Focusing on the Traditional Benedictine Office in accordance with the 1963 Benedictine calendar and rubrics, including the Farnborough edition of the Monastic Diurnal.
November 15 will once again be an unimpeded Tuesday (though presumably I Vespers would not have been said givne All Souls?), so in the old world order (ie pre-1911), the Votive Office of St Benedict on Tuesday would have been said, so a good day to say a prayer for Benedictine monasteries, or to the saint for other causes.
I've previously described most of this Office, viz:
You can find the Matins readings for the November here.
So today, the remaining hours, Prime to None.
The antiphons and versicles for these hours are the same as for the feast of the saint (on March 21), however, the chapter verses differ, so I've provided the details below.
Prime
Antiphon: Fuit vir (first antiphon of Lauds, 21 March) Chapter: Wisdom 10:10 - She conducted the just through the right ways, and shewed him the kingdom of God, and gave him the knowledge of the holy things, made him honourable in his labours, and accomplished his labours.
Terce
Antiphon: Beatus vir (second antiphon of Lauds, 21 March) Chapter: Ecclesiasticus 31:8 - Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish: and that hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures. Versicle: Amavit eum
Sext
Antiphon: Gloriosus (third antiphon of Lauds, March 21) Chapter: Ecc 39:6 - He will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him, and he will pray in the sight of the most High. Versicle: Os justi
None
Antiphon: Vir Domini (5th antiphon of Lauds) Chapter: Wisdom 10:10 - She conducted the just, through the right ways, and shewed him the kingdom of God, and gave him the knowledge of the holy things, made him honourable in his labours, and accomplished his labours. Versicle: Lex Dei
Collect
As for the other hours, the collect at Terce to None is:
Excita Domine, in Ecclesia tua Spiritum, cui beatus Pater noster Benedictus Abbas servivit; ut eodem nos repleti studeamus amare quod docuit. Per Dominum...in unitate ejusdem Spiritus.
(Raise up, O Lord, in thy Church, the Spirit wherewith our holy Father Benedict was animated: that, filled with the same, we may strive to love what he loved, and to practise what he taught. Through Christ...)
This year All Saints of the Benedictine Order is only a commemoration, due to the Sunday. But most religious orders have both an 'All Saints' and an ‘All Souls' feasts of their Order, and of course the Benedictines too, given the Benedictine origins of the two feasts.
By the late middle ages the Benedictines could lay claim to giving to the Church no less than 24 popes, 200 cardinals, 7,000 archbishops, 15,000 bishops, and over 1,500 canonized saints, not to mention 20 emperors, 10 empresses, 47 kings, and 50 queens.
And of course there are untold numbers of other, unsung saints among its members.
This year, though, above all, I think we should treat as a call to arms, a call for all of us to join the ranks of this vast army of soldiers of Christ led by St Benedict the Great, and take arms in the cause of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, that is, the Church.
The destruction of the churches of Norcia
Over at New Liturgical Movement Peter Kwasniewski has written a moving elegy to the churches of Norcia, birthplace of SS Benedict and Scholastica, all of which were destroyed in the recent earthquakes. Rorate Caeli has a piece also worth reading on this subject.
Now, more than ever, we need new Benedictine saints to arise to lead us.
For that to happen, we need to look within ourselves first of all; to embark on our own program of spiritual building up of the walls, through the cultivation of faith and the performance of good works.
We must, as St Bede the Venerable instructs:
pray assiduously to the Lord for the state of the whole Church throughout the world, according to the example of the Lord's prayer itself, in which one is not bidden to pray for daily bread to be given specifically to oneself, or for one's own sins to be forgiven, or for ones self to be delivered from temptation or wickedness, but rather for all who have the same Father in heaven". (On Ezra and Nehemiah, trans deGregorio).
Above, all we should all, to paraphrase St Bede, pray that God might inflame our minds and touch them with his love, so that we can understand and carry out the will of God the Father.
I have yet to look at Lauds and Vespers in this series on getting ready for Advent, but there is one issue common to both of them that I thought I would deal with first, namely commemorations (aka) memorials.
What is a commemoration of the feria?
If you look at the instructions in the Diurnal for feasts of saints during Advent you will come across instructions to make a commemoration of the feria.
Feria just means day, and so it is telling you to make a remembrance of the Advent day that would have been said had they not been displaced by a feast.
