Gueranger's Manual for Oblates - Part II: Chapter One

I previously posted the introduction to this Manual by Dom Gueranger, and translated into English by an anonymous secular priest.  Here now some of Chapter One, with my headings etc:

Chapter One: The nature of Oblation and the liturgical practices an oblate should adopt

"Since our Lord Jesus Christ imparts to His Faithful, by means of His Church, all the graces which He has merited by His Incarnation and Redemption, Christians ought to have nothing more at heart than to remain united to this Holy Church, which, being the Spouse of Our Saviour, is, at the same time, their Mother.

In order to increase their confidence in her, and to revive the sense of union with her which ought to be abidingly theirs, a pious Association has been formed, of persons whose aim it is to acknowledge the benefits which God confers upon us through His Church, and to cling most closely to her, in order to be more and more intimately united to her Divine Spouse.

To the members of this Association it will be evident that, the closer they keep themselves to the Mother Our Lord has given them, the safer they will be, and the more meritorious will be their works.

To this Holy Church their mind and heart will be in entire submission: always ready to accept, as matter of faith, all things that she has taught to be so, all that she teaches or will teach to be so, until the end of time.

This disposition of submission and love in regard to Holy Church will prompt them to unite with her in all works having God’s worship for their object - works which, at the same time, promote God’s glory and their own sanctification and merit.

The sacraments

The seven Sacraments whose guardianship and administration Our Lord, ere He ascended into Heaven, entrusted to His Church, will be regarded by them with the utmost reverence; and they will beware of ever confounding these operative signs of grace, instituted by Our Saviour, with any other work, resulting from the personal holiness of any created being.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the same as that of the Cross, they will esteem to be the highest means of paying honour to God, of rendering thanks to Him, of appeasing His anger, and of obtaining His aid.

As to Holy Communion, they will never isolate it in their respect and love from the oblation itself, of the Holy Sacrifice, whereby we are put in possession of this priceless treasure; they will receive it frequently, with a thankful and loving adoration, according to the intention of its Divine institutor.

Devotions

Impregnated with the teaching and practice of the Catholic Church, they will not fail to manifest a deep and tender devotion to the most holy and Immaculate Mother of God, the holy Angels, and the Saints honoured by the Church’s cultus: and, as true Catholics, they will in nowise seek to hide their veneration for sacred relics, paintings, and images, nor their esteem for pious and devout pilgrimages.

Unity with Peter

The Holy Church being, for all the Faithful, the Mother apart from whom they could not have God for their Father, they will be careful to imbue themselves with her spirit, and to be in all things of one mind with her. Hence, seeing that she is built upon Peter, the Rock whereon she was founded by her Divine Head, they will honour the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, as the Infallible Vicar of Christ upon earth, Doctor and Pastor of the whole Church of God, the divinely-appointed source of spiritual authority and of the power of the keys. For their lawful Bishop they will have the respect and submission due to the higher members of the sacred Hierarchy; they will regard as a work most pleasing to God, to aid in giving to His Church ministers who are able teachers of her doctrine, zealous for the Kingdom of Christ, and for the sanctification of souls.”

Respect for religious vows

[At this place in the manuscript the venerable Abbot of Solesmes had written, as a note for further development, “Estime de l’Etat Religieux.” The following paragraph has therefore been supplied from other of his writings.]

[The same spirit of faith will inspire them with a great respect for vows, which add new merit to a Christian’s actions. For this reason, the religious state, which is constituted by the three vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, and finds its most complete and most ancient form and expression in the Monastic Order, will be regarded by them with especial veneration.

Moreover, with the Church, they will esteem and love, in each one of the other Religious Orders, the end for which it has been approved by the Holy See, and the good which it has already done, or which it is called upon to do.]

Christian life

Let them greatly prize their noble name of CHRISTIANS, formed from that of Christ their King, Son of God and Son of Man in unity of Person. They will glory in their surname of CATHOLICS, which distinguishes them from those who, though they may have received Baptism, have ceased to belong to the one divinely appointed Christian society of the Faithful. They will attach great value to the signs of the Catholic faith, upon which the Church has shed the benediction of which she holds the source. The holy oils, holy water, the blessed tapers of Candlemas Day, the blessed branches of Palm Sunday - all these and such like things they will hold in esteem: as regard devotions and objects of veneration, they will always prefer those which are, as it were, stamped with the Church’s seal, and bear the impress of the heavenly power she has received and which she exercises.

They will take an interest in the Feasts of the Church, in the ceremonies she employs, and even in the rubrics she observes. Every week they will ascertain under the protection of what Saint each of its days is placed. The Liturgical Calendar, with which, in the ages of faith, our forefathers were so familiar; the lives of the Saints themselves, the attributes with which the Church has from ancient times approved that they should be represented, shall be known to them; and should they have any influence on the education of the young, they will take pleasure in inculcating in their youthful charges the pious tendencies which were popular in the ages of faith.

Pious practices habitual among the Faithful will be dear to them in proportion to their having obtained the approbation of the Apostolic See; and they will have a particular confidence in indulgences, of which the use has been declared good and salutary to Christian people by the Council of Trent."

You can find the next part in this series here.

History of the Roman Office

The New Liturgical Movement website has just published the latest in its excellent series on the history of the Roman Office since 1568 by Gregory di Peppio.

Not all of the changes made were adopted in the Benedictine Office (fortunately) but many were.  In any case, it is excellent reading for anyone interested in the Office.

You can find a list of the parts in the series so far, and links to supporting material here.

Dom Gueranger on Oblates - Part I

I recently came across a Manual for Oblates written by Dom Gueranger, the founder of the Monastery of Solesmes in the nineteenth century, so I thought I'd put up some extracts from it.  It was translated into English and published by Burns and Oates.

Today, the introduction by 'a secular priest'.  The headings are mine.

The value of associations

"This is pre-eminently an age in which the principle of association and co-operation is thoroughly appreciated in all that concerns civil life and secular affairs. Throughout the world we see on all sides the rapid rise and growth of industrial, political, and literary societies... As we know, also, only too well, this is an age that has felt the power of association, not only in its beneficial and useful effects, but also in the working of evil and the spread of error...

But social perfection, or the highest form of association, is only possible in the Catholic Church through the means of the Communion of Saints, by which we participate in the life of the Mystical Body of Christ, and are made “fellow-citizens of the Saints and domestics of God, built up on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, JESUS CHRIST Himself being the chief corner-stone.”...

The object of the little work to the English translation of which these few words serve as an introduction, is to set before the Faithful a practical and, at the same time, a most ancient and well-established means of consciously and intelligently entering into and participating in the spiritual life of the Church.

The means proposed is no other than that of aggregation to the Monastic Order by the reception of the Benedictine scapular. This time honoured religious custom takes its rise and has its origin in the very cradle of the Monastic life of the West; for we find that St. Benedict himself admitted Tertullus, the father of St. Placid, to a participation in the prayers and good works of his Order; and that King Theoderet desired the same favour from St. Maurus. As early as the eighth century we find traces of this practice throughout Europe; and in the eleventh century it had become so common that whole villages might be found whose inhabitants were all aggregated to one of the great Monasteries, and even, sometimes, leading a life resembling that of the first Christians, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.

History of oblates

Persons thus aggregated to the Monastic Order were known as Oblates of St. Benedict - a name recognised by the Canon law of the Church. In the thirteenth century there sprang up the Third Order of St. Dominic and St. Francis, especially intended for persons living in the world, but constituting in themselves distinct Orders, as their name implies, with a distinct rule different from that of the First and Second Orders: whereas, amongst the Benedictines there is no Third Order, inasmuch as there is no Second; and those persons invested with the Benedictine scapular are simply aggregated to the Monastic Order of the Patriarch of the Monks of the West.

The custom, therefore, of investing persons living in the world, whether ecclesiastics or Laity, with the scapular of a monk, took its rise in the Order of St. Benedict; and the special Confraternities of the Scapulars of other Religious Orders of more recent date are but an extension of this ancient practice...

