Divine Office: always different. A Benedictine oblate blog

Rainbow by cohdra

I have been visiting St. Leo Abbey and praying the divine office for some time now. People who do not pray the divine office may think that it would be boringly repetitious. But each divine office prayed with the monks and each private prayer of the divine office I do at home is different from all others.

Some divine office elements change each day and I could point to the differences in content. Much of the difficulty I have in flipping around in The Monastic Diurnal (MD) and Benedictine Daily Prayer (BDP) stems from the changing content. The variable content means many offices are different.

But the newness of each divine office comes mostly from how God's mercy is new each day and for each office even the little hours and compline. The Lord's hourly care for the soul is the blessing for those who pray the divine office. Those monks knew the path.

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Footnotes:

Picture is PIC1079491066.jpg by cohdra and is used subject to license.

English GILOH. A Benedictine oblate blog

Old English Sheepdog

Recently, I found that the Liturgy Office of England and Wales (The Bishops of England and Wales) has an English translation of the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours (GILOH). The file is in PDF. The English-English translation is excellent. I rely on it more than the American-English version offered by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Another advantage of the English-English version is that the footnotes are at the bottom of the page rather than at the back as is the case with the EWTN online version of the USCCB version. And the English-English version uses less abbreviations in the footnotes so it is easier for a LOH novice like me to understand the reference without referring to the list of abbreviations.

For those who prefer the style of American-English, the USCCB GILOH is available online courtesy of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), or by purchase from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), or in the 4-Volume "Liturgy of the Hours." I do not know whether the GILOH is available in other books such as "Christian Prayer - Liturgy of the Hours."

If you are studying the GILOH, compare the two English translations versions, you might also have a preference or just want to use both for a fuller sense of each section of the GILOH.

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Footnotes:

Picture is dewollewei from OES.org, the community of "Old English Sheepdog Lovers".

St. Benedict’s favorite psalms? A Benedictine oblate blog

St. Benedict wrote a Rule for monks which is also used today by Benedictine oblates.

St. Benedict’s Rule gives a schedule for chanting all 150 Psalms during a week. But in that schedule St. Benedict actually had his monks reciting certain Psalms more than once each week.

I call these repeated Psalms St. Benedict’s favorite Psalms because while he borrowed the Psalm patterns used in other monastic rules and in the Church practices (the Lauds (meaning praise) Psalms are a good example), he also modified those lists to fit his own plan.

In a freedom common with St. Benedict’s famous Rule he adds at the end of his detailed Psalm schedule that if anyone does not like his Psalm arrangement, they should rearrange the Psalms as they see fit, provided that all 150 Psalms are chanted every week.

What are the Psalms that St. Benedict’s Rule has his monks chanting more than once a week? I like to think they were his favorites and perhaps because they were also the favorites throughout the Church and monastic communities since antiquity.

St. Benedict’s 19 “Favorite” Psalms

Psalm 3 at Vigils each day(1)
Psalm 94(95) at Vigils each day(1)

Psalm 66(67) at Lauds each day
Psalm 50(51)at Lauds each day
Psalm 148 at Lauds each day
Psalm 149 at Lauds each day
Psalm 150 at Lauds each day

Psalm 119(120) at Terce Tuesday through Saturday
Psalm 120(121) at Terce Tuesday through Saturday
Psalm 121(122) at Terce Tuesday through Saturday

Psalm 122(123) at Sext Tuesday through Saturday
Psalm 123(124) at Sext Tuesday through Saturday
Psalm 124(125) at Sext Tuesday through Saturday

Psalm 125(126) at None Tuesday through Saturday
Psalm 126(127) at None Tuesday through Saturday
Psalm 127(128) at None Tuesday through Saturday

Psalm 4 at Compline each day
Psalm 90(91) at Compline each day
Psalm 133(134) at Compline each day

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

St. Benedict of Nursia, Italy. Born at Nursia, c. 480 AD; died at Monte Cassino, Italy, 543 AD is the father of western monasticism and one of the several copatron saints of Europe.

We know about St. Benedict primarily from his famous Rule which is a set of principles and regulations for how monks should live in a monastery under the spiritual guidance of an abbot.

A major part of Benedictine monastic spirituality is praying, reading, or singing the divine office which is psalms, hymns, Bible verses, and prayers said at fixed times throughout the day.

