Cantate Domino Canticum Novum

“Sing to the Lord a new canticle; let His praise be in the Church of the Saints,” says Saint Augustine. He also preached these words: “Canticum res est hilaritatis, et, si diligentius consideremus, res est amoris” – “A song is a thing of cheerfulness, and, if carefully examined, it is a thing of love.”

Thus if we’re joyful and in love, we should be singing. Oh how the Church takes care of her children! The liturgy invites us in the Mass and the Divine Office to express our joy, express our love in song. In the liturgy our voices soar towards our Lord, like burning incense.

The Apostle Saint John writes: “Nos diligimus, quoniam ipse prior dilexit nos” – “We love, because He loved us first” (1 John 4:19).

Saint Augustine continues his homily by reiterating what Saint Paul wrote: “Quia caritas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum Sanctum, qui datus est nobis” – “Because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Who is given to us” (Romans 5:5). And so, it is God’s gift of love which has been given to us that enables us to love God in return.

And since His love has been poured into our hearts, it is not only our voices that we raise to God, but also as the liturgy commands us and hopefully we are compelled to do, “Sorsum corda” – “Lift up your hearts.” What greater expression of love is there than our Lord’s own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity which He gives to us. If we are truly in love with Him, then receiving Him unworthily should never be considered.

Saint Augustine continues by saying that our Lord calls out: “Amate me, et habebitis me, quia nec potestis amare me, nisi habueritis me” – “Love Me, and you will have Me, because you would be unable to love Me, unless you possess Me.” We possess Him by living lives which embrace the call to holiness, remaining in a state of grace, receiving His Most Precious Body and Blood, and by daily conversation with Him.

Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has been a great teacher on liturgy, and the importance of beauty in the liturgy. The tradition of the Church, as we are reminded by our Holy Father, is that angels of God chant rather than speak. This is heightened conversation as everything in worship should be heightened.

In his [Cardinal Ratzinger] book, “The Spirit of the Liturgy” he writes: “When man comes into contact with God, mere speech is not enough. Areas of his existence are awakened that spontaneously turn into song. The singing of the Church comes ultimately out of love. It is the utter depth of love that produces the singing. The Holy Spirit is love, and it is He Who produces the singing. He is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit Who draws us into love for Christ and so leads to the Father. In liturgical music, based as it is on biblical faith, there is, therefore, a clear dominance of the Word; this music is a higher form of proclamation. Ultimately, it rises up out of the love that responds to God's love made flesh in Christ, the love that for us went unto death. After the Resurrection, the Cross is by no means a thing of the past, and so this love is always marked by pain at the hiddenness of God, by the cry that rises up from the depths of anguish, Kyrie eleison, by hope and by supplication. But it also has the privilege, by anticipation, of experiencing the reality of the Resurrection, and so it brings with it the joy of being loved, that gladness of heart that Haydn said came upon him when he set liturgical texts to music. In the West, in the form of Gregorian chant, the inherited tradition of psalm-singing was developed to a new sublimity and purity, which set a permanent standard for sacred music, music for the liturgy of the Church. Polyphony developed in the late Middle Ages, and then instruments came back into divine worship -- quite rightly, too, because, as we have seen, the Church not only continues the synagogue, but also takes up, in the light of Christ's Pasch, the reality represented by the Temple.”

In the liturgy, then, whether it’s the Mass or the Divine Office, bring your voice, bring your heart, and bring your whole self, body and soul, and lift it up to God in worship and angelic conversation.

Viva et Rotunda Voce

Chanting, Carthusian style, is not only pleasing to the ears when listening to it on a CD, but it can also open wide the temple doors of the soul for edifying interior delights.

Robin Bruce Lockhart, author of, “Halfway to Heaven: The Hidden Life of the Carthusians” devotes a couple of paragraphs in this book to the Carthusian chant. He writes:

“The Carthusian day begins at an hour when much of the world is carousing or just starting to sleep off the excesses of a materialistic day. At 11:45 p.m. the monk rises from his austere bed to say the Little Office of Our Lady, then, leaving his cell, he wends his way through the cloisters to the monastery church. The choir stalls fill up, the professed monks in their white habits, the Novices in their black cloaks. The church is in almost total darkness, the only light coming from the sanctuary lamp and the shaded low lamps in the choir. After a period of deep silence the chanting of the long night vigil of Matins and Lauds begins. The chanting carries, in its cadences, soaring praises of God, then sinks down to lowly supplication. At times it almost seems to break into a sobbing of repentance before pouring itself out in heartfelt whispers of love. The singing, steeped in Gregorian antiquity, has a holiness all its own, and as a sung office proceeds it is impossible not to sense how the fervor of the Psalms takes over, enveloping not only the monks but also the listener in the tribune.”