During Advent the feria is commemorated at both Lauds and Vespers.
The way this is done is exactly the same as for a normal memorial of a saint: after the collect (of the feast), you say (or sing) the canticle antiphon that would have been said at Lauds or Vespers if not for the feast, the versicle (of the season) and the collect (of the Advent week or day).
Finding the texts: a Diurnal trap
The Diurnal, however, does not make it easy for you in this case, because for each Advent day, in order to save space, it usually only sets out the canticle antiphons.
That means you need to go find the versicle and the collect for the appropriate day or week in the Ordinary. The Ordo will give you the page numbers in the Diurnal for this purpose, but those using older editions will need to hunt down the correct pages for themselves.
St Mennas, c285 – 309, was an Egyptian Christian who joined the army, but left after three years to become a hermit in response to Diocletian's decrees. During the celebration of a great festival Mennas appeared fearlessly professed his faith. He was led before the prefect Pyrrhus, scourged, put to torture and finally beheaded. His cult quickly became popular and spread widely.
St Martin of Tours (316-397) was one of the most popular saints in the middle ages, and holds a special place in Benedictine spirituality too, because it was to him (along with St John the Baptist) that St Benedict dedicated a chapel on Monte Cassino.
He became a catechumen against the wishes of his family at the age of ten, and, as the son of a veteran, was required to become a soldier, which he did at the age of 15. While a soldier, he famously cut his cloak in half to clothe a scantily clad beggar. That night he had a dream showing that it was Jesus wearing the half-cloak he had given away. Two years later he was released from military service after refusing to fight in an expected battle, and became a disciple of Hilary of Poitiers.
He became first a hermit then a monk, and in 371 was acclaimed Bishop of Tours. He was an active missionary-monk bishop, famously destroying pagan shrines and replacing them with churches and monasteries (actions St Benedict imitated at Monte Cassino, hence, presumably the dedication).
Pope Benedict XVI commented on him back in 2007:
Today, 11 November, the Church remembers St Martin, Bishop of Tours, one of the most celebrated and venerated Saints of Europe. Born of pagan parents in Pannonia, in what is today Hungary, he was directed by his father to a military career around the year 316. Still an adolescent, Martin came into contact with Christianity and, overcoming many difficulties, he enrolled as a catechumen in order to prepare for Baptism. He would receive the Sacrament in his 20s, but he would still stay for a long time in the army, where he would give testimony of his new lifestyle: respectful and inclusive of all, he treated his attendant as a brother and avoided vulgar entertainment. Leaving military service, he went to Poitiers in France near the holy Bishop Hilary. He was ordained a deacon and priest by him, chose the monastic life and with some disciples established the oldest monastery known in Europe at Ligugé. About 10 years later, the Christians of Tours, who were without a Pastor, acclaimed him their Bishop. From that time, Martin dedicated himself with ardent zeal to the evangelization of the countryside and the formation of the clergy. While many miracles are attributed to him, St Martin is known most of all for an act of fraternal charity. While still a young soldier, he met a poor man on the street numb and trembling from the cold. He then took his own cloak and, cutting it in two with his sword, gave half to that man. Jesus appeared to him that night in a dream smiling, dressed in the same cloak.
Dear brothers and sisters, St Martin's charitable gesture flows from the same logic that drove Jesus to multiply the loaves for the hungry crowd, but most of all to leave himself to humanity as food in the Eucharist, supreme Sign of God's love, Sacramentum caritatis. It is the logic of sharing which he used to authentically explain love of neighbour. May St Martin help us to understand that only by means of a common commitment to sharing is it possible to respond to the great challenge of our times: to build a world of peace and justice where each person can live with dignity. This can be achieved if a world model of authentic solidarity prevails which assures to all inhabitants of the planet food, water, necessary medical treatment, and also work and energy resources as well as cultural benefits, scientific and technological knowledge.
Let us turn now to the Virgin Mary so that all Christians may be like St Martin, generous witnesses of the Gospel of love and tireless builders of jointly responsible sharing.
The Life of the saint, written by Sulpicius Severus, is well worth a read.
"ST. THEODORE was born of a noble family in the East, and enrolled while still a youth in the imperial army. Early in 306 the emperor put forth an edict requiring all Christians to offer sacrifice, and Theodore had just joined the legion and marched with them into Pontus, when he had to choose between apostasy and death.