The central part of each daily office is the psalms recited for that office. The virtually universal monastic practice in the early Christian church was to recite all 150 psalms during each week. St. Benedict continued this practice of praying the 150 Psalms when he complied his Rule for monks which became the most widely used Rule in Western Christianity and still is today.

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Footnotes:

(1) Chanting these Psalms also on Sundays is inferred from the weekday plan.

Picture is cohdra_100_4397.JPG by cohdra and is used subject to license

If I made any errors in the list, please post a comment with the correct information. Also any other observations about how St. Benedict arranged the Psalms would also be welcomed. I used Benedict Saint, RB 1980 the rule of St. Benedict in Latin and English with notes (Collegeville, Minn: Liturgical Press, 1981) 390

Walking Prayers before Prayers. A Benedictine oblate blog

On my visit to the abbey today, I arrived early to spend some time in the church before 8:00 pm compline (the last divine office of the day).

The monks begin entering the church about 7:30 pm. The monks come in at different times and through any one of several doors into the church. Although even the young monks have done many complines, the monks are not rushed as they walk in — they are not distracted. The monks have already set their time to an ancient liturgical clock. They are like walking prayers before the community begins praying together.

The monks coming into the church are a proper example of John Cassian’s comment, “we need to prepare ourselves before the time for prayer to be as we would wish to be found when we pray, since the mind is shaped in its petitions by its previous state.”1

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Footnote

1. "Saint John Cassian on Prayer," translated by A.M. Casiday, page 12.

The picture above is of the new interior remodeling of the church without the large lift scaffold that blocked my getting a full picture before.

On Sundays and other special days the monks walk into the church in two columns, but on days like tonight, the monks walk in on their own. They are dressed all in black in floor-length cloaks. They have hoods, but do not pull them over their heads until the end of compline when they all put on their hoods at the same time — they enter the great silence until morning laudes at 7:00 am.

Two Candles, One Light. A Benedictine oblate blog

I am reading “Saint John Cassian on Prayer," translated by A.M. Casiday for my Lenten reading.

Reading a book for Lent is an oblate practice borrowed from chapter 48 of the Rule, written for monks in monasteries by our Holy Father St. Benedict.

I read in my chair reserved for Benedictine prayer or reading books like “Saint John Cassian on Prayer."

A friend set up an entire prayer room in her house and that got me thinking that I could do a better job at making my prayer time more secluded from the world.

I use my prayer chair even though being an oblate has also made my “regular work time” much more a part of my “spiritual life.”

As an oblate, I see all my time as being devoted to God whether I am working or praying. On good days, the whole day seems consecrated to God — there is not one part for work and another part for spiritual contemplation.

I recognize that there is an apparent conflict in saying that my spiritual life is enhanced when I use my separate prayer chair and then also saying that my oblate practices merge the worldly and spiritual compartments of my life.

But from where I sit, either in my prayer chair or in front of my computer working, I can now see more clearly that there is no conflict and no separations.

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Picture is Candles by SeaN Rozekrans.

Silence at Terce. A Benedictine oblate blog

One of my additional services for Lent is to spend more time in silence during the middle of day. I seldom take time for silence while I am working.

I rarely honor the day by stopping for terce, sext, and none (the three little hours of the divine office during the day, such as at 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, and 3:00 pm)(1). It is a constant regret in my oblate life even though I know oblates are to pray the divine office as our situation in life allows. I want my oblate life to allow it.

Lent is a training time of extra effort for me to stop and spend time in silence. A good time for silence is after one or more of the three divine offices during the middle parts of the day.

Today I did terce at about 11:30 am. It was WONDERFUL. "Why don't I do this everyday?" is what I repeat to myself on each of those rare occasions when I do pray the little offices (terce, sext, none).

I stopped for an early lunch today and found a still, quiet place outside near a garden. Here in Florida the weather is about 80 degrees (27 degrees Celsius), with clear skies, and with a slight breeze that is more like a conversation with God.

Terce today was a garden doorway into a warming light.

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Footnote:

The picture is "Cat napping in the midday shade in Marpissa" by Varmazis. This was the state of my heart after my terce in the late morning sun today.