Purpose of monasticism

The chief end of the monastic institute is prayer, the prayer of the Church, which St. Benedict has called in his rule “Opus Dei,” “the work of God.” Everything else in the monk’s life must be subservient to prayer; nothing is to be preferred before it. “Opus Dei nihil praeponatur” - “Let nothing be preferred to the work of God,” writes the Saint in his rule. Prayer is the keynote, the touchstone, and the very essence of this life; and its whole spirit might be summed up in the words of the Canticle of Ezechias: “Psalmos Nostros cantabimus cunctis diebus vitae Nostrae in domo Domini” - “ We will sing our psalms all the days of our lives in the house of the Lord.”

“Wherever men believe in prayer,” wrote Father Dalgairns, in his essay on “The Spiritual Life of Mediaeval England,” “you are sure to have the monastic life in some shape or other. If they have none, they will soon cease to believe in prayer, as is fast becoming the case in all Protestant countries. Wherever the Christian idea is strong, men who are by their position necessarily involved in the strife of the world, will be glad to know that men and women who are separated from its turmoils and its sins are offering prayers to God for them.”

A real appreciation of the value of prayer is surely a need of the present age, when a veiled Pelagianism seems to have invaded the minds of so many Christians, making them trust too much to human means and natural activity, and not enough to the help that comes from God. The spirit of the age is opposed to the supernatural, and tends to exalt and make much of the natural aspects of Christianity...

Monasticism in the English tradition

For the Anglo-Saxon race, Christianity is coeval with Monasticism and the Benedictine life. The Benedictine Order has a special historical claim upon the affections and gratitude of the English people. St. Gregory the Great, the Apostle of England, was a Benedictine monk, and the first Archbishop of Canterbury was the Prior of the Benedictine Monastery of St. Andrew, founded by St. Gregory in his own paternal home, called in after times the Church of SS. Andrew and Gregory on the Coelian Hill.

The first companions of St. Augustine of Canterbury, who became the first English bishops, were all monks from that Roman Monastery; so that the great English Church was not only, in the first instance, an “Italian Mission” sent by an Italian Pope, but a Benedictine Mission also sent by a Benedictine Pope.

Moreover, in no other country, perhaps, has the monastic life entered into the Hierarchical life of the Church so completely as it did in England, from the first introduction of Christianity to the overthrow of the true religion in the land under Henry VIII. and Elizabeth. All the Cathedral Chapters (save five served by secular clergy, and one by Augustinian Canons) were composed of Benedictine monks, to whom the Bishop stood in place of Abbot, there being a Cathedral Prior to rule the Monastery attached to the Cathedral.

All the Archbishops of Canterbury were professed monks except three, of whom one was the glorious Martyr to the liberties of the Church - St. Thomas a Beckett, the patron Saint of the English secular clergy who, though not a professed monk, was aggregated to the Order on his nomination to the See of Canterbury, and who always wore the Benedictine habit, which was found on his dead body under his Archiepiscopal vestments, after the scene of his martyrdom in the Chapel of St. Benedict in Canterbury Cathedral.

Monasticism as the bulwark of the Church

The monasteries have ever been the citadels and strongholds of the Christian life, as well as the cities of refuge for the people of God in Christian times. The names of the great saviours of the Christian Commonwealth during the Early and Middle Ages are the names of monks, such as St. Gregory the Great, St. Gregory VII. (better known as Hildebrand), St. Peter Damian, and that host of illustrious Saints, the list of whose names alone would fill a page. It was the corruption of worldly society that gave rise to the monastic life, and led great Saints like St. Benedict to fly for protection and safety in the first instance to the monasteries as to “the mountains whence help cometh.”

It is for the same reason that the Institute of the Oblates of St. Benedict is proposed to the Faithful living in the world, as an antidote to the evil communications of the world, with their lowering and corrupting influences, and as a powerful means by which the tone and atmosphere of the Gospel of Jesus Christ may be diffused, and make itself felt in our lives. It is, in fact, a practical way of helping ourselves anew to that “salt of the earth” which constitutes the main social characteristic and distinction of the Christian life."

You can find Part II in this series here.

Collect for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

Fr Zulsdorf's usual interesting and helpful analysis of this week's collect is available over at his blog.  Fr Z argues that the collect probably dates from the time of St Leo the Great (pope from 440-461).

Some extracts:

"...There is a marvelous clausula at the end, a standard rhythmic ending much favored in classical oratory to delight the ear of listeners and add power to periodic sentences: efficáciter cónsequámúr. Say it aloud, with attention to force and length of the syllables. I also like the nice synchesis (ABAB) structure, fideliter petimus, efficaciter consequamur (adverb verb adverb verb). There is a good example of hyperbaton, the separation of linked elements, in piis Ecclesiae tuae precibus, where piis and precibus, datives, go together. Also interesting is how two imperatives bracket the central section: adesto … praesta.


All these little elements show how finely sculpted this prayer is, how different it is from the way people would have spoken in every day discourse in the streets and homes of ancient Rome and elsewhere. There may have been a shift in the ancient Roman Church from Greek to Latin for liturgical prayer, but that Latin was not the vernacular, the commonly spoken language of the day. It was highly stylized and many of the words were actually images from Scripture or terms from Stoic and Neoplatonic philosophy.


As we have explained many times, pietas, when applied to man, is "dutifulness" and when used of God is "mercy" though retaining overtones of His fidelity to His own promises. The crammed Lewis & Short Dictionary has a lengthy entry for auctor, to be brief let's call it "creator" or "cause" or "author". Auctor appears fairly often in our Roman prayers, paired up with terms such as saeculi as in "creator of the cosmos", and omnium ("of all things"), lucis ("of light"), pacis ("of peace"), salutis ("of salvation"), vitae ("of life"). Today it is with pietatis...


We find it first of all in the Vulgate of Psalm 45: "Our God is our refuge and strength: (Deus noster refugium et virtus) a helper in troubles, which have found us exceedingly." This type of invocation of God is common in the Psalms, and therefore our earliest prayers for Mass. Very ancient Roman Collects often follow the Hebrew manner of first invoking God by some characteristic and then petitioning Him in light of that title....


LITERAL TRANSLATION:


O God, our refuge and strength:
be present to the devout prayers of Your Church,
O author of godliness, and grant:
that, we may efficaciously attain what we faithfully seek..."

Do go read the whole piece.

SS Maurus and Placid OSB: October 5

SS Maurus and Placid were both offered to St Benedict as child oblates, to be brought up in monastic life, at the same time.  St Gregory's Life describes a number of incidents relating to them both:

 Ch3 : SS Maurus and Placid are brought to the monastery, Maurus old enough to be St Benedict’s assistant, but Placid still very young.


 Ch 4: St Maurus sees the demon plaguing a monk of one of St Benedict’s monasteries, although the superior of the community cannot;

 Ch 5: St Benedict finds a miraculous spring of water for the monastery after a night in prayer with the boy Placid

 Ch 6: St Maurus retrieves a lost tool from the bottom of the lake;

 Ch 7: how St Maurus walked on water (pictured above);

 Ch 8: St Benedict rebukes St Maurus for rejoicing at the death of a priest enemy of St Benedict who had died.

St Maurus in particular was an extremely popular saint in the middle ages, but, like so much of the Church's tradition, he has fallen a victim of the search for the 'real historical' saint, as well as the vexed debate over the early spread of the Rule of St Benedict.

Traditionally, St Maurus was thought to have founded the monastery of Glanfeuil Abbey in France, which certainly fits with the known early spread of the Rule to that country; St Placid was traditionally believed to have been martyred.

October 2: Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels

The concept of guardian angels being assigned to guard people, countries and more has clear roots in the Old Testament.  Psalm 90, for example, said daily in the Benedictine Office at Compline, says: "No evil shall befall you, nor shall affliction come near your tent, for to His Angels God has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways. Upon their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone."


But there are three key New Testament texts that provide the basis for much of the Catholic teaching on the subject, namely:

• Matthew 18:10, Jesus says of children: "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven" 
• Hebrews 1:14 when speaking of angels, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
• Acts 12:12-15, in reference to St Peter being escorted out of prison by his angel.

The Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels entered the general calendar in the seventeenth century.

Fourth Saturday and Sunday of September: the Book of Judith

At Matins this Sunday the readings start the book of Judith, one of the deutero-canonical books that have always been part of the Catholic tradition, but were rejected by protestants because they were excluded from the Jewish canon towards the end of the first century AD (along with a number of other books probably excluded because they supported the claims of Christianity too strongly).  Yet the historicity and canonicity of the Book of Judith in early Christianity was never disputed: a quote from it can be found as early as the 1st century AD First Epistle of Clement.


