June 22

* I had difficulty blogging from the retreat center in Canada due to a intermittent Internet connection, and then I struggled getting back on the wagon, as it were, once I was reconnected.  If you would like to re-read my thoughts about Chs. 12-17, they can be found by clicking on February in the Blog Archive on the right side of the screen and finding the posts titled February 14-February 20.  At any rate, here we go . . . 

Chapter 18

The Rule of Benedict June 22

I have been struck over the last couple of years by the fact that almost every hour of the Divine Office begins with the versicle, "O God, come to my assistance," and the response, "O Lord, make haste to help me."  How profoundly honest to begin prayer with such a request.  And the expectation that, even if I'm praying 7 times in one day, I need God's help each time I approach God in prayer is naked realism on the part of Father Benedict.  What joy it is to experience the Presence of a God who honors such a request.