He declared before his commander that he was ready to be cut in pieces and offer up every limb to his Creator, Who had died for him. Wishing to conquer him by gentleness, the commander left him in peace for a while, that he might think over his resolution; but Theodore used his freedom to set on fire the great temple of Isis, and made no secret of this act. Still his judge entreated him to renounce his faith and save his life; but Theodore made the sign of the cross, and answered: "As long as I have breath, I will confess the name of Christ." After cruel torture, the judge bade him think of the shame to which Christ had brought him. "This shame," Theodore answered, "I and all who invoke His name take with joy." He was condemned to be burnt. As the flame rose, a Christian saw his soul rise like a flash of light to heaven."
So far in this series I've posted some notes, videos and links to chants for Prime and Compline and Matins. Today, Terce to None.
The Ordinary of Advent
The key changes to the 'little hours' during Advent are:
if you are singing it, the hymn has a proper tone for the season;
there is an antiphon to be used for each hour every day for each week up to December 16, and then each day;
the chapter and versicle is of the season; and
the closing prayers are said kneeling.
The hymn
The text of the hymns at each of the hours is unchanged - so Nunc Sancte Nobis for Terce, Rector Potens for Sext, and Rerum Deus for None.
The hymn tune though - which is the same for Prime, Terce, Sext and None - is of the season (except on major feasts such as the Immaculate Conception). Note that it is not the same as the one used in Roman Office.
I haven't been able to locate a video or nice recording of it, so the best approach to learning it is probably to listen to one of the archived Le Barroux recordings of Sext.
Antiphons
The antiphons used at the little hours are from Sunday Lauds.
For the first three weeks, as well as Sunday Lauds, the antiphons are also set out in the Ordinary of Advent section at the front of the Diurnal', on pages 13*-15*. Between December 17 and December 23 there is a set of antiphons to be used for the day of the week (pages 37* and following in the Diurnal).
The default rule (for all purposes) is to use:
the first antiphon of Lauds for Prime;
the second antiphon of Lauds for Terce;
the third antiphon of Lauds for Sext; and
the fifth antiphon for None.
There are exceptions, though, and if you look at Saturday in this period, the Diurnal only has four antiphons for Lauds (because of the divided canticle), and so supplies an additional one for Sext.
Chapter and versicle
The chapter and versicle for each of these hours is of Advent, and is the same throughout the season on weekdays, and so can be found in the psalter section of the Diurnal, as well in the 'Ordinary of Advent' section. There are separate texts for each Sunday.
Collect
As usual, the collect is of Sunday of the week, except for the Ember Days in the third week of Advent (and of course on feasts).
The closing prayers are said kneeling during Advent.
Feasts
On feasts, the variable texts of these hours (ie antiphon, chapter, versicle and collect) are replaced by those of the feast.
Summary: Terce, Sext and None during Advent days that are not feasts
PART OF THE HOUR
ADVENT
Opening prayers (Deus in
adjutorium/Gloria patri/Alleluia)
Same as for all of the day hours
(MD 1); stand, make sign of cross
Hymn
As for throughout the year, same
each day for that hour; Advent psalm tone.
Antiphon
Of the Advent week or day (from
Dec 17)
Psalm+Gloria
Patri
Psalm+Gloria
Patri
Psalm+Gloria+Gloria Patri
As for throughout the year, psalms
for Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday to Saturday.
St John Lateran, aka the Archbasilica of Our Saviour, was built by the Emperor Constantine, and consecrated by Pope Sylvester on November 9, 324. It is Rome's (and hence the Pope's) official Cathedral, and ranks as one of the four papal basilicas.
It has a particular significance for Benedictines, as monks fleeing the destruction of Monte Cassino after St Benedict's death established a monastery there, their stories of the founder persuading the future Pope Gregeoy I to become a monk, and to record the life of the saint.
Unfortunately the records of the Church (and subsequent monasteries) are sparse, not least because the basilica was destroyed first by the vandals in 460, and again by an earthquake in 896. And it burnt down in 1307 and again in 1361... The current Church largely dates from the seventeenth century, with some extensive remodelling completed in 1735.
The dedication to St John reflects the monastery established there which served the Cathedral, dedicated to St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.
Today being the Tuesday of St Benedict, as well as the notes on the Votive Office I've already posted, I wanted to alert readers to a couple of excellent blogs with posts worth catching up on at the moment, just in case you haven't seen them.
