David.	A psalm of David.
1 Dómine, clamávi ad te, exáudi me: * inténde voci meæ, cum clamávero ad te.	I have cried to you, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to you.
2  Dirigátur orátio mea sicut incénsum in conspéctu tuo: * elevátio mánuum meárum sacrifícium vespertínum.	2 Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
3  Pone, Dómine, custódiam ori meo: * et óstium circumstántiæ lábiis meis.	Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.
4  Non declínes cor meum in verba malítiæ: * ad excusándas excusatiónes in peccátis.	4 Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins.
5  Cum homínibus operántibus iniquitátem: * et non communicábo cum eléctis eórum	With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them
6  Corrípiet me justus in misericórdia, et increpábit me: * óleum autem peccatóris non impínguet caput meum.	5 The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.
7  Quóniam adhuc et orátio mea in beneplácitis eórum: * absórpti sunt juncti petræ júdices eórum.	For my prayer shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased: 6 Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
8  Audient verba mea quóniam potuérunt: * sicut crassitúdo terræ erúpta est super terram.	They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: 7 As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground:
9  Dissipáta sunt ossa nostra secus inférnum: * quia ad te, Dómine, Dómine, óculi mei: in te sperávi, non áuferas ánimam meam.	Our bones are scattered by the side of hell. 8 But to you, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in you have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
10  Custódi me a láqueo, quem statuérunt mihi: * et a scándalis operántium iniquitátem.	9 Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
11  Cadent in retiáculo ejus peccatóres: * singuláriter sum ego donec tránseam.	10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.

Ps 140 v 10 - Fix your eyes on heaven

 Verse 10 of Psalm 140 provides a link to the previous psalm's references to traps, snares and the plots of evil men. 

 Looking at the Latin

10	V	Custódi me a láqueo, quem statuérunt mihi: * et a scándalis operántium iniquitátem.
	OR	custodi me a laqueo quem statuerunt mihi et ab scandalis operantibus iniquitatem
	NV	Custodi me a laqueo, quem statuerunt mihi, et a scandalis operantium iniquitatem.
	JH	Custodi me de manibus laquei quod posuerunt mihi, et de offendiculus operantium iniquitatem.
	Sept	φύλαξόν με ἀπὸ παγίδος ἧς συνεστήσαντό μοι καὶ ἀπὸ σκανδάλων τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν ἀνομίαν

[Key: V=Vulgate; OR=Old Roman; NV=Neo-Vulgate; JH=St Jerome's translation from the Hebrew; Sept=Septuagint]

 Phrase by phrase: 

Custódi me a láqueo quem statuérunt mihi et a scándalis operántium iniquitátem.

Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.

 Word by word 

Custódi (guard) me a (from) láqueo (the trap) quem (which) statuérunt (they have set) mihi (for me) et (and) a (from) scándalis (the traps) operántium (the workers) iniquitátem (of sin). 

Key vocab 

custodio, ivi or ii, itum, ire to guard, watch, keep;to maintain, to hold steadfastly
laqueus, ei, m., a noose for capturing animals; a snare, trap
statuo, ui, utum, ere 3 to set, place, establish; to change, still, calm; to be determined, resolved
scandalum, i, n. lit., a trap, snare, that which causes one to stumble, a stumbling-block
opero are avi atum – form of operor, to work; operantium= plural genitive participle
iniquitas, atis, f iniquity, injustice, sin. 

Selected translations 

DR	Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
Brenton	Keep me from the snare which they have set for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
MD	Preserve me from the snare which they have laid for me, and from the pitfalls of evil men.
RSV	Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers!
Cover	Keep me from the snare that they have laid for me, and from the traps of the wicked doers.
Knox	Preserve me from the ambush they have laid for me, from the snares of the wrong-doers.
Grail	From the trap they have laid for me keep me safe: keep me from the snares of those who do evil.

  [Key: DR=Douay-Rheims Challoner; MD=Monastic Diurnal; RSV=Revised Standard Version; Cover=Coverdale]

What are the snares and stumbling blocks?

