For those who read a segment of the Rule of St. Benedict daily, the readings for the last two days are among my favorites because they present St. Benedict's thoughts on prayer (private and communal, though weighted towards the communal) in two very succinct chapters (copied from https://archive.osb.org/rb/text/rbefjo3.html#19 -- Leonard Doyle translation)

[Chapter]() 19: On the Manner of Saying the Divine Office

Feb. 24 (25) - June 26 - Oct. 26

We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that "the eyes of the Lord are looking on the good and the evil in every place" (Prov. 15:3). But we should believe this especially without any doubt when we are assisting at the Work of God. To that end let us be mindful always of the Prophet's words, "Serve the Lord in fear" (Ps. 2:11) and again "Sing praises wisely" (Ps. 46[47]:8)
and "In the sight of the Angels I will sing praise to You" (Ps. 13[14]7:1). Let us therefore consider how we ought to conduct ourselves in sight of the Godhead and of His Angels, and let us take part in the psalmody in such a way that our mind may be in harmony with our voice.

[Chapter]() 20: On Reverence in Prayer

Feb. 25 (26) - June 27 - Oct. 27

When we wish to suggest our wants to persons of high station, we do not presume to do so except with humility and reverence. How much the more, then, are complete humility and pure devotion necessary in supplication of the Lord who is God of the universe! And let us be assured that it is not in saying a great deal that we shall be heard (Matt 6:7), but in purity of heart and in tears of compunction. Our prayer, therefore, ought to be short and pure, unless it happens to be prolonged
by an inspiration of divine grace. In community, however, let prayer be very short, and when the Superior gives the signal let all rise together.

I'm not going to present much commentary but I just wanted to offer these passages for discussion. I will say that I love Benedict's focus on humility, mindfulness (since God is everywhere and we need to be reminded of that), and the need for simplicity in prayer.

Benedict both implicitly and explicitly states prayer does not always need to be lengthy (unless we're genuinely moved by grace to longer prayer), but it does need to be humble and sincere. The addition of the line at the end of chapter 20 that communal prayer be "short" is likely a nod to the variety of persons in a monastery and that not all will have the grace to pray for long periods of time (in the whole Rule it is apparent that while the Divine Office is an important part of the day in monastic live, it's still not the only thing monks do and as a result moderation is often called for.

I am pleased to announce the general availability of a new Latin Dominican Breviary, based off of the Prototype Codex of Humbert of Romans, OP.

BREVIARIUM CUM PSALTERIO Iuxta Ecclesiasticum Officium Sacri Ordinis Fratrum Predicatorum

Nova Typographya Restitutum et Impressum, Ex Exemplari Prothotypo Venerabilis Magistri Nostri, Humberti de Romanis, Ex Codice Rome Sancte Sabine XIV L1, Excerptum et Dispositum

ASIN: B0HMNSDD2B, at $57 USD

This Breviary is self-contained for the whole liturgical year of the Dominican Rite, as established in the mid-13th century by the Santa Sabina XIV L1 manuscript.

This is a color paperback, and it is a Latin Totum Breviary. The dimensions are 5" × 7.5" × 1.4" (12.7cm × 19.1cm × 3.6cm), at 571 pages. The Latin keeps the medieval orthography and spelling, with the modern distinctions of u's and v's.

There is also a yearly companion Ordo for 2027 that features English notes and translated Breviary rubrics, as well as two full specimen offices.

ASIN: B0HMNMH3GD, at $15 USD

I previously posted some previews here:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/divineoffice/comments/1vhe79d/preview_a_dominican_breviary/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/divineoffice/comments/1ueqk13/preview_a_latexbased_latin_totum_breviary_based/

More details at https://breviariumpredicatorum.pages.dev/

What brought each of you to start praying the Office, and how has it impacted your life?

Personally, the Divine Office has changed how I pray entirely. To me, the office is the center and crux of my day. It made me appreciate the Rosary, mental prayer, and other devotions all the more. It connects everything together for me and allows me to participate in mass much better.

In the Liturgy of the Hours, the placement of the Office of Readings is pretty flexible. Was curious as to how everyone who prays this hour typically fits it into their schedule?

For me on mornings when I have the time I usually will combine the Office of Readings and Lauds, otherwise I’ll usually pray it later in the day sometime before Vespers as its own standalone hour.

