New to the Monastic Diurnal?

 

This just a quick reference post for those just starting out with the Monastic Diurnal.

Start simple - Prime and Compline

First, if you are new to the Benedictine Office, I'd strongly recommend starting with the hours Compline (said in the evening, before bed) and then Prime (said in the morning, before work) as these are the simplest of the hours, work well as morning and evening prayer, and are a great way to become familiar with how the Office works.

Lauds and Vespers are more complex, so unless you are already familiar with them, I'd suggest leaving them for later.

Learn how the books work

Secondly, it is worth investing some time upfront and make sure you know:

• where to find things in the book;
• the shorthand the diurnal uses - the book doesn't always write things out in full, so be aware of some of the tricks and traps!

If you are completely new to the Office, start with my Office basics series.

Otherwise, take a look at the notes for each hour, and read the notes on the individual components of each hour if you want or need to.

Use an Ordo

Thirdly, even if you are expert, use an Ordo to make sure you know which Sunday of the year it is, and feasts or days you should (or could) be marking in the Office each day.

There are a few choices around.  Particularly if you an absolute beginner, I'd suggest taking a look at the one I produce, which is available from Lulu in PDF, Epub and book form (next liturgical year's should be available in early November) as it provides detailed instructions for each day of the year, including page numbers.

Alternatively, if you can read Latin, you can use the Ordo on the Divinum Officium website (choose the Monastic 1963 option).  It doesn't provide detailed instructions, but you can cross-check with its presentations of the relevant hours.  Note though that it does occasionally contain errors and/or follow pre-1963 rubrics/texts.

If you are an oblate of a monastery you should also check out if they make an Ordo available  - Le Barroux publishes its on its website.

Read St Benedict's instructions on the Office in the Rule

I would also strongly recommend reading the chapters in the Rule that describe the Benedictine Office (chapters 8 - 19) - its good to know how much continuity there is, but also to get a sense of what Benedictines regard as pretty much fixed (viz the basic structure of the hours and the ferial psalms said at them), and what has developed over time.

Ask questions

If you get struck, you can either ask questions through the comments section on the blog, or by joining the Traditional Benedictine Office group (note though that this is not for Benedictine spirituality more generally, it is strictly for the Office), or the more general Breviary and Divine Office Discussion Group on facebook.

More to come

For those who want a bit more guidance, here are some summary posts for each hour that aim to give you a starting point, as well as links to more detailed notes:

• A quick guide to Lauds;
  
• A quick guide to Prime;
• A quick guide to Terce, Sext and None;
  
• A quick guide to Vespers; 
  
• A quick guide to Compline;
• A quick guide to Matins (to come).

A Quick guide to Vespers

Continuing my series with some summary notes to get you started, and links to where to find out more, today some notes on the sixth of the day hours, Vespers.

What is Vespers?

Vespers is technically the parallel hour to Lauds, and so was originally said at sunset.  In late antiquity it was also often known as lucernarium, for the lamp-lighting ceremony that was often part of it, and which symbolised the idea of Christ as light in the darkness.  

In Rome, however, unlike the East and many other places, lucernarium seems to have been strictly a domestic ceremony, and so was, so far as the evidence can show, never incorporated into the liturgy of Vespers as such.

For that reason, perhaps, St Benedict's Rule actually somewhat subverts the idea of it as paralleling Lauds, by suggesting that the monks say it a little earlier in order to have dinner without needing to light the lamps and candles. 

Instead, Benedictine Vespers, focuses more on the humility theme that runs through Prime to None, particularly the proposition that the humble will ultimately triumph, while the proud will ultimately fall, both through the use of the Magnificat at the hour, and verses in the psalms each day around the same theme.   

Where to find Vespers in your book

Because Vespers uses the psalm sequence 109 - 147 (jumping over a few used at other hours along the way), it appears towards the end of the psalter section, starting at page 203 in the Monastic Diurnal.

The structure of Vespers

Vespers has a similar structure to Lauds, but with no invitatory or fixed psalm, and only variable four psalms (or parts of psalms) each day.

But although the basic structure of the hour is always the same, Vespers can be a difficult hour to locate all the necessary texts for since, as the table below indicates, pretty much every element of it (except the opening and closing formulas and the Magnificat) can change according to the season and/or feast.

Where Lauds, for example, has only one set of 'festal' psalms, there are many different variants for Vespers.

The structure of Vespers
Opening prayers	MD 1
Antiphons (normally said before and after each psalm) and psalms	Sunday: MD 203 ff (or of the feast) Monday: MD 212 ff (or of the feast). Tuesday: MD 220 ff (or of the feast). Wednesday: MD 226 ff (or of the feast). Thursday: MD 235 ff (or of the feast). Friday: MD 243 ff (or of the feast). Saturday: MD 249 ff.
Chapter	Of the day, season or feast.
Short Responsory	Of the day, season or feast.
Hymn	Of the day, season or feast.
Versicle	Of the day, season or feast.
Antiphon for the Magnificat (repeated before and after the canticle)	Saturday: For I Vespers of the Sunday of the liturgical year. Sunday: For the Sunday of the liturgical year (or feast). Monday to Friday: For day, season or feast.
Magnificat	MD 209
Closing prayers	MD 210
Collect	Of the week of the liturgical year, day or feast.

