Divine Office Factoid #7 - the Sounds of Silence

One element of the Liturgy of the Hours is not a particular prayer or action, but a lack thereof. Sacred Silence--a brief pause now and then during liturgical prayer prevents us from simply galloping through the Office, and helps us to reflect on what we have prayed, or just rest for a moment, without particular thoughts, to allow what we have heard in the psalms of the reading to "soak in".

Sections 201 thru 203 of the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours talk about this. Here is some of it:

[Silence] may come either after the repetition of the antiphon at the end of the psalm, in the traditional way, especially if the psalm-prayer is to be said after the pause (see no. 112), or after the short or longer readings, either before or after the responsory.

Care must be taken to avoid the kind of silence that would disturb the structure of the office or annoy and weary those taking part.

203. In individual recitation there is even greater freedom to pause in meditation on some text that moves the spirit; the office does not on this account lose its public character.

Here's my own comment on this from The Everyday Catholic's Guide, etc.:

"Naturally, if you are praying by yourself, you may pause to reflect for as long or as short a time as you wish. The point of sacred silence is not to make a lengthy meditation that you may not have time for, but rather enough of a pause to turn you back from inevitable distractions and keep you mindful of what your are doing. It might take no more than one deep breath to accomplish this. or, you might wish to devote half a minutes or more to reviewing a psalm: finding again the verse that surprised you, moved you or taught you something new."

Divine Office Factoid #6 - the Perenniel Psalm Prayer Question

This morning on EWTN's Catholic Connections radio program, on which I had the good fortune to be a guest, a caller asked about the psalm prayers. Someone had told him that the psalm prayers "weren't supposed to even be in there."

I get asked about the psalm prayers a lot. You old-timers here at Coffee&Canticles can just skip this post, since what follows is information that has appeared here before.

Psalm prayers are those short prayers that follow each of the psalms in your breviary. They are meant to be aids to understanding the preceding psalm. Many of the psalm prayers are based on traditional, even ancient prayers that have been used liturgically or devotionally over the course of the Church's history. Other psalm prayers bear the stamp of more modern composition.

 Beginners often find them very helpful in explaining how the Church interprets or uses a particular theme or image from the psalm. Psalm prayers often point out the christological meaning of a psalm, and that's important.  More experienced people, who have gotten pretty good at seeing these allegorical meanings, find the psalm prayers at times to be a bit  redundant.

It gets more disconcerting when one has the opportunity to pray the hours in community while visiting, say, a monastery or a seminary, and see that this group might not even  use the psalm prayers. A layman, praying the hours privately, has no obligation to do everything Exactly Right. But aren't these religious and clergy, who are bound to pray the hours, committing some sort of liturgical abuse by skipping the psalm prayers. Isn't this kind of like a priest deciding to skip some part of the mass?

Or, on the other hand, you get a look at a the breviary that is used in England.  No Psalm Prayers in sight.  Or you meet a priest from a foreign country where English is spoken (India? Africa?)  and ask to take a look at his  breviary. Chances are, you won't find  any psalm prayers in his breviary.

What's going on here?

 Here's the deal:
--a careful reading of the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours (GILH)  indicates that psalm prayers were  apparently were not  to appear in the main body of the psalter. Here's what it says:

112. Psalm-prayers for each psalm are given in the supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours, to help in understanding them in a predominantly Christian way. They may  be used in the ancient traditional way: after the psalm a period of silence is observed, then the prayer gathers up and rounds off the thoughts and inspirations of those taking part. 

This indicates to me that psalm prayers are not an obligatory part of the breviary. They are approved for use, but not essential.   My feeling is further bolstered by this from another section on how to sing/recite the psalms:

123. The antiphon for each psalm should always be recited at the beginning...At the end of the psalm the custom in maintained of concluding with the Glory to the Father and As it was in the beginning...the antiphon may be repeated at the end of the psalm. 

Since nothing is mentioned here about the psalm-prayers, one can only conclude that these are not essential elements of the psalter.

The question then remains, why do the psalm prayers in American breviaries  appear in the body of the psalter, and right after the psalm, with the antiphon (apparently) not being repeated until after the psalm prayer.Was this a decision of the American bishops, or of some English translation committee, or of American publishers?  Also--do the breviaries of other language groups have some sort of "supplement" with psalm prayers in a separate volume, or an appendix to the breviary?  I have no idea. If anyone out there has some light to throw on these subjects, let me know.

