Frequently asked questions about the Benedictine Office Part II

Continuing on my list of frequently asked questions about the Benedictine Office....this time about the shape of the Office itself.

1.  How many times of prayer are there in the traditional Benedictine Office?

St Benedict specified that he wanted his monks to pray seven times through the day, and again at night.

The seven day hours are known as Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline; the Night Vigil is known as Matins.

Although these different prayer times are called 'hours', with the exception of the Night Vigil, their actual length is mostly much shorter than that, ranging from 5-10 minutes (for Terce, Sext and None) to around 45 minutes for sung Lauds.  

2. Why does the Benedictine Office still include Prime when this was abolished by Vatican II?

 Vatican II's prescriptions concerned the Roman Office, not the Benedictine.

While some Benedictine monasteries have eliminated Prime in order to stay in sync with the modern Roman Office, the traditional Benedictine Office legitimately retains the structure set out by the founder.

3.  What do the hours consist of?

The core of the Benedictine Office is the psalms. 

Each hour of the Benedictine Office includes a hymn, short verse of Scripture (called the 'chapter'), a prayer, and other texts. 

The main component of each of the hours, though, is the psalms.

St Benedict organised his Office to ensure that all of the psalms are said each week, but with some of the ones he regarded as more important are repeated each day.

4.  Do you have to say all of the 'hours'?

Unless you are a priest or religious you don't have to say all or indeed any of them each day: you can decide for yourself which hours to say.

A good way to start is Prime and Compline, as these provide a good morning and evening prayer and are the simplest to say.

5.  At what time are the hours said?

Traditionally, Lauds is said at first light, before dawn; Prime before work;  Terce, mid-morning; Sext at  noon; None in mid-afternoon; Vespers in the early evening before sunset; and Compline before bed. 

 

Matins (not in a Diurnal) is said in darkness (traditionally in the very early morning).

You can, however, be reasonably flexible about the times you say them at.  

Although St Benedict was pretty insistent on starting Lauds at first light, because the hour links the rising sun with the Resurrection, he was prepared to move most of the other hours around a bit to fit the needs of the particular monastery, and modern practice is more flexible still.

6.  Can the Benedictine Office be said silently?

The traditional Benedictine Office is meant to be sung in Latin, ideally in choir (although St Benedict does make provision for it to be performed alone when on a journey or too far from the chapel).  

Several monasteries provide podcasts of the main hours that you can listen to in order to get a flavour of its full effect.

Most monasteries do, however, sing at least some of the hours 'recto tono', or on one note, rather than with full chant, and this can be a good option for laypeople performing the Office alone.

But it is also permissible to say it silently (provided your mouth forms the words), or purely mentally as a devotional exercise.

Next up

Do let me know if you have other questions you would like answered.

The next post in this series covers Books for the Office.