Today's verse can be read in multiple ways.

First, if we can see it as a prayer of the agony in the garden, both for the knowledge for himself and for grace for his disciples, in facing the upcoming traps set by his persecutors.

Secondly, it can be read more broadly as a request for grace for us all as we face the trials and temptations of this life.

St Augustine, for example, argues that the trap referred to here is the pleasures of this world:

What was the trap? If you consent, I spare you. In the trap was set the bait of the present life; if the bird love this bait, it falls into the trap: but if the bird be able to say, The day of man have I not desired...

 Other commentators interpret the verse more generally.  St Jerome, for example, points to the dangers of heresy, demonic influence, and most especially the temptation to pride, which can undermine even our attempts at Lenten penances:

Vice is certainly the next door neighbor to virtue. A trap is set for me in almsgiving if I stretch out my hand in order to be seen by men and, while appearing to do a good work, I fall into imperfection and sin. If I give away an undergarment to a brother for the benefit of those who are looking on, a demon has laid a snare for me...therefore, in the very path in which we are striving to walk, that is, in the virtues, in almsgiving, that we may perform these acts to be seen by men and win their vain applause, in fasts, in prayer, in haircloth that we may show off ourselves. The man who wears haircloth ought to be lamenting his sins and not pluming himself in the sight of others. 

The need for grace in facing the unexpected

There are some temptations and traps though, we can readily guard ourselves against; others though, can be unexpected, and it is for these that we especially need God's help, St John Chrysostom argued:

Here he is not referring simply to schemes but to hidden traps of the kind not easy to guard against and detect; hence they require in particular even grace from on high. For this reason, then, he brings his theme to a close with a prayer, concluding with it as he had opened with it, showing that on the one hand what is his to offer is this - hope in God, always looking to God, shunning their gatherings, hating their evil desires - and on the other hand what comes from God help, assistance, rendering him proof against wiles difficult to detect. This is what virtue consists of, in fact: both application of our zeal and support from God's assistance. 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
Psalmus David.	A psalm of David.
1 Dómine, clamávi ad te, exáudi me: * inténde voci meæ, cum clamávero ad te.	I have cried to you, O Lord, hear me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to you.
2  Dirigátur orátio mea sicut incénsum in conspéctu tuo: * elevátio mánuum meárum sacrifícium vespertínum.	2 Let my prayer be directed as incense in your sight; the lifting up of my hands, as evening sacrifice.
3  Pone, Dómine, custódiam ori meo: * et óstium circumstántiæ lábiis meis.	Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door round about my lips.
4  Non declínes cor meum in verba malítiæ: * ad excusándas excusatiónes in peccátis.	4 Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses in sins.
5  Cum homínibus operántibus iniquitátem: * et non communicábo cum eléctis eórum	With men that work iniquity: and I will not communicate with the choicest of them
6  Corrípiet me justus in misericórdia, et increpábit me: * óleum autem peccatóris non impínguet caput meum.	5 The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head.
7  Quóniam adhuc et orátio mea in beneplácitis eórum: * absórpti sunt juncti petræ júdices eórum.	For my prayer shall still be against the things with which they are well pleased: 6 Their judges falling upon the rock have been swallowed up.
8  Audient verba mea quóniam potuérunt: * sicut crassitúdo terræ erúpta est super terram.	They shall hear my words, for they have prevailed: 7 As when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground:
9  Dissipáta sunt ossa nostra secus inférnum: * quia ad te, Dómine, Dómine, óculi mei: in te sperávi, non áuferas ánimam meam.	Our bones are scattered by the side of hell. 8 But to you, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in you have I put my trust, take not away my soul.
10  Custódi me a láqueo, quem statuérunt mihi: * et a scándalis operántium iniquitátem.	9 Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling blocks of them that work iniquity.
11  Cadent in retiáculo ejus peccatóres: * singuláriter sum ego donec tránseam.	10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.

For notes on the final verse of Psalm 140, continue on here.