What I do know is that the United States Bishops recognized this problem at their last big meeting in November, when they approved the creation of a new American translation of the Liturgy of the Hours. The purpose of the new translation is the same purpose which drove the new translation of the mass: to make the English versions more faithful to the original Latin. But one other proposal of the Bishops on the Worship Committee was to eliminate the psalm prayers, in recognition of the original intention of the General Instruction that these are not essential elements of the Liturgy of the Hours.  Will they instead appear in some sort of supplement or appendix? It's too early to tell.

But I think we can safely conclude that the  psalm-prayers are clearly optional. Use them if you like them, skip them if they do nothing for you. Or if you are pressed for time. And when you participate in a community recitation of the liturgical hours, be aware that there are several valid options on this, and assent to the custom of that community, even if it is not your personal custom.

The Doxology- Divine Office factoid #5

 "Doxology" comes from Greek words meaning "speaking praise". In Christian devotion and liturgy, a doxology is a short and profound verse of praise, often used as a conclusion of a longer prayer. Some examples are "Through Him, With Him, and In Him..." at the conclusion of the Eucharistic prayer; "For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours" after the Our Father; and, most familiar of all, the Trinitarian doxology with which we conclude every decade of the rosary and every psalm and canticle during the Liturgy of the Hours.

What's that you say?
You think there's a different doxology used in the Liturgy of the Hours that is not the same one used for the rosary?

Not really. It's a translation thing. Same  prayer, two translations.
The version you use for the rosary, with novenas, and other devotions is the traditional translation: Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit/As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

The version in our breviaries: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit/As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever
... is the 1970 translation courtesy of ICEL, the same organization that gave us our missal in 1970. (the same missal that had to be re-translated after Rome determined that it was not sufficiently faithful to the Latin of the Roman Missal)

Same prayer, not a different prayer. Just a different translation.

So if you prefer the traditonal Glory Be when you are privately praying your office, go right ahead. Many priests that I know do exactly that. However, it's probably best not to let your personal tastes prevail when you pray with a group. You don't want to confuse newcomers, or give the impression that you are trying to drown out the current translation with the traditional one in some kind of liturgical shouting match. Unity is the ideal for liturgical prayer.

Right now our bishops are working on a new edition of the American breviary. It is  quite possible that they will go back to the traditional doxology. It is also possible that they will come up with a version that is different from either the current one OR the traditional one. I say this because that phrase "world without end" is not necessarily the  most accurate translation of the Latin et in saecula saeculorum.  Other languages have translated this as something more like  "ages upon ages" or "forever and ever".

So we shall see what happens.

What R Antiphons Phor? Divine Office Factoid #4

this is a golden oldie from 2011, but it fit the next factoid that was waiting in line. 

Each hour of the Divine Office begins with a couple of Psalms and a canticle. But before you  plunge into the psalm there's a little one-liner to read known as the Antiphon. At the conclusion of the psalm or canticle, the Glory Be is said, and then the Antiphon is repeated.

What is the point of that? Inqiring minds want to know, especially the inquiring minds of those who use the one-volume breviary, which unfortunately does not reprint the Antiphon at the end of the psalm. You have to flip back to the beginning to find it.  As this is ever-so-slightly irritating to the non-saint, one at least wants to be assured that it is  worth doing.

I'm probably just articulating something that most of you have already  intuited, but here it is. The antiphon gives us:
a. a focus
b. a suggestion from the Church about how to view that psalm or canticle
c. a thought to take away with us after the breviary is closed.

That's a lot for one little antiphon, isn't it? And please, if any of this is new to you, don't drive yourself insane trying to  think of all this at once with every antiphon you see. Just do it with one or two of them. The Divine Office is a very rich smorgasboard of prayer and scripture study, and you aren't supposed to take  a helping of every single item each time you partake of it.

 If you pray the liturgy at home, you are not having the same experience as a nun in a monastery choir. You are frequently distracted by what is happening around you, or by thoughts of what has to be done as soon as you finish praying. That state of  being "recollected" that spiritual books talk about is something your rarely achieve, right?   You  read a psalm, trying to make a prayer out of all this blah-blah-blah about King David and the strong walls of the city and the glory of Jerusalem.  You reach the end thinking, so why did I read this? And face it, we don't always have time to go through line by line finding all the biblical types that remind us of Jesus and  the Church. The oven timer is about to go off and there are hungry kids downstairs. You can't sit in your bedroom pondering scripture all evening.

That's where the antiphon comes in. So what was the point of what I just read? Check the antiphon:
Give joy to your servant, O Lord, for to You I lift up my soul.
or
Blessed is the upright man who speaks the truth.
or
Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.

See? Each of these is short and easy to understand. You read it before the psalm, and know what to look for. Re-read it after the psalm, to recall to your distracted mommy-mind (or daddy-mind or praying- this during-a- break -at- work- mind) exactly what it was you just prayed about.

