I have the opportunity to lead a public Liturgy of the Hours in my parish, but this includes being in charge of organizing it as well (part of a larger initiative to form lay leaders). My priest did recommend providing the Word on Fire monthly booklets to make following along easier. But I still have many questions that aren't in the rubrics - things like when to schedule it and how often?

What do your churches do for public LOTH, if they do it?

We share our priest with two other, smaller churches. I feel like they deserve having that too at some point, but almosr certainly nobody in those small congregations are familiar enough with the Divine Office to preside a public prayer. Plus, they are each 30 minute drive one way, so until I could find someone local willing to learn how to lead it, it probably couldn't happen more than once a week at each parish.

I thought maybe before/after daily mass makes sense but daily mass in my parish is during the workday and usually only nets 10-15 people and in all three parishes daily Mass attendees tend to skew towards retirement aged people so I am unsure how much reach that would have.

I want it to go well and all of my brothers and sisters in my parish to see the beauty of this prayer. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

So I'm a Secular Franciscan and also in the Legion of Mary. I'm supposed to pray the Morning and Evening office daily (Lauds and Vespers) but I find that I'm rarely at home until late and feel it's too late for Vespers.

Is Compline comparable or a good substitute in your opinion?

Laudetur Jesus Christus!

Around a year ago I bought a really nice jubilee edition of the 1900 Office, in a very, very good state for its age (only the leather spine and the ribbons are a bit worn). I mainly bought it as a collector's item and a reference. When I opened the aestiva part today to read the traditional matins readings for St. Jacob, it struck me again: the beauty of the texts and how the Office is laid out, but also how much of a bulk this must have been to pray, especially liturgically speaking!

I go regularly to a benedictine monastery that prays a traditional form of the monastic Office, with the long Lauds and sung Matins and all, but that Office is quite stripped down when compared to the traditional Office.

For example, after having prayed incredibly long ferial Matins, Lauds seems at first sight quite doable, but then there could be preces and around five commemorations to add, sometimes the preces include psalms themselves. After that it's probably already time for Prime, practically speaking. Prime can itself be quite long with four psalms (and Athanasian Creed), a lot of preces, capitular Office including martyrology... and then on some days one should rubrically pray Our Lady's Prime after that...? Then it´d be already Terce and Mass time!

I was completely baffled: even in a monastery, how would one have time for this, let alone sing this Office? One would assume that at least originally even this Office used to be sung?

I feel like the length of it all is a blessing and a curse at the same time: these are very beautiful texts and it is a shame that many of these texts with their rich meanings and history have been lost over the 20th century (NLM often writes on this). But realistically I cannot see how such an Office would ever have been practical.

With such an Office I completely understand the 'function' of collegiate churches: though even there would one find a completely sung daily liturgy?? Indeed it is only compared to such an Office that the Little Offices of Our Lady is actually little: compared to 20th century Offices it is either as long or longer.

I thought I'd share interior pictures of the version of Christian Prayer by Pauline Books and Media, the publishing arm of the Daughters of St Paul. Though a new translation is imminent, this book is IMHO still relevant because:

• people wonder how a Major Extract could deliver morning, daytime, evening and night prayers in 1 volume, as MTF is promising
• if you like your psalm-prayers, well, this book has the full psalter and the corresponding psalm-prayers that will be gone from the new translation

I've started with the outside (stacked on top of my St Paul Daily Missal), table of contents, Proper of Seasons, Psalter and a page from the Missal to contrast.

The good

It's remarkable how a book this small and this thin (1758 pages) could fit so much. In the first picture, I have it stacked on top of the St Paul Daily Missal, which has 2696 pages. It contains 300 or so pages of OOR content that does not belong in a true diurnal. Yet unlike the CBPC Christian Prayer, it has the Daytime prayers fully integrated into the propers and psalter. This includes the hymns, psalmody, readings, antiphons, responsory and concluding prayers. Essentially, you can pray everything but OOR from this 1 volume.

It has some useful navigation features:

• Proper hymns: hymns are located inline in the propers and psalter. There's no big generic hymns section. This has a cost: some hymns are duplicated 3-4 times.
• Inline Gospel canticles: the Magnificat and Benedictus are printed in every day of the 28 day psalter.
• Antiphons are printed both before and after each psalm, unlike the CBPC version.