I also wanted to urge you once again, to pray for and offer financial support to the various traditional foundations, both new and established, and so some brief notes on the foundation process below.
Benedictine reading - from the new foundations
Benedictine spirituality can encompass several quite different streams, and so it is always worth exploring some of the different directions the charism can take.
In this light, the first blog I would urge you to take a look at is from Fr Pius Mary Noonan, Prior of the new foundation in Australia.
His From the Prior Column already has a lot of great material on it all worth a read. The most recent post is on the newly canonised Carmelite Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity, but focusing on some very Benedictine aspects of her thinking indeed, around the idea of peace as our objective, and the concept of the house of God within us.
The second is a series of commentaries on the Rule from Fr Mark Kirby, Prior of Silversteam in Ireland, another still relatively new foundation. His Vultus Christi blog is always worth reading - I've obtained several excellent book recommendations from over there for example. And the current series of commentaries on the Rule is really excellent, with lots of interesting insights.
How are Benedictine monasteries established?
Fr Mark's latest piece also alludes to the reason for the various new foundations being formed at the moment, namely some of the false ideas that have "infected and poisoned religious life for the past fifty years, rendering it tired, sterile, and degenerative."
So just how do new Benedictine monasteries get established?
We tend, I suspect, to think of monasteries as typically being founded as daughterhouses of existing monasteries, as Clear Creek was.
In reality, there are many paths!
By the nineteenth century, Benedictine monasteries were, as far as I can work out, split more or less evenly between monasteries with longstanding traditions (such as those in the Germanic countries, Spain and the English Congregation), and new start-ups without any professed nuns or monks and little or no help from existing monasteries.
Dom Gueranger for example, met his first Benedictine monk - Dom Ullathorpe - seven or so years after he established his monastery, while on his way to Rome to do a week's 'noviciate' at St Paul Outside the Walls, immediately after which he was formally appointed abbot.
In more recent times, there are a range of models.
More than a few monasteries - such as the nuns of Our Lady in the Desert and Petersham for example - have started from groups of laypeople, who once they have become established, have been adopted by existing monasteries or congregations.
An equally common path in the wake of Vatican II has been a single monk seeking to retain or return to the older traditions jettisoned by his or her monastery (Le Barroux being the most famous example).
The current traditional Benedictine monasteries
I've tried to summarise in the list below, of the origins of the monasteries currently using the traditional Benedictine Office and Mass occasionally or regularly. There are also a few others that use the traditional Office, but Novus Ordo Mass.
Please do let me know if there are any I have wrong, or have missed (I've mostly used the list on the FIUV website).
(1) Founded by laypeople
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles
Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel's Hope
Clear Creek Sisters
(2) Founded by one professed monk or nun
Le Barroux, France (men) (1970)- founded by one monk (Dom Calvet)
Le Barroux, France (women) (1979) (Mother Elizabeth de la Londe)
San Benedetto, Norcia Italy (1998) (Fr Cassian Folsom)
Silverstream, Ireland (Fr Mark Kirby)
Christ the King, Alabama
[Our Lady of Cana]
(3) Small group of monks (not a daughterhouse)
Benedictines of the Immaculate
?La Garde Freinet
(4) 'Reverts' - monasteries choosing to go back to the traditional Mass
Flavigny
Mariawald (OCSO)
Farnborough (Solesmes/Prinknash)
Fontgambault (though they stopped using the TLM only for a short period, under extreme pressure)
This is once again a Tuesday unimpeded by feasts so in days of yore a Votive Office of St Benedict would have been said.
Even if you don't wish to say a devotional Office of the saint it is certainly salutary, I think, to make some extra devotion to St Benedict on Tuesdays in keeping with this beautiful tradition.
And hopefully at least some people will find it interesting to know something more of the liturgical traditions of the Order.
St Benedict and a good death
In previous posts I've described Vespers (said the night before) and Matins, so today I want to focus on Lauds.
But first, it is worth noting that the Matins readings for theVotive Office in November were, appropriately for the season, on the death of St Benedict, as described in Chapter 37 of the Life of St Benedict by St Gregory the Great. You can find the translation set out as it is in the older breviaries (ie pre-1911) over at my Lectio Divina blog.
St Benedict, by virtue of his edifying death, propped up in Church by two of his monks, is regarded as the patron of a good death, and it seems to me well worth meditating on this chapter given that this conception of the good death is so deeply counter-cultural to our times.
