Learning the Office: Hymns, chapters, versicles, responsories

This post reviews the rubrics for some key parts of the Office that are common to several of the hours.

All of these parts of the Office are properly said while standing.

The hymn

The hymn uses the same text each day at Prime (Iam Lucis), Terce (Nunc Sancte), Sext (Rector Potens), None (Rerum Deus) and Compline (Te Lucis).

At Lauds and Vespers (and Matins), the text (and chant tone) can vary according to the day of the week, season, feast or day.  

The last verse (doxology) is sung while bowing (medium).

The chant for the hymns can be found either in the Antiphonale Monasticum (which can be downloaded from CC Watershed or you can use the more recent versions of the chant provided in the Liber Hymnarius published by Solesmes.  Note however that the versions of the hymns used in the Antiphonale (and most traditional monasteries) differ from those used in the Roman Office in both text and chant tones.

Useful resources for learning the chant versions of the hymns (but check that they are the correct ones in the Antiphonale) include:

• Liber Hymnarius (sound files of hymns);
• youtube channel of Giovanni Vianini;
• Chant blogs resources page.              

The versicle

The versicle is a short statement and response.

In the Diurnal it is usually just marked V: and R:

You can find an example in the psalter section of the Diurnal on page 55, where the versicle for Sundays during the year is Dominus regnavit....Induit Dominus...During Eastertide, an alleluia is added to each line.

The versicle is always the same at Prime and Compline, but can vary depending on the day of the week, season, feast or day at the other hours.

At Lauds and Vespers a more elaborate chant tone is generally used.

Chapter (Capitulum) 

The chapter is really just a short Scriptural readings used at each Hour.

It is always rounded off with a 'Deo Gratias' (Thanks Be to God) - have a look for example at the chapter for Prime  on page 7 (of the Psalter).

The chapter is always the same at Prime and Compline, but can vary depending on the day of the week, season, feast or day at the other hours.

(Brief) responsory 

The responsory occurs at Lauds and Vespers. It is often labelled Short R or brief, because it stands in contrast to the 'Prolix' version that can be sung at first vespers of major feasts. You can find an example of the standard format for this on page 52, for Sunday Lauds, and it is important to spend a little while familiarising yourself with the structure because the Diurnal abbreviates these mostly, and you have to remember how to say it. And I'm afraid its one of those cases where it makes a lot more sense when you are singing it with someone leading and the rest responding!

So take a look at the example. The first line goes:Inclina cor meum, Deus, * In testimonia tua.

The whole line is then repeated. Let's call the first half of the line (Inclina..) x, and the second half after the asterix (In testimonia) y.

So the structure so far is:
x*y
x*y

Then the verse (and let's call this bit z) goes:

Averte oculos meos, ne videant vanitatem: in via tua vivifica me.

Then the second half of the first line is added on. So the structure so far is now:
x*y
x*y
z*y

Then a short doxology is added:

Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto.

Then the whole of the first line (Inclina cor meum...In testimonia..) is repeated again.

So the structure of the whole responsory is:

x*y
x*y
z*y
Gloria...
x*y

You can check your understanding by looking at the text for Lauds for Christmas in the Diurnal (MD 72*) (Verbum caro) and listening to the recording below.

Diurnal traps and shortcuts to be aware of**

  

TOPIC	KEY POINT
Layout of the Diurnal
Page numbering	Each section of the Diurnal is page numbered separately, so you need to pay attention to  [], *, etc to know which section you are in
Order of Psalter section	In order (broadly) of psalm numbers, not hours
Sunday Prime, S&M Terce-None	Located after Saturday Lauds
Versions of prayers for use by laypeople/Office  vs with priests	At Compline, use second version of Confiteor (no repetition) unless you are saying it with a priest.
	Use Domine exaudi orationem meam, not Dominus vobiscum (for example in closing prayers of each hour)
‘Opening’ prayers	Said at all hours, even where book does not note this (but in middle of Compline). Seasonal variation for Septuagint and Lent (Laus tibi…instead of Alleluia)
(Deus in adjutorium…/Gloria Patri.../Alleluia)	Written out in full at beginning of psalter section (MD 1), but abbreviated thereafter
Antiphon(s)	Said in full before and after a psalm, group of psalms or canticle
Psalms	Gloria Patri…is added to the end of all psalms unless otherwise indicated
Hymns	Always end in amen (with alleluia added during Eastertide)
Chapters	Always end in (response) ‘Deo Gratias’
Responsory (Lauds and Vespers)	Abbreviated form in Diurnal needs to be filled out; note no ‘sicut erat…’
Concluding prayers
	Litany (Kyrie eleison) one repetition of each set of words only, not triple as at Mass
	Note: do not use Dominus vobiscum, as above
	Need to add correct conclusion to collect (see conclusions to the collects in front matter)

