I have been thinking about the parts of the divine office. The antiphons, psalms, hymns, canticles, readings, Benedictus, Magnificat, responsory, Nunc Dimittis, litanies, prayers — and there may be some elements of the divine office that I have overlooked.
While I enjoy the entire divine office, I especially enjoy the antiphons and the longer readings in Vigils when the readings are from an early church father or later saint. And if pressed to give my favorite part of the divine office, it would be the antiphons because they are packed with so much of why I enjoy all of the divine office in the first place. Antiphons are like compact divine offices — full of deep spirituality and poetic imagery while also conveying the most profound truths about God.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
I am Pro Antiphon. A Benedictine oblate blog
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I'm lucky to use a version of the Book of Common Prayer called The Prayerbook Office that has lots of different antiphons for both the psalms and canticles. The antiphons help "customize" the office to the various feasts and seasons and, quite frankly, help keep it from getting repetitive.
ReplyDeleteJoe, yes, another great service from the mighty antiphon! Thank you for adding this excellent insight.
ReplyDeleteThanks forr sharing this
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