Psalm 133 & Ritual Practice By Dr. Jennifer Howe Peace

By Dr. Jennifer Howe Peace

I cannot read Psalm 133 without picturing the Benedictine Abbey I visited for years, first as a young doctoral student doing fieldwork and then as a new mother looking for a place for rest and renewal. The nuns chant Psalm 133 every night to end the service of Compline—the last in their cycle of eight daily communal prayer services collectively known as the Liturgy of the Hours. The Book of Psalms provides the text for these daily services as prescribed by St. Benedict’s Rule for Monks written in the sixth century.

What does this ancient rite still performed at the Abbey and in many other monastic communities have to do with us in this day and age? The psalmist’s vision of unity, in which people dwell together as siblings, safe and secure, is not easy to hold in a world beset by polarization, hatred, and violence. Given the fragmented nature of contemporary life, it seems almost naïve.

But what strikes me when I read Psalm 133 today and think about the nuns gathering in their choir stalls, is the importance of regular reminders that dwelling together in unity should be our daily goal and aspiration. Whether we pull it off or not on a given day, we need rituals that invite us to really see one another and say: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity!” Such moments of true recognition are, as the psalmist states so eloquently, like being anointed with fine oil; they are like dew coming down on parched mountains.

The closing words of Psalm 133 are the last words the nuns sing to one another before they retreat into the Great Silence, broken only by Matins in the early hours of the morning: “For there the Lord ordained the blessing—life forevermore.” It is right there, in that sacred space and time, when we are able to glimpse a life in unity as equals, that we experience eternal blessing. May it be so.

Discussion Question

• Dr. Howe Peace speaks of “the importance of regular reminders that dwelling together in unity should be our daily goal and aspiration.” What meaningful reminders—religious or secular—do you have that help you hold fast to a vision of unity?