Yesterday we began again on chapters 8 to 20 of RB which are commonly referred to as the Liturgical Code. The Rule explicitly allows for a rearrangement of the psalmody and even those communities which, like ourselves, have retained the weekly psalter do not always follow Benedict's ordering of the psalms. We have already commented on this (see entry entitled "Dry as Dust?" for 23 October 2007) but the question continues to tug. Benedict XVI has written very eloquently of the objective nature of liturgy and the importance of ordering our worship Godward rather than any other -ward. St Benedict's chapters on liturgy certainly don't make many concessions to the whims of the worshiping community! They are a reminder of God's transcendance, of the infinite distance between him and ourselves which his love alone has annihilated. Paradoxical? Of course, but the simplest truths are often the most mind-boggling — and worth pondering again and again.