You might also want to consider adding to your prayers, if you don't already say it, the daily prayer to St Benedict for a happy death:
V. Intercede for us, O holy Father Benedict. R. And obtain for us the grace of a happy death.
O holy Father, St. Benedict, blessed by God both in grace and in name, who, while standing in prayer, with hands raised to heaven, didst most happily yield thy angelic spirit into the hands of thy Creator, and hast promised zealously to defend against all the snares of the enemy in the last struggle of death, those who shall daily remind thee of thy glorious departure and heavenly joys; protect me, I beseech thee, O glorious Father, this day and every day, by thy holy blessings, that I may never be separated from our dear Lord, from the society of thyself, and of all the blessed. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen."
Votive Office of St Benedict - Lauds
At Lauds the antiphons, chapter, responsoryand hymn of the Office were those of the Feast of St Benedict on March 21 (Fuit vir etc).
The Benedictus antiphon, however, was:
O beati viri Benedicti sancta praeconia, o inaestimabilis dilectio caritatis, quidum saeculi pompam contempsit, aeternae vitae coniunctus est.
O blessed man
The collect was, as for the other hours:
The collect is:
Excita Domine, in Ecclesia tua Spiritum, cui beatus Pater noster Benedictus Abbas servivit; ut eodem nos repleti studeamus amare quod docuit. Per Dominum...in unitate ejusdem Spiritus.
(Raise up, O Lord, in thy Church, the Spirit wherewith our holy Father Benedict was animated: that, filled with the same, we may strive to love what he loved, and to practise what he taught. Through Christ...)
The recording of the hymn below differs from the version in the 1934 antiphonale, but is worth listening to nonetheless.
The 'four crowned martyrs' - named in the Roman martyrology as Severus, Severian, Carpophorus and Victorinus - soldiers who were beaten to death with leaden scourges under the Emperor Diocletian for refusing to sacrifice to the gods.
Ancient custom combines their celebration with five other martyrs under Diocletian, Claudius, Nicostatus, Symphorian, Castorius and Simplicius, stone masons who refused to make graven images under the same Emperor around 305 AD.
Continuing this little series on getting ready for Advent, today a quick look at Matins during Advent.
Matins during Advent
Matins during Advent is actually fairly straightforward - although there are some seasonal texts, unlike the day hours, Matins doesn't become more complicated in the second half of Advent!
The key changes are that:
instead of the daily invitatory verses that are normally used with Psalm 94, there are two seasonal ones;
the hymn (Verbum supernum) is of the season rather than the day of the week;
on Sundays there are antiphons for the season;
the versicles at the end of the first Nocturn are of the season;
there are three readings each day, generally from Isaiah;
the final chapter is of the season; and
on Sundays the third Nocturn canticles are of the season.
If you are using a breviary to say Matins, all of this is set out in the Ordinary (pgs 14-15 of Volume 1 for the 1963 edition of the breviary). It is also nicely set out in the new Nocturnal Monasticum at page 14.
If you are using the Clear Creek booklet, however, not all of these texts are included, so I'll point you to sources for the missing parts.
Invitatory and hymn
The invitatory verse up until the third Sunday of Advent is the same as the Roman Office, viz:
Regem venturum Dominum * Venite adoremus.
The Lord, the King who is to come * O come, let us adore Him.
Note though that there are a couple of different versions of the chant around; the monastic one can be found in the Liber Hymnarius (pg 146).
From the third Sunday, the invitatory becomes:
Prope est iam Dominus * Venite adoremus.
The Lord is now near * O come, let us adore Him.
The hymn is also the same as the Roman Office, and so the text can be found at Divinum Officium.
Nocturns
The antiphons, versicles and so forth needed are generally listed in psalters, so it is just a matter of making sure you use the ones noted for Advent. Note that on week days the antiphons are as for throughout the year.
I want to offer a short series of notes and links on the Office of Advent to encourage you to start preparing now.
Advent is easily the most complex period when it comes to saying the Office, due to the mix of texts that need to be juggled for the season, week of Advent, day of the week and date. But on the positive side, Advent also includes some of the most beautiful texts and chants in the repertoire, which are well worth learning.
Accordingly, today a look at Compline and Prime, which are relatively straightforward.
Compline
At Compline, apart from chant tones, the only change is in the Marian antiphon, which becomes Alma Redemptoris Mater.
