Learn to say the Office




Guide to the notes


The notes below aim to help you say the traditional form of the Benedictine Office according to the officially approved 1962 rubrics.

It provides page references and detailed guides to the hours as contained in the Monastic Diurnal (2005 editions onwards) published by St Michael's Abbey, Farnborough, as well as the Antiphonale Monasticum of 1934 (for those wishing to sing the Office).

These notes can be used a number of ways, depending on your starting knowledge of the Office and how many  'hours' of it you plan to say each day.

(1) Start with Office basics: If you are new to the Office, or are used to the 1970 Liturgy of the Hours, I'd suggest starting at Office basics first.

You could then jump to the notes on the particular hours you would like to learn (I'd recommend starting with Compline then Prime), and follow the links to the individual components of these hours as you need them.

(2) Office components: Alternatively, particularly if you plan on saying several of the hours, want to sing the Office, or are familiar with the 1970 Office, you might want to work through the components of the hours.

The various components that make up the Office each have their own rules that apply across all the hours at which they are used.  You can use these notes  to familiarise yourself with the key differences to the version of the Office that you are familiar with, or to learn how the Office is build up.

These notes also provide a guide to using the Antiphonale Monasticum (which contains the chants) for the day hours.

(3) The hours: The notes on individual hours contain background information on when each hour is said, its spirituality, page numbers in your Office book, and contain links to more detailed notes on each Office component.

(4) Quick start notes for experts: If you are familiar with the traditional forms of the Office (such as the 1962 or older versions of the Roman Office), or are familiar with the Benedictine Office (for example from visiting a monastery) you can skip to the end of this page for quick start notes.



THE NOTES



(1) OFFICE BASICS


For those new to the Office, or at least to the 'traditional' (1962 breviary)  version of it, before you actually try to start saying the Benedictine Office, there are some things you need to know about it.  So read these posts to get the essentials before you start.


1.  Seven things you should know about the Benedictine Office


If you are thinking about saying the Benedictine Office, it is worth knowing a little it about it. 


2.  Books for the Benedictine Office


The notes in this series are primarily based around the Monastic Diurnal and Antiphonale Monasticum, but this post takes you though the options.


3. Finding you way around the Monastic Diurnal


So your new Monastic Diurnal has just arrived.  Here's how to navigate it...


4. Singing the Office - and finding you way around the Antiphonale Monasticum


The Divine Office - and especially the Benedictine Office - is meant to be sung.  This post gives some suggestions on how to get started, and introduces the key book of chants for the day hours, the Antiphonale Monasticum.


5.  What changes and what doesn't in the Office


What prayers you say in the Office depend on several different cycles that impact on it - the particular hour of the day or night being said; the day of the week; the liturgical season and week; and feasts attached to fixed dates.  This post provides an overview.


6. Preparatory Prayers


Before you actually say the hours, you need to prepare yourself mentally, and aks for God's help to pray well.  


(2) OFFICE COMPONENTS


Each of the components of the Office have specific rules attached to them that generally apply across each of the hours where they are used.  Although the particular texts used changes, the general principles don't.  The posts in this series provide some context on the various parts of the hours, as well as explanations of how to say them.


The opening prayers of the Office


The hymns


The psalms Pt 1 - general rubrics and psalms without antiphon


The psalms pt 2 - psalms with antiphons


The psalms pt 3 - Using the Antiphonale to sing the psalms


The short lesson (at Compline)


The chapter (verse)


Short Responsories (at Lauds and Vespers)


Collects - where to find them, which ones to use


Commemorations/memorials


Versicles


The closing prayers of the Office Pt 1 - Structure and key elements


The closing prayers Pt 2 - the collect and its concluding formulas


The closing prayers Pt 3 - Commemorations


Marian antiphons




(3) THE HOURS


Arranged in the order I suggest you learn them.


Compline  


The last Office of the day before the start of the great silence in a monastery, this is the easiest of the hours to learn, as the psalms are the same every day.



Notes on Compline


Prime


Traditionally said an hour after dawn, the hour is geared towards helping us start the workday.  In a monastery, the capitular Office is also associated with this hour.



Notes on Prime
Notes on the capitular Office



Terce, Sext and None


Said mid-morning,noon and mid-afternoon, these short hours help sanctify the day.



Introduction to the Little Hours
Notes on Terce
Notes on Sext
Notes on None


Vespers 


Traditionally said as the sun is setting.



Introduction to Vespers
Vespers on ordinary days
Vespers in the major liturgical seasons
Vespers for feasts


Lauds


St Benedict wanted Lauds to start at daybreak, so that as we celebrate the rising of the sun, we also celebrate the risen Son.



Introduction to Lauds 
The three forms of Lauds
Lauds on ordinary days and feasts

Matins


Aka Vigils - prayer in the night.

Index to notes on Matins





OTHER


The Office of Our Lady on Saturday

Office of the Dead





(4) QUICK START ESSENTIALS - for old hands



If you are already familiar with a traditional version of the Divine Office (for example because you have said the 1962 or earlier Roman version), you may not need detailed notes on each of the hours.

The Diurnal doesn't always write out texts in full though, so you may find it worth reading through this quick guide to its shortcuts and quirks.

