Tuesday in Holy Week

Today's reading from the RB is how we do nothing in the oratory (church) except pray. Nothing is to be stored there either. The Oratory is not for talking, visiting, etc., it is for praying. I'm fond of this section of the Rule because it speaks directly to the holiness of place. Joan Chittister, OSB tells us

There is, in other words, such a thing as a spiritual well where simply being in that place can tap open that special part of our souls and enable us to touch the sacred in the secular. "Let the oratory be what it is called," Benedict said. Have a place where you can go in order to be about nothing but the business of being in the presence of God so that every other space in your life can become more conscious of that presence as well.

She treats today's reading as a call to the holiness of right here, right now! What you do in a space matters. How you carry yourself in a space matters. Wherever you find yourself at any time, that space matters. As bearers of Christ within us, then every place we go must become a place that matters.

Now, that doesn't mean every place we go is an oratory, or should be treated as one. It does mean however that we should be very particular about how we behave in, and care for, our particular oratory. If a room is set aside for prayer, then it should never be used for reading a mystery novel. While God is everywhere and nowhere, the place where I go to meet God regularly is somewhere in particular, and that place becomes sacred for it.