For the psalms, the most commonly utilised chant tone is actually the one (in directum) that appears in most chant books (I haven't been able to find the other seasonal tones in a printed book - do let me know if you know of a good source for these!). You can get a feel for it by listening to one of the archived podcasts from Le Barroux).
For the hymn tone, you can listen to Te lucis ante terminum sung to the Advent tone (page 183 in the Antiphonale Monasticum) over at Liber Hynarius.
For the Marian antiphon, on weekdays use the simple tone:
On Saturdays, Sundays and major feasts, the Solemn tone. Here it is sung by the nuns of Argentan:
Prime
The key change to Prime is that instead of the normal antiphons for each day of the week, there are antiphons for each week of Advent (up to December 16), and then each day of the week (December 17-23).
Up to and including December 16
Up until December 16, the antiphon for Prime (except where displaced by feasts) is the first antiphon of Lauds on Sunday.
So for week I of Advent, the antiphon is In illa die; in week 2 of Advent, Ecce in nubibus caeli.
As well as under Sundays in Advent, you can also find them in the section that sets out the Ordinary of Advent, on MD 13* (right at the front of the Diurnal).
The psalms (of each day of the week), chapter, versicles and collect all stay as usual.
The text of the hymn remains unchanged (Iam lucis), but there is an Advent hymn tone to use - the tone is the same for all of the hymns from Prime to None, and you can find it in the Antiphonale Monasticum.
December 17-23
Between December 17 and 23, there is a different antiphon for each day of the week, and you can find these on pages 37*-40*.
The antiphon for Prime is, as usual, the first antiphon of Lauds.
The Feast of All Souls, when we especially pray for the souls in purgatory, has Benedictine origins, having been established by St. Odilo at his abbey of Cluny in 998.
He was inspired to establish the feast by a pilgrim returning from the Holy Land who was cast by a storm on a desolate island. A hermit living there told him that amid the rocks was a chasm communicating with purgatory, from which perpetually rose the groans of tortured souls. The hermit had also heard the demons complaining of the efficacy of the prayers of the faithful, and especially the monks of Cluny, in rescuing their victims. Upon returning home, the pilgrim hastened to inform the abbot of Cluny, who then set 2 November as a day of intercession on the part of his community for all the souls in purgatory.
From Cluny the custom quickly spread across Europe, and entered the universal calendar in the fourteenth century.
Today is the feast of All Hallows, or All Saints, when we commemorate all those who have reached heaven, known or unknown.
These days a lot of communities seem to be treating it as a chance to celebrate again your own favourite canonised saint. But personally I favour celebrating all those faithful souls that we don't know about, but who are yet saints in heaven, particularly asking those of our own ancestors and deceased relatives and friends if they be in this happy state, to pray for us.
The origins of the feast can be traced back to the consecration of the Parthenon to the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs around 609, and was originally celebrated on 13 May. The feast was moved to 1 November by Pope Gregory III (731–741) when he built an oratory in St. Peter's for the relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world".
Today used to be the Vigil of All Saints (aka Halloween), a night when traditionally the veil between Earth and purgatory thinned, the dead could come back to request prayers, and devils could appear to remind us of the reality of hell.
These days there are endless debates amongst Catholics infected by political correctness as to the appropriateness/catholicity of Halloween celebrations. Personally, I'm with those who think we do need a reminder of the reality of death, demons and the workers of evil....
One of the questions someone posed in response to my last post in this series was, do these rules apply to me?
It is actually a very good question to ponder, so here is my take on the subject.
The public prayer of the Church
One of the key things you need to understand before opening your Diurnal ore breviary is that the monastic Office, or Divine Office, even when said by one person privately, is part of the formal worship of the Church, just like the Mass and sacraments.
Priests, for example, are praying liturgically when they say the Office in their homes rather than in a Church, and the same is true of laypeople.
This wasn't always the case when it comes to the laity.
Between the Council of Trent and Vatican II the Church restricted the delegation to pray the Office on its behalf to priests and religious, in the interest of protecting the integrity of the texts used. Pope Pisu XII, for example explained the reasons for this as follows:
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. (Mediator Dei)
Vatican II, though aspired to revive the older custom of lay participation in this form of prayer, and 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 (take a look also at the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paras 1174-1175).
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.