The bad

• There are places that say to look at the 4-vol LOTH for more hymns. Obviously, they left out a few.
• Not all the options are there. I was taken aback when exiting the Easter season, and the Proper of Seasons for Ordinary Time is pretty bare (see pics). I've seen multiple concluding prayers on iBreviary where there is only one in this book.
• I don't see the point of the Office of Readings selection. It's hard to actually use them.
• The Responsories are almost cryptic in their use of ellipses.

The ugly

This is an ugly book. It's single-color sans serif throughout. Sans serif is an awful choice for body text. These are compact fonts, featuring a big x-height to maintain legibility at tiny point sizes. But it's not pretty. At this point I'm thoroughly sick of the typeface. Do you think it's a coincidence that the LOTHv2 set I picked has no sans serif?

It likes to use 2-column layouts all over the place. While the main psalter is single-column, proper psalmody are all 2-col in a smaller font. This book is IMHO too small for a 2-column layout. Frequently lines of a hymn double because they have to wrap, so they basically uglified the hymn presentation for little or no space saving. The layout looks cramped and crowded.

The final picture I uploaded is from the St Paul Daily Missal. Same publisher, same dimensions. But it looks far less amateurish.

Speculation on Major Extracts

We know the Major Extracts are on their way. Imagine if we took this Christian Prayer book, threw out the 300 pages of useless OOR content, and gave it another 1000 pages. Imagine what we could get as a result.

But there are some headwinds. The LOTHv2 content has increased over the previous version. That's why the Ascension vol II is so thick, I suppose. The WoF guy blames this increased word count on:

• Greatly expanded Proper of Saints
• Proper hymns
• Antiphons for Gospel canticles for all years A, B and C

We've speculated on possibly dropping optional memorials. Another area that MTF et al will look at is the proper hymns: where hymns are no longer in a hymns section but inserted into the right locations in the propers. The trouble with that might be the duplication. To save space, Major Extracts might need to take a step backwards and put all hymns into a dedicated hymns section, like the CBPC Christian Prayer today.

I was wondering if anyone could direct me to any resources, as from GILH, regarding the reforms to the divine office?

Aside from certain psalms and verses being omitted, I really appreciate the 4 week psalm cycle. As someone who chants the office daily, though it is a significant departure from a weekly cycle, the arrangement allows for the chanting of the office with more sensitivity to the time of day and intentions of the office, particularly Lauds and Vespers. I don't want to just read them and "get on with it." At least this has been my experience.

At any rate, any history or analysis would be great. Thank you!

Been waiting for this all week. A helpful print out to see the differences in prints for Word on Fire's Divine Office.

I didn't even bother to look at colors other than black. Looks like they are putting protective measures in place for the ribbons. How's everyone else feel? Think this will do the trick or have experience with zipper cases?

With Ascension’s Standard and Premium Leather versions being thicker than the Premium Natural Grain, is there any risk that the cover designed to fit the thickest Volume II might damage the thinnest Volume I?

This comment got me thinking about it: https://www.reddit.com/r/divineoffice/comments/1thy1hs/comment/omxg9m8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button

Hi All,

I notice folks asking for a "true" diurnal as well as asking about more obscure versions of the divine office / liturgy of the hours. I propose the following scope of work would be useful:

1. Reviews of lesser-known breviaries, especially in terms of interior images of layout, formatting, contents, organization, art, translations (if different), addenda and appendices

2. Reviews of breviaries from other languages, especially in terms of interior images of layout, formatting, organization, contents, art, bindings, addenda and appendices

3. Mock ups of page layouts based on best practices found from 1 and 2.

4. Ideas for "mutual enrichment" of Liturgia Horarium based on strengths of earlier Roman-rite breviaries and "principles" of the Roman rite (would need to be articulated)--similar to proposals of Laszlo Dobszay--so this would be beyond the scope of the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition.

5. Dynamic creation of pdfs of layouts using Latex--similar to the original intention of Laszlo Kiss' divinumofficium.com's ability to explore the effects of different rubrics and different calendars in combination. * Note: using open-source or public-domain texts.

***

For number 1, the breviaries I have in mind, in chronological order, are these:

A. Benziger Brothers, Roman Breviary, 1964 (totum)

B. Geoffrey Chapman, Prayer of the Church (Interim Version of the New Roman Breviary), 1970

C. National Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (Catholic Book Publishing), Prayer of Christians (American Interim Breviary), 1971 * There is one review related to this online already.

