As many of us are now waiting with eager anticipation for the arrival of the reprint of the 1963 Monastic Breviary from Editions Pax inter spinas (Monastère Saint-Benoît de Brignoles), I thought I might provide a few brief notes over the next week or so, to help get those new to the breviary oriented, as well as a few pointers on how to say Matins, for those intending to say Matins for the first time.
Before I do that though, I thought I should perhaps provide a few reasons for you to consider buying one if you haven't already put in your order, since the special discount offered on pre-ordering them runs out at the end of this month!
Why a breviary?
Most laypeople saying the Benedictine Office are probably currently using the Latin-English Monastic Diurnal published by St Michael's Abbey (Farnborough). It's an excellent book that meets the needs of most laypeople.
The idea of a Latin only Breviary might also be off-putting to some, but even if you haven't picked up a fair amount of Latin by immersion in your Diurnal (which you should have, turn your eyes over to the other side of that page!), these days its pretty easy to use a phone ap to help you navigate a book in another language, and to find good translations sources online for the texts you come across in it.
The key reason for many people to consider a breviary is because they want to be able to say Matins.
But even if you have no intention of saying Matins, and are going to continue to use the Diurnal (and/or other English books), subject to your budget constraints, I'd strongly recommend at least thinking about acquiring the breviary as well.
First, though, it is worth noting that the key differences between the Diurnal and the 1963 Breviary are:
- the Diurnal only provides the day hours (Lauds to Compline), while the breviary also includes the Night Office, Matins;
- the breviary includes assorted supplementary material missing from the Diurnal such as the rubrics and the capitular office;
- this particular reprint also offers another bonus in the form of a supplement containing feasts and other days, essentially those feasts and days contained in the 1934 Antiphonale but omitted in the 1963 Office;
- it comes in two volumes rather than one.
So why buy it? 1930 vs 1963
Until this reprint, 1963 breviaries have been as rare as hen's teeth (and 1953 versions are similar scarce), and when they do come up for sale, are priced accordingly!
This reprint should make the 1963 breviary, which as far as I can find remains the official set of default books for the Benedictine Confederation (not that you'd know it!), notwithstanding the permissions for monasteries to construct their own versions within the official guidelines, much more accessible.
In particular, I know of several monasteries that have adopted the 1930 breviary for want of other books.
But the 1930 is problematic for several reasons, not least because several feasts were added to the Benedictine calendar in the years immediately after it was published, so that it doesn't, in fact, match up well to the Antiphonale Monasticum.
The new edition essentially solves that problem first in making the 1963 books available, but also by including a supplement so that those who want to say some of the older feasts and octaves can easily do so.
Those saying Matins
The most obvious reason to buy the breviary is for those who want to add Matins to their prayer schedule, as it provides all of the necessary texts in one place.
Currently those looking to say Matins have three main options - the English only Monastic Breviary Matins; the Le Barroux Nocturnale; or one of the earlier breviaries.
The Le Barroux version is the closest, but none of these books entirely match the 1963 calendar and rubrics. And this edition offers an advantage over the Nocturnale in its inclusion of selected earlier feasts. So even if you plan on continuing to use these books, it is worth having the 1963 breviary as a reference document.
As an aid to the day hours
Even if you are just planning to stick to the day hours though, you might want to consider the value of having the breviary as a reference document.
The Magnificat antiphon at Vespers on most Saturdays during the year for example, typically refers to the first Nocturn readings at Matins the following day. So looking up the breviary to see what that reading actually is can help you understand the context for it (and you can always look up the reading in English once you know what book of the Bible and verses it is referring to).
Similarly, the Lauds and Vespers antiphons on Sunday (or on major feasts) typically refer to the Gospel read that Sunday (or feast). It's usually the same as the reading at Mass in the Extraordinary Form, but if you aren't attending that Mass, its useful to be able to find the relevant Gospel and read it to remind yourself of the context.
If the day is the feast of a particular saint, you might want to take a look at the reading or readings on their life that are said at Matins (some of which help you to decrypt the antiphons said at the day hours!).
A source for the psalms
It is also, I think, useful for those who only say the day hours to at least be able to see the remaining psalms laid out as they are distributed in the Office, exactly as laid out in St Benedict's Rule.
One of the great strengths of the Benedictine Office, in my view, is that it is arranged so that there are often key words, phrases and themes that are recur at different hours on the same day, and so occasionally dipping into look at the 'missing' psalms can enhance your meditation triggered by the Office.
Oblates of monasteries that have eliminated Prime, for example, might find it useful to occasionally take a look at the psalter as St Benedict intended it!
And even if you don't ever intend to say the full monastic Matins, you might want to consider using some of its prayers - the opening prayer of Matins (O Lord open my lips, that I may proclaim your praise) is a great starting prayer for the day, and there are many other treasures you can find in it, such as the first invitatory, Psalm 3, and the short hymn Te Decet Laus used at Sunday Matins, for example.
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