Participating in the liturgy of the hours
The privilege of saying the Office liturgically, though, 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.
At the other end of the scale, 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, you need to keep in mind the seriousness and importance of what you are doing, and that includes learning to say the Office properly, and following the rubrics.
Divini Cultus
Let me leave you with some inspiring words of Pope Pius XI on this subject, from the Apostolic Consitutution Divini Cultus, issued in 1928:
Since the Church has received from Christ her Founder the office of safeguarding the sanctity of divine worship, it is certainly incumbent upon her, while leaving intact the substance of the Sacrifice and the sacraments, to prescribe ceremonies, rites, formulae, prayers and chant for the proper regulation of that august public ministry, whose special name is "Liturgy", as being the eminently sacred action.
For the liturgy is indeed a sacred thing, since by it we are raised to God and united to Him, thereby professing our faith and our deep obligation to Him for the benefits we have received and the help of which we stand in constant need. There is thus a close connection between dogma and the sacred liturgy, and between Christian worship and the sanctification of the faithful. Hence Pope Celestine I saw the standard of faith expressed in the sacred formulae of the liturgy. "The rule of our faith," he says, "is indicated by the law of our worship. When those who are set over the Christian people fulfill the function committed to them, they plead the cause of the human race in the sight of God's clemency, and pray and supplicate in conjunction with the whole Church."
These public prayers, called at first "the work of God" and later "the divine office" or the daily "debt" which man owes to God, used to be offered both day and night in the presence of a great concourse of the faithful. From the earliest times the simple chants which graced the sacred prayers and the liturgy gave a wonderful impulse to the piety of the people. History tells us how in the ancient basilicas, where bishop, clergy and people alternately sang the divine praises, the liturgical chant played no small part in converting many barbarians to Christianity and civilization. It was in the churches that heretics came to understand more fully the meaning of the communion of saints; thus the Emperor Valens, an Arian, being present at Mass celebrated by St. Basil, was overcome by an extraordinary seizure and fainted. At Milan, St. Ambrose was accused by heretics of attracting the crowds by means of liturgical chants. It was due to these that St. Augustine made up his mind to become a Christian. It was in the churches, finally, where practically the whole city formed a great joint choir, that the workers, builders, artists, sculptors and writers gained from the liturgy that deep knowledge of theology which is now so apparent in the monuments of the Middle Ages.
No wonder, then, that the Roman Pontiffs have been so solicitous to safeguard and protect the liturgy. They have used the same care in making laws for the regulation of the liturgy, in preserving it from adulteration, as they have in giving accurate expression to the dogmas of the faith. This is the reason why the Fathers made both spoken and written commentary upon the liturgy or "the law of worship"; for this reason the Council of Trent ordained that the liturgy should be expounded and explained to the faithful.
When Pope Pius XI instituted the feast of Christ the King in 1925 he specified for it the last Sunday of October; Paul VI moved to the last Sunday of the liturgical year.
In the traditional Benedictine calendar however, this Sunday is indeed the feast of Christ the King.
The Kingship of Christ
In Quas primas, Pope Pius XI explained the basis for the feast:
"...these manifold evils in the world were due to the fact that the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives; that these had no place either in private affairs or in politics: and we said further, that as long as individuals and states refused to submit to the rule of our Savior, there would be no really hopeful prospect of a lasting peace among nations. Men must look for the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ; and that We promised to do as far as lay in Our power. In the Kingdom of Christ, that is, it seemed to Us that peace could not be more effectually restored nor fixed upon a firmer basis than through the restoration of the Empire of Our Lord. We were led in the meantime to indulge the hope of a brighter future at the sight of a more widespread and keener interest evinced in Christ and his Church, the one Source of Salvation, a sign that men who had formerly spurned the rule of our Redeemer and had exiled themselves from his kingdom were preparing, and even hastening, to return to the duty of obedience....
It has long been a common custom to give to Christ the metaphorical title of "King," because of the high degree of perfection whereby he excels all creatures. So he is said to reign "in the hearts of men," both by reason of the keenness of his intellect and the extent of his knowledge, and also because he is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind. He reigns, too, in the wills of men, for in him the human will was perfectly and entirely obedient to the Holy Will of God, and further by his grace and inspiration he so subjects our free-will as to incite us to the most noble endeavors. He is King of hearts, too, by reason of his "charity which exceedeth all knowledge." And his mercy and kindness which draw all men to him, for never has it been known, nor will it ever be, that man be loved so much and so universally as Jesus Christ. But if we ponder this matter more deeply, we cannot but see that the title and the power of King belongs to Christ as man in the strict and proper sense too. For it is only as man that he may be said to have received from the Father "power and glory and a kingdom," since the Word of God, as consubstantial with the Father, has all things in common with him, and therefore has necessarily supreme and absolute dominion over all things created.
