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Spiritual obligations
(9/14)
The lay-brothers generally
rose later than the monks and entered their choir in the church
while the monks were singing Vigils.
Although they were out of eyeshot it was important that they
were quiet and that
their arrival caused as little disruption as possible. For this
reason the lay-brothers were sometimes permitted to wear second-hand
boots at
Vigils, which presumably made less noise than their clunky work-shoes.(14) Hoods
were not worn at Vigils and, like the monks, the lay-brothers
stood for this Office. A number of anecdotes were recounted to deter lay-brothers
from nodding off during Vigils or indeed at any of the other
Hours. A
German Cistercian, Caesarius of Heisterbach, tells of a serpent
that was seen creeping across the back of one lay-brother who
was accustomed to
fall asleep during the Offices, and which he identifies as the
devil, feeding off the lay-brother’s drowsiness.(15)
Whenever the lay-brothers celebrated the Hours in the church
they did so in silence, which meant that they did not interfere
with the monks’ chanting.
They also co-ordinated their bows in accordance with the monks’, thus
giving an appearance of visual harmony. Offices that were celebrated
at the workplace were recited aloud and led by the seniormost amongst those
gathered; if a lay-brother celebrated an Office on his own, however,
he
did so in silence.
Whereas the monks heard Mass daily and received Communion weekly,
the lay-brothers generally only attended Mass on Sundays and feast
days, and received Communion about seven times a year. The lay-brothers
who resided
at the granges also attended the abbey on these occasions. On the
vigils of these days the master of conversi, the monk entrusted
with their spiritual
care, visited the granges to hear the lay-brothers’ confessions. The
lay-brothers were also expected to attend burial masses and might
assist at private masses, celebrated by monk priests in side altars or chapels;
on these occasions the lay-brothers provided the water for the
lavabo and
lit the candle at the consecration.
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