(1) "The origin of Terce, like that of Sext and None, to which it bears a close relationship, dates back to Apostolic times. ... According to an ancient custom of the Romans and Greeks, the day and night respectively were divided into four parts of about three hours each. The second division of the day hours was that of Terce from nine o'clock until midday. These divisions of the day were also in vogue among the Jews at the time of Christ. In the New Testament we find mention of the sixth hour in Matthew 20:5; 27:45; Mark 15:33; John 19:14; of the ninth hour, in Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:25; the Holy Ghost descends upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost at the third hour, Acts 2:15.

"Some of these texts prove that these three hours were, in preference to others, chosen for prayer by the Christians, and probably also by the Jews, from whom the Christians appear to have borrowed the custom. We find frequent mention in the Fathers of the Church and the ecclesiastical writers of the third century of Terce, Sext, and None as hours for daily prayers." From "Terce" in the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia.


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The Last Christmas Present. A Benedictine oblate blog

In this year’s Advent and Christmas seasons I saw more clearly the coming of Jesus into every part of the new liturgical year than I had before.(1) The divine office helps me appreciate this truth — Jesus is the liturgical year.

As Genesis points to what comes later in the Bible, the first two liturgical seasons (Advent and Christmas) give birth to what follows in the year.

Advent and Christmas are the source of the year’s spiritual power.

The mention of Advent and Christmas’ spiritual power brings to mind the spiritual power of monasteries because the Pope said that monasteries are places of spiritual power (2).

Monasteries sing the divine office and it is not surprising that the daily divine office prayed and sung by monks, nuns, and sisters (and oblates) also contains elements from Advent and Christmas to give each day its structure — and its spiritual power.

A liturgical day in the divine office contains the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79), the Magnificat (Canticle of Mary) (Luke 1:46-55), and Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:29-32).

These three great canticles (songs) are also known as the Evangelical Canticles because they all come from the Gospel (Evangelium) of St. Luke.

Morning: The Benedictus is part of Lauds (morning prayer).
Evening: The Magnificat is part of Vespers (evening prayer).
Night: The Nunc Dimittis is part of Compline (completion of the day and entry into the great silence).

And the Benedictus, the Magnificat, and Nunc dimittis are also associated with Advent and the traditional Christmas seasons.

The Benedictus (from its first word) is the song of prophesy and thanksgiving by Zechariah (father of John the Baptist).(3) The Benedictus rejoices in the coming of the Messiah. According to a reference in the Catholic Encyclopedia, St. Benedict, author of the famous Rule for monasteries is thought to have been the first to add the Benedictus to the daily divine office.

The Magnificat (from its first word) is the song of Mary and is part of Vespers. The Magnificat contains many phrases from the Old Testament in praise of God’s mercy and, of course, the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham: it is the “last canticle of the Old and first of the New Testament.”(4)

Nunc dimittis (from its first words)(5) is historically the last the three songs — because it was the song by Simeon in the Temple at the Presentation of the Lord ("Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord") — celebrated on February 2. Traditionally this time is also known as Candlemas because of the blessing of candles associated with the Purification of the Blessed Virgin.(6)

St. Benedict did not create Compline, but St. Benedict is thought to have given Compline its liturgical nature. However, St. Benedict did not include Nunc dimittis in his Compline and it was the Roman Rite that completed the trio of canticles by adding Nunc dimittis to Compline.

The liturgical year is born in Advent and Christmas, but in each day of praying the divine office we receive the present of the first seasons' most beautiful songs.

Simeon (Luke 2:29-32) had been told that he would not see death until he saw the Christ of the Lord. At the end of our day in Compline we may still hope our eternal rest comes with the same gift God granted to Simeon.


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Footnotes

(1) I wrote blogs here, here, and here on Advent and Christmas.

(2) Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 at an Austrian abbey:

“And I ask you, dear members of the faithful: see your abbeys and monasteries for what they are and always wish to be: not mere strongholds of culture and tradition, or even simple business enterprises. Structure, organization and finances are necessary in the Church too, but they are not what is essential. A monastery is above all this: a place of spiritual power. Coming to one of your monasteries here in Austria, we have the same impression as when, after a strenuous hike in the Alps, we finally find refreshment at a clear mountain spring… Take advantage of these springs of God’s closeness in your country; treasure the religious communities, the monasteries and abbeys; and make use of the spiritual service that consecrated person are willing to offer you!” Source

(3) Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79)

"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people. He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant, even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old: salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that, rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high will visit us to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

(4) Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

(5) Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32)

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel."