The Wikipedia summarises the book thus:

"The story revolves around Judith, a daring and beautiful widow, who is upset with her Jewish countrymen for not trusting God to deliver them from their foreign conquerors. She goes with her loyal maid to the camp of the enemy general, Holofernes, with whom she slowly ingratiates herself, promising him information on the Israelites. Gaining his trust, she is allowed access to his tent one night as he lies in a drunken stupor. She decapitates him, then takes his head back to her fearful countrymen. The Assyrians, having lost their leader, disperse, and Israel is saved. Though she is courted by many, she remains unmarried for the rest of her life."

For Catholics, Judith can be seen as a type of Our Lady, hence the Magnificat antiphon for Saturday (I Vespers of Sunday) this week says:

" O Adonai, Lord God, great and wonderful, who didst give salvation by the hand of a woman: hear the prayers of Thy servants."

Ember Days

This week the traditional liturgy features the September Ember Days on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  Ember Days broadly mark the changing of the seasons, and are traditionally days of fast and abstinence "to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy".

The masses for these days are more elaborate than the usual, especially on Saturday, where there are several readings.  In the Office, there is a collect for each Ember Day, which is traditionally said kneeling.

The Golden Legend instructs us on the reasons for Ember Days:

"The fasting of the Quatretemps, called in English Ember days, the Pope Calixtus ordained them. And this fast is kept four times in the year, and for divers reasons.

For the first time, which is in March, is hot and moist. The second, in summer, is hot and dry. The third, in harvest, is cold and dry. The fourth in winter is cold and moist. Then let us fast in March which is printemps for to repress the heat of the flesh boiling, and to quench luxury or to temper it. In summer we ought to fast to the end that we chastise the burning and ardour of avarice. In harvest for to repress the drought of pride, and in winter for to chastise the coldness of untruth and of malice.

The second reason why we fast four times; for these fastings here begin in March in the first week of the Lent, to the end that vices wax dry in us, for they may not all be quenched; or because that we cast them away, and the boughs and herbs of virtues may grow in us. And in summer also, in the Whitsun week, for then cometh the Holy Ghost, and therefore we ought to be fervent and esprised in the love of the Holy Ghost. They be fasted also in September tofore Michaelmas, and these be the third fastings, because that in this time the fruits be gathered and we should render to God the fruits of good works. In December they be also, and they be the fourth fastings, and in this time the herbs die, and we ought to be mortified to the world.

The third reason is for to ensue the Jews. For the Jews fasted four times in the year, that is to wit, tofore Easter, tofore Whitsunside, tofore the setting of the tabernacle in the temple in September, and tofore the dedication of the temple in December.

The fourth reason is because the man is composed of four elements touching the body, and of three virtues or powers in his soul: that is to wit, the understanding, the will, and the mind. To this then that this fasting may attemper in us four times in the year, at each time we fast three days, to the end that the number of four may be reported to the body, and the number of three to the soul. These be the reasons of Master Beleth.

The fifth reason, as saith John Damascenus: in March and in printemps the blood groweth and augmenteth, and in summer coler, in September melancholy, and in winter phlegm. Then we fast in March for to attemper and depress the blood of concupiscence disordinate, for sanguine of his nature is full of fleshly concupiscence. In summer we fast because that coler should be lessened and refrained, of which cometh wrath. And then is he full naturally of ire. In harvest we fast for to refrain melancholy. The melancholious man naturally is cold, covetous and heavy. In winter we fast for to daunt and to make feeble the phlegm of lightness and forgetting, for such is he that is phlegmatic.

The sixth reason is for the printemps is likened to the air, the summer to fire, harvest to the earth, and the winter to water. Then we fast in March to the end that the air of pride be attempered to us. In summer the fire of concupiscence and of avarice. In September the earth of coldness and of the darkness of ignorance. In winter the water of lightness and inconstancy.

The seventh reason is because that March is reported to infancy, summer to youth, September to steadfast age and virtuous, and winter to ancienty or old age. We fast then in March that we may be in the infancy of innocency. In summer for to be young by virtue and constancy. In harvest that we may be ripe by attemperance. In winter that we may be ancient and old by prudence and honest life, or at least that we may be satisfied to God of that which in these four seasons we have offended him.

The eighth reason is of Master William of Auxerre. We fast, saith he, in these four times of the year to the end that we make amends for all that we have failed in all these four times, and they be done in three days each time, to the end that we satisfy in one day that which we have failed in a month; and that which is the fourth day, that is Wednesday, is the day in which our Lord was betrayed of Judas; and the Friday because our Lord was crucified; and the Saturday because he lay in the sepulchre, and the apostles were sore of heart and in great sorrow. "

11 September: SS Protus and Hyacinth, Martyrs, Memorial

Butler's Lives of the Saints offers this on these two early martyrs:

"THE SAINTS whose victory the church commemorates on this day are honoured among the most illustrious martyrs that ennobled Rome with their blood, when the emperors of the world attempted, with the whole weight of their power, to crush the little flock of Christ.

Their epitaph, among the works of Pope Damasus, calls them brothers, and informs us that Hyacinthus sustained the first conflict, but that Protus obtained his crown before him....Their martyrdom, and that of Eugenia, is placed in these acts under Valerian, in 257....

What words can we find sufficiently to extol the heroic virtue and invincible fortitude of the martyrs! They stood out against the fury of those tyrants whose arms had subdued the most distant nations; to whose yoke almost the whole known world was subject, and whose power both kings and people revered. They, standing alone, without any preparation of war, appeared undaunted in the presence of those proud conquerors, who seemed to think that the very earth ought to bend under their feet. Armed with virtue and divine grace, they were an over-match for all the powers of the world and hell; they fought with wild beasts, fires, and swords; with intrepidity and wonderful cheerfulness they braved the most cruel torments, and by humility, patience, meekness, and constancy, baffled all enemies, and triumphed over men and devils. How glorious was the victory of such an invincible virtue! Having before our eyes the examples of so many holy saints, are we yet so dastardly as to shrink under temptations, or to lose patience under the most ordinary trials?"

The Catholic Encyclopedia adds that the grave of St. Hyacinth was found undisturbed in 1845, in a crypt of the above- mentioned catacomb. "It was a small square niche in which lay the ashes and pieces of burned bone wrapped in the remains of costly stuffs.  Evidently the saint had been burnt; most probably both martyrs had suffered death by fire. The niche was closed by a marble slab similar to that used to close a loculus, and bearing the original Latin inscription that confirmed the date in the old Roman Martyrology."

When noon really is noon...

One of the things I like about the traditional Office compared to the new is the constant reminder of nature's cycles - the four Ember Days around the change of the seasons (the Spring one is coming up soon), the differences between the winter and summer Benedictine Office, and the reminders of the time of day in many of the hymns for example.

Awareness of these changing cycles is one of the things we tend to lose in the modern world where most people spend 90% of their day inside, so it is nice to get the occasional prompt to look out the window!

Of course these days, monasteries don't really adjust the start time of Lauds each day to coincide with first light as St Benedict instructs in his Rule: to do so would be utterly impractical.  In late antiquity and the medieval period the day and night were divided into twelve equal hours based on the length of the solar day - so a day 'hour' was longer in summer, shorter in winter.  Today of course, the length of an hour these days is fixed regardless of the time of sunrise and sunset.

Still, if you do have some flexibility in your day, it is nice to be able to adjust the time you say your prayers a little to take note of the shifting seasons.

Right now where I live 'solar noon' actually coincides with actual noon for a few days, giving extra meaning to that phrase about the noonday heat (Et ignibus meridiem) in the hymn for Sext.  And in a few weeks, the length of the day will actually be exactly twelve hours, so the old Roman hour will equal the length of our modern ones - so if one said Prime an hour after sunrise, it really will be the same length of hour as those medieval monks used (well for a day or two anyway!).

For us moderns used to rising at a fixed hour each day, the idea of adjusting everything to the length of the light is hard to imagine.

But if you want to either work out such a schedule for yourself, or at least say the hours at the official times for those few days of the year when the two time systems align, take a look at the schedule of solar noon in time and date.com.

