A quick guide to Matins Part 2 - Finding the opening section of matins and the psalmody in your books

In the first part of this brief overview of Matins, I provided something of an overview of the hour.  

In this part, I want to point you particularly to the opening section of the hour and the psalmody, and where to find it in your Office book.

Where to find Matins in your book

If you are using a breviary, the core texts for Matins can be found starting immediately after Prime for Monday to Saturday.  For each day of the week, the breviary starts with Matins and then provides Lauds of the day before moving to Matins of the next day.

In breviaries and the Le Barroux Nocturnale, the psalter section is towards the middle of the book

 Page numbers for the basic texts for each day of the week for the most commonly used books are set out in the table below.

Matins page numbers
OFFICE BOOK	Gower (For Sundays, ferias…)	Brignoles Nocturnale vol 1 (Psalter)	Breviary (1963)	Le Barroux Nocturnale Monasticum
Dominica (Sunday)	Pg 4	Pg 9	Pg (22)	Pg 652
Monday (Feria II)	Pg 28	Pg 48	Pg (58)	Pg 668
Tuesday (Feria III)	Pg 49	Pg 70	Pg (85)	Pg 678
Wednesday (Feria IV)	Pg 64	Pg 86	Pg (105)	Pg 690
Thursday (Feria V)	Pg 82	Pg 104	Pg (126)	Pg 703
Friday (Feria VI)	Pg 101	Pg 123	Pg (149)	Pg 714
Sabbato (Saturday)	Pg 118	Pg 141	Pg (172)	Pg 715

 Where to find the "ordinary' of Matins

 The first challenge you will encounter though, is that each of these books takes a different approach on where it places the various texts of the opening section of the hour.

In essence, as the table below illustrates, the opening section of the hour has a fixed structure used for ordinary (ferial) days, Sundays and feasts alike.  But the invitatory antiphon and hymn are of the day of the week.

Note that the links in the table go to more detailed notes on each of these Office components.

OPENING SECTION	VARIABLE COMPONENTS
Opening prayer - Domine labia mea aperies
Psalm 3 - 'in directum'
Invitatory antiphon (integrated with Psalm 94)	Of the day, feast or season
Psalm 94
Hymn	Of the day, feast or season

The various books differ on whether to put all of the repeated components in a separate section or under the Sunday, and then whether to repeat some or all of the material each day.

The Gower book, for example, provides the Ordinary of the hour upfront, including the invitatory antiphons, and then just starts from the section for each day of the week with the ferial hymn.  In general, they don't bother repeating Psalm 94 each day, leaving you to refer back to either the Ordinary Le Barroux), Sunday and/or Monday, or the section with Psalm 94 in each chant tone. 

The table below summarises the situation for each of these books: 

Matins page numbers
OFFICE BOOK	Gower (For Sundays, ferias…)	Brignoles Nocturnale vol 1	Breviary (1963)	Le Barroux Nocturnale Monasticum
‘Ordinary’	Pg 1 -3	Pg 9	Pg (58) – (59)	Pg 7 -12
Daily section	Starts at ferial hymn	On Sundays all; weekdays, invitatory antiphon and hymn only for each day	On Sunday and Monday all; on weekdays, opening prayer, Ps 3, invitatory antiphon and hymn of the day.	On Sundays, all; weekdays, includes ferial invitatory antiphon and hymn

The opening section of the hour on feasts and Saturdays of Our Lady

It is also worth noting that on feasts, the invitatory antiphon and hymn are either specific to the feast, or (particularly in the case of Class III feasts) taken from the relevant Common.  Le Barroux's Nocturnale includes all the commonly used ones in its Ordinary section, while Gower includes the relevant texts at the end of its psalter book.

The invitatory and hymn for Saturdays of Our Lady can either be found in the Ordinary, psalter section or after the Common of Our Lady (in the breviary). 

The psalmody

The other key component of the hour is the psalms, which are set out under each day of the week.

Benedictine Matins (unlike the Roman version) always includes twelve psalms, divided into two sets (Nocturns) of six.

The number of antiphons used varies between the seasons, but the normal pattern is that on weekdays (including Class III feasts) Nocturn I has three antiphons (ie one antiphon for two psalms), while Nocturn II has one (consisting of alleluias).

The psalms are said in exactly the same way as for other hours, with a doxology (Glory be) at the end of each psalm, or part of a psalm. 

On higher level feasts (Class I&II), however, sets of festal psalms, typically with one antiphon for each psalm are used, generally as set out in the Commons for various types of saints.

The canticles

On Sundays and major feasts, a third Nocturn is added on to the hour, but rather than adding additional psalms, it consists of three canticles, said exactly the same way as psalms are, said under one antiphon.

The table below summarises which types of days have special sets of antiphons, psalms and canticles.

	Psalms and antiphons	Nocturn III canticles
Sundays	Of the Sunday/ferial antiphons or of the season	Of the season
Class I&II feasts	Of the Common or feast	Of the Common or feast
Class III feasts, Vigils	Of the day of the week	none
Class IV days	Of the day of the week	none

In the next part of this series, I will look at the readings and other variable parts of the hour.