A “tribune” is a part of the church building used to accommodate visitors who will witness the chanting of the Offices, although permission to enter the Charterhouse is rare.

Robin Bruce Lockhart continues:

“The purity of the Carthusian chant . . . has been jealously maintained for centuries; slower, lower-pitched and less melismatic than the Benedictine chant, it is considered more deeply spiritual by those who have heard both.”

And then follows these astonishing words:

“The seventeenth-century Cardinal Bona, who undertook vast research into liturgy, records that it was the Carthusian chant which Christ recommended in His revelations to Saint Bridget, the patron saint of Sweden.”

And the book finalizes the subject of the Carthusian chant with these words:

“No organ or other musical instrument accompanies the chant, and in his liturgy the Carthusian seems to be projected by its sacred power to a point where eternity meets his temporal existence.” And that particular sentence is footnoted with a personal note from the author: “Even Benedictines, renowned for their singing, with whom I have spoken admit to the greater spirituality of the Carthusian chant.”

Pope Pius XI, wrote in the Apostolic Constitution, Umbratilem, these words: “At fixed hours of the day and night they assemble in the sacred temple, not merely to chant the Divine Office without modulation, as is the custom in other Orders, but to sing the whole of it ‘viva et rotunda voce’ - in lifelike, moulded tones - according to the very ancient Gregorian melodies of their choir books, and with the accompaniment of no musical instrument. How should God Who is so merciful, fail to grant the prayers of those most pious brethren who thus raise their voices to Him in behalf of the Church and of sinners who need conversion?”

Two popular Carthusian chant CD’s on the market are: “In the Silence of the Word” recorded by the monks at Parkminster; and the other is, “Into Great Silence: Office of the Night” which is the soundtrack to Philip Gröning’s movie about life at La Grande Chartreuse. In the former, all the chants are in Latin and the Readings are recited in English. In the latter, the chants are also in Latin and the Readings are chanted recto tono in French. The latter also has a more realistic “as if you were really there” approach to it because various changes in body posture can be heard as well as sounds like the clearing of throats and coughing.

Beginning the Day with Mary

The Hour of Prime

No one can start a child’s day off on the right foot like a mother. And no one can better help us prayerfully welcome the daylight in preparation for the joys and sufferings of the day ahead like our Blessed Mother.

In Officium Parvum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis – The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, praying the hour of Prime, or the first hour ante meridiem, which is six o’clock in the morning, according to the ancient way of telling time, is a wonderful way to begin one’s day. It doesn’t have to be 6 a.m. literally; some of the Religious Orders who still pray the hour of Prime begin at 6:30, 7 or even as late as 8:30.

The rising sun of the new day should turn one’s heart and mind to the Resurrection. And through our Lady’s liturgical Office at the first hour, one’s attention is also given to the fact that she brought into the world for humanity’s redemption, the Sun of Righteousness.

Calling Upon the Lord for Help

Most hours of Our Lady’s Office and the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours begin by calling upon our Lord for help, which is taken from Psalm 69 [70]:

O God, come to my assistance.
O Lord, make haste to help me.

This is followed by the doxology or short verse in praise of God:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

or:

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

The Hymn

Memento, rerum Conditor,
Nostri quod olim corporis
Sacrata ab alvo Virginis
Nascendo formam sumpseris.

Maria, Mater gratiæ,
Dulcis parens clementiæ,
Tu nos ab hoste protege,
Et mortis hora suscipe.

Iesu, tibi sit gloria,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre, et almo Spiritu
In sempiterna sæcula. Amen.
It’s a hymn which in the beginning asks God to remember that He was born of the Virgin Mary. While it may seem strange to ask God, who knows everything, to remember, really what we are doing is offering our prayer to the Lord through the intercession of our Blessed Mother as our Lord Himself taught us, by coming to us through her. She is the Mother of grace, the Mother of mercy, who protects us from the enemy, and who will support us at the hour of death.

The Antiphon

An antiphon is a verse which is designed to paste on our minds and hearts the focus or theme of our prayer as we recite, chant or sing the psalms. For this particular blog post, we’ll focus on the hour of Prime of our Lady as it usually is prayed. There are some changes to this hour in Our Lady’s Office during the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Assumpta est Maria in cælum; gaudent angeli, laudantes benedicunt Dominum.Mary was taken up into heaven; the angels rejoice, and with praises bless the Lord.

