Answering with thanks

For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Lee's current Living by the Word column as well as past magazine and blog content. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.

Deo gratias. That’s what the sign in my office says. It’s not fancy, just two words laser-printed on office paper and tacked up over the computer monitor so I can read it dozens of times a day. 

The phrase—which means “Thanks be to God”—is the traditional Benedictine greeting that monks offer visitors. I was inspired to post it over my computer after reading In This House of Brede, Rumer Godden’s novel about an English Benedictine monastery. As Abbess Catherine of Brede goes about administering the abbey’s business, she is continually interrupted. Each time a knock sounds at her office door and she must lay down her pen or put a thought on hold, Catherine suppresses a sigh of impatience and calls out “Deo gratias” as the visitor’s signal to enter.