Learning the Monastic Office 4: How the Office is performed

It is important to remember that the Office - above all the Monastic Office - is really intended to be sung 'in choir', that is with a group of people. Nonetheless, St Benedict does make provision for those who can't reach the Monastic oratory, instructing them to:

"perform the Work of God in the place where they are working, bending their knees in reverence before God." (RB 50)

As a result, the rubrics of the Office (135) actually recognises three ways of saying the Office:

• in choir - as part of a properly constituted liturgical choir (ie a group of monks or nuns who are obliged to say the Office);
• in common - two or more people saying it together; or
• by oneself.

Most of us are in this last situation! But still, it's helpful to know how it would be done if you were at a monastery, so that you can understand how it really works, and some of the terminology you might come across.

The various roles in choir

The first point to note is that if you were hearing the Office 'in choir', you would see a number of people playing different roles. Exactly who does what and when depends a little bit on the particular monastery, but what I'm setting out here are some fairly common practices. In particular:

• the superior (abbot, abbess, prior etc), who gives the signals to start and finish (usually a tap on wood with a stick or mallet), the blessings where these are prescribed (for example at Compline, the 'Noctem quietam...' and blessing at the end, Benedicat et custodiat..pp256&264 in the MD) and says the Our Father at Lauds and Vespers (RB 13);
• the hebdomadary, a role rotated around, and who takes on some of the functions the abbot or abbess is nominally responsible for, essentially leading the Office overall. He or she normally opens and closes the Office, starting the Deus in adjutorium, intoning the canticle, the first Kyrie Eleison at the end of each Office, and leads the prayers and so forth;
• the cantor(s) who lead the singing, setting the pitch and intoning the antiphons and psalms. Usually there are two (but there can be more for more solemn feasts, and you can get away with one at a pinch!), one for each side of the choir;
• the lector(s) (usually rotated weekly) who read the short chapter (or longer readings if set);
• the choir itself, which is divided into two sides, and sing alternate verses of the psalms (and the hymns where possible).

By yourself of course, you have to take on all those roles! A lot of the time you will see that someone says something and everyone else responds - that's not really a problem, just remember to say both parts. In practical terms there are only two parts of the Office when you have to take note of all of this:

• whenever the text says 'Dominus vobiscum' and the reply is 'Et cum spiritu tuo' - always substitute 'Domine exaudi orationem meam' and ''Et clamor meus ad te veniat' (MD p8);
• at Compline, for the examination of conscience - skip over the bit where it says the hebdomadary recites the Confiteor (on page 257), and use the version provided for recitation out of choir (on page 258).

'Sing wisely'

The second key point to note is that the core of the Office are the psalms. And each hour contains a hymn. Both are obviously intended to be sung. To do that of course, you need the proper books (the Antiphonale Monasticum for the day hours) and the ability to read the music. But even if you can't do that, it is always an option to sing the relevant hour on one note (called 'recto tono').

Most people by themselves however will end up just saying it. Traditionally, you have to at least move your lips to articulate the words for the Office to be considered to have been said!

Body postures

The other point to note is that the Office is traditionally accompanied by various postures and gestures. The reference to kneeling in the Rule that I quoted above for those saying the Office out of choir has been interpreted by some commentators as an instruction to perform all of the postures as if you were in choir even when you aren't, for example. These days it is accepted that out of choir, you aren't obliged to follow all the body postures and gestures. All the same, kneeling, bowing and making the sign of the cross are all important aids to our worship, so I will come back at some point to give some instructions on this.

