A Day in the Life of a Carmelite Nun (Part 5)-- Terce (Part 2)

Welcome back! Last time we looked at day three of creation in relation to the Mass, since in our community's schedule, the Mass typically precedes Terce. This time we will examine Terce. It may be a "little hour," and it roughly only takes about five minutes to pray each morning, but there is a lot to explore within this little hour and the time of the day in which it is prayed. We are currently only relating Terce to the first half of day three of creation, which says:

"Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land “earth,” and the basin of water He called “Sea.” God saw that it was good…” 

~ Genesis 1:9 - 10 

We will examine part two of day three later. Also, last time we said that the separation of water from land creates a desert where we make sacrifices and are purified. 

With this in mind, what does all this mean in relation to the Divine Office, and especially to Terce?

In the same way God gathered the water into a single basin, so too, our prayer is gathered into a single basin: The Mass. At the moment when the priest lifts the host and the chalice and says, “Through Him, and with Him, and in Him…” he presents our Lord to our Father in Heaven, along with all of us and our prayers. The Divine Office is a continuation of that moment; an outpouring (or overflowing) of the prayer of the Mass. It’s like the “water flowing from the side of the Temple” that floods the Earth with God's mercy and grace. It's prayed continuously around the world by all the religious, and now even the lay faithful are joining in. The Apps. "iBreviary" and "Divine Office" have made it more readily available and easier to pray (no big books to figure out; it's laid out for you each day).

That being said, let’s take a look specifically at Terce. Terce is made up of a hymn and three psalms. For simplicity, we’ll focus on the hymn and Psalms we use most frequently, which are located in the Complementary Psalmody. In the hymn for Terce, we ask the Holy Spirit to “sanctify and make us one.” Of course, to be sanctified and unified takes purgation and sacrifice. 

The first psalm following the hymn is a plea for God’s help in our trials:

“To the Lord in the hour of my distress

I call and He answers me.”

~ psalm 119 (120)). 

The second one is also asking for help in troubles:

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains:

From where shall come my help?”

~ Psalm 120 (121)

Although the third Psalm 121 (122) actually fits better with the second half of the third day of Creation, it also petitions God for help, specifically asking for peace:

“For the peace of Jerusalem pray: 

Peace be to your homes!”

~ Psalm 120 (121) 

 

It is in our trials that we are purified and healed, so that we can be united to God. We cannot do it ourselves. In our brokenness, we have a tendency to create false selves to cover up the parts of us we don't like, or the things we feel we can never change. This goes against our Lord who is "the Truth." 

Only God can heal us. As our Lord said to the Jews who believed in Him: 

"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

 ~ John 8:31-32 

He shows us the truth about ourselves, and reveals to us the lies we've built our lives on, through the many trials we face throughout the day. He does this by using our relationships with others. We were broken in relationships, we will be healed in relationships--but only if we face the troubles that arise from within those relationships with Him, and in full honesty. This is a big part of community living. 

We have to follow where He leads. When He reveals an aspect of ourselves that is not favorable, He does it with love so that we will look at it with Him. In exploring the cause of our behavior with the Lord, we not only grow in holiness (wholeness), but we also develop a treasured relationship with Him, who is desiring nothing more than having that relationship with us. He's been wanting to heal us for a long time. So in Terce, we ask for assistance to follow where He leads us today.

When we pray for assistance in trials, it's not merely for our community. Our first intentions are praying for the Holy Father, our Archbishop, bishops, priests, the church, the people in our town, those in our diocese, and essentially, all the people in the world, in order that they may have the help they need to make it through their trials. We are purified, so that we may become open conduits of grace along with our Blessed Mother, Mary (whose order Carmel is), so that God's grace may flow out to the whole body of Christ, as they begin their days and head off to work.

So how does this tie in to the time of day in which Terce is prayed?

One of our "Manual Labor" activities is gardening.

Terce is a preparation for the beginning of our daily work (or "Manual Labor," as we call it). There are two Manual Labor periods in the day, roughly from 9:30 - 11:30am, and again from 2:15 - 4:00pm. 

Next time we will take a look at what is meant by "manual labor," and will include a section on "silence," because deserts are silent places where God can be found. The silence leads to contemplation, which is exactly what Carmel is about. We look forward to sharing with you again soon!

May our good God bless you forever and ever,

Your Sisters in Eugene Carmel