On saying Matins Pt 1: The two forms of Matins

As promised a few notes on how to say Benedictine Matins.

Today, a quick overview of the differences to the Roman Office version of Matins, and then a quick look at the two basic forms of Benedictine Matins.  In the next post I will provide a quick start guide to the moving parts that you need to keep an eye out for, particularly for feasts and special days.

1953 vs 1963

I am of course providing notes in the context of 1963 breviary’s calendar and rubrics.

But, with two exceptions (relating to the opening of the hour and the commemoration of feasts displaced by another three Nocturn Office), as far as I am aware Benedictine Matins did not actually change in structure over the twentieth century.  

The only substantive content changes, as far as I am aware, are very minor (to a few readings).

The changes that did affect it relate primarily to additions and omissions from the calendar, changes to the rankings of some feasts, and rules of precedence.

Accordingly, if you want to add back feasts, or give them a higher ranking than their 1960 one using the supplement in the new reprint of the Monastic Breviary, you should find these instructions will still work for this purpose. 

 How much do you already know?!

How you approach learning Matins basically depends on your starting point.  

If you have been using the day hours of the monastic Office using the Diurnal, focus on the components of the hour that aren’t common to the other hours, as well as on how feasts of various levels impact on Matins.

If you are familiar with the Roman (1911 - 1962) Office, you have a huge head-start on everyone else, so just focus on the differences between the two.

Swapping from Roman 1962?

That said, Benedictine Matins has long puzzled commentators, because it looks quite different, in many respects to the Roman version of the hour.  Over time, some of those differences have been erased, but they do still look quite different. 

I’ll come back to the historical differences and possible reasons for them in a later post, but for now, if you are used to the 1962 Roman Office, be warned that overall, the Benedictine Office is much longer than the Roman (post 1910), and that is especially true on feast days.

There are three main reasons for the extra length. 

First, the psalmody is longer.  The Roman Office of Pius X divides a lot more psalms, and into smaller chunks.  Psalm 77 in the Roman Office for example is split into six sections, but in the Benedictine, it is only divided in two.

Secondly, on Sundays, there are twelve readings and responsories, not three (or if you have been using an earlier version of the Roman Office, eight). Sundays also have an extra Nocturn of canticles, on top of the usual twelve psalms, as well as several other extra components.

 And finally, instead of a shorter, nine psalm and readings of the Roman Office on feasts, Class I&II feasts use the longer Sunday structure, while Class III feasts retain the full ferial twelve psalm/two Nocturn structure.

Some of the other key differences you may notice are that:

• there is an extra invitatory psalm, Psalm 3; 
• where the Roman hour starts on Psalm 1, St Benedict starts at Psalm 20;
• during ‘summer’ Benedictine Matins has only a short reading and responsory of the day of the week, while the Roman has three readings and responsories throughout the year; and 
• on Sundays the Gospel of the Sunday or feast is read at the end of Matins.

 The two forms of Benedictine Matins

As the table below shows, Benedictine Matins basically comes in two forms: the three Nocturn Office used on Sundays and major feasts; and the two nocturn version said on weekdays throughout the year, as well as on Class III feasts.  

Both forms of Matins have an identical opening section (in earlier breviaries, an Ave, Pater and Credo are also said, as is the Deus in adjutorium), which is then followed by twelve psalms spread between two Nocturns. 

There are three key differences between the two forms, relating to the number of readings, the number of Nocturns, and the concluding section used on Sundays and major feasts. 

First, on weekdays, there is only either one reading (from Easter to November) or three readings (the rest of the year) in Nocturn I, plus a short chapter appropriate to the season or feast at the end of Nocturn II.  On Sundays and major feasts, by contrast, each Nocturn has four readings and responsories.  

Secondly, on Sundays an extra Nocturn consisting of canticles )for the season or feast) is added. 

And thirdly, Sundays and major feasts have a much longer concluding section, including two hymns and the recitation of the Gospel for the Sunday or feast. 

SECTION OF THE HOUR	WEEKDAYS/CLASS III FEASTS	SUNDAYS AND FEASTS
OPENING SECTION	Domine mea labia aperies…*3 Ps 3 Invitatory antiphon with Psalm 94 Hymn
NOCTURN I	6 psalms with 1 or 3 antiphons   Versicle Our Father Absolution	6 psalms with 1, 3 or 6 antiphons Versicle Our Father Absolution
READINGS FOR NOCTURN I	Blessings with 1 or 3 readings and responsories	Blessings with 4 readings and responsories
NOCTURN 2	6 psalms with 1 or 3 antiphons	6 psalms with 1, 3 or 6 antiphons Versicle Our Father Absolution
READINGS WITH NOCTURN 2	Short chapter and versicle for season or feast	Blessings with 4 readings and responsories
NOCTURN 3	NA	Antiphon and three canticles Versicle Our Father Absolution
READINGS FOR NOCTURN 3	na	Blessings with 4 readings and responsories
CONCLUDING SECTION	As per days hours, Kyrie, Pater, collect, concluding blessing	Te Deum Gospel Te decet laus Collect Concluding formula if separated from Lauds

If you are familiar with the day hours of the Benedictine Office, a lot of this will already familiar.  But Matins does have several components that will be new to you, such as Psalm 94 which is said responsorially (with a repeated refrain) rather than antiphonally, the use of blessings, the use of responsories with the readings, and more.  