 

You can find more detailed notes on the hour here.

Tips and traps

First, note that the opening of the hour (Deus in adjutorium) is not written out in full for each day at Vespers - if you don't know it by heart, go back to page 1 of the psalter section of the book and put a ribbon there until you have learn it!

Secondly, the short responsory at Vespers works the same way as that for Lauds - but remember that the Diurnal doesn't usually write it out in full, you need to treat the words as cues only.

Thirdly, Saturday Vespers has a variable antiphon for the Magnificat which generally links to the book of the Bible being read at Matins.  From August to November, they are labelled for the calendar month (starting on page 451* in the Diurnal) rather than the Sunday after Pentecost.

Related to this, the collect for Saturday Vespers is that of the next day (Sunday), not the previous one.   

Finally, remember that first class feasts have a 'first Vespers' the night before the feast.  I've provided some more detailed notes on the effect of feasts in the more detailed series on Vespers, but here is a summary to help you prepare.

LEVEL OF FEAST	EFFECT ON VESPERS
Memorial	None (Lauds only).
Class III without proper antiphons	Psalms and antiphons of the day;  Chapter, responsory, hymn etc from the Common
Class III with proper antiphons	Psalms of Sunday or the Common; antiphons of the feast; chapter etc for the feast (from the proper of the feast or the Common)
Class II	All for the feast (or from the Common of Saints or season), including psalms of feast, Sunday or Common
Class I	All for the feast (or from the Common of saints or season) with I Vespers the night before

The psalms and spirituality of the hour

If you want to dig into the meaning of the psalms a little deeper, you can find notes on them here.

I've also done some posts on the themes that run through Vespers which you can find here.

A quick guide to Terce to None

Continuing my series of summary notes on the hours, this time aimed at helping you say the hours of Terce, Sext and None of the Benedictine Office with confidence using the Monastic Diurnal.

What are Terce, Sext and None?

The names of these hours refer to the third hour of the day (ie mid-morning), the sixth hour (noon) and ninth hour (mid-afternoon).

These hours are very ancient indeed, mentioned several times in the Old Testament, making the decision to require only one of the three to be said in the 'Liturgy of the Hours' very difficult to understand indeed.

And in the Benedictine Office, they are structured around the theme of ascent, with each of the these hours from Sunday to Tuesday broadly corresponding to one of the degrees of humility in St Benedict's schema (the missing two steps are represented by the Gradual Psalm(s) said at Monday and Tuesday Vespers).

Where to find the hours in your book

Sunday Terce is located in the Diurnal after Sunday Prime (which comes after Saturday Lauds in the psalter section) and the sequence continues from there.

Sunday and Monday have their own 'psalms' (section of Psalm 118), from Tuesday to Saturday the first nine of the Gradual Psalms are said at these hours.

Structure and page numbers for Terce, Sext and None

The basic structure of these three hours is very similar to Prime - a hymn (the same each day of the week), followed by three psalms said under one antiphon, then a chapter (short reading), versicle and the standard closing section (starting Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison).

The key difference is that not only the antiphon, but also the chapter, versicle and collect can change.

 

TERCE	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday to Saturday
Opening prayers	MD 1
Hymn (Nunc Sancte)	MD 151	MD 162	MD 183
Antiphon	Of the season, day, date or feast (on feasts, usually antiphon 2 of Lauds).
Psalms	MD 152	MD 164	MD 184
Antiphon	Of the day, season or feast.
Chapter
Versicle
Closing prayers	MD 154-5 with of the week, day or feast (see weekly Ordo).

SEXT	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday to Saturday
Opening prayers	MD 1
Hymn (Rector Potens)	MD 155-6	MD 169-70	MD 183
Antiphon	Of the season, day or feast (on feasts, usually antiphon 3 of Lauds).
Psalms	MD 156	MD 171	MD 191
Antiphon	Of the day, season or feast.
Chapter
Versicle
Closing prayers	MD 154-5 with collect of the week, day or feast.

 

NONE	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday to Saturday
Opening prayers	MD 1
Hymn (Rerum Deus)	MD 159	MD 176	MD 196
Antiphon	Of the day, season or feast (on feasts, usually antiphon 5 of Lauds).
Psalms	MD 160	MD 178	MD 198
Antiphon	Of the day, season or feast.
Chapter
Versicle
Closing prayers	MD 154-5 with collect of the week, day or feast.

You can find more detailed notes on how to say these hours here. 

Tips and traps for Terce, Sext and None

On feasts, the antiphons for these hours are usually those of the second antiphon of Lauds for Terce, the third for sext and the fifth (not the fourth) for None.

The chapter for Terce is usually also said at Lauds and Vespers, but with a versicle instead of the short responsory.

The 'default' collect (unless displaced by a feast or other special day) is that of the previous Sunday.