I’ve never really experimented with anticipating the next days Office of Readings in the evening or have done the option for Vigils before Sundays/Solemnities although I know this is an option for an extended office on these days.

In the new Liturgy of the Hours, the hymns of the latin typical edition are restored. Many communities however, are used to singing a different hymn everyday either from the hymns provided in the current version of the LOTH or from approved hymnals. With the new Liturgy of the Hours, many hours such as Vespers in Advent or Lauds in Easter time have the same hymn everyday. Some communities who pray regularly, especially seminaries, are bound to have those who complain that there is no variety. Does anyone know if with the new Liturgy of the Hours it will be licit as it has been to pull hymns for use in the office from any Catholic hymnal that has been approved by the bishops for liturgical use or are we now restricted to what is in the breviary and in the Divine Office Hymnal? I've heard various opinions but no one seems to know for sure.

Midwest Theological Forum wants input regarding their forthcoming major extracts of the Liturgy of the Hours. Survey is open until November 1.

https://us2.list-manage.com/survey?u=dc91775de0fa106d4593452e5&id=882534fdb9

Does anyone use the two volume Celtic Daily Prayer styled off of early Celtic Christian divine office? What do you think of it?

We recently sent our Second Edition dummy copies to Tim Wildsmith (at the request of many of you!) and his video was posted this morning. Enjoy!

Good morning, friends.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Pius X’s reform. Although it’s commendable in many ways, many psalms end up being placed in sections that were traditionally reserved for specific hours. Furthermore, the repetition is completely lost. So I decided to play around a bit with my Excel spreadsheet to see how we might reform the Tridentine psalter while keeping the following in mind: a) The secular clergy will be praying it, with very tight schedules due to their ministerial duties. b) Distribute the psalms more evenly to encourage greater reading of all the psalms. c) Maintain the traditional order whenever possible. d) Respect healthy repetition.

Given these constraints, here is my work:

As you can see, what I did was change the Nocturnes so that there are two Nocturnes on weekdays with 8 psalms, and 12 psalms for feasts of the 1st and 2nd classes. Then, I distributed the remaining 4 psalms from each Matins service, along with the 2nd and 3rd Vespers on Sunday, throughout the lesser hours of the week, while always ensuring that Psalm 118 is recited at the very end of the psalmody to maintain repetition.

Note: Do not take into account the actual content of the psalms themselves; only the quantity and the even distribution.

Please let me know what you think, any corrections you may have, and any other comments you deem appropriate. I want to clarify that I’m simply playing around and experimenting with this here; it’s nothing serious and is not intended to be a replacement for any current psalter.

Hey does anyone use the Benedictine Daily Prayer by Liturgy press? How do you like it? How is it versus the lancelot monastic diurnal?

Hello all,

I’m in the market for new liturgy of the hours. I see that Ascensions and Word on Fire both released the new version for pre order. Who are you planning on getting and why? Looking for recommendations!

Aside from the two authorized publishers (Ascension Press and WoF) are there third party craftsmen (Ore Moose etc…) announced that they will create protective covers for LOTH gen 2?

would love to reflect psalm 139 in a liturgical sense. I’ve been practicing today a bit; I think of it what was then, what is the lens of Christ, and what is now as far as a liturgical sense and its application.

Liturgy of the Hours (Holy Office) , Vespers 28th Ordinary Time Week IV Wednesday over Psalm 139.

—-
It foretells the incarnation and the divine nature of our Lord.

First with king David, has many fundamental attributes of God like omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresence (cannot escape from God), and moral alignment (notice how the end of the psalm where the psalmist pleads to God to search in his heart to root out the sins and guide him to everlasting life. God created us which establishes the dignity of human sacredness of life.)

Christological Dimensions like the incarnation. When verse 13 speaks of being “knit together” in the womb, this as a reflection of the eternal Word taking on human flesh. In Christ, God entered the human experience fully. The "womb" points forward to the Annunciation, the Virginal Conception, and the sanctity of Christ's human body, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and God dwelled among us (John 1).

It also has an inescapable rescue. In the liturgy of the hours psalm 139 it speaks of “wings of the dawn.” God is there even when the deceased are in the grave; Christ descends into the "lower parts of the earth" which is Sheol, and during the Triduum to redeem the captive souls, proving that no depth is outside the reach of divine presence and salvation

What about the liturgical sense? Application of life? The sacrament of baptism takes place in the verses, or the context, and is the full proof for the sacredness of human life to conception to meeting its demise (death). The dead never leaves the sight of God.

