The prologue of the Rule of St Benedict contains this:
Now, therefore, let us finally arise. Scripture stirs us up saying, “Now is the hour to rise from sleep.”
It's
explained by Michael Casey: (emphasis mine)
No call is resisted and resented so fully as the call to wake up. So we need not be surprised if we do not want to be stirred into action, especially when we do not know exactly what will be involved. ...
By creating a miasma of sensory fireworks we effectively block out anything beyond what is sensate: any spiritual perceptiveness, any attention to interiority. ...
The result is that we are so awake on one level that there is no room for a more interior awakening. ...
To be awake and alert spiritually we have to limit the amount of attention we give to other areas. And, according to St. Benedict, we have to make a start right away. “Now is the hour to rise from sleep.”
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