Thus, it is our Lady’s Assumption into heaven which is to be our focus. She enters into heaven, body and soul, and is welcomed by rejoicing angels who honor her and worship God for the masterpiece He created in her.

The Psalms

First is Psalm 53 [54] which is a prayer for help in times of distress. Prophetically it points towards the sufferings of Christ and we hear His Voice in this psalm calling out to the Father. Jesus also continues to suffer in His mystical body, and so, we the members of His mystical body also call out to the Father but in this liturgical Office of Our Lady we call upon her intercession asking God to hear the prayers we cry out through her, to grant us grace and strength as the enemy and our own passions rise up against us. In the final verse of this psalm is the victory, the deliverance from all trouble and the ability to look down upon the enemy. The doxology, of course, must follow after such a glorious destiny is revealed.

Next is Psalm 84 [85] which prophetically announces the peace and salvation that will come to humanity because of the Incarnation. It begins by praising God for turning away the captivity of Jacob. This points to Christ’s work of redemption which has turned away our captivity to sin and death. Now that Jesus has saved us, the psalmist understands the role we must play as we ask God to convert us. Indeed, our hearts and souls must be eternally grateful what Jesus did and we must daily seek conversion, a closer union with our Lord. Through all of this we cannot forget in this particular format that it was our Lady’s fiat which enabled God to clothe Himself in flesh and enter into our existence. It was her trust in God and her holy submission to His will that permitted her who is full of grace to watch in sorrow the sufferings of her Son as well as her own soul being pierced with a sword. It was her mysterious, unconditional love at the foot of the Cross which moved her to accept the role as Mother of those who were responsible for her Son’s sufferings – we of sinful humanity.

The final psalm is the very short Psalm 116 [117]. It is a call for all nations to praise the Lord for His mercy is confirmed upon us and His Truth remains forever. Redemption has been architected for all of Adam’s posterity. Let us learn from our Lady who is in her heavenly homeland how to live the Truth. Let us ask her to help us do some housecleaning by emptying ourselves of all that displeases our Lord, in order that He may fully occupy our souls.

The Reading or Little Chapter

This short Reading from the Song of Songs asks the question: Who is she that comes forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon and bright as the sun? This might turn your thoughts to the woman in Revelation 12:1 who was clothed with the sun and the moon was under her feet and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. This is a figure of our Lady and the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to Mary as the exemplary realization of the Church. The sun, the brightest light, is Christ in which our Lady is clothed. The moon is the lesser light representing persecution and the ever-changing world which has not come to full glory. Our Lady who is in heaven wears the full brightness of glory but she also lived in this world of persecution. The Church likewise, is Triumphant with the sun in heaven and Militant with the moon on earth.

In Conclusion

In the closing prayer we ask God that since He chose Mary as His dwelling-place, may we be fortified by her defense and find joy in taking part in her commemoration.

Finally we pray that the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. We should pray for our departed brothers and sisters as someday we will need their prayers.

Powerful Pleaders to God

On this day in which the Carthusian Order celebrates the Solemnity of Saint Bruno, at Matins the monks will hear and reflect on the Apostolic Constitution, Umbratilem, by Pope Pius XI.

* * * * * *

All those, who, according to their rule, lead a life of solitude remote from the din and follies of the world, have chosen the better part, like Mary of Bethany. They contemplate the divine mysteries and the eternal truths, and pour forth ardent and continual prayers to God that His Kingdom may flourish and be daily spread more widely. They also atone for the sins of other men still more than for their own by mortification, prescribed or voluntary. For no more perfect state and rule of life than that can be proposed for men to take up and embrace, if the Lord calls them to it. Moreover, by the inward holiness of those who lead the solitary life in the silence of the cloister and by their most intimate union with God, is kept brightly shining the halo of that holiness which the spotless Bride of Jesus Christ holds up to the admiration and imitation of all. No wonder, then, that ecclesiastical writers of former ages, wishing to explain and extol the power and efficacy of the prayers of these same religious men, liken their prayers to Moses.

