A couple of weeks back I started a series on how the calendar for the traditional Benedictine Office works. Apologies for the delay in continuing this, but herewith the next part.
I noted that there are five different cycles that interact to determine which texts are used in the Office, namely:
- the eight 'hours';
- the days of the week;
- the date;
- the month and 'natural' seasons; and
- the week and season of the liturgical year, which mostly depends on the date of Easter each year.
This week some notes on the first of these.
In this post, I will mostly focus on the basics; in the next, I want to talk more about the spiritual meanings that underpin the 'hours' of the day.
In this post, I will mostly focus on the basics; in the next, I want to talk more about the spiritual meanings that underpin the 'hours' of the day.
The hours
The first key cycle in the Office relates to the time of day, and reflects the idea that the Office is about the sanctification of time, starting with the hours of the day and night.
The traditional Benedictine Office is made up of eight hours - Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline, and in the night, Matins.
The number of hours is not random - in St Benedict's time different forms of the Office consisted of anything from two (the Egyptian monks of Skete) to twenty-four (some Syrian monasteries, the Sleepless monks of Constantinople, and at Agaune in the Swiss Alps) separate 'hours' each day.
Rather, there is a symbolism around the number of hours said: seven often stands for completeness in Scripture, represented for example by the seven days of creation; while the number eight stands for the life to come, since the Resurrection took place 'on the eighth day'.
The proper times of day for the hours
Each of the hours is properly said at a particular time of the day.
In his Rule, St Benedict was insistent that Lauds should be said at first light, and so prays in the dawn: the rising of the sun reminds us of the rising of the Son, and our hope of rising with him.
Adjusting your prayer start time with dawn over the seasons though, isn't practical for most people these days, but it is nice when you can time it appropriately.
The other days hours - Prime, Terce, Sext and None - are all named after particular hours of daylight and so are ideally said around an hour after dawn, at the third hour of the day (mid-morning), noon and mid-afternoon respectively.
Vespers is normally said as the sun is setting, and Compline before bed.
The daily solar cycle and the hours
All of the hours generally include psalms, hymns or other texts that can contain explicit references to the time of day.
The psalms of Lauds, for example, are full of references to light and the dawn, while the hymns of Terce, Sext and None all refer to the hour at which they are properly said.
You don't have to be too rigid though: St Benedict indicated that the actual timing of these hours (other than Lauds) can be moved around to suit the needs of the monastery, and more than a few monasteries say some of the little hours together.
Prayer through the day and night
Still, St Benedict did cite the psalm verses, 'Seven times a day will I praise you', and 'at midnight I rose...' (Ps 118), verses which he clearly saw as having both literal and symbolic dimensions, in the Rule as the basis for his liturgical schedule.
And there is a natural flow of the hours over the course of the day that is worth keeping in mind, since each of the hours includes texts appropriate both to the particular time of day.
For many people there may be a tradeoff between sticking to the ideal time, and actually saying (any or more of) the hours at all.
But you do not have to say all (or any) of these hours, unless you are a priest or religious - for most people Prime and Compline or Lauds and Vespers (ie mornings and evening prayer) are probably enough.
If you want to say more of the psalms each day, just say them - they don't have to be recited only in the context of the Office.
And at the other extreme, if you don't have time to say all of the hours, you could try just saying the opening verse of the day hours - 'O God come to my aid, O Lord make haste to help me' - at the times when the other hours would be said in a monastery.
Can you say the hours in blocks?
In the modern rubrics, those bound to say the Office (ie priests and religious) have to say all of the hours within a twenty-four hour period.
But the individual hours don't absolutely have to be said at a particular time (out of choir).
I sometimes get asked if you can say all of the hours in one block each day (or even do a Cardinal Woolsey, and say one day's hours immediately before midnight the other immediately after, thus disposing of two days of obligation in one go!).
Well technically you can, but it seems to me to rather defeat some of the key aims of the Office, such as ensuring that we 'pray frequently' (RB 4), and inject prayer into our lives throughout the day and night.
Can you 'anticipate' the hours?
The other possible way of arranging your horarium is to 'anticipate' the hours, that is, say them earlier than they would normally be.
In the 1962 rubrics, the only hour that can be said the day before is Matins, which can be said any time from 1400 hours onwards, provided that the previous days hours have already been said (and providing some adjustments to Compline are made).