If you are new to the traditional forms of the Office though, I'd strongly suggest jumping to the next section.


Diurnal traps and shortcuts - a summary guide 


A guide to some of the shortcuts in the Diurnal, focusing on the opening of the hours. The Diurnal rarely writes out the opening prayers for each hour in full, so this section provides a guide to the cue words it does include.


The opening and closing prayers of the Office  


The Diurnal doesn't write out the concluding prayers for each day very often, so this section goes through the standard conclusions in full, as well as how to make a commemoration (ie celebrate the memorial of a saint, or remembrance of a day of Advent or Lent etc that is displaced by a feast).


Hymns, chapters, versicles and responsories 


Filling out the Diurnal cues for the texts of the Office.






WANT TO KNOW LEARN MORE?




CALENDARS, ORDOS, SEASONS AND SAINTS



Using an ordo effectively (series)

11 comments:

Unknown said...

Just a quick question refresher. We say the glory be after each psalm and canticle unless otherwise noted. Also what about after the chapter readings?

Kate Edwards said...

I have answered this elsewhere, but see this post for a summary: http://saintsshallarise.blogspot.com.au/2009/04/learning-office-part-5b-diverse-parts.html

Michael R Cooley said...

About a year ago, I began learning about monastic prayer and the rule of St. Benedict. Can you imagine the confusion a breviary creates when one doesn't even have the names of the hours memorized? Then, I ran into Saints will Arise. I learned quickly! Soon, because I'm self-employed, I began praying 4-5 of the hours each day. I learned the Anglican Breviary but soon realized the more authentically Benedictine way is in the Benedictine way. I connected with several monks online and discovered the non-monastic Oblate route. Two weeks ago I took my novice "promises". I would not say I was "called," but I "became" and then found out there was a name for it. All this to say, I owe a great debt of gratitude to Kate Edwards for the work and labor and time invested here in the sites she created and maintains. Thank you and bless you for helping others become what we were to be and be formed in the way were intended. Your work helped transform ny life and relationships and spirituality.

iRomanCatholic said...

I have a question about the Ordo. Today is June 18th St Epram. In the Proper of the Saints there is an Antiphon for Lauds and Vesicle/Response where are those inserted in Lauds? Also Where does the Commemoration that the Ordo talks about occur?

Kate Edwards said...

iRomanCatholic -The page on commemorations is listed above, but here is the link again: https://saintsshallarise.blogspot.com/2017/07/brush-up-your-rubrics.html

Anonymous said...

First thank you for all the work you have done on this site. It has been a great help.

I do have a question about the Antiphons at Lauds. On weekdays, after Psalm 66, the Diurnal shows Antiphons for "Throughout the year" and "In Paschaltide". But right underneath that it says "The three following Psalms are said under the one Antiphon Alleluia". I'm confused since there are Antiphons given for all those three Psalms and I thought that you always said 5 antiphons on weekdays.

I'm sure there is a simple explaination for this, but I can't seem to find it.

Kate Edwards said...

During Paschaltide there are fewer antiphons at all the hours - Vespers for example only has one antiphon (viz Alleluia, alleluia...), Matins two, and Lauds three (one for the first three psalms after Ps 66; one for the canticle; and one for the Laudata psalms).

You can find it explained more fully, with tables showing where the antiphons fall, in my post on the three forms of Lauds: https://learnbenoffice3.blogspot.com/2018/03/learn-office-213-lauds-pt-2-three-forms.html

Ed said...

Hi. Why is it there no proper for ordinary time and also I cannot find a collect for the office of lauds in the weeks I give to Easter

Kate Edwards said...

Ed - take a look at the Ordo for the week. The collect for lauds in Eastertide is that of the relevant Sunday.

Also there is no such thing as ordinary time in the 1962 rubrics, just time throughout the year or after Pentecost.

Anonymous said...

I am putting together an ordo for the year. In the Diurnal, in the section called "Ordinary for the Ferial Office for Lent" on page 195* there is a rubric "The Collect likewise is proper, and is placed immediately after the Antiphon for the Magnificat." This seems to imply that the Kyrie and Our Father are skipped every Ferial day during Lent. I have searched and no one anywhere seems to say anything about this rubric. Can you help me know what we are supposed to do at Vespers during Lent?

Kate Edwards said...

Dear anon,

First why are you putting together an Ordo? Why not just consult the one I have put together, or those from the assorted monasteries who do so? Especially since it sounds like you are not actually that familiar with the rubrics!

If there is something missing from the Ordo that you need, please do feel free to email me (contact email is in sidebar on blog) to discuss if you are trying to work out a specific set of needs that differs from the 1962 and earlier variants version I put out.

But to answer your question, no, the structure of the Office in Lent is exactly the same as throughout the year. If you look at my how to say the Office notes for each hour, you can find the basic structure set out there.

I think that rather cryptic sentence in the Diurnal is actually trying to tell you where the proper texts can be found, not something about where it is said in the Office. That is, the collect for Vespers is found immediately after the proper antiphon for the Magnificat in the section for each day of Lent, so for Monday in the first week of Lent, on MD 196*.