While Joshua was engaged in battle with the Amalekites on the plain and Moses on the top of a hill nearby was praying and beseeching God for the victory of his people, it happened that as long as Moses held his hands raised heavenward, the Israelites conquered, but if from weariness he lowered them a little, then the Amalekites overcame the Israelites; wherefore, Aaron and Hur on either side held up his arms until Joshua left the field victorious. This example most aptly symbolizes the effect of the prayers of the religious we have spoken of, since those prayers are borne up by the august Sacrifice of the Altar on one hand, and on the other hand by works of penance, as by two props typified respectively in a certain way, by Aaron and Hur; it being the usual and indeed the principal duty of these solitaries, as we have remarked above, to offer themselves up to God and devote themselves as propitiatory victims and hostages for peace for their own weal and that of the world - a function which they fulfill in an official way, as it were.

From the earliest times this mode of life, most perfect and at the same time most useful and fruitful for the whole of Christendom more than anyone can conceive, took root. For if we pass over the "Ascetics" who right from the very outset of our religion used to live so austerely, though in their own houses, that Cyprian considered them as "the noblest part of Christ's flock," it is known that many of the faithful in Egypt, persecuted under the Emperor Decius on account of their religion, had fled into the desert parts of the land and had found by experience that the solitary sort of life they led there was most profitable for attaining perfection, they continued that way of living even after peace had been granted to the Church. The number of these anchorites was so immense that there were said to be as many inhabitants in the wilderness as there were citizens in the towns. Some of them went to live far away from all human society, while others, under the leadership of Anthony, began to live in lauras. That was the origin of the common life - life in community - which, gradually evolved, organized and ruled by certain definite laws, was quickly propagated throughout all the countries of the East and then spread over Italy, Gaul, and Proconsular Africa, while monasteries rose up on all sides.

The monks, each one in the privacy of his cell, unoccupied with any exterior ministry and having nothing to do with it, should fix their thoughts exclusively on things of heaven, wonderful was the benefit that accrued from it to Christian Society. Nevertheless, in the course of time the institution so pre-eminent, that is called the contemplative life, declined somewhat and lost in vigor. The reason was that, although the monks, as a rule, shunned the care of souls and other exterior ministry, yet they came by degrees to combine the works of active life with their pondering on divine things and their contemplation. They thought that they ought to comply with the earnest request of the bishops and assist in the labors of the secular priests who were not able to cope with the many needs of the faithful, or, that it behoved them to take charge of popular instruction - an object of Charlemagne’s solicitude. Moreover, owing to the widespread disturbances of these times, monasteries had perhaps suffered some harm and had slackened.

Consequently it was highly important for the Church that this most holy form of life, which had been kept unimpaired for so many centuries in monasteries, should be restored to its pristine vigor, so that there should never be lacking men of prayer who, unimpeded by any other care, would be perpetually besieging the Divine Mercy and would thus draw down from heaven benefits of every sort upon men, too neglectful of their salvation. According to His great kindness, God, Who is ever attentive to the needs and well-being of His Church, chose BRUNO, a man of eminent sanctity, for the work of bringing the contemplative life back to the glory of its original integrity. To that intent Bruno founded the Carthusian Order, imbued it with his own spirit and provided it with those laws which might efficaciously induce its members to advance speedily along the way of inward sanctity and of the most rigorous penance, to the preclusion of every sort of exterior ministry and office: laws which would also impel them to persevere with steadfast hearts in the same austere and hard life. Through nearly nine hundred years the Carthusians have so well retained the spirit of their Founder, that unlike other religious bodies, their Order has never in so long a space of time needed any reform.

Who can help feeling admiration for these men, shut off completely and for all their lifetime from the society of men in order to give themselves up to a sort of hidden and silent apostolate for the eternal salvation of their fellow-creatures? They live each one in the solitude of his cell all the year round and never leave it for any reason nor under any stress of any need. At fixed hours of the day and night they assemble in the sacred temple, not merely to chant the Divine Office without modulation, as is the custom in other Orders, but to sing the whole of it with a lively and full voice in lifelike, molded tones - according to the very ancient Gregorian melodies of their choir books, and with the accompaniment of no musical instrument. How should God who is so merciful, fail to grant the prayers of those most pious brethren who thus raise their voices to Him in behalf of the Church and of sinners who need conversion? Wherefore, just as Bruno never lacked the esteem and benevolence of our predecessor, Urban II, who, having had that very learned and holy man for his master in the school of Rheims, later on, when he was Pope, took him for his counselor and made use of him in that capacity, in like manner the Carthusian Order has continuously enjoyed the special favor of the Apostolic See, commendable as that Order has ever been for the simplicity together with a certain holy rusticity in the way of living of its members. We ourselves bear the Carthusian monks no less good-will and we wish as much as anyone that so valuable an institution should spread and increase.

