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Rule
St Benedict of Nursia, tr. Hunter Blair, 1907
Chapter 52
LET the Oratory be what it is called, a place of prayer: and let nothing else be done, or kept there.1 When the Work of God is ended, let all go out with the utmost silence, paying due reverence to God, so that a brother, who perchance wishes to pray by himself, may not be hindered by another’s misconduct. If any one desire to pray in private, let him go in quietly and pray, not with a loud voice, but with tears and fervour of heart. And let it not be permitted, as we have said, to remain in the Oratory when the Work of God is finished, except it be for a like purpose, lest hindrance be caused to others.
Notes
- Note S (p. 138).—Geratur aut condatur. The meaning is clear, although somewhat elliptically expressed. Nothing was to be done in the Oratory, and nothing kept there (condatur), except what pertained to the due celebration of the Divine Service.