Feasting on Words – Monks Listen to Literature While They Eat in Silence
By Barbara LeBlanc
When Fr. William Sullivan, O.S.B., asks what you are reading these days, he is not making small talk. He really wants to know.
As Prior of Saint Anselm Abbey, Fr. William selects the books that will be read to monks at lunch and dinner, according to a tradition spelled out in the Rule of St. Benedict. He scours The New York Times best-seller list and combs book reviews for biographies, histories, and other non-fiction works that provide a menu for the mind while the monks take their meals in silence, as also dictated by the rule.
“You can tell you chose a good book when people go up and read what they missed if they missed a meal,” he said.
The job of reader rotates weekly among the monks. Recently, Fr. Anselm Smedile, O.S.B., read from A History of the Popes 1830–1914, by Owen Chadwick. Sitting in a balcony high above the dining tables in the paneled dining hall known as the refectory, Fr. Anselm knew he was expected to read correctly and with some animation. St. Benedict was specific on that point, as well.
“I try to prepare for the week by reading the selections that are to be read from the Bible, Rule of Benedict, and the current book,” Fr. Anselm said. “The only frustrating parts of table reading for me are the words in foreign languages or mispronouncing words that many of the monks know, but I have never come across before.”
In years past, the prior would ring the bell if the reader mispronounced a word. “Read it again,” Fr. William said, imitating one prior’s German accent. That happens no longer. Now, Fr. Jude Gray, O.S.B., a former professor of public speaking and oral interpretation, or another monk will mention the correct pronunciation in private.
“I’ll say, ‘You know that word…? Well, most people pronounce it this way,’ ” said Fr. Jude, who has coached younger monks in preaching and table reading. “It can be very intimidating for a young monk, with all those Ph.D.s down there.”
His advice: Read the text beforehand and know what words to emphasize. “Sense echoes sound,” he said.
Silence makes for quick meals—as short as 15 minutes at lunch—so a book can take three months to complete. Between books, there may be papal documents and other pertinent texts to read. At noon, there is always a section of the Old Testament and at dinner, passages from the New Testament, Rule of St. Benedict and the Abbey Book of Customs.
“Like serving a meal, we need to speak the Word, as though feeding by ear,” said Fr. Iain MacLellan, O.S.B.
Monks are enthusiastic about the reading, saying it enhances fellowship and exposes them to books they may never have read on their own. Fr. William noted that it also provides diversion to a group of men who, seated according to seniority, may be passing the salt to the same dinner partner for 50 or 60 years.
Among Fr. William’s selections, David McCullough’s John Adams is the reigning favorite. The least favorite? The History of Blood, which was suggested by a monk then living at the abbey, didn’t last two meals.
“People couldn’t take it,” Fr. William said. “They were getting sick.”