Saturday 4 September I Vespers/Sunday 5 September

The Magnificat antiphon at I Vespers refers to the book of Job: chapter 1:1-11 is read at Matins.

The Benedictus and Magnificat antiphons for Sunday refer to the Gospel, Luke 7:11-16, the raising of the son of the widow of Naim.

Quick Reference Sheet for the Traditional Benedictine Office - Saturday

Summary notes for use in conjunction with the 'How to Say the Office' series - page references are to the psalter section of the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal.

THE OFFICE FOR SATURDAY OF OUR LADY (CLASS IV SATURDAYS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR) (see below for Class III feasts and above)

Saturday Lauds

• Opening prayers and Psalm 66 as for Monday, MD 58-59;
• Then go to MD 133; use festal canticle (MD 138);
• Chapter, responsory, hymn, versicle and Benedictus antiphon for Our Lady from MD (130) for throughout the year, or as per the season;
• Benedictus from the card, or MD 73;
• Concluding prayers as for Monday, MD 75;
• Collect for Our Lady on Saturday (MD (131) or as per season), see Ordo; if there is a commemoration (memorial), the relevant texts are said immediately after the collect of the day.

Saturday Prime

• Opening prayer and hymn, MD 1-2;
• Antiphon (before and after psalms) for Our Lady on Saturday (MD (131) or for the season);
• Psalms MD 32-37;
• Chapter, versicle and concluding prayers MD 7-9.
Saturday Terce

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Nunc Sancte MD 183;
• Starts MD 183 (opening prayer as per MD 1);
• Antiphon of Our Lady on Saturday (MD (132) or for the season);
• Psalms MD 184-186;
• Chapter and versicle of Our Lady on Saturday (MD (132) or season);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of Office of Our Lady on Saturday.
Saturday Sext

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rector potens MD 190;
• Antiphon of Our Lady on Saturday (MD (132) or season);
• Psalms MD 191-193;
• Chapter and versicle of Our Lady on Saturday (MD (132) or season);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of Our Lady on Saturday.

Saturday None

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rerum Deus, MD 196-7;
• Antiphon (said before and after psalms) of Our Lady on Saturday (MD (132) or as per season);
• Psalms MD 198-199;
• Chapter and versicle of Our Lady on Saturday (MD 132-133 or as per season);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of Our Lady on Saturday.

I Vespers of Sunday (Saturday Vespers) – Evening prayer

Note: on some Sundays and feasts, the antiphons, psalms, chapter, hymn etc may be specific to the feast – see Ordo.

• Starts MD 249;
• Antiphon for the Magnificat (MD 209) is particular to the day, for the correct page number see the Ordo;
• Magnificat MD 209-210 or from card;
• Concluding prayers MD 210 (from Kyrie) or MD 255-256;
• Collect of the following Sunday (or feast), see Ordo.

Saturday (and every day) Compline (before sleeping)

• Starts MD 257;
• Choose the Marian antiphon to conclude according to the season (throughout the year it is Salve Regina, MD 268).

SATURDAY ON CLASS III OR ABOVE FEASTS

Saturday Lauds

Note: On some feasts, the festal psalms (under Sunday in the psalter) may be used – see Ordo.

• Opening prayers and Psalm 66 as for Monday, MD 58-59;
• Then go to MD 133; use festal (MD 138) canticle;
• Antiphons, chapter, responsory, hymn, versicle and Benedictus antiphon from MD (130) for the feast, Common, day or season, as per Ordo;
• Benedictus from the card, or MD 73;
• Concluding prayers as for Monday, MD 75;
• Collect of the feast, see Ordo; if there is a commemoration (memorial), the relevant texts are said immediately after the collect of the day.

Saturday Prime

• Opening prayer and hymn, MD 1-2;
• Antiphon of the season (MD 31), day, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 32-37;
• Chapter, versicle and concluding prayers MD 7-9.

Saturday Terce

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Nunc Sancte MD 183;
• Starts MD 183 (opening prayer as per MD 1);
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season (MD 184), day or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 184-186;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 186ff, or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect for the day (see Ordo).

Saturday Sext

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rector potens MD 190;
• Select antiphon for the season (MD 190-191), day or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 191-193;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 193ff, day or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect for the day (see Ordo).

Saturday None

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rerum Deus, MD 196-7;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season (MD 197), day or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 198-199;
• Chapter and versicle of season (MD 200ff), day or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect for the day.

I Vespers of Sunday (Saturday Vespers) – Evening prayer
Note: Feasts, the psalms may be specific to the feast – see Ordo.

• Starts MD 249;
• Antiphon for the Magnificat (MD 209) is particular to the day, for the correct page number see the Ordo;
• Magnificat MD 209-210 or from card;
• Concluding prayers MD 210 (from Kyrie) or MD 255-256;
• Collect of the following Sunday (or feast), see Ordo.

Saturday (and every day) Compline (before sleeping)

• Starts MD 257;
• Choose the Marian antiphon to conclude according to the season (throughout the year it is Salve Regina, MD 268)

Friday 3 September: St Pius X, Pope and Confessor, 3rd class

Pope Pius X, whose feast we celebrate today, lived from 2 June 1835 to 20 August 1914, and was Pope from 1903 onwards.  He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized.

Pope St Piux X is much enamoured by traditionalists for his tough stance against modernism, promotion of traditional devotional practices and Gregorian chant, promotion of Thomism, and authored an excellent catechism. One of his most important reforms was to publish the first consolidated Code of Canon Law.

Some of his pastoral decisions however are of perhaps more debatable value: he reformed the Roman Breviary, taking it away from its previous alignment with the Benedictine; and encouraged First Communion before Confirmation, reversing the traditional order of reception of the sacraments.

A reluctant starter as Pope (the winner of the first result of the conclave was vetoed by the Emperor Franz Joseph), St Piux X had a strong Marian devotion, was considered by some to be too outspoken in his direct style and condemnations.

His charity was noteworthy: he filled the Apostolic Palace with refugees from the 1908 Messina earthquake; rejected any kind of favours for his family; his brother remained a postal clerk, his favourite nephew stayed on as village priest, and his three sisters lived together close to poverty in Rome; and often referred to his own humble origins, taking up the causes of poor people. "I was born poor, I have lived poor, and I wish to die poor."

Pope Benedict XVI gave a recent General Audience on his saintly predecessor, and its well worth a read.

Quick Reference Sheet for the Traditional Benedictine Office - Friday

Summary notes for use in conjunction with the 'How to Say the Office' series - page references are to the psalter section of the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal.

Friday Lauds

Note: on some feasts, the antiphons, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the feast and the festal psalms (under Sunday in the psalter) may be used – see Ordo.

• Opening prayers and Psalm 66 as for Monday, MD 58-59;
• Then go to MD 118;
• Select either the ferial (MD 123) or the festal (MD 126) canticle depending on season or class of day;
• Benedictus from the card, or MD 73;
• Concluding prayers as for Monday, MD 75;
• Collect of the previous Sunday or feast, see Ordo; if there is a commemoration (memorial), the relevant texts are said immediately after the collect of the day.

Friday Prime

• Opening prayer and hymn, MD 1-2;
• Antiphon (said before and after the psalms) of the season, MD 24, or see Ordo;
• Psalms MD 25-30;
• Chapter, versicle and concluding prayers MD 7-9.

Friday Terce

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Nunc Sancte MD 183;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 184, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 184-186;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MDff, or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Friday Sext

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rector potens MD 190;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 190-191, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 191-193;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MDff, or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Friday None

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rerum Deus, MD 196-7;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 197, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 198-199;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 200ff, or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Friday Vespers

Note: on some feasts and seasons, the antiphons, psalms, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the day – see Ordo.

• Starts MD 243 (opening prayer as on MD 1);
• Antiphons for the season or day (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 243-247;
• Magnificat MD 209-210;
• Concluding prayers MD 210-211 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the previous Sunday or feast, see Ordo.

Friday Compline

• Starts MD 256;
• Choose the Marian antiphon to conclude according to the season (throughout the year it is Salve Regina, MD 268).

Quick Reference Sheet for the Traditional Benedictine Office - Thursday

Summary notes for use in conjunction with the 'How to Say the Office' series - page references are to the psalter section of the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal.

