New Zealand Bishops, ipad missals, and the Breviary

Over at Father Z's blog is a post about the bishops of New Zealand forbidding priests from saying mass using digital missals with their ipads or smart phones.

One point the NZ Bishops made was that the Missal is a sacred book whose use it specifically for celebration of mass. An ipad has many uses, both sacred and profane. Hence, there is something less than fitting about an ipad sitting on the altar as the vehicle of the texts for the ritual. In some kind of emergency situation where no mass at all could be said if the ipad were not used, then it might be okay, but normally, a genuine altar missal should be the default version. Makes sense.

This makes me think about our handy digital breviaries. Since the Vatican has already commended and approved at least one breviary application, I don't think that this kind of statement is likely to be made about print vs. internet Liturgy of the Hours. But it does give one pause.   I use my Kindle for the Divine Office, and also to read all sorts of books, from the sublime to the ridiculous. More recently, an iPod Touch has become a daily companion gadget. It's convenient to switch it on to ibreviary or universalis. But this same gadget also blasts the theme from Rocky, selections from West Side Story, and (blushes) John Denver and ABBA tunes when I'm doing a morning power-walk. And counts my calories. And amuses me with a slingshot that shoots cartoon birds at green pigs.

That's a little weird.
Until we're living in the age of --I dunno,the Jetsons? Where digital texts have pretty much replaced paper and ink--it does seem worthwhile to use our real breviaries whenever possible. This cautionary note from the New Zealand bishops makes me want to be sure to use mine at least once a day. I've already known for a long time that in general, using the book slows me down as I pray.Makes for a less distracted, more meditative experience.   And there's a certain symbolic value to turning away from the all-present Screen, leaving the world of Tech behind and attending to the Eternal. I've said it before: a breviary is a sacramental, an app is not. You might kiss the cross or Chi Rho symbol on the cover of your breviary as you open it or put it away, but you wouldn't kiss your ipad.

Don't get me wrong. Digital breviaries are a godsend, one of the things that redeems the internet. Without them, far fewer Catholics would be praying the Liturgy of the Hours today. I will never cease to promote digital breviaries as the best gateway to lifelong Divine Office habit.

But I just had to think aloud on this issue. I can't dismiss those New Zealand prelates as a bunch of out of touch old guys. And since liturgy is liturgy, I have to connect some dots between the missal and the breviary.
What do you guys think?

Why you gotta love online breviaries--especially if you're getting old.

 Like many in my generation (boomers, that is), I straddle a fence between digital and print media. When it came to the Divine Office, I was initially repelled by the idea of reading lauds off a monitor. Me -with-my-book-in-my-armchair was the only way to go. 

Then I saw the advantage of popping a featherweight mobile device in my purse vs. a 1.5 pound breviary. A real boon to my aging shoulders.

Today, I had new proof that an online breviary is a prop to those of us who are slowly falling apart as we shuffle along towards out golden years.

Now, I was certainly aware this morning that Monday is the solemnity of the Assumption. As I sat  at Sunday mass I made a resolution to get out to mass tomorrow.

But my short term memory switches tend to start shutting off by early evening. So when I turned on my Kindle at 5:30PM to read vespers, I was  shocked when I saw "Evening Prayer I - Assumption of Mary."

Shocked, and pleased to have ibreviary keeping me on the right page, so to speak. If  instead of picking up the Kindle, I had instead grabbed the Christian Prayer book, I would certainly have turned to Evening Prayer II of the 20th Sunday in ordinary time. Just force of habit and, as I said, not being the sharpest tack in the drawer once I've had my dinner.

So the digital breviary turns out to be  a huge help both to aging bones and to aging memories.

In addition, I had the pleasure of seeing on ibreviary.com the alternative antiphons that the Dominican order uses for this feast.  I'm really intrigued that different orders have  alternate prayers for many of the feasts. And the Dominican antiphons for the Assumption, Evening Prayer I, have more to them than the regular ones. I'll share them here to give you some extra food for prayer on this beautiful feast:

1.The gates of paradise were opened to us through you: today, all glorious, you rejoice with the angels.

2.You are a garden enclosed,O Mother of God, a locked garden and a sealed fountain. Arise, my beloved, and come away.

3.You are beautiful and lovely, O daughter of Jerusalem, terrible as an army arrayed for battle.

Magnificat.

Christ ascended into heaven and prepared an everlasting dwelling place for his most chaste mother: this is the sublime festival, surpassing that of any saint, on which she who is glorious and blessed entered the heavenly nuptial hall, acclaimed by the ranks of the heavenly court. There she dwells, ever loving, never forgetful of those who remember her.

A blessed Assumption to you all. Salve Regina!