For, if ever it was needful that there should be anchorites of that sort in the Church of God it is most especially expedient nowadays when we see so many Christians living without a thought for the things of the next world and utterly regardless of their eternal salvation, giving reign to their desire for earthly pelf and the pleasures of the flesh and adopting and exhibiting publicly as well as in their private lives pagan manners altogether opposed to the Gospel. And there are perhaps some who still deem that the virtues which are misnamed "passive" have long grown obsolete and that the broader and more liberal exercise of active virtues should be substituted for the ancient discipline of the cloister. This opinion our predecessor of immortal memory, Leo XIII, refuted, exploded and condemned; and no one can fail to see how harmful and baneful that opinion is to Christian perfection as it is taught and practiced in the Church.

It is, besides, easy to understand how they who assiduously fulfill the duty of prayer and penance contribute much more to the increase of the Church and the welfare of mankind than those who labor in tilling the Master's field; for unless the former drew down from heaven a shower of divine graces to water the field that is being tilled, the evangelical laborers would reap forsooth from their toil a more scanty crop. It is hardly necessary to say what great hope and expectation the Carthusian monks inspire in us, seeing that since they keep the rule of their Order not only accurately but also with generous ardor, and since that rule easily carries those who observe it to the higher degree of sanctity, it is impossible that those religious should not become and remain powerful pleaders with our most merciful God for all Christendom.

Prayer:

All powerful, eternal God, You prepare dwelling places in heaven for those who renounce this world. We humbly beg of Your boundless clemency that through the intercession of our blessed Father Bruno, Your Confessor, we may faithfully fulfill the vows of our profession, and safely attain those things You have promised to all who persevere in Your friendship. This we ask through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sanctified by a Holy Desire

“Let your duty be in desire.” These wonderful words come to us from Saint Augustine whose Memorial the Church celebrates today. We cannot see what has been promised by our Lord therefore, “Tota vita Christiani boni sanctum desiderium est” – “The whole life of a good Christian is a holy desire.” Saint Augustine continues by telling us that the desire or longing for the promise to come to fruition makes us capable, so that when the promise is fulfilled and we are able to see it, then shall we be satisfied.

Recall the words of Saint Paul: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard; neither has it entered into the heart of man what things God has prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). Thus, as Saint Augustine tells us, our lives as Christians must be driven by a desire to receive our Savior’s promises.

When adoring the Blessed Sacrament, faith tells us that what looks like a piece of bread is not a thing at all, but a Person – the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Coupled with that faith, though, is a desire to be like Him and see Him as He is (cf. 1 John 2). This desire, as Saint John’s First Epistle continues, sanctifies us (ibid. verse 3).

Saint Augustine then teaches that by God’s delay in fulfilling our desire, the soul is expanded and its capacity increased. Of course, this would mean that there must be a complete commitment to serving our Lord; for how dangerous it would be to increase the soul’s capacity if our desire was to fill it with the things of this world. As Saint Augustine puts it: “Tantum autem nos exercet sanctum desiderium, quantum desideria nostra amputaverimus ab amore sæculi” – “But only are we exercised by holy desire, in as much as we cut off our longings for the love of the world.”

And so, the soul’s capacity is expanded by God when we cast out temporal desires and replace them with holy, eternal desires. For example, if we look at the vocation of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, it’s hard to imagine that her very difficult living conditions were driven by a longing for this world’s goods. Of course not! It would be ridiculous to even entertain such thoughts. No, it was as she said: “Jesus is my God, Jesus is my Spouse, Jesus is my Life, Jesus is my only Love, Jesus is my All in all; Jesus is my Everything.”

Saint Augustine teaches us: “Extendamus nos in eum, ut, cum venerit, impleat” – “Let us stretch ourselves towards Him, that when He comes, He may fill us.”

When we pray, we stretch out ourselves towards our Lord in love. Saint Augustine said that a song is a thing of love. For those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours, do you ever sing it? Do you ever consider singing it? Even if one is completely unfamiliar with the various psalm tones, one can still sing it recto tono, that is, everything is sung on one or the same note. It is the Church's simplest form of chanting or singing.