Thursday Lauds (at first light)

Note: on some feasts, the antiphons, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the feast and the festal psalms (under Sunday in the psalter) may be used – see Ordo

• Opening prayers and Psalm 66 as for Monday, MD 58-59;
• Then go to MD 102;
• Select either the ferial (MD 108) or the festal (MD 109) canticle depending on season or class of day;
• Benedictus from the card, or MD 73;
• Concluding prayers as for Monday, MD 75;
• Collect of the previous Sunday or feast, see Ordo; if there is a commemoration (memorial), the relevant texts are said immediately after the collect of the day.

Thursday Prime (early morning)

• Opening prayer and hymn, MD 1-2;
• Antiphon (said before and after the psalms) of the season (MD 20-21) or see Ordo;
• Psalms MD 21-23;
• Chapter, versicle and concluding prayers MD 7-9.

Thursday Terce (mid-morning)

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Nunc Sancte MD 183;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season (MD 184) or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 184-186;
• Chapter and versicle of season (MD 186-189) or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Thursday Sext (noon)

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rector potens MD 190;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season (MD 190-191) or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 191-193;
• Chapter and versicle of season (MD 193-196) or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Thursday None (mid-afternoon)

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rerum Deus, MD 196-7;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season (MD 197) or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 198-199;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 200ff or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Thursday Vespers (early evening)

Note: on some feasts and seasons, the antiphons, psalms, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the day – see Ordo

• Starts MD 235 (opening prayer as on page 1);
• Antiphons for the season (MD 235) or day (see Ordo);
• Magnificat MD 209-210;
• Concluding prayers MD 210-11 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the Sunday (or feast) - see Ordo.

Compline (before retiring)

• Starts MD 257;
• Choose the Marian antiphon to conclude according to the season (throughout the year it is Salve Regina, MD 268).

Reading and reflecting on the Rule of St Benedict

In a monastery, a section from the Rule of St Benedict is traditionally read everyday at chapter - the short set of prayers after Prime.  The text has actually been divided into daily chunks to enable the requirement that novices hear the Rule in full three times in the course of a year to be fulfilled.  And today being September 1, the reading of the Rule of St Benedict starts again from the Prologue.

Reading a section of the Rule each day is a good spiritual practice for all interested in Benedictine spirituality (count it towards your spiritual reading for the day), and there are plenty of translations about. The best in book form, in my opinion, is still the one by Abbot Justin McCann (which you can buy with parallel Latin text).  But you can get a daily section of the Boyle translation delivered to your inbox through the official OSB website if that is more convenient.

If you want to dig a little into what the Rule means, you probably need to find a good commentary.  There are lots around.  But just how truly 'Benedictine', insightful or orthodox they are is a matter of debate - be wary!

An excellent starting point, recommended by most of the traditional monasteries (and many of the less traditional ones), is Dom Delatte's classic.  It is fairly detailed in places, but you can skim the parts that don't interest you, and focus in on the gems of spiritual wisdom!

In terms of contemporary commentaries available online, I would recommend that by Abbot Philip Lawrence of Christ in the Desert Monastery.

Quick Reference Sheet for Benedictine traditional Office - Wednesday

Summary notes for use as a supplement to the 'How to Say the Office' series - page references are to the psalter section of the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal.

Wednesday Lauds

Note: on some feasts, the antiphons, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the feast and the festal psalms (under Sunday in the psalter) may be used – see Ordo.

• Opening prayers and Psalm 66 as for Monday, MD 58-59;
• Then go to MD 89ff;
• Select either the ferial (MD 94) or the festal ( MD 96) canticle depending on season or class of day;
• Benedictus from the card, or MD 73;
• Concluding prayers as for Monday, MD 75;
• Collect of the previous Sunday or feast, see Ordo; if there is a commemoration (memorial), the relevant texts are said immediately after the collect of the day.

Wednesday Prime

• Opening prayer and hymn, MD 1-2;
• Antiphon (said before and after the psalms) of the season (MD 15), day or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 16-20;
• Chapter, versicle and concluding prayers MD 7-9.

Wednesday Terce

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Nunc Sancte MD 183;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 184, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 184-186;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD186ff, or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Wednesday Sext

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rector potens MD 190;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 190-191, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 191-193;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 193ff, or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Wednesday None

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rerum Deus, MD 196-197;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 197, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 198-199;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 200ff or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Wednesday Vespers

Note: on some feasts and seasons, the antiphons, psalms, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the day – see Ordo.

• Starts MD 226 (opening prayer as on MD 1);
• Antiphons for the season, MD 226, or day (see Ordo);
• Magnificat MD 209-210;
• Concluding prayers MD 210-211 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the Sunday (or feast) - see Ordo.

Compline

• Starts MD 257;
• Choose the Marian antiphon to conclude according to the season (throughout the year it is Salve Regina, page 268).

Quick reference sheet - Tuesday

Summary notes for use in conjunction with the 'How to Say the Office' series - page references are to the psalter section of the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal.

Tuesday Lauds

Note: on some feasts, the antiphons, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the feast and the festal psalms (under Sunday in the psalter) may be used – see Ordo

• Opening prayers and Psalm 66 as for Monday, MD 58-59;
• Then go to MD 76ff;
• Select either the ferial (MD 80) or the festal (MD 82) canticle depending on season or class of day;
• Benedictus from the card, or MD 73;
• Concluding prayers as for Monday, MD 75;
• Collect of the previous Sunday or feast, see Ordo; if there is a commemoration (memorial), the relevant texts are said immediately after the collect of the day.

Tuesday Prime

• Opening prayer and hymn, MD 1-2;
• Antiphon (said before and after psalms) of the season, MD 9; or day or feast (see Ordo);
• With psalms MD 10-15;
• Chapter, versicle and concluding prayers MD 7-9.

Tuesday (to Saturday) Terce

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Nunc Sancte MD 183;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 184, or feast (see Ordo); • Psalms MD 184-186;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 186ff or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Tuesday (to Saturday) Sext

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rector potens MD 190;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 190-191, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 191-193;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD193ff, or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Tuesday (to Saturday) None

• Opening prayer (Deus…) as per MD 1;
• Hymn Rerum Deus, MD 196-197;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 197, or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 198-199;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 200ff or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Tuesday Vespers

Note: on some feasts and seasons, the antiphons, psalms, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the day – see Ordo.

• Starts MD 220 (opening prayer as on MD 1);
• Antiphons for the season or day (see ordo);
• Magnificat, MD 209-210;
• Concluding prayers MD 210-11 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the Sunday (or feast) - see Ordo.

Compline

• Starts MD 257;
• Choose the Marian antiphon to conclude according to the season (in time throughout the year it is Salve Regina, MD 268).

Quick reference card for the Benedictine Office - Monday

Summary notes for use in conjunction with the 'How to Say the Office' series - page references are to the psalter section of the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal.

Monday Matins

Not found in the Diurnal, refer to the Monastic Breviary.

Monday Lauds

Note: on some feasts, the antiphons, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the feast and the festal psalms (under Sunday in the psalter) may be used – if so the page reference will be provided in the Ordo.

• Starts MD 58;
• Select either the ferial (MD 65) or the festal (MD 66) canticle depending on season or class of day;
• Collect of the previous Sunday or feast, see Ordo; if there is a commemoration (memorial), the relevant texts are said immediately after the collect of the day.

Monday Prime

• Starts MD 1;
• Select antiphon for the season (MD 2-3) or feast (first antiphon of Lauds if not otherwise specified).

Monday Terce

• Starts MD 163 (as per full version, MD 1);
• Antiphons, chapter and versicle for the season (MD 163, 166ff) or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Monday Sext

• Starts MD 169 (as per full version page 1);
• Antiphons, chapter and versicle for the season (MD 170, 173ff) or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Monday None

• Starts MD 176 (as per full version MD 1);
• Antiphons, chapter and versicle for the season (MD177, 180ff) or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the week (from the Sunday) or day (see Ordo).

Monday Vespers

Note: on some feasts and seasons, the antiphons, psalms, chapter, hymn etc are specific to the day – if so the Ordo will provide a page reference.