As a starting point though, here are some of the more important ones you might consider using:
kneeling before you start, and saying a short preparatory prayer (the traditional one starts Aperi Domine...);

• standing for the Deus in adjutorium (and making the sign of the cross as you say it);
• bowing for the Gloria Patri wherever it occurs; and
• standing for the hymn and Gospel canticles (Benedictus and Magnificat at Lauds and Vespers respectively).

For Part 5A of this series, click here.

The greater litanies (rogation day) and the Benedictine Office

On April 25, we celebrate the Feast of St Mark, but it is also a Rogation day. 

Here in Australia, we hardly ever get to celebrate fully this important and beautiful ceremonial, as ANZAC Day dawn services and requiems tend to overshadow or place the relevant mass and procession. But the useful fisheater's site gives the following description of what a Rogation day is, and you can read more about it over there:

""Rogation" comes from the Latin "rogare," which means "to ask," and "Rogation Days" are days during which we seek to ask God's mercy, appease His anger, avert His chastisements manifest through natural disasters, and ask for His blessings, particularly with regard to farming, gardening, and other agricultural pursuits. They are set aside to remind us how radically dependent we are on Mother Earth, and how prayer can help protect us from nature's often cruel ways..."

The rubrics in the 1963 breviary say that nothing is made of the Rogation Day in the Office, but only in the Mass, where, in accordance with the constitutions of the monastery or local custom, a procession is held at which the Litany of the Saints is sung (although the bishop can substitute other prayers).

Those who are bound to say the Office (such as priests and religious) but who can't participate in a procession, however, say the litany and its particular prayers by themselves (or with other members of the faithful), generally immediately after Lauds. You can find a traditional version of the litany online here or in the Monastic Diurnal at page (200).

Learning the Office: 'opening' and 'closing' prayers of the day hours (including commemorations)

Diurnal shortcuts

The opening prayers of the Office (though note that these actually occur in the middle of Compline due to its development over time) are the same for all of the day hours.  The basic structure and most of the content of the closing prayers, save for the collect) are also common to all of the hours (with some minor variations at Compline). 

However, the Diurnal generally doesn't write these prayers out in full, and sometimes doesn't even give a prompt to remind you that you need to use them. Under Monday Prime for example, for the opening prayers it simply says:

V. Deus, in adjutórium meum, and the rest as noted above. 

On page 9, for Tuesday Prime (and the other days of Prime up to Saturday), it doesn't even bother saying that, you are just expected to know to say the opening prayers.

Accordingly, it is important to learn these prayers thoroughly.

(1) The opening prayers

The opening prayers of the Office are written out in full on MD 1 (first page of psalter section of Diurnal).  They should be said standing if possible.

The first two sections are the same throughout the year.  The Alleluia is replaced by Laus tibi...from Septuagesima through Lent.

Stand

V. Deus + (make the sign of the cross) in adjutórium meum inténde.

R. Dómine, ad adjuvándum me festína.

V. (bow) Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.(stand straight)

R. Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

Alleluia or Laus tibi, Dómine, Rex ætérnæ glóriæ.

There are several different chant tones that can be used with these prayers, depending on the degree of solemnity of the hour and day.

(2) The Concluding Prayers

The concluding prayers are said standing (bow during the Pater Noster and collect).

Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison

Note that this is not an abbreviation for a doubled or tripled Kyrie as in the mass - each Kyrie is just said or sung once, exactly as written.

Pater Noster

At the minor hours (Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Compline) the Our Father is said silently, with only the first two words (Pater Noster) and the text from  ('Et ne nos') of the prayer said aloud. In a community, the person leading the Office for the day (the hebdomadary) says this, and then allows time for the prayer to be said by everyone, before finishing the prayer aloud.

At Lauds and Vespers the Our Father is said or sung aloud (in a monastic community, by the superior of the community, in line with St Benedict's injunction to use the prayer to focus on forgiveness, aimed at removing 'the thorns of scandal, or mutual offence, which are wont to arise in communities.' )(RB13).

Domine exaudi orationem meam
Et clamor meus ad te veniat

These two lines are used in private recitation any time you see 'Dominus vobiscum' in the text.

Oratio

At this point, the prayer (collect) of the hour or day is said.