Since our Lord's love has been poured into our hearts, it is not only our voices that we raise to God, but also as the liturgy commands us and hopefully we are compelled to do, "Sorsum corda" – "Lift up your hearts".  
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has been a great teacher on liturgy, and the importance of beauty in the liturgy. The tradition of the Church, as we are reminded by him, is that angels of God chant rather than speak. This is heightened conversation as everything in worship should be heightened. He wrote in his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy : "When man comes into contact with God, mere speech is not enough. Areas of his existence are awakened that spontaneously turn into song. The singing of the Church comes ultimately out of love. It is the utter depth of love that produces the singing. The Holy Spirit is Love, and it is He Who produces the singing. He is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit Who draws us into love for Christ and so leads to the Father. In liturgical music, based as it is on biblical faith, there is, therefore, a clear dominance of the Word; this music is a higher form of proclamation. Ultimately, it rises up out of the love that responds to God's love made flesh in Christ, the love that for us went unto death. After the Resurrection, the Cross is by no means a thing of the past, and so this love is always marked by pain at the hiddenness of God, by the cry that rises up from the depths of anguish, Kyrie eleison, by hope and by supplication. But it also has the privilege, by anticipation, of experiencing the reality of the Resurrection, and so it brings with it the joy of being loved, that gladness of heart that Haydn said came upon him when he set liturgical texts to music. In the West, in the form of Gregorian chant, the inherited tradition of psalm-singing was developed to a new sublimity and purity, which set a permanent standard for sacred music, music for the liturgy of the Church. Polyphony developed in the late Middle Ages, and then instruments came back into divine worship - quite rightly, too, because, as we have seen, the Church not only continues the synagogue, but also takes up, in the light of Christ's Pasch, the reality represented by the Temple."

Saint Augustine reiterated the words of Scripture: "Sing to the Lord a new song; let His praise be in the Church of the Saints." Consider singing the Liturgy of the Hours, even privately; but whether it’s the Mass or the Divine Office, bring your voice, bring your heart, and bring your whole self, body and soul, and lift it up to God in worship and angelic conversation.

Sancte Augustine, ora pro nobis!

Ecstatic Prayer

For those of you who sing or chant the Liturgy of the Hours, you might find the closing paragraph especially interesting. Please read on . . . 

Saint John Cassian was the first person to acquaint the West with the way of Eastern monasticism. As a young man he entered a monastery in Bethlehem. A true desert Father, he became familiar with the charisms of Syrian monasteries, but would eventually discover that the most holy and ascetic practices were to be found in Egypt. He spent seven years of his life in Egypt, moving about from monastery to monastery until he became well-versed in the ways of being a desert monk, cenobite, and hermit. More of this learning/discovering process was also given to him later in the Libyan desert where there were many monasteries.

He was ordained a deacon by Saint John Chrysostom in Constantinople, and then later to Rome and the priesthood. He finally settled in Marseilles. With his extensive knowledge of desert monasticism, in Marseilles he wrote two wonderful works. First was “The Institutes” which offer his skills on organizing a monastery including how monks should dress and the various times that the Divine Office should be prayed.

His second work written in Marseilles was titled, “The Conferences of the Fathers” which came about as a request from the Bishop of Arles.

Saint John Cassian was a mystic and defined mysticism with these words: “It transcends all human thought, not marked by any sound of the voice, nor movement of the tongue, nor speaking of words. The mind infused by that heavenly light, does not speak with human and limited language but richly pours forth with a mass of feelings, as if from a copious fountain, ineffably uttering such great things to God in the shortest possible space of time, that when it returns to its normal state it cannot easily express or relate them.”

The “Ladder of Contemplation,” according to Saint John Cassian, had only three rungs: The first rung involves the contemplation of many things; the second rung of only a few things; while the third and final rung was the contemplation of One, which was manifested by pure and wordless prayer.

His description of Ecstatic Prayer or Perfect Prayer is one in which he suggests that the intellect encounters Divine Truth which extends far beyond ordinary human thought, thus self-awareness vanishes. Saint Antony the Great said something very similar when he suggested that it is not perfect prayer when there is self-awareness or the knowledge that one is praying. The ascetical writer, Evagrius Ponticus, compares it to sleeping; when asleep, we do not know that we’re sleeping and when we are truly contemplating there is no awareness that we have entered into this state.

Here is John Cassian’s description of ecstasy: “Our mind arrives at that incorruption of prayer . . . not distinguished by accompaniment of voice or of words, but with the intention of the mind on fire, is produced through an inexpressible ecstasy of heart, by an unexplainable keenness of spirit; and thus the mind altered beyond sense or visible matter pours forth prayer to God with unutterable groans and sighs.” Of course, these higher forms of prayer are very rare and usually short in duration as Cassian also teaches.

Interesting from a perspective of the Church’s daily Office or Liturgy of the Hours, Saint John Cassian also taught that the heartfelt singing of the psalms could open oneself up to receive the heavenly gift of ecstatic prayer.