• Starts MD 211 (opening prayer as on MD 1);
• Antiphons for the season (MD 212) or day (see Ordo);
• Text of the Magnificat MD 209-10;
• Concluding prayers MD 210-11 (from Kyrie);
• Collect of the Sunday (or feast) - see Ordo.

Monday Compline

• Starts MD 257;
• Choose the Marian antiphon to conclude according to the season; throughout the year it is Salve Regina, MD 268.

Monday 30 August – SS Felix and Adauctus, Martyrs, Memorial

The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that these saints were martyrs at Rome, 303, under Diocletian and Maximian.

Their Acts, first published in Ado's Martyrology, relate as follows: Felix, a Roman priest, and brother of another priest, also named Felix, being ordered to offer sacrifice to the gods, was brought by the prefect Dracus to the temples of Serapis, Mercury, and Diana. But at the prayer of the saint the idols fell shattered to the ground. He was then led to execution. On the way an unknown person joined him, professed himself a Christian, and also received the crown of martyrdom. The Christians gave him the name Adauctus (added).

Their veneration, however, is very old; they are commemorated in the Sacramentary of Gregory the Great and in the ancient martyrologies.

Their church in Rome, built over their graves, in the cemetery of Commodilla, on the Via Ostiensis, near the basilica of St. Paul, and has been lost and rediscovered more than once, most recently again unearthed in 1905. 

Leo IV, about 850, is said to have given their relics to Irmengard, wife of Lothair I; she placed them in the abbey of canonesses at Eschau in Alsace. They were brought to the church of St. Stephen in Vienna in 1361. The heads are claimed by Anjou and Cologne. According to the "Chronicle of Andechs", Henry, the last count, received the relics from Honorius III and brought them to the Abbey of Andechs.

The picture (above) is The Glorification of St Felix and St Adauctus by Carlo Innocenzo Carlone.

Liturgical status of the Traditional Benedictine Office*** updated

Checking where people are coming from to find this blog, I stumbled across a thread on Catholic Answers which raised an issue I've seen a few times recently under various guises, namely whether we can be 'doing liturgy' when we say the traditional Benedictine Office. 

The Office can be said either as a devotion or as liturgy.  As a devotion, there is no issue about approved versions, rubrics etc - essentially it is a matter of do as you like (within reason of course)!

As I think there is a bit of misinformation out there, however, let me reiterate a few points here.  Firstly, lay people can, in principle, say the Office liturgically, regardless of whether a cleric or religious is present when they do so.

Secondly, contrary to some claims, the traditional Benedictine Office, with its traditional calendar, using rubrics and calendar approved in 1962 (and very similar to, but not identical with, the 1962 Extraordinary Form calendar and rubrics), continues to be officially approved, and is used by quite a few monasteries.   The Farnborough edition of the Diurnal follows that approved form.

It is true that in 1979 the Benedictine Confederation approved a series of revised options for the Office.  However, from 1984 onwards a number of monasteries received explicit permission through the Ecclesia Dei Commission of the Holy See to retain the traditional Office, Mass and calendar (in line with the permissions for the use of the traditional mass more broadly).   

In 2007, with the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, the permission to use the traditional forms of the Mass and Office for the Roman Rite was generalized to all clergy wish to use it.  The Ecclesia Dei Commission has indicated that this also extends to the rites and uses of religious orders. Accordingly, there can be no doubt that the traditional Benedictine Office as set out in the 1962 Monastic Breviary is approved for liturgical purposes.

There are though a few issues that do need to be considered in relation to the Diurnal. 

First, while the Latin clearly has ecclesiastical approval, it is not clear whether or not the particular English translation included has approval for liturgical purposes.  An edition of the Diurnal from 1963 using the same text did obtain an Imprimateur, but I haven't seen the detail of its terms, and the English may have intended to be used for study purposes only.  Moreover, the Instruction Universae Ecclesiae specifies in relation to the Roman Breviary that it must be said in Latin.

Secondly, the Farnborough edition of the Diurnal lacks an official attestation that it is published in accordance with an approved edition (CL 826). 

Whether either of these issues is sufficient to render the saying of the Office from the text in English devotional rather than liturgical is perhaps still debatable.  But in the light of  Universae Ecclesiae, the safest approach is to say the Office in Latin, and use the English as an aid to understanding.

Quick reference cards for the daily Office - Sunday

There seems to be some interest in more of a cheat sheet for page numbers of the Office in the Farnborough Monastic Diurnal, so I'm going to have a go at providing something that may be of use.  If you have suggestions on alternative formats or content, do let me know and I'll see whether or not I can oblige!

Please note that this is not a substitute for working through my How to say the Office series - you really do need to become familiar with the structure of each hour and how the Office works to say the traditional Office correctly.  But once you have worked through that, having a cheat sheet at your side may be helpful (note also that this material now also appears in the summary section on each hour in the series).

Secondly, note that you still need to consult the Ordo for the relevant month.

Thirdly, the simplest way to print this is to copy it into a word document, and convert all text to black.

The Office on Sunday

Sunday Matins

Not found in the Diurnal, refer to the Monastic Breviary.

Sunday Lauds (at first light)

• Starts MD 37;
• Choose the appropriate psalm schema – for most Sundays during the year it is schema 1: Psalms 50, 117, (jump over 92, 99), 62, then canticle, Psalms 148-150;
• Choose the correct antiphons (including the number of them) as this varies by season (during the year is included in the Diurnal in the Sunday section);
• The hymn varies by liturgical season and time of year – for most of time after Pentecost it is Ecce Iam Noctis, MD 55 (skip over Aeterne rerum);
• The antiphon for the Benedictus is specific to the particular Sunday, check the Ordo for the correct page number;
• The collect (prayer) is specific to the particular Sunday, check the Ordo for the page reference.

Sunday Prime (early morning)

• Starts MD 146;
• Concluding prayers MD 8;
• Note that the ‘Capitular Office’ said in monasteries (including the reading of the Rule and the Martyrology) is not included in the Diurnal.

Sunday Terce (mid-morning)

• Opening prayers MD 151;
• Hymn Nunc Sancte MD 151;
• Select antiphon (said before and after psalms) for the season, MD 151-152 or feast (see Ordo);
• Psalms MD 152-154;
• Chapter and versicle of season, MD 154ff or feast (see Ordo);
• Closing prayers as at MD 154 (from Kyrie);
• With collect for the particular Sunday, see the Ordo.

Sunday Sext (noon)

• Starts MD 155;
• Use collect set for the particular Sunday, see the Ordo.

Sunday None (mid-afternoon)

• Starts MD 159;
• Use collect set for the particular Sunday, see the Ordo.

Sunday Vespers (evening)

• Starts MD 203 (opening prayer as on MD 1);
• Antiphons for the season or day (see ordo);
• Antiphon for the Magnificat (MD 209) is particular to the day, for the correct page number see the Ordo;
• Concluding prayers MD 210-11 with collect of the Sunday (or feast) - see Ordo.

Sunday Compline (before bed)

• Starts MD 257;
• Choose the appropriate Marian antiphon to conclude the hour (during the year, Salve Regina, MD 268).

Why pray in Latin?

One of the perennial debates around the Office is what language you should use to pray in. 

A debate on this topic appears to have been cut off elsewhere I can only assume in the interests of protecting perceived fiefdoms by virtue of leaving some misinformation in place.  That's unfortunate, but I don't want to get into all of that here.  Instead, some brief comments on the more important underlying issue around the use of Latin from my perspective.

1.  Prayer in any language is better than none!

First, note that the most important thing is to pray - what language you use is a secondary issue.  Prayer, as we all know, can take a wide variety of forms.  We often use set forms (the Mass, the Divine Office, particular prayers) to help us.  Sometimes the content might be what we are focusing on.  Sometimes it is more the general intent behind the prayer.

In the case of the Divine Office, it is not necessary to be deeply conscious of the meaning of each word or phrase each time you say it (whether in your native language or some other).  Far more important is the intent of praising and worshipping God.

2.  When it comes to liturgical prayer, the important thing is to follow the approved rubrics

There are two broad types of prayer - liturgical (such as the Mass) and devotional (the rosary, meditation, etc).  The Office can be said either as a devotion or as liturgy.  If it is said devotionally, you have  a fair amount of freedom as to how you say it.  However, the Church strictly regulates the liturgy in order to protect its integrity.  That includes the Divine Office (aka Liturgy of the Hours, etc).