A quick guide to Matins p - Pt 1

The final part of my 'quick guide' series, this time for the 'eighth' or first hour of the Office, Matins.

And as this hour has become rather more accessible of late, I'll say a little more about this hour than the others.

This first post provides a bit of an overview.

When is Matins said?

Matins is given a lot of different names in the Benedictine Rule, such as Vigils, the Night Office, Nocturns and variants on these.  

But they all basically point to the same thing - this is the Office that is said in the middle of the night, or rather, as St Benedict specified, the 'eighth hour' of the night, which translates to around 3-3.30 am depending on the season (since the 'hours' of the night refer strictly to hours of darkness) and your location.

In reality of course the start time for the hour has varied considerably over time - some monasteries do it at midnight, some early in the morning, and some (despite the best efforts of assorted reformers at various points in time) anticipate it the night before.

Who should say Matins?

Benedictine Matins is not something to be embarked on lightly. 

With fourteen psalms on weekdays, as well as readings, and a much longer structure for Sundays, it is by far the longest of the hours even on ordinary days, and on feasts becomes longer still.

So saying the full hour is probably something to save until you retire or have a lot of time on your hands!

But if you are an early riser, you could for example, start by just saying the opening section of the hour, which includes two fixed psalms very appropriate to the start of the day, and then perhaps build up by adding a two or four week rotation of its variable psalms.

What books can you use for Matins?

Matins  is not contained in the Monastic Diurnal (as Diurnal refers to the day hours), so you will need to buy another book or books for it if you want to say it.

A few years ago, it was almost impossible to find books for Matins according to the 1960 rubrics and calendar; these days we are spoiled for choices!

For the key texts of Matins, your basic choices are:

1.  The 1963 Monastic Breviary (Latin only).

Has everything you need for the hour (and all of the others), in reasonably compact form, comes in two volumes, with a nice supplement of older feasts.

2. Gower set of Latin-English Matin's books.

Has everything you need at a very reasonable price, and the obvious choice if you need help understanding the Latin.  But be warned: it takes a bit of effort to work out where to find the various texts you need (but I'll provide some help with that in subsequent posts).

3. Volume 1 of the Brignoles Nocturnale (the psalter).

If you want to sing the hour (as you should!), this is the book you will need, giving you not only the basic texts of the psalter, but also the chants for the ferial and seasonal invitatory antiphons, hymns, antiphons for the psalms each day, and so forth.  It is Latin only, and Volumes 2 (the temporale) and 3 (sanctorale) are still to come, but there is enough in this one to get you started.

4. Le Barroux's Nocturnale Monasticum (available in Latin only or French-Latin versions).

Nicely laid out and well-organized in a nice large print that is excellent for putting on a choir stand, but not very portable or easy to use if you are just holding it in your hands.

5. Clear Creek's Latin-English Matins Psalter.

Doesn't provide the variable texts of the hour (such as the readings, texts for feasts, seasons etc), but still a very useful starting point for learning the basic structure of the hour and the psalms.

Others

There are a number of other books I've previously suggested as supplements for Matins, or have often been used for the hour in the absence of anything better (such as Monastic Breviary Matins) but the options above are the better choices in my view.

The structure of Matins

As the table below illustrates, Matins basically consists of an introductory section, consisting of an opening verse repeated three times (O Lord open my lips that I may proclaim your praise), two invitatory psalms, and a hymn; followed by either two or three 'nocturns' each made up of psalms or canticles, and readings and responsories.  

Table 1: The structure of Matins

SECTION
OPENING (INVITATORY)	Same elements everyday – opening prayer, Ps 3, Ps 94 (with verse), hymn
NOCTURN I	Six psalms with antiphon(s) Versicle, Our Father, absolution Blessing, reading and responsory (1,3 or 4 sets)
NOCTURN II	Six psalms with antiphon(s)  Sundays and major feasts only: Versicle, Our Father, absolution Blessing, reading and responsory *4
NOCTURN III Sundays and major feasts only	Three OT canticles under one antiphon Versicle, Our Father, absolution Blessing, reading and responsory *4
CONCLUDING SECTION	Weekdays and minor feasts: Chapter and versicle  Sundays: Te Deum, Gospel, Te Decet Laus
CLOSING PRAYERS	Collect only (Sundays) or standard concluding prayers

On ordinary weekdays in summer (Easter to the end of October) Matins has only a short reading and short responsory of the day of the week in the first Nocturn, and the second Nocturn is followed by a short chapter and versicle before the normal conclusion to the hour.

On 'winter' weekdays Nocturn I has three readings and responsories.

The third structure, used for Sundays and major feasts, consists of three Nocturns, the third consisting of three canticles. Each nocturn has four readings and responsories, as well as the Te Deum reading of the Gospel, and another short hymn, the Te decet laus.

