Every morning at 5:30AM (and at a slightly more merciful 7:15AM on Sundays), the Benedictine monks of St. Meinrad rise from their beds, gather together in their common prayer space, and begin to pray. They have not spoken since 10PM the previous evening, making their first words of the day significant. Their leader speaks a line from Psalm 51: “O Lord, open my lips.” His brothers respond in unison, “…and my mouth will proclaim your praise.” This June, I spent five days at St Meinrad, a monastery nestled in rural southern Indiana taking a class on Benedictine spirituality with Fr. Brendan Moss, OSB, a monk of the house. Along with nine other lay Catholics, I kept the liturgy of the hours, prayed lectio divina (an ancient form of reflection on Scripture), lived and ate in community, attended class, and practiced so-called “holy leisure.” Of all the elements of our full days, I found rising early to pray to be the most challenging. Getting up early feels like a terrible imposit