Monks’ days start with prayer. It’s an early start, too. Some begin at 3:30 AM, others as late as 5:30. Benedict suggests, in Chapter 8 of his rule, that they arise in the eighth hour of night for the first gathering of prayer, usually called Vigils. Sometime in the early or not-so-early hours they gather for prayer. I’ve written about this before; prayers are different at that early hour. I know, too, this for most this is not replicable in life outside the monastery. Most, I know, are not going to set an alarm at 4 AM every day for prayer.

There’s something worth noticing here, though. Before anything else happens, there is prayer. If the day begins early with prayer, probably nothing other than a cup of coffee is going to happen before it. There’s no time for tv watching or scanning the internet. The first thing that happens in their day is prayer, and that’s worth imitating. It’s worth thinking about: how does my day begin? I know for many there are kids to get out the door or breakfasts to eat, but is there a place, as a day begins, where your heart is quiet and you listen to God?