PRAYER:
A considerable portion of both day and night was given to the work of praising God. Eight times[177] a day did the monks attired in their white robes wend their way to the church for the great work of their life—the Opus Dei, the “Celebration of the Divine Praises.” Mass was generally celebrated at an early hour each morning before the labour of the day began. The ordinary Canonical Hours were chanted in choir—Matins and Lauds generally at midnight. The Divine Office was made up of the Psalms and Lessons from the Old and New Testament. The entire Psaltery appears to have been recited during the daily office at least at certain times of the year.[178] Sometimes the choir was divided into groups which in turn chanted the Divine Praises day and night without intermission. In the monastery of Tallaght the Gospels were read in the refectory at meal times, the Gospels being taken in turn, one for each season of the year.[179]