Then, when you're done, if one of the antiphons was especially striking to you, you might try to bring it to mind again during the day. Maybe put it on a sticky note over the kitchen sink. (this is just an idea, please don't do this if it does not appeal.)

And here's something else I do with antiphons. (Devout people with well-ordered prayer lives please do not read any further.) If it's one of those days when events plus my own laziness/scattered-brainedness  conspire to make me miss one or more of the hours, I go back at a later time, and only read the antiphons of the hour that I missed. Then I proceed with the hour that it is actually time to say.

One more cool thing about antiphons. During the seasons of advent, lent, Christmas and Easter, the antiphons for the Benedictus and the Magnificat come from the gospel of that day's mass!  I think it's Benedictus during year B and Magnificat during year A. (Or maybe its the other way 'round.)
So, if you don't get to daily mass, this is a quick clue to the day's gospel. Or if you did go to mass, it's a quick review of the day's gospel. Anyway, it's just one more of the things I love about the Divine Office, and how it ties into the Eucharistic sacrifice that is going on at every hour around the world.

And let this suffice about Antiphons. (As Herodotus would say if he was writing about the Divine Office.)

Divine Office Factoid, plus weekly Q&A,and Welcome!

Welcome to new blog followers Laura, Gary, and Catholic Marine (Semper Fi!), who added their pictures to the rogues' gallery on the lower right. Happy to have you here, and although I lured you here with the chance of winning free books, I hope you'll benefit in other ways.

Also welcome to a number of other, more anonymous people, who added Coffee&Canticles to their reader feed.

This week's Divine Office Factoid deals with: the Mood of the Psalms vs. My Own Personal Mood. Most Divine Office veterans get this distinction, but it might be helpful to newbies. Here' the issue: What is the point of praying a happy psalm when you're sad, or a sad psalm when you're happy?  If I'm up to my ears in debt and my best friend is dying of cancer, it's hard to put much conviction into lines like Come let us sing to the Lord and shout with joy to the rock who saves us.   On the other hand, when life, both physical and spiritual, is going well in every possible way, what is the point in praying stuff like My soul is filled with evils, my life is on the brink of the grave?   Wouldn't it be more honest to select a psalm from one of those Bible society cards that says "When you are afraid, read Psalm A"   "When God seems far away, read Psalm B" "To thank God for his blessings, read Psalm C"

Nope. Because the whole point of the Liturgy of the Hours is that it's (altogether now, class) Liturgical Prayer. We are not just praying about our own little needs, feelings, and situations in life. We are praying on behalf of the entire Church. We are praying through, with and in Jesus Christ, Our Lord. We are standing before God (which I mean figuratively, since most of the time I'm sitting in  rocking chair) and expressing the joys, sorrows, thanks, praise,  repentance and petitions of the entire body of Christ. There are always Christians who are happy, sad, sick, dying, poor, bereaved, persecuted, etc. We are praying on their behalf. Also, and even more important, we are often praying the words in the voice of Jesus as He prays to His Father.  And that realization will bring you the most profound and beautiful thoughts during the liturgical hours.

So, when all is right with your world on a Friday night, and you're reading Psalm 88 (my soul is  filled with evils, your anger weighs down upon me, etc.) You have three ways to think about the suffering of Christ: 1. meditate on the agony in the garden. 2. Cry out on behalf of the Church which is  derided and  insulted by secular types who are longing for and plotting its downfall. 3. Plead in union with your brothers and sisters the world over who are suffering from illness, persecution, addiction, hunger, etc.

Yes, we all love it when a particular psalm or verse of a psalm seems custom made for our situation on the day we pray it.  Rejoice in those moments. But never forget that it's not about you. It's Liturgical Prayer, not private devotion. You've taken on the responsibility of praying in a larger way.

Okay, weekly Q&A time. How's lent going? Are your chosen penances and/or spiritual activities going well?
Any question about the Liturgy of the Hours? Ask away!

Breviary Factoid #2 -Trinitarian Bowing

      

In a recent Q&A post, a reader and I talked in the comments  about the proper rubrics or gestures to be used while praying the hours: when to stand, when to sit, signs of the cross, etc.

Although the sitting vs. standing is of more importance during a group recitation of the Divine Office, especially when done in a church or other public setting (as opposed to in private and/or at home), there are some gestures which are easy to do in any situation, and they are helpful to our sense of reverence and devotion.