In the Catholic Church, Latin is the official, normative language of the liturgy.  Translations of the Latin have to be approved for liturgical use (not just study use) by the proper authorities.

3.  Praying in Latin has advantages when it comes to liturgy

Since Vatican II, the use of the vernacular has been permissible for both the Mass and the Office.  Sacrosanctum Concilium clearly intended the use of the vernacular to be rather limited, particularly when it came to the Office, and Popes from Paul VI onwards have stressed the desirability of preserving the tradition; instead, use of English has become the norm. 

But use of the Latin is worth considering for a number of reasons.  A number of religions use 'sacred languages' (Jews use Hebrew; Muslims, Arabic for example) in order to help create the sense of 'sacred space and time' - to help us focus on the sense of God's otherness to us.  The use of 'hieratic' language reminds us that we are worshipping, not just chatting amongst friends.  That's important in a world that is reluctant to kneel before its God.  And in the Western Church, the Latin of the Vulgate achieved that position by virtue of being a neutral language that transcended individual cultures.

In the Western tradition, use of Latin as a universal language of the Church was regarded as a counter to the chaos of Babel, a practical means of continuing the gift of understanding engendered at that first Pentecost.

By using the Latin text, you are using the same words St Benedict would have sung in his monastery, and the same texts that generations of monks, nuns and oblates have used down the centuries until our own.  You are entering into a tradition.

And by learning at least a smattering of Latin, you will find it easier to understand the great spiritual works of the West (including the Benedictine Rule) which assume the use of the Latin Vulgate as their starting point.

4.  You don't have to be a great Latinist

The best way to learn a language is actually by immersion in it!  Start using it, and with a bit of effort and few aids, you will gradually pick up a lot by osmosis. 

The translation contained in the Monastic Diurnal is a very useful starting point for getting the sense of the text, even as you say the Latin.  And there are some excellent resources around to help you gain a greater understanding of it, such as the very good Simplicissimus course specifically geared at helping people learn enough Latin to follow the Mass and Office.

You might also want to consider the suggestions outlined at my post on this subject in my how to learn the Office series.

5.  Translation is one thing, understanding is another

It is also important to keep in mind that just understanding the literal meaning of a text is not enough.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paras 115-119) stresses that Scriptural texts (including the psalms, chapter verses, many of the antiphons etc in the Office) has both a literal and a spiritual sense, and that the spiritual includes the allegorical, moral and anagogical meanings of the text.  There is real value in looking at commentaries and treating the Office as a source of 'lectio' to penetrate its deeper meanings. 

6.  Do pray the Office!

Finally, by way of a summary, on an email list I was once a member of, a monk said that when they were novices they were taught about a hierarchy of 'attentions' for the Office, which I've adapted a little here.  When thinking about the Office we should pay:


(1) Attention to the WORDS -- getting the rubrics right, so that we say the correct texts at the correct time; using the appropriate body postures; and saying or singing the words correctly;

(2) Attention to the SENSE -- focusing on the "what " we were saying, the translation of the words;

(3) Attention on GOD -- not worrying about words or sense but simply praying before the Divine Majesty.

Are we praying liturgically? ***updated

A topic that regularly comes up is, are we - and religious - praying liturgically when we say the Divine Office?

A degree of confusion arises on this, I suspect, because of some uncritical reading of pre-Vaticna II liturgical textbooks that don't take into account either Pius XII's Mediator Dei or the subsequent developments on this front reflected in the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

Yes, we are praying liturgically!

In my view it is absolutely clear cut that nuns, lay brothers and sisters pray the Office liturgically and always have.  It is also clear, in my view, that laypeople can indeed perform liturgy, whether leading approved services in the absence of a priest, when baptising or when saying the Office.

After all, when we 'assist at mass' (ie attend) we are indeed participating liturgically within our proper sphere of action.

By virtue of our baptism, all Christians can pray liturgically in principle.  As the Catechism of Trent says:

...all the faithful are said to be priests, once they have been washed in the saving waters of baptism. (On Holy Orders)

However, the degree and way we in which we participate in any particular form of the liturgy differs depending on our 'rank, office, and actual participation' (Sacrosanctum Concilium 26).

In the Mass, for example, while the people genuinely participate in the sacrifice by joining their intentions to those of the ministerial priest, they offer it differently to the priest at the altar standing in persona Christi, without whom the true sacrifice of the Mass is not possible.

In some cases, such as the Mass, ordination as a priest is a requirement to lead the liturgy.  In other cases though, the Church can make decisions about who can lead and play active liturgical roles, and these decisions can change over time for pastoral reasons.

In the case of the Divine Office, between the Council of Trent and Vatican II, the laity were not able to participate in the Divine Office unless they attended it when said by a religious or cleric.  The delegation to say the Office was restricted in order to protect the integrity of the liturgy from the danger of heresy.

This changed, however, with Vatican II, and the current Code of Canon Law explicitly extends the previous provisions delegating clerics and religious to say the Office to the laity, but on the basis that it is optional for them, not an obligation.

The Catechism

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

“1174 The mystery of Christ, his Incarnation and Passover, which we celebrate in the Eucharist especially at the Sunday assembly, permeates and transfigures the time of each day, through the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, “the divine office.” This celebration, faithful to the apostolic exhortations to “pray constantly,” is “so devised that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praise of God.” In this “public prayer of the Church,” the faithful (clergy, religious, and lay people) exercise the royal priesthood of the baptized. Celebrated in “the form approved” by the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours “is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father.

1175 The Liturgy of the Hours is intended to become the prayer of the whole People of God. In it Christ himself “continues his priestly work through his Church.” His members participate according to their own place in the Church and the circumstances of their lives: priests devoted to the pastoral ministry, because they are called to remain diligent in prayer and the service of the word; religious, by the charism of their consecrated lives; all the faithful as much as possible: “Pastors of souls should see to it that the principal hours, especially Vespers, are celebrated in common in church on Sundays and on the more solemn feasts. The laity, too, are encouraged to recite the divine office, either with the priests, or among themselves, or even individually.”

It is worth though, looking briefly at what lies behind the Catechism's statements.

What is liturgy

Anyone wishing to understand what is and isn't liturgy, and just why the Church regulates it, should go immediately and read Pius XII's Mediator Dei.

Most of the time of course it is crystal clear what is liturgy and what isn't - because it takes place in a Church, led by a priest, following set forms approved by the Church.

But there are cases where the distinction is not always clear, and the Office in particular has been a somewhat blurred line from the time that private recitation of the Office was permitted for priests in the middle ages.  A wide variety of Offices have sprung up with varying degrees of formal approval.  And the situation is further complicated by the fact that just who the Church has formally delegated to say the Office has changed over history.

Let me make a few key points to help clarify the situation.

Church law on liturgy
The Code of Canon Law (cl 834.1) defines liturgy as "the exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ" which brings a complete worship "offered to God by the head and members of the mystical body of Christ." Canon 835 sets out the hierarchy of the sanctifying office of the Church, carried out in a special way through the liturgy, starting with bishops, then covering priests, deacons, and "the other members of Christs faithful...each in his or her own way actively sharing in liturgical celebrations..."

The inclusion of the "members of the mystical body" makes it clear that we are talking here about the priesthood of all the faithful, not just the ordained priesthood.  This is confirmed by Canon 835&6, which explains that Christian worship is exercised by the common priesthood of the faithful.

The sub-paragraph 2 of cl 834 makes it even clearer: "This worship takes place when it is offered in the name of the Church, by persons lawfully deputed and through actions approved by ecclesiastical authority."

That laypeople can be so deputed (subject of course to other theological constraints such as on sacraments requiring ordained clergy to confect them) is confirmed by Cl 230.3 ("Where the needs of the Church require and ministers are not available, lay people can...preside over liturgical prayers...").

So what makes liturgy liturgy is not who says it, but whether or not the Church has deputed them to say it, and whether or not they follow the forms approved by the Church.

So who is deputed by the Church to say the Office?

With the Council of Trent a distinction arose between saying the Office liturgically and devotionally (that hadn't previously been articulated and) that stayed in place until Vatican II.  Between Trent and Vatican II it is reasonably clear that the Church delegated the saying of the Office liturgically to religious (including communities of women alone) and priests.  The laity participated when they attended an official celebration of the Office, but were only saying the Office 'devotionally' if they said it privately, whether alone or in a group.