At Prime and Compline, the prayer is always the same, so just read it from the book or learn it off by heart (pg 8 for Prime, 264 for Compline).

At the other hours, the collect will normally be of the (previous) Sunday.  If it is a third class feast or day or higher, it will be the prayer set for that feast or day.

Conclusions to the collects

Note that the Diurnal rarely gives you the conclusions of the collect - just a few words like 'Per Dominum nostrum'. There is actually more you have to say here, and you can find the full texts of the conclusions to the collects on page xxix, the very last page of the introductory section of the Diurnal.

(3) Commemorations

If there is a commemoration (memorial) on a particular day, it is said immediately after the collect.

There are basically two types of commemorations. The first are 'privileged' commemorations, for example of a Sunday when some other feast overrides it. Privileged commemorations really only come up on fairly rare occasions, and will generally either be noted in the diurnal or in my weekly Ordo. The main occasions are:

• Sundays when a first class feast displaces the normal Sunday texts;
• when two first or second class feasts occur on the same day, and one ends up taking precedence (very rare indeed, but can sometimes arise if a national, diocesan or local feast clashes with something in the universal calendar!);
• particular seasons of the year which have daily collects (like Lent and Advent).
  On on the feast of the Annunciation for example, if you look on page [102]ff it tells you to make a commemoration of the feria at First Vespers, Lauds and Second Vespers.

In these cases, a commemoration is made both at Lauds and Vespers.

Ordinary commemorations (such as saints days that are memorials) only affect Lauds.

So, the commemoration of the Feast of St George for example, only affects Lauds. At every other hour, you would say the normal collect from Sunday only.

A commemoration consists of an antiphon (from the Benedictus at Lauds, Magnificat at Vespers), the short verse and response, or versicle that would have been said after it at Lauds or Vespers, and a prayer (collect). The Diurnal sets all these out in the correct order, so you really just need to say what's there!

So on the Feast of St George at Lauds, you say the Sunday collect, then turn to page [112] in the Diurnal and say the antiphon 'Filiae Ierusalem..', then the verse and response (Pretiosa...Mors..), then the prayer (Deus, qui...).

All you have to remember about commemorations really is that they are said immediately after the collect of the day.

(4) The final conclusion of the Office

After the collect, and commemoration if there is one, the Office continues with another 'Domine exaudi... and then

Benedicamus Domino...Deo Gratias
Fidelium animae...

The only exception to this pattern is Compline, where the Fidelium animae is not said, an extra final blessing is added, and the antiphon of the season for Our Lady follows.

Lectio divina from the Office: Low Sunday

The Office is an excellent source for lectio divina - the daily Scriptural or homily readings at Matins in Winter and on important feasts; the 'propers' of the season, that constantly remind us of the meaning of Eastertide for example; the psalms; and the other texts of the Office itself are all possible sources for our lectio.

And as we say the Office, we should seek to penetrate ever more deeply into its meaning, something aided by the many repetitions in it, allowing the words to sink ever deeper into us!

Colossians 3

Today, the readings from the first Nocturn of Matins comes from Colossians 3 (verses 1-17) and seem to me to contain some lines worth highlighting as they seem to me to perfectly capture Benedictine spirituality.

Low Sunday was when the newly baptized and confirmed members of the Church put off their white garments, and resumed wearing ordinary clothes. But this text (and we are given one of St Augustine's sermons on it specifically directed at the neophytes in the Second Nocturn) talks about the Christian putting away the old nature dedicated to evil - wrath, malice, and so forth, and putting on the new. St Augustine links this text to the instruction to 'put on the armour of light' - a call to the spiritual warfare.

But the lines that particularly caught my eye were these:

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...as you sing hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Why say the Divine Office?

St Benedict devotes a large chunk of his Rule to setting out the structure of the Divine Office that he describes several times as the monk's service to God. He describes the Office as 'the work of God' (Opus Dei), and tells his monks to let nothing be preferred to it. But the Rule is largely silent on just why he regarded the Office as so important.

Fortunately for us, many have reflected on this priority down the centuries, and we can benefit from their reflections.

We are made to worship God

An obvious starting point is to remember that we were all created to know, love and serve God - and above all, as the first commandment reminds us, to worship him. No Christian is exempt from the duty of worship, and there is no better form for worship than the public liturgy of the Church, which includes the Divine Office.