Traditionally, anytime the Blessed Trinity is named,we should bow. (Either at the waist or at the head.)
This happens every time we say the doxology (Glory Be), both after each psalm and at the opening verse, following, O God, come to my assistance.
In addition, many  hymns have a final verse that references the Trinity. For example, at the end of "On This Day, the First of Days" we  have,
God the blessed Three in One,
May thy Holy will be done,
In thy word our souls are free
And we rest this day with thee.
Another example is "Creator of the Stars of Night":
To God the Father, God the Son,
And God the Spirit, Three in One,
Praise, honor, might, and glory be
From age to age eternally.

A bow at the beginning of such a  trinitarian hymn verse would be appropriate.
It makes sense. The Trinity is the central mystery of our faith. To state the Name and the nature of God calls for a gesture of reverence. The greatness of the Trinity is reinforced in our minds when we pray not just with our lips, but by engaging another part of the body.
That is the point, in fact, of all liturgical gestures and postures--to engage not just the mind in prayer, but our senses, muscles, bones. All of me. Every bodily member, straining eagerly to offer praise and adoration.

Moving Furniture Around& Invitatory Factoids

photo credit: kudzu.com

Every January, after the Christmas things get put away, I get the urge to rearrange the living room. It's a combination of that new year's urge to make a fresh start and the extra spare time that is the inevitable result of winter weather. (Nothing else to do when I can't drive anyplace.Yes, I know I should pray more, but there it is.) This year the redecorating bug has extended to the layout of Coffee&Canticles. I hope you like the new look. (the link to Amazon on the book cover has also been fixed. I think.)

Starting today I'll be toying with a new feature: a weekly or bi-weekly Divine Office factoid. Short, good- to- know items about the various elements of the Liturgy of the Hours, rubrics, variations among breviaries, etc. Maybe a little history thrown in here and there.

Today's factoid: The Invitatory Psalm

The Invitatory Psalm is an optional element (although heavily favored by tradition)  with which one might begin the day's liturgical hours. It is said before either the Office of Readings or Morning Prayer, whichever of these is your first hour of the morning, i.e.,you don't say the Invitatory psalm before the Office of Readings if you custom is to do the OOR the previous night, or later in the day after morning prayer.

Although it is not spelled out in the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours, the sense one gets from reading it is that you would NOT use the Invitatory psalm if the first and/or only hour you do each day is daytime prayer, evening prayer, or night prayer.

The Invitatory Psalm (generally Psalm 95, although 100, 67, or 24 may be substituted) has it's own opening verse: O Lord, open my lips/and my mouth shall proclaim your praise, which is said while tracing the sign of the cross over one's lips with one's thumb. This is followed by an antiphon, recitation of the psalm, the Glory Be, and a repeat of the antiphon. If praying in a group, the antiphon may be repeated after each strophe as in the responsorial psalm at mass. This is not required for individual recitation.

If you say the Invitatory Psalm, you will then move right into the first liturgical hour WITHOUT the usual opening verse (O God, Come to my assistance, etc.)

And let this suffice for the Invitatory.
Unless, of course, you have questions or comments.

Top Ten Reasons to Pray the Divine Office, and why I don't say Liturgy of the Hours

I've been asked why I use the term "Divine Office" more often than the Vatican II-encouraged "Liturgy of the Hours".  My preference has nothing to do with preferring traditional over modern terminology.As a matter of personal taste, I actually prefer  Liturgy of the Hours. But Liturgy of the Hours   is a mouthful to say and a handful to type. So Divine Office is just the more efficient way to go.


I'm going to start  the occasional rerun of older posts, especially those that were written when this blog had between 0 and 5 followers. So, to most of you, it will be new material. Today--just a few of my favorite reasons for praying the Divine Office.

1. You get some daily Scripture reading and prayer done at the same time.

2. It takes less than ten minutes  each for the hours of morning, evening, and night prayer if you're reading it by yourself rather than chanting it in a monastery. (An "hour" never went by so quickly!)

3. If you can't get to daily mass it's the best substitute because just  like the Mass the Divine Office is also the liturgy of the Church.

4. By praying the Divine Office you are joining in the universal prayer of the Church being offered by your brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world.

5. You will be praying the  exact same prayers Pope Benedict prays every day.

6. You will be  participating in a tradition that is old as the Church itself. (In the book of Acts, the apostles went to the temple to pray at specific hours of the day.)

7. If you pray the Office on a regular basis, you will find that you have memorized lots of the psalms and other scripture passages painlessly.

8. Once you are accomplished at flipping about in a breviary, your fellow Catholic geeks  will be impressed.

9.You will acquire a cool vocabulary that includes words like breviary, vespers, Te Deum, compline, and antiphon.

10. You will be praying "with the same words used by Jesus, present for millenia in the prayer of Israel and of the Church." (Pope John Paul II)