Vatican II changed that.  In the documents of the Council itself (see for example SC 83-100), and more particularly in a series of subsequent liturgical laws, it effectively abolished the idea of liturgical/devotional distinction based on who was saying the Office by delegating all of Christ's faithful to say it.

The ideal situation of course is to attend the Office at a monastery or Church under the leadership of clerics or religious.

But where this is not possible or practical, as the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours points out, "Lay groups gathering for prayer, apostolic work, or any other reason are encouraged to fulfill the Church’s duty, by celebrating part of the liturgy of the hours." 

Canon 1174 says much the same thing more plainly.  First it reaffirms the primary delegation, which is based on who is obliged to say the Office (viz religious and priests), not clerical status.

But in the next sub-paragraph it invites all of Christ's faithful to take part in the liturgy of the hours.  The various standard commentaries on the Code all confirm that this means that the faithful are now duly delegated to say the Office even when praying alone.  Beal, Corrigen and Green, A New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, 2000, for example says:

The liturgy of the hours is the prayer of the whole Church, and all the faithful are deputed to celebrate this liturgy. (pg 1406)

Similarly, Caparros and Thorn's Code of Canon Law Annotated (2004) says:

Paragraph 2 [of Canon 1174] is addressed to the rest of the faithful and invites them to take part in the liturgy of the hours, since it is an action of the Church as a whole and of each faithful according to their participation in the priesthood of Christ (cf SC 95-100).

In short there is no requirement that a priest or deacon be present in order to make something 'liturgy'.

And the laity are indeed duly deputed to say the Office as part of the official prayer of the Church.

Approved actions

There is however a second necessary component to something being liturgy, viz whether the forms used are approved by the Church.

There are many people who opt for a devotional Office either in order to say an older version of the Office or in order to adopt their own personal preferences as to which parts of it they like.  The former practice, though in my view undesirable, I think can be justified on the basis that what was once approved is unlikely to be dangerous.  I have severe doubts about the latter approach though, in view of Pope Pius XII's warnings on this subject:

"The Church has further used her right of control over liturgical observance to protect the purity of divine worship against abuse from dangerous and imprudent innovations introduced by private individuals and particular churches. Thus it came about -- during the 16th century, when usages and customs of this sort had become increasingly prevalent and exaggerated, and when private initiative in matters liturgical threatened to compromise the integrity of faith and devotion, to the great advantage of heretics and further spread of their errors -- that in the year 1588, Our predecessor Sixtus V of immortal memory established the Sacred Congregation of Rites, charged with the defense of the legitimate rites of the Church and with the prohibition of any spurious innovation.[48]"

The Benedictine Office according to the 1962 rubrics clearly has been approved for liturgical use, at least in Latin, as confirmed by the Instruction Universae Ecclesiae.

By contrast, a number of modern Offices, such as the Benedictine Daily Prayer, are explicitly devotional, not liturgical.

Does it really matter whether or not it is liturgical prayer?

Mediator Dei says yes: "Unquestionably, liturgical prayer, being the public supplication of the illustrious Spouse of Jesus Christ, is superior in excellence to private prayers."

Pope Pius XII goes on to say however that "But this superior worth does not at all imply contrast or incompatibility between these two kinds of prayer. For both merge harmoniously in the single spirit which animates them, "Christ is all and in all."[38] Both tend to the same objective: until Christ be formed in us.[39]"

You may also be interested in reading my related post on the liturgical status of the 1962 Office.

Last updated 3.11.17

January 2: St Thomas of Canterbury (in some places), Bishop and martyr

c13th manuscript illumination

St Thomas of Canterbury, aka St Thomas a Becket, was born around 1118, and was famously murdered in his own cathedral in 1170 by followers of King Henry II of England.  In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI said in a sermon n the saint:

"...He faced a hostile government and refused to bend. He teaches us in our own day how vital it is to stay faithful to the Truth. For the Christian, the Truth is a Divine Person named Jesus Christ. We are called to bear His name and, in the words of the Apostle, “walk just as he walked.”

However, Thomas Becket is a special witness for our beloved Bishops. Today they face the growing hostility of a State which has no tolerance for their insistence on the fundamental human right to life from conception to natural death.Like Thomas, they must refuse to bend.

Thomas Becket was born in London in 1118 to wealthy and respected parents. He was well educated and socially connected from his birth. At the age of 24 he obtained a coveted position with Theobald, the Archbishop of Canterbury. He quickly excelled in his work and climbed the ranks of ecclesiastical appointments. He was ordained a deacon in 1154 and appointed an Archdeacon of Canterbury.

At a time when Church and State were connected in a manner seldom seen any longer, he caught the attention of King Henry II who sought his advice and counsel regularly. He was appointed the Chancellor of England by the King and is noted to have grown quite comfortable with the trappings of office, living a rather lavish life.

When Archbishop Theobald died, Thomas Becket was nominated by the King for consideration as Archbishop. He was elected Theobald’s successor in 1162. The grace of Episcopal office deeply affected Thomas, as it so often does. After all, Bishops, are successors of the Apostles.

Accounts reveal that Bishop Thomas radically changed his lifestyle, embracing the way of simplicity. He adopted ascetical practices and sought to grow closer to the Lord, increasing his prayer and devotion. He began to sleep on the floor, and simplified his once lavish diet. He gave away many of his possessions to the poor and began to prefer their company.

Thomas was drawn by the Holy Spirit and the grace of his office into a deeper conversion in Christ. He became an example to the faithful by “walking just as He walked” in the words of the beloved disciple John which we hear at Mass on his Feast. However, as is so often the case in the history of the relationship between the Church and the State, frictions began to emerge with the King. The Bishop’s loyalties were tested.

Within two years, the frictions boiled over. Bishop Thomas was hated by the King who had formerly been his benefactor and champion. Thomas opposed the King’s increasing infringements on the rights of the Church and the Clergy and the King grew angry and felt threatened.

As a result of his fidelity to placing the Lord first Thomas experienced a great spiritual renewal and earned the admiration of the faithful. However, this was accompanied by intense persecution from the King. He was forced into exile to France. Bishop Thomas returned six years later when it appeared that the King’s wrath had subsided. It was short-lived.

The Bishop continued to place the Lord and His Church first in his exercise of office. He refused to take sides with the King in his repeated efforts to assert the primacy of his crown - and undermine the authority, teaching, discipline and Canon law of the Church. An account tells us that an exasperated King shouted out in the company of some of his knights "will no-one rid me of this troublesome priest?"

Four knights took the exclamation to heart. They rode to the Cathedral of Canterbury to do just that; Reginald FitzUrse, William de Tracey, Hugh de Morville and Richard le Breton. On December 29th 1170 they murdered/martyred the Bishop right within Canterbury Cathedral. Reports are that after they committed the evil act one of them shouted "Let us away. He will rise no more."

One story recounts that while the Bishops body was still on the cathedral floor, the faithful had gathered to seek his intercession and collect portions of his clothing and drops of his blood. His heroic virtue in life and conformity to Jesus Christ in his martyrs’ death, led to his quick canonization.

He stands in our day as an example for all Bishops – indeed all who must endure a hostile State – of the apostles clear words “This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked.” In an excerpt from a letter the Bishop wrote to his Brother Bishops we read these words:

“If we who are called bishops desire to understand the meaning of our calling and to be worthy of it, we must strive to keep our eyes on Him whom God appointed High Priest forever, and to follow in His footsteps. For our sake He offered Himself to the father on the Altar of the Cross. He now looks down from heaven on our actions and secret thoughts, and one day He will give each of us the rewards his deeds deserve.

As successors of the Apostles, we hold the highest rank in our churches; we have accepted the responsibility of acting as Christ’s representatives on earth; we receive the honor belonging to that office, and enjoy the temporal benefits of our spiritual labors. It must therefore be our endeavor to destroy the reign of sin and death, and by nurturing faith and uprightness of life, to build up the Church of Christ into a holy temple in the Lord.

"There are a great many Bishops in the Church, but would to God we were the zealous teachers and pastors that we promised to be at our consecration, and still make profession of being.”