So if you are planning on saying the hour, I’d urge you to take a look at my more detailed notes on the hour which you can find here.  

But if you just want to cut to the chase, in my next post I’ll provide a quick guide to the moving parts, and what to look out for.  

Saints of September: A guide to the various calendars!

September,
Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry 

For those interested in adding additional feasts to the Benedictine 1963 calendar, or utilising the Diurnal in conjunction with later versions of the calendar,  I've done a summary listing of the various calendars for the month of September below.

Can you add feasts to the Benedictine calendar?

By way of context, the decree Cum Sanctissima gave permission for saints canonised after 1962 to be celebrated in the earlier form of the Office, as well as for the inclusion of other feasts included in previous books and/or the Martyrology to be celebrated as Class III feasts.

Strictly speaking, it is supposed to be done in both Mass and Office of the day, so you should follow whatever your monastery or parish church is doing.

For modern calendar feasts that do not have propers in the Diurnal, you can simply utilise the appropriate Common (and where appropriate, take the collect from your Missal or Roman Breviary

Pre-1960 Benedictine calendar

For September, the main differences between the 1960 and earlier calendars relates to assorted saints remembered in memorials only (though in the earlier books memorials were generally marked at both Lauds and Vespers, not just the first!).  

And as you will see if you look down the list, several victims of the 1960 'pruning' were (as for the rest of the year) female saints, the most important of whom is St Thecla, once generally regarded (in the East at least still), as the first female monastic saint.  

Her very early Vita (dating from the second century) was widely circulated in the early centuries of the Church, but met some early, rather misogynistic opposition in the West led by Tertullian, but her cult was commented on favourably by many others, such as St Augustine.  Twentieth century scholarship was similarly inclined to downplay her historicity, and she was removed from the General Calendar in 1969, but, as in several other cases, the tide has turned again recently, at least terms of in academic scholarship.

Day of September	1960 Benedictine	1962 Roman	1953 Benedictine	Ben Con/ 2025 Roman (where extra/different)	Other
1		St Giles, Memorial (Abbot)
2		St Stephen, Cl 3 (Confessor)
3	St Pius X, Cl 3	St Pius X, Cl 3		St Gregory the Great F (March 12, MD [77])
4					St Marcellus, Martyr
5		St Lawrence Justinian, Cl 3 (Confessor)		St Teresa of Calcutta OM (Virgin)
6					St Zachariah (OT prophet)
7
8	Nativity of the BVM		Nativity of the BVM with a simple Octave; St Hadrian, Memorial	Nativity of the BVM, F
9	St Gorgonius, Memorial	St Gorgonius, Memorial	St Gorgonius	St Peter Claver, Confessor, OM
10		St Nicolas of Tolentino, Cl 3 (Confessor)
11	SS Protus and Hyacinth, Memorial	SS Protus and Hyacinth, Memorial	SS Protus and Hyacinth, M		St Theodora
12		Most Holy Name of Mary, Cl 3	Most Holy Name of Mary	Most Holy Name of Mary OM
13				St John Chrysostom, M (Jan 27, MD [43])
14	Exaltation of Holy Cross, Cl 2	Exaltation of Holy Cross, Cl 2	Exaltation of Holy Cross, SS Cornelius and Cyprian Memorials (1960 Ben: 16 Sept)	Exaltation of Holy Cross, F
15	Seven Sorrows of the BVM, Cl 3	Seven Sorrows of the BVM, Cl 2	Seven Sorrows of the BVM; St Nicodemus, Memorial	Seven Sorrows of the BVM, M
16	SS Cornelius and Cyprian, Memorial	SS Cornelius and Cyprian, Cl 3	SS Euphemia, Lucy & Germanianus, Memorial	SS Cornelius and Cyprian, M
17	St Hildegard (V, Doctor), Memorial	Imprinting of the Holy Stigmata on the body of St Francis, Memorial (Confessor)	St Hildegard	St Hildegard, OM or St Robert Bellarmine, OM (MD: 13 May)
18		St Joseph of Cupertino, Cl 3 (Confessor)
19		St Januarius and companions, Cl 3 (Martyrs)		St Januarius, OM
20		St Eustace and companions, Memorial (Martyrs)	Vigil of St Matthew	St Andrew Kim, Paul Chong and companions (the Korean martyrs)
21	St Matthew, Cl 2	St Matthew, Cl 2	St Matthew	St Matthew, F
22	St Maurice and Companions, Memorial	St Thomas of Villanova, Cl 3 (Confessor bishop)	St Maurice and Companions
23	St Linus, Memorial	St Linus, Cl 3 (Pope martyr)	SS Linus and Thecla (Virgin martyr), Memorials	St Pius of Pietrilcina, Confessor, M
24		Our Lady of Ransom, Memorial
25
26		SS Cyprian and Justina, Memorial	SS Cyprian and Justina, Memorial	SS Cosmas and Damian OM (Sept 27)
27	SS Cosmas and Damian, Memorial	SS Cosmas and Damian, Cl 3 (Martyrs)	SS Cosmas and Damian, Memorial	St Vincent de Paul, M (July 19, MD [195])
28		St Wenceslas, Cl 3 (Martyr)		St Wenceslaus, Martyr, OM or St Lawrence Ruiz and companions OM (Japanese martyrs)
29	Dedication of St Michael the Archangel, Cl 1	Dedication of St Michael the Archangel, Cl 1	Dedication of St Michael the Archangel	St Michael and all the Angels, F
30	St Jerome, Cl 3	St Jerome, Cl 3	St Jerome	St Jerome, M