(6) "Until 1969, the ancient feast of the presentation of Our Lord, which is of Oriental origin, was known in the West as the feast of the Purification of Our Lady, and closed the Christmas season, forty days after the Lord's birth. This feast has for long been associated with many popular devotional exercises." Source Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy — Principles and Guidelines — Vatican City — December 2001

“Forty days after the birth of Christ Mary complied with this precept of the law, she redeemed her first-born from the temple (Numbers 18:15), and was purified by the prayer of Simeon the just, in the presence of Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:22 et seq.)” Source

I am Pro Antiphon. A Benedictine oblate blog

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.

1,500 years together — Attachment and Detachment. A Benedictine oblate blog

Benedictine monastic practices help me unify two concepts that I had thought were in conflict. The concepts are the sense of “otherworldliness and detachment” on one hand and “this-worldliness and attachment” on the other.(1)

The monastic desire for God drives detachment. That seems easy to see.

For me, it was less apparent how my necessary attachment to this world, to family, and to work can also propel me to God.

The answer for me was found in two things I learned because I became an oblate. Many people have come to these truths without Benedictine monasticism, but for me, that’s where the light became visible.

First, is the desire for God. The Christian’s desire for God expands through time here in this world. Through the time and trials in this world, my desire and love for God increases because I become more open to God’s unending grace in every detail of my life, the good and the bad.

Suffering and joy are reconciled in the growing desire for God. “Love gives unity to all and resolves all contradictions.”(2)

Second, the monastic life expresses that desire for God in the ancient practice of the divine office. The divine office gives a “this-world” structure and manner of moving through my busy day — always grounded on that constant desire for God — and helping to unify the attachment I have to this world with the detachment that draws me beyond.

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Footnotes and references

(1) "The Benedictines," A Digest for Moderns
By Dom David Knowles, page 41.
Monk of Downside Abbey
Introduction by Marion R. Bowman, O.S.B.
Abbot of Saint Leo Abbey
The Abbey Press
Saint Leo, Florida
1962
Here is an incomplete, online version of this classic work.

(2) "The Love of Learning and the Desire for God," by Jean Leclercq, OSB. Fordham University Press, New York, 2001, page 31.

Change what you don’t like. A Benedictine oblate blog

After my morning divine office, I read the day’s section of the Rule of St. Benedict. Many versions of the Rule divide the text into sections for reading each day so that during the calendar year you will read through the Rule three times. Today I read part of chapter 18 — “In What Order the Psalms Are to Be Said” which states:

“We strongly recommend, however,
that if this distribution of the Psalms is displeasing to anyone,
he or she should arrange them otherwise,
in whatever way he or she considers better,
but taking care in any case
that the Psalter with its full number of 150 Psalms
be chanted every week
and begun again every Sunday at the Night Office.”

St. Benedict (summary of his spirituality and life) illustrates one of the strengths of his Rule in the passage quoted above. He gives an instruction, but also allows for modifications. This shows great trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of those who, understanding the principle behind a particular instruction in the Rule, should be free to apply that principle to a particular setting in the future.

I try to apply that Benedictine principle in my life as an oblate. What is the principle to be applied?

There is much freedom in the Benedictine way, but note that along with that freedom there is actually more responsibility — mindlessly following a set of rules misses the deeper point of the wisdom. I must understand the living principle not the dry rule. Very Benedictine.

Retreat Part 2, Overall Schedule. A Benedictine oblate blog

St. Leo Abbey, Florida, USA

[Click picture to enlarge]

The schedule for the weekend retreat was as follows — beginning with registration Friday after work and extending until Sunday just after lunch so people had enough time to drive back home. Some oblates drove many hours to attend the retreat.

Friday evening:

Registration
Opening Conference
Conversation/Quiet Time
Grand Silence/Retire

Saturday:

Lauds
Breakfast
Morning Conference
Break
Bead Workshop
Mass
Lunch

Medes
Confessions
Group Picture
Private time
Lector Workshop (optional) (Lectors read portions of the Bible during Mass)
Chaplet of Divine Mercy
Afternoon Conference

Vespers
Supper
Rosary
Sacrament of Anointing
Evening Conference
Social
Grand Silence/Retire

Sunday:

Lauds
Breakfast
Morning Conference
Mass
Novice Meeting

Medes
Picture of all Oblates
Lunch
Pack and Leave

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The above was the official schedule. As I wrote in the previous blog, my wife and I arrived at the abbey about 11:30 am on Friday for Mass and we stayed later on Sunday until the end of vespers.