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.

  

A quick guide to Lauds

 

As promised, this is the first of a short series of posts on the individual hours to help those new to the Benedictine Office navigate my notes on it.

When is Lauds said?

The first of the 'day' hours that St Benedict lists in chapter 16 of the Rule is Lauds, which he wanted his monks to start at first light each day (so the start time varies with the season).  

That isn't always practical for either monks or oblates these days, but whatever time you actually say it, it is worth keeping in mind the symbolism of the rising of the sun/rising of the Son (Resurrection) and bringing of light both to our own souls, and to the world.

Where is it in your Office book?

The texts for Lauds are in the psalter section of your Office book (in the middle of the Diurnal, after the 'of time' section, or at the beginning of the Antiphonale).

It follows immediately after Prime even though it is said before it because the psalter more or less follows the numerical order of the psalms.

The structure of the hour

The structure of the hour and relevant page numbers for the Diurnal are summarised below.

Opening prayers – Deus…	MD 1, 37-8 or 58.
Psalm 66 – Deus misereatur…	MD 38, 58-9.
Antiphons (said before and after each psalm, canticle, or group of psalms)	Of the day of the week, feast or season.
Sunday: Psalm 50, 117, 62; Benedicite (canticle); Laudate Psalms Festal: Psalm 92, 99, 62; Benedicite or festal canticle of the day of the week; Laudate psalms Ferial: Psalm 50; 2 variable psalms of the day of the week; OT canticle of the day; Laudate psalms Ps 148-150	Sunday: MD 39 and following (ff) Festal (for feasts): MD 44 ff. Monday: MD 59 ff. Tuesday: MD 76 ff. Wednesday: MD 89 ff. Thursday: MD 102 ff. Friday: MD 118 ff. Saturday: MD 133 ff.
Chapter (default texts for the day(s) of the week are in psalter section under each day of the week as above.	For day, season or feast.
Short Responsory (default text in psalter section)	For day, season or feast.
Hymn (default text in psalter section)	For day, season or feast.
Versicle (default text in psalter section)	For day, season or feast.
Antiphon for the Benedictus (said before and after the canticle).	Sunday: For the Sunday of the liturgical year (or feast). Weekdays: For day, season or feast.
Benedictus	MD 56-7 or 73-4.
Closing prayers - Kyrie…	MD 57-8 or 75.
-          Collect	Of the week of the liturgical year, special day (Saturday of Our Lady, Lent or Ember Day, etc) or feast.
-          Commemoration of the saint or day	Canticle antiphon, versicle and collect said immediately after the collect of the day

 For more detailed notes on how to say the hour, go here.

Tricks and traps around Lauds 

A few key things to keep in mind with Lauds are that:

• the three Laudate psalms, 148 - 150 (which close the psalms of the hour) are said under one doxology (Gloria Patri/Glory be) rather than a doxology for each psalm as is usually the case;
• the short responsory used at Lauds is usually given in abbreviated form rather than being written out in full.  To learn how to interpret the abbreviated form, go here; and
• Sundays have an antiphon for the Benedictus canticle that is for the specific Sunday of the liturgical year (the Sunday after Pentecost etc) which can be found in the 'of time' section of your book.

There are also two very common questions around Lauds that you might want to read up on:

• when and how to make a 'commemoration' of a feast or day; and
• (when) should you use the festal canticles of Lauds.

Learning the psalms and pondering the spirituality of the hour

And if you'd like to dig into the spirituality of Lauds a little deeper, you can read my series on its design that starts here.

You might also want to take a look at my notes on the individual psalms that make up the hour.

The season of Septuagesima

Septuagesima Sunday marks the start of the 'pre-Lenten' or 'Shrovetide' season.

Septuagesimatide comprises of three Sundays, named for their distance from Easter:

• the week of Septuagesima;
• the week of Sexagesima; and
• Quinquagesima Sunday and the Monday and (Shrove) Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.

Septuagesimatide is a post-St Benedict addition to the calendar (one of the Gregorian reforms), hence the inconsistency between the rubrics, which banish the Alleluia for this period, and St Benedict's own prescriptions for the use of the Alleluia in the Rule in Chapter 15.

This little warm-up season is intended to help us ease us into Lenten mode, and so is a good time to start thinking about what book to choose as spiritual reading for Lent, and what penances you plan to adopt.

The key features of the Office for the Season of Septuagesimatide are:

• the Alleluia is solemnly 'buried' with extra Alleluias added to the close of the Office of I Vespers of Septuagesima Sunday and thereafter the Alleluia is no longer used in the Office;
• in the opening prayers of the Office the alleluia is replaced by 'Laus tibi Domine, Rex aeternae gloriae';
• at Matins, the Alleluias used as antiphons are replaced, on weekdays by three antiphons to be found in the psalter, and on Sundays be an antiphon for the third nocturn to be found in the temporale; 
• On Sundays Matins has an invitatory specific to the season (Preoccupemus); and 
• at Vespers, there are daily antiphons for the Magnificat.