The Divine Office is  part of the formal worship of the Church, just like the Mass and sacraments.   One of the positive fruits of Vatican II, though, the 1983 Code of Canon Law was to make it clear that laypeople can pray the Office liturgically not only when they are present when it is said by monks, nuns or priests, but also when praying by themselves.  Under the 1983 Code of Canon Law, priests and religious are required to say some form of the Divine Office, and laypeople are 'earnestly invited' to participate in the Office as an action of the Church.

The efficacy of the liturgy

This a wonderful privilege.  All forms of prayer can be good and effective.  But liturgical prayer has a higher status than other forms of prayer because:

• it is not our prayer, but prayer made in through and with Christ our high priest, in effect his action, not ours;
• it unifies us with each other, the saints and angels.,  Through it we participate in the worship in heaven; and
• it is more effective than any other form of prayer, even the rosary.

Dom Fernard Cabrol, first abbot of Farnborough, writing in 1915, explains it this way:

Private prayer has a personal value, varying according to the degree of faith, fervour, and holiness of he who prays.  The Church's prayer has always, in itself, and independently of the person praying, an absolute value.  It is a formula composed by the Church, and carrying with it her authority...Liturgical prayer is superior to all others not only because it is the Church's prayer but also because of the elements of which is composed...this prayer holds the first rank on account of its efficacy, or the effects it produces in the soul. (Introduction to Day Hours of the Church, vol 1)

The importance and value St Benedict placed on the Office is still upheld by the Church today, at least on paper. The 1983 Code of Canon Law for example says:

In the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church, hearing God speaking to his people and recalling the mystery of salvation, praises him without ceasing by song and prayer and intercedes for the salvation of the whole world. 

Orienting us to heaven

Perhaps the most important function of the Office is that it orients us to heaven where we will participate in the unending heavenly liturgy. St Benedict reminds his monks that when they say the Office they should be particularly conscious of God's presence when saying the Office, and that we are singing in the presence of the angels.

Pope Benedict XVI has said, speaking to the monks of Heiligenkreuz Abbey, that:

Your primary service to this world must therefore be your prayer and the celebration of the divine Office. The interior disposition of each priest, and of each consecrated person, must be that of “putting nothing before the divine Office”. The beauty of this inner attitude will find expression in the beauty of the liturgy, so that wherever we join in singing, praising, exalting and worshipping God, a little bit of heaven will become present on earth. Truly it would not be presumptuous to say that, in a liturgy completely centred on God, we can see, in its rituals and chant, an image of eternity.

Pray without ceasing!

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, St Paul urges all Christians to 'pray without ceasing'. We can make this a reality in two ways: firstly by actually praying, and secondly, by sanctifying all of our other actions through prayer. The Office, with its eight 'hours' interspersed through the day and night, provides a framework for this unceasing prayer, sanctifying the day, constantly calling us back to prayer, and feeding our contemplation at other times.

Participating in the liturgy of the hours

The privilege of saying the Office liturgically carries obligations with it.  We can't just make it up as we go along, and muddle through.  We have to make an effort to do it correctly, lest we be guilty of liturgical abuse.

If you actually attend the Office in a monastery, even if you don't say anything, you are participating it in it just by listening, hopefully reverently and actively.

On the other hand, just watching a video, or listening to a podcast doesn't mean that we are praying liturgically. It is really no different to watching Mass at home on television - watching or listening to Mass online is a good thing to do, but it is a devotional activity, not the same thing as actually participating in the liturgy.

But if you actually want to say the Divine Office - and hopefully we all do - we need to keep in mind the seriousness and importance of what we are doing.

Because the Office is liturgy, to pray it properly we need to participate actively in it.  One way of doing give it three types of attention:

• attention to God - putting ourselves in his presence first of all with our bodies.  The Office uses gestures and other ritual actions to remind us of our proper relationship to God and what we are doing, such as standing, kneeling, making the sign of the cross. This can be summarised as 'do the red' instructions in the Diurnal;
• the second is to the words - pronounce and sing the right words correctly - 'say the black';
• the third is to pay attention to the sense of the words - bringing our mind and souls into God's presence through them.