A quick guide to Prime

Continuing my quick guide series to the Benedictine Office using the Monastic Diurnal, the second hour of the day is Prime.

What is Prime?

Prime has been abolished in the modern Liturgy of the Hours, and many Benedictine monasteries have followed suit, 'in the spirit of Vatican II'.  

That's a shame, because it is one of the most distinctively 'Benedictine' hours in its spirituality and design.

Prime, named for the first hour of the day, can be used as your main morning prayer - traditionally oblates were encouraged to say Prime and Compline, not least since they are relatively short and the simplest of the hours to learn.

In a monastery it is traditionally the hour said before the first work period of the day, and is immediately followed by 'chapter' (which is entirely optional outside a monastery since it is not mentioned in the Rule of St Benedict, and so is not included in the Diurnal for that reason), said in the chapter room named for it.

Chapter typically includes the reading of the martyrology, the daily section of the Rule (and often a short homily on it), and prayers for the deceased members and those associated with the community.  Chapter can also include any necessary discussion of work assignments and so forth.

Where can you find Prime in your book?

Prime for Monday to Saturday (Psalms 1-2, 6-19) can be found right at the beginning of the Psalter section of the Diurnal (middle of the book).

Prime on Sunday however, starts on page 146 (after Saturday Lauds), as it uses the first four stanzas of Psalm 118).

Structure and page numbers for Prime

Opening prayers	MD 1
Hymn	MD 1-2; 146-7 (Sunday)
Antiphon (said before the beginning of the psalms, and repeated at the end after the three or four psalms of the day have been said).	Of the day of the week (see below for psalms), date, feast or season (on feasts etc, usually antiphon 1 of Lauds)
Psalms of the day of the week	Monday - MD 3 ff. Tuesday - start MD 10 ff. Wednesday – MD 16 ff. Thursday – MD 20 ff. Friday - MD 24 ff. Saturday - MD 31 ff. Sunday- MD 147 ff.
Chapter	MD 7 or 150.
Versicle	MD 7 or 150.
Closing prayers, including collect.	MD 8-9.

 

You can find more detailed notes on how to say Prime starting here.

Trips and tracks around Prime

The key thing to remember with Prime is that the opening and closing prayers for it are set out on page 1 of the psalter section, and under Monday Prime.  These opening prayers need to be said every day, even though this is not spelt out under each day of the week.

So on Tuesday, for example, you need to turn back to page 1 for the Deus in adjutorium/O God come to my aid and hymn before saying the antiphon and psalms for that day, and go back to page 7 after you've said the antiphon after the psalms for the chapter, versicle and closing section of the hour.

The good news is that apart from the antiphon and psalms (or parts of psalms), everything (including the collect) stays the same each day.

The other key thing to keep in mind is that on feasts (Class III or above), instead of using the antiphon for the season, you use one for the feast, usually (but not always) the first antiphon of Lauds.

The psalms and spirituality of the hour

At Lauds, the focus is on the Resurrection, and the possibility it invites for us to invite the light of Christ into our lives, and to participate in the remaking of the world, the new Creation (Psalms 148-150). 

Prime tells us how to actually set about making this a reality, namely taking the first step of humility (chapter 7 of the Rule), which is, in essence, keeping in mind always an awareness of the presence of God.  

Much of St Benedict's discussion of the first step of humility in the Rule seems to have been inspired by St Ambrose's commentary on the first four stanzas of Psalm 118 (said on Sunday at Prime, and also echoed in the closing sentences of the Prologue to the Rule).  The theme of 'practical atheism' - acting as if God does not exist or does not care, and the consequences and antidotes to this - runs through the rest of the psalms of the hour.

You can find notes on the psalms of Prime to help you with the Latin, as well as their broader meaning, here.