During the weekend, we missed a couple of activities so we could take a nap, but regretted our decision to miss anything. The solution is to go to sleep soon after the start of the Grand Silence instead of staying up and talking in our room. But each day’s schedule was so interesting we wanted to go over each detail again.

As can be seen from the schedule, a main characteristic of a retreat is to follow the daily divine offices with the monks of the abbey. I cannot over emphasize the significance of this feature. The divine offices hold the day together. The divine offices lead us through the day. All retreat activities during the weekend are illuminated by the light from the divine offices.

It was a wonderful retreat.

Calendar Comfort for Oblates

I feel better knowing what day it is. When I have been very busy or very inactive, I sometimes forget to keep track of both the day and day of the week. Is this the 8 or 9, and is it Monday or Tuesday?

Knowing where I am in the Church calendar and within each days’ Divine Office gives me a fuller sense of that same satisfaction that comes from knowing what day it is.

Knowing that a time is, for example, the eighth Sunday of the year, in Psalm week 4, and Sunday cycle A, that it is ordinary time, and it is time for Vigils keeps me close to the life of Christ revealed anew each year. My calendar is not set to a number, it is set to a life.

And of course, within a day this might not only 2:00 pm, but it will also be None too soon. ;)

Divine Office -- Structure of Beauty - Benedictine Oblate

The Divine Office helps structure my day of work and evenings of more work — yes, just like your day.

I often hear Protestants who come to the Catholic monastery near my home and begin praying the Divine Office say they like the structure of this manner of prayer common among the earliest first-century Christian communities.

I agree and I think it is the Divine Office’s beauty and antiquity that creates the structure in my heart. The beauty of the Divine Office sets it apart in my mind as a means of devotion.

Others, of course, will find none of the forms of the Divine Office to fit their spirit — that’s OK. Don’t force your life into a practice for which it is not suited.

For those who enjoy the Divine Office, they say its practices are flexible and supporting of a busy lifestyle — not an extra burden.

Wil Derkse writes, “opportunities for the improvement of quality are often the first we let go when we become busy and important: silence and recreation are eliminated as a matter of course; we become noisy and turbulent and with our unrest we affect others. The Benedictine attitude is precisely the reverse. Those who receive extra responsibility need to listen more, like the brother who became prior and then doubled his time for daily meditation.”

The above quote is from "The Rule of Benedict for Beginners," by Wil Derkse, Liturgical Press, 2003.

If you are just beginning to explore Benedictine monasticism, I recommend here the above book as a first book you might read. Its 87 easy-to-read pages give a good overview of oblate monasticism -- defined here on the Oblate Spring web site.

May 2 and Reading the Rule

May 2 is when reading of the Rule of St. Benedict completes its first course around the garden and returns to the beginning — at least in my version of the Rule, the “Rule of St. Benedict.”

So, I am spending a little extra time in the courtyard for now and getting ready for the walk through the summer flowers.

John B.

Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration

I really like the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration a lot.

They have an interesting history.

It began in Maria Rickenbach, Switzerland, in the 1500s when a wooden statue of the Virgin and Child was miraculously preserved from fire.

Maria Rickenbach became a place of pilgrimage, and later in 1853, two women began a Convent there for perpetual adoration.

In 1874 five of the sisters from the Maria Rickenbach convent were asked by Benedictine Fathers in Conception, Missouri, USA to help minister to the immigrant settlers.

Today, there are about 100 Benedictine Sisters of perpetual adoration with houses in Clyde, Missouri; Tucson, Arizona; and Dayton, Wyoming.

They have one of the most beautiful and functional Benedictine web sites, and are known for their Online Shops stocked with super items you should buy anytime you need those products, Famous podcasts of the Divine Office which will place you inside your favorite monastery; and a Video on Benedictine Princples that is first rate.

The video may seem like just an oveview of the Benedictine Sisters, but you can make a checklist of every essential Benedictine tradition and monastic principle in the 1,800-years of Christian monasticism by watching the sisters in this 3-minute video. Not bad.

And, it is presented with an easy grace and wecloming spirit that marks the Benedictine life.

I loved the picture of the sister sitting in front of her computer (1 min 36 secs. into the video). She is looking into the future.

Tip o' the hat to the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.