Do we not read throughout the Scriptures that Christ is the King?...Moreover, Christ himself speaks of his own kingly authority: in his last discourse, speaking of the rewards and punishments that will be the eternal lot of the just and the damned; in his reply to the Roman magistrate, who asked him publicly whether he were a king or not; after his resurrection, when giving to his Apostles the mission of teaching and baptizing all nations, he took the opportunity to call himself king, confirming the title publicly, and solemnly proclaimed that all power was given him in heaven and on earth. These words can only be taken to indicate the greatness of his power, the infinite extent of his kingdom...
Let Us explain briefly the nature and meaning of this lordship of Christ. It consists, We need scarcely say, in a threefold power which is essential to lordship. This is sufficiently clear from the scriptural testimony already adduced concerning the universal dominion of our Redeemer, and moreover it is a dogma of faith that Jesus Christ was given to man, not only as our Redeemer, but also as a law-giver, to whom obedience is due. Not only do the gospels tell us that he made laws, but they present him to us in the act of making them. Those who keep them show their love for their Divine Master, and he promises that they shall remain in his love. He claimed judicial power as received from his Father, when the Jews accused him of breaking the Sabbath by the miraculous cure of a sick man. "For neither doth the Father judge any man; but hath given all judgment to the Son."[26] In this power is included the right of rewarding and punishing all men living, for this right is inseparable from that of judging. Executive power, too, belongs to Christ, for all must obey his commands; none may escape them, nor the sanctions he has imposed.
This kingdom is spiritual and is concerned with spiritual things..."
Reasons for celebrating the feast
If We ordain that the whole Catholic world shall revere Christ as King, We shall minister to the need of the present day, and at the same time provide an excellent remedy for the plague which now infects society....The empire of Christ over all nations was rejected. The right which the Church has from Christ himself, to teach mankind, to make laws, to govern peoples in all that pertains to their eternal salvation, that right was denied. Then gradually the religion of Christ came to be likened to false religions and to be placed ignominiously on the same level with them. It was then put under the power of the state and tolerated more or less at the whim of princes and rulers. Some men went even further, and wished to set up in the place of God's religion a natural religion consisting in some instinctive affection of the heart. There were even some nations who thought they could dispense with God, and that their religion should consist in impiety and the neglect of God. The rebellion of individuals and states against the authority of Christ has produced deplorable consequences...the seeds of discord sown far and wide; those bitter enmities and rivalries between nations, which still hinder so much the cause of peace; that insatiable greed which is so often hidden under a pretense of public spirit and patriotism, and gives rise to so many private quarrels; a blind and immoderate selfishness, making men seek nothing but their own comfort and advantage, and measure everything by these; no peace in the home, because men have forgotten or neglect their duty; the unity and stability of the family undermined; society in a word, shaken to its foundations and on the way to ruin.
We firmly hope, however, that the feast of the Kingship of Christ, which in future will be yearly observed, may hasten the return of society to our loving Savior. It would be the duty of Catholics to do all they can to bring about this happy result. Many of these, however, have neither the station in society nor the authority which should belong to those who bear the torch of truth. This state of things may perhaps be attributed to a certain slowness and timidity in good people, who are reluctant to engage in conflict or oppose but a weak resistance; thus the enemies of the Church become bolder in their attacks. But if the faithful were generally to understand that it behooves them ever to fight courageously under the banner of Christ their King, then, fired with apostolic zeal, they would strive to win over to their Lord those hearts that are bitter and estranged from him, and would valiantly defend his rights.
When we pay honor to the princely dignity of Christ, men will doubtless be reminded that the Church, founded by Christ as a perfect society, has a natural and inalienable right to perfect freedom and immunity from the power of the state; and that in fulfilling the task committed to her by God of teaching, ruling, and guiding to eternal bliss those who belong to the kingdom of Christ, she cannot be subject to any external power... Nations will be reminded by the annual celebration of this feast that not only private individuals but also rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ."
