Ora and Labora (Work and Prayer)[1]
THE BENEDICTINE MONASTIC
OFFICE
The Divine Office is at
the center of the Benedictine life. Through it the monk lifts heart and mind to
Almighty God, and uniting himself to his confreres, the Church and the entire
world in offering God praise and thanks, in confessing his sins, and in calling
on God for the needs of all people. The office punctuates the day of the monk;
like a leaven awakening his soul to make the entire day, indeed the whole of
life, a gift of the self to God. Praying the hours puts the monk into the real
world, sanctifying his whole life and assisting him toward his goal of
unceasing prayer –
Ut In Omnibus Glorificetur Deus.The Benedictine Office is a rich collection of prayer that is based on the Rule of St. Benedict. Historically it is distinct from the Roman Office – also recently called the Liturgy of the Hours – which, after the Second Vatican Council, was reshaped to simplify and make more practical the prayer of the hours for the secular clergy, as well as the religious who use it, and the laity who make it a part of their life of prayer.
In 1966 the Breviarium Monasticum was the universal order of Divine Office for Benedictines. In that year the monks were given a period of time for liturgical experimentation, allowing each congregation of monasteries to adapt the tradition for its particular use, under certain guidelines. To this day the Breviarium Monasticum remains “official” and the time of experimentation is still in effect. In that circumstance, communities are using various forms of the Divine Office, and a few communities have even elected to take the new Roman Office (Liturgy of the Hours) as a convenient guideline because of its universal use among the secular clergy.
The following is a brief, general description of the centuries old Benedictine tradition of prayer in word and action. Reference is made occasionally to the Roman Office as another point of reference. The structure of the Office described below and outlined is according to the use at St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama.
Traditional Monastic Hours
(which became the standard for the Roman Office) |
New Roman Office (Liturgy of the Hours)
(American English version uses terms in parentheses) |
Matins (Vigils)
|
Matins (Office of Readings) – any time of day
|
Lauds
|
Lauds (Morning Prayer)
|
Prime
|
Prime omitted in New Roman Office
|
Terce
|
Terce (Mid-Morning Prayer)
|
Sext
|
Sext (Mid-Day Prayer)
|
None
|
None (Mid-Afternoon Prayer)
|
Vespers
|
Vespers (Evening Prayer)
|
Compline
|
Compline (Night Prayer)
|
MATINS (VIGILS)
LAUDS
THE LITTLE HOURS OF
PRIME, TERCE, SEXT & NONE
VESPERS
COMPLINE
HISTORY AND THEME IN THE
HOURS
Matins
|
Anticipate the Resurrection and the Parousia.
|
Lauds
|
The Resurrection; praise. The Parousia.
|
Sext
|
Christ on the Cross; lead us not into temptation.
|
Vespers
|
Time of the Last Supper; thanksgiving.
|
Compline
|
Christ in Gethsemane; contrition, plea for
protection.
|
Christ in the Desert-hours[2]
Sunday Schedule
4:00 a.m. – Vigils (choral office in church) lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes.
6:00 a.m. – Lauds (in church) followed by breakfast for guests from 6:30 to 7:10 am in the Guests Breakfast Room.
8:45 a.m. – Terce (in church) lasts about 10 minutes.
9:15 a.m. – Conventual Mass (holy Eucharist) followed by refreshments in the Guest Reception Area.
11:30 a.m. – Sext (in church) lasts about ten minutes, followed by Light Meal in the monastic refectory, 11:45 to 12:30 P.M.
4:00 p.m. – None (in church) lasts about ten minutes, followed by Main Meal in the monastic refectory.
5:30 p.m. – Solemn Vespers and Benediction (in church) lasts about 45 minutes.
7:30 p.m. – Compline (in church) lasts about 15 minutes, followed by Nightly Silence.
Daily Schedule
4:00 a.m. – Vigils (choral office in church) lasts about one hour.
5:30 a.m. – Lauds (in church) lasts about thirty minutes followed by Mass. Breakfast for guests in the Guest Breakfast Room from 5:00 – 7:45 A.M.
8:45 a.m. – Terce (in church) lasts about ten minutes.
9:00 a.m. – Work meeting for guests outside the Gift Shop. Work for All.
12:40 p.m. – End of work period.
1:00 p.m. – Sext (in church) lasts about ten minutes, followed by main meal in the monastic refectory.
2:00 p.m. – None (in church) lasts about ten minutes.
5:20 p.m. – Exposition and Eucharistic Adoration (in Church).
5:50 p.m. – Vespers (in church) lasts about thirty minutes.
6:20 p.m. – Light meal until 6:50 P.M. in the monastic refectory.
7:30 p.m. – Compline (in church) lasts about fifteen minutes, followed by nightly silence
Christians at Rome in Post-Apostolic Times
St. Hippoytus was a priest and a person of some
importance in the Church in Rome who in his book, “The Apostolic Traditions”, displays
the liturgical life of the Christian at Rome in the first centuries. Of
interest is the tradition of the hours.
Divine
Office:
6 a.m. Prime:
"All the faithful, men and women, upon rising in the morning before
beginning work, should wash their hands and pray to God."
9
a.m. Terce:
"When you are at home, pray at the third hour and praise God. But if you
are away when this hour comes, pray in your heart to God. For at this hour
Christ was nailed to the Cross."
12
p.m. Sext:
"In a similar way you should pray again at the sixth hour. For at the time
when Christ was nailed to the Cross, there came a great darkness. Prayer should
therefore be said in imitation of Him who prayed at that hour, viz., Christ
before His death."
3
p.m. None:
"The ninth hour too should be made perfect by prayer and praise . . . in
that hour Christ was pierced by the spear."
6
p.m. Vespers:
"Once more ought you to pray before you go to bed."
Matins: "At
midnight rise from your bed, wash yourself and pray. If you have a wife, pray
together in antiphonal fashion. If she is not yet of the faith, withdraw and
pray alone and return again to your place. If you are bound by the bond of
marriage duties, do not cease your prayers, for you are not stained thereby. It
is necessary that we pray at that hour (i.e., Matins), for at that hour all
creation is resting and praising God. Stars, trees, water are as if they were
standing still; all the hosts of angels are holding divine services together
with the souls of the just. They are praising almighty God at that hour."
What an inspiring passage!
Sunrise-Lauds: "In like
manner rise and pray at the hour at which the cock crows . . . full of hope
look forward to the day of eternal light that will shine upon us eternally
after the resurrection from the dead." Motivation for these "hour
prayers" of the early Christians was the conviction that daily they were
reliving Christ's death and resurrection. Every new day was a day of
resurrection, and daily they were raised with Christ on the Cross. It is an
example that should spur us on to give the Mass, the Breviary, and
the Bible the place of honor in our lives.
[1]
https://stbernardabbey.com/the-divine-office/
[2]https://christdesert.org/visiting/daily-schedule/
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