And you can find the next part in this series here.

A quick guide to Compline

 Today a quick summary guide to Compline, which is easily the best hour to start with if you are new to the Office, in part because it is the same every day in the Benedictine Office, and in part because the Diurnal mostly writes out the texts for it in full.

When is Compline said

Compline is the last of the 'day' hours, though actually typically said after sunset, and in a monastery, often in darkness, sung from memory.

It is essentially about preparing for sleep, and so saying it shortly before you go to bed is very appropriate, though it can of course be said earlier.

Where to find Compline in your book

Compline is the last hour in the psalter section of the Diurnal, starting on page 256.

The structure of Compline

If you compare the structure of Compline to the Benedictine Rule, you will quickly realise that quite a lot has been added to this hour after St Benedict's time!  

The hour essentially has three sections.  

The first, the opening section with a short lesson, examination of conscience and Confiteor, down to the 'convert us, O God..' probably comes from the later development of the Roman Office.  

The middle section, starting with the 'O God come to our aid', is as described by St Benedict.  

And the final Marian antiphon and prayer is a later monastic addition subsequently also adopted by the Roman Office.

In a monastery there is actually usually another set of prayers after that, including a blessing of those present with holy water while the verses of Psalm 50 starting with 'asperges me...' are recited.

As well as the structure and page numbers, I've included notes on the postures/gestures used in the table below, but keep in mind that these are optional out of choir.

KEY WORDS	OFFICE COMPONENT (with links to rubrics notes)	NOTES	PAGE
Jube Domne/Pray father, a blessing	Blessing and short lesson	Kneel for the blessing, stand for the reading.	MD 256 AM 167
Adjutorium nostrum/Our help…	Versicle	+	MD 257 AM 167
Confiteor/I confess	Examen and confession (or Pater Noster in silence)	Use formula for éxtra chorum’/out of choir.  Bow.	MD 258-9 AM 167-9
Converte nos Deus (Convert us O Lord)	Versicle	+ Stand	MD 259 AM 169
Deus in adjutorium/O Lord come to my aid	Opening prayers	Stand
Cum invocarem/When I cried (Ps 4)	Psalms without antiphons	Sit after the half of the first verse has been sung; stand for the doxology ‘Gloria Patri...’ which is added to the end of each psalm.	MD 260 AM 169
Qui habitat/He that dwelleth (Ps 90)			MD261 AM 169
Ecce Nunc/Come now, bless the Lord (Ps 133)			MD 262 AM 170
Te Lucis ante Terminum/To Thee before the close of day	Hymn	Stand. Hymn tones varies with season, feast and day	MD 263 AM 170-172
Tu autem Domine	Chapter		MD 263 AM 1762
Custodi nos Domine	Versicle		MD 263 AM  172
Kyrie eleison	Closing prayers including the collect and final blessing	Note that the litany is not doubled (or trebled). Stand or kneel (in Lent and Advent) Bow for Pater Noster, collect and blessing.	MD 264-5 AM 172 (omit the section labelled ‘Preces’, not used in the 1962 Office)
[Antiphon of the season]	Marion antiphon, versicle and collect	Simple tones used weekdays; solemn for Saturdays, Sundays and feasts. Said kneeling except Saturdays, Sundays and Eastertide.	MD 265-69 AM 173-180

For more on the hour, go here.

Tips and traps

The key thing to be aware of is that after the examination of conscience (or Our Father), the text that follows immediately (marked as 'The hebdomadary recites...) is intended for use in choir (ie in a monastery) - if you are saying it by yourself, skip over to the bottom of the next page, to where it says 'Out of choir...'

Similarly, when it comes to the concluding prayers, note that it provides two versions of an important recurring formula, used at all of the hours  The first, Dominus vobiscum/The Lord be with you, is only used if a priest or deacon is saying it.  The second, Domine exaudi/O Lord hear my prayer is used by everyone else at all hours.

The only moving part of the hour (chant tones aside) is the Marian antiphon, which changes with the main liturgical seasons. 

The spirituality of the hour

The Benedictine version of Compline differs from the Roman in several respects.

First, in the post 1910 version of the Roman Office, the psalms of Compline actually change each day of the week, whereas they are fixed in the Benedictine version of the hour.

But even in the pre 1910 version there are two key differences, in that the Roman Office also included the first several verses of Psalm 30 (ending on the verse into thy hands, Lord, I commend my spirit), and also includes the Nunc Dimittis.

Both of these are quite beautiful so its interesting to speculate on just why St Benedict omitted them (and the Nunc Dimittis at least, seems to have been used at the hour from very early on indeed).  

Part of the explanation, I suspect, is that the Roman version puts more emphasis preparing for sleep as 'the little death'. 

That's obviously part of the monastic focus as well, but monks were viewed above all as people of the night, keeping vigil in prayer for the protection of the laity through the night, hence the appropriateness of concluding the psalmody with the last of the Gradual psalms, and saying 'Come now bless the Lord...at night lift up your hands'.