So, the psalm invites us to invite God into our daily routines, decisions, and private thoughts, transforming ordinary moments into prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to gently reveal areas of our lives that need healing, conversion, and alignment with God's will.

When FSSP and ICKSP have the indult to use the pre-55 Holy Week liturgies, does that permission extend to all of the Pre-55 divine office during Holy Week? Not just Tenebrae but all of it?

From what I've been able to find in an old ecclesiastical journal it was commercialized by Herder in Barcelona in 1961 which makes sense since I live in Spain and found mine at a local thrift store

It consisted of two volumes:

-Tomus Prior: Hiemnalis and Verna

-Tomus Alter (mine): Aestiva and Autumnalis

Each volume cost between 1.200 and 1.350 ptas (the old Spanish currency) which would be around $20–22.70 depending on how luxurious the covers and details were

I am talking about Sts. Cabrini, Ann Seton, Ketari, Neumann, Claver and such. I believe that currently none of them have proper hymns. In particular I'm wondering about St. Cabrini, because she actually HAD her own proper hymns prior to the V2 reforms, and now she doesn't!

Hello! In reading "the Monastic Hours" edited by Anne Field, I noticed it gives instructions for monastic communities to use the Roman office psalm schema if they choose, but with two nocturns at Office of Readings. It has been my observation that psalm schema "b" is most common, or some variation, but are there any monastic communities that implement this practice?

I ask as I am blessed to have the time to pray the full office of LOTH but might want to implement this.

Thanks in advance. I love seeing all the interest with the upcoming 2nd edition!

Hi, I'm new to learning about the Liturgy of the Hours, but would like to try giving it a chance in hopes of deepening my faith and relationship with God. Which has admittedly, over time, become luke-warm.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and any advice on which books/apps are best would also be.

Thank you.

What is your experience in doing so? I tried it with psalm 120 for the mid morning prayer though I didn’t know the context of the Bible passages. I was lazy to go on google.

I was meditating on this passage:

“Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech,
dwell among the tents of Kedar!”

Although I have the context wrong but to me I talk to God saying I abide with strangers of the earthly world dwelling among unbelievers but you oh God belong to the tent of Kedar, the holy place. I’m not sure what’s kedar is but I pray and reflect that kedar is mass.

Yup, lectio divina is difficult since I wouldn’t know the context, but what is your experience and how long it takes you to mediate?

Preferably a downloadable mp3 version I can purchase online. Thanks.

I’ve been in the custom of praying all 3 Hours of Daytime Prayer on occasion. However, I always seem to arbitrarily choose which Hour to use the Current Psalmody and which to use the Complimentary Psalmody series, and I’ve found that I choose the “wrong” Hour with which to pray it upon reading at the end of the Psalmody that I was supposed to use a different series for each Hour. I of course say “wrong” because I am not bound to pray these Hours, and there is no penalty present for accidentally praying Psalm 124 twice in the same day. Yet I hoped one day to sit down and recognize a pattern to help me choose properly to avoid repetition.

I believe I have done exactly that with the screenshot photos I have included in this post. I use the term “mandatory” loosely in the tables in that the rubric at the end of the Daytime Prayer current psalmody for that day will specify which of the two complimentary series are to be used. The last table also doesn’t fit precisely with a pattern of alternating weeks. But I’ve been using it the last couple weeks to enrich my praying of the Hours, and I hope it helps anybody who might desire a solution to this conundrum.

This last set of weeks, while praying out of the Volume IV book for the current edition of the Liturgy of the Hours, I've noticed that most days it will indicate "at the other hours, the complementary psalmody is used," but oddly there are specific days where this isn't the case:

Friday in Week II indicates that complimentary psalmody's II and III are used at the other day hours. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Week III indicates that complimentary psalmody's I and III are used at the other day hours. Monday and Thursday in Week IV indicate that complimentary psalmody II and III are used at the other day hours.

When consulting the General Instruction for the Liturgy of the Hours, there is acknowledgement of the complimentary psalmody in paragraphs 81-83, but there doesn't seem to be indicated "rule" on when to use specific sets for specific days.

Is there some specific rule on how to pick which ones to pray for each day of the week, or is this just a case where Catholic Book Publishing made an error many years ago and its just remained to this day?