During the Sacred Triduum, however, where Tenebrae includes both matins and Lauds, most places claim the benefit of long established custom, and celebrate both hours the night before.
The rationale for the time of the hours?
I'll say more on the rationale for saying the hours at their proper times next post.
In the meantime, comments and questions are welcome - do let me know if there is something you would particularly like me to cover.
The traditional Benedictine Office is made up of eight hours - Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline, and in the night, Matins.
The number of hours is not random - in St Benedict's time different forms of the Office consisted of anything from two (the Egyptian monks of Skete) to twenty-four (some Syrian monasteries, the Sleepless monks of Constantinople, and at Agaune in the Swiss Alps) separate 'hours' each day.
Rather, there is a symbolism around the number of hours said: seven often stands for completeness in Scripture, represented for example by the seven days of creation; while the number eight stands for the life to come, since the Resurrection took place 'on the eighth day'.
The proper times of day for the hours
Each of the hours is properly said at a particular time of the day.
In his Rule, St Benedict was insistent that Lauds should be said at first light, and so prays in the dawn: the rising of the sun reminds us of the rising of the Son, and our hope of rising with him.
Adjusting your prayer start time with dawn over the seasons though, isn't practical for most people these days, but it is nice when you can time it appropriately.
The other days hours - Prime, Terce, Sext and None - are all named after particular hours of daylight and so are ideally said around an hour after dawn, at the third hour of the day (mid-morning), noon and mid-afternoon respectively.
Vespers is normally said as the sun is setting, and Compline before bed.
The daily solar cycle and the hours
All of the hours generally include psalms, hymns or other texts that can contain explicit references to the time of day.
The psalms of Lauds, for example, are full of references to light and the dawn, while the hymns of Terce, Sext and None all refer to the hour at which they are properly said.
You don't have to be too rigid though: St Benedict indicated that the actual timing of these hours (other than Lauds) can be moved around to suit the needs of the monastery, and more than a few monasteries say some of the little hours together.
Prayer through the day and night
Still, St Benedict did cite the psalm verses, 'Seven times a day will I praise you', and 'at midnight I rose...' (Ps 118), verses which he clearly saw as having both literal and symbolic dimensions, in the Rule as the basis for his liturgical schedule.
And there is a natural flow of the hours over the course of the day that is worth keeping in mind, since each of the hours includes texts appropriate both to the particular time of day.
For many people there may be a tradeoff between sticking to the ideal time, and actually saying (any or more of) the hours at all.
But you do not have to say all (or any) of these hours, unless you are a priest or religious - for most people Prime and Compline or Lauds and Vespers (ie mornings and evening prayer) are probably enough.
If you want to say more of the psalms each day, just say them - they don't have to be recited only in the context of the Office.
And at the other extreme, if you don't have time to say all of the hours, you could try just saying the opening verse of the day hours - 'O God come to my aid, O Lord make haste to help me' - at the times when the other hours would be said in a monastery.
Can you say the hours in blocks?
In the modern rubrics, those bound to say the Office (ie priests and religious) have to say all of the hours within a twenty-four hour period.
But the individual hours don't absolutely have to be said at a particular time (out of choir).
I sometimes get asked if you can say all of the hours in one block each day (or even do a Cardinal Woolsey, and say one day's hours immediately before midnight the other immediately after, thus disposing of two days of obligation in one go!).
Well technically you can, but it seems to me to rather defeat some of the key aims of the Office, such as ensuring that we 'pray frequently' (RB 4), and inject prayer into our lives throughout the day and night.
Can you 'anticipate' the hours?
The other possible way of arranging your horarium is to 'anticipate' the hours, that is, say them earlier than they would normally be.
In the 1962 rubrics, the only hour that can be said the day before is Matins, which can be said any time from 1400 hours onwards, provided that the previous days hours have already been said (and providing some adjustments to Compline are made).
During the Sacred Triduum, however, where Tenebrae includes both matins and Lauds, most places claim the benefit of long established custom, and celebrate both hours the night before.
The rationale for the time of the hours?
I'll say more on the rationale for saying the hours at their proper times next post.
In the meantime, comments and questions are welcome - do let me know if there is something you would particularly like me to cover.
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