 Key: S=Solemnity (Class I); F= Feast (Class II); M=Memorial (Class III), OM = Optional memorial (Class III or Memorial).

Getting ready to say Benedictine Matins

Given the release of both a reprint of the 1963 breviary and a Latin-English Nocturnale, I thought it might be useful to provide a few notes on how to say Monastic Matins, and then perhaps provide a few posts on the history and spirituality of the hour.

Today, though, a few preliminary points.

New to Matins?  Grab an ordo?

First, if you are planning on saying Matins for the first time, I strongly suggest you grab a copy of my Ordo if you haven’t already.   

A new edition for the next liturgical year will be available in the not too distant future, but if you plan to start in advance of that, it is a useful tool and available in PDF form.

While it doesn’t provide page numbers to the breviary or the new Latin-English Nocturnale, it does tell you exactly what texts you will need to locate for feasts and other days, and so should help you get oriented.

For Wednesday 3 September, for example, the feast of St Pius X, which is Class III, it tells you that for Matins, the Office is

Two nocturns with invitatory antiphon, hymn, chapter and versicle of a Confessor Bishop; reading, responsory and collect of the feast. 

Even with the Ordo though, you will still need to become familiar with the ‘default’ Sunday and weekday forms of Matins, so I’ll provide a quick overview in my next post. 

St Benedict on Matins

Secondly, if you are planning on saying Matins, it is well worth starting by reading (or rereading) the relevant chapters in the Rule (particularly 8 -11, but also take a quick look at 14 - 16 and 18), since the Rule does actually set out most of the key rubrics still followed today.

In particular, the Rule sets out:

• the structure and key components of the hour for Sundays and feasts, and weekdays;
•  the psalms to be used each day (starting at Psalm 20 on Sunday and ending at Psalm 108 on Saturday), and specifies that the longest psalms in the set are to be divided;
•  the pattern of readings for Sundays, weekdays in summer, and weekdays in winter; and
• where responsories and their doxologies are used.

Before you do sit down and reread the relevant chapters though, it is worth noting that while it is easy to dismiss the Rule’s treatment of the Office as purely mechanistic descriptions, there is actually, I think, a deeper layer of meaning built into these chapters that is less obvious to the modern eye.  I will come back to this in a future post, but do look out for hints in things like number symbolism - in particular the repeated references to eight (rise at the eighth hour, the eighth of the hours and so forth), are not random, by rather signal that the hour is oriented to the 'eighth day' of creation, that is, the day ushered in by the Resurrection, and watching for the Second Coming.

Learning Matins

Thirdly, even if you are familiar with the day hours, there is still a bit of a learning curve for Matins in the Benedictine Office, as it includes several components not used at the other hours, so do make the time to sit down and learn how it work in advance of trying to say it.

I'll provide a bit of an overview in my next post on Matins, or if you prefer you can jump straight to  the more detailed notes I’ve previously provided over at the learn the Benedictine Office blog (note that some of the posts on books for Matins are now out of date, so I will update them in due course)!

Singing Matins

Fourthly, all of the hours of the Benedictine Office are meant to be sung!  

If you can, try and at least sing it on one note.

Singing Matins in chant is actually pretty hard to do as books for it are currently extremely scarce and contain only a small proportion of the chants needed.  

There are a few resources available online if you do want to start adding the chants in, but if you are new to the hour, you are probably best off waiting for the psalter for Matins being prepared by the monks of the Monastery of St Benedict at Brignoles and expected to be released later this year.

Budget your time

Finally, keep in mind that Benedictine Matins represents a big additional investment of time in the Office, as it is by far the longest of the 'hours', even on ordinary weekdays.

I'd recommend building up slowly, and starting by learning it sections, especially if your Latin is not that strong.  

Unless you have a formal obligation to say the Office, consider starting with just the introductory section of the hour for example (opening prayer, Psalms 3 and 94, hymn).  Then maybe add three or six psalms a day, and some of the fixed components for each day such as the short weekday readings and chapter/versicle at the end.

The next part of this series provides an overview of the two forms of Benedictine Matins, as well as some comparisons to the Roman version of the hour.