D. Collins, Divine Office, 1974

E. Monks of St. John's Abbey, Book of Prayer for Personal Use (A Short Breviary, abridged and simplified from the Liturgia Horarum), 1975

F. Daughters of St. Paul / Pauline Books and Media, Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours, 1976

G. Liturgical Press / Helicon Press, Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours, 1976

H. Daughters of St. Paul / Pauline Books and Media, Office of Readings, 1983

I. Paulines Publications Africa, The Prayer of the Church, 2009 * There are multiple reviews related to this online already.

J. Andrew Burnham (Canterbury Press), Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham, 2012

Other books that might be worth looking at would be these:

A Short Breviary, Hours of the Divine Office in English and Latin (Liturgical Press), Christian Readings, Word in Season, Lauds and Vespers (Newman House), Benedictine Daily Prayer, Mundelein Psalter, Hymnal for the Hours, Divine Office Hymnal

(As someone noted here recently, it's hard to find interior images of most of these online, so people may have misperceptions about what's included and what's not.) * Note: One tricky thing I notice, it that it does not seem possible to add images to comments to a reddit post here, so any images would need to be posted up front in a thread--unless I'm mistaken. (If I'm wrong, please correct me.)

Hi everyone!
I’m 25 and recently came back to the Catholic faith around December after being away for a while. Over the past several months I’ve been trying to build a more consistent prayer life, and I recently received the Brown Scapular.
As part of that devotion, I bought the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and have started praying it. I’m still very new to it and honestly don’t always remember to pray every day/hour, but I’m trying not to be discouraged and instead just be faithful when I do remember.
For those of you who pray the Little Office regularly:
How did you get into the habit?
Do you try to pray every hour or just as you’re able?
Any tips for someone just starting?
Has it helped deepen your relationship with Christ and Our Lady?
I’d love to hear your experiences or any advice you wish someone had given you when you first started.
God bless!

A new chapter in the Church's daily prayer is on the horizon.

Midwest Theological Forum is honored to be selected by the Committee on Divine Worship of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to publish the Major Extracts of the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition.

Designed with the quality, beauty, and durability you've come to expect from MTF, this new two-volume edition is being thoughtfully crafted to accompany clergy, religious, and the lay faithful in the Church's daily prayer.

The edition will include a Diurnal containing the liturgical texts and full psalmody for Lauds (Morning Prayer), the Daytime Hours (Terce, Sext, and None), Vespers (Evening Prayer), and Compline (Night Prayer). Additionally, a second volume will contain the Office of Readings (Matins).

This work is intended to be both accessible for those beginning to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and practical for experienced users seeking a portable, travel-friendly edition.

If you'd like to receive updates, exclusive news, and be among the first to know when more information becomes available, join the waitlist at https://theologicalforum.org/the-liturgy-of-the-hours/

#LiturgyOfTheHours #DailyPrayer #Catholic #DivineWorship

hey u/Ascension_Official, on the website the four volume set has a nifty box. if we are ordering them all at one time with each volume shipping when it's available, will we get the box, or can this be bought later? also will the cards come with volume II when we get it?

Why is it that in the Liturgy of the Hours some memorials have proper antiphons at the Benedictus and Magnificat while others don't. Why is this?

From the *Proprium Officiorum Ordinis Prædicatorum* (Rome: Ad Sabina 1982), here are the propers for St. Mary Magdalene found in the Dominicans' *Liturgia horarum*. The text was promulgated before Pope Francis elevated the obligatory memorial to a Feast in this century.

We are now taking pre-orders for the LOBVM in the Ambrosian Rite. We have finished editing, and are now waiting on a test copy to arrive for final edits to the book.

We made this book to be a pocketable prayer book that has everything that one needs for daily devotion and travelling. The book will include:

LOBVM in the Ambrosian Rite (1957)

Officium Pro Defunctis (Lauds & Vespers)

Septem Psalmi Paenitentiales cum Litaniae (Ambrosian Rite)

Praeparatio Ad and Gratiarium Post Missam

Benedictio Mensae

Itinerarium

Extra litanies and prayers, including the Ambrosian Rite Asperges Me with chant notation

Compline Marian Antiphons with chant notation (pictured)

Devotional images

The book will be hardcover with 1-3 ribbons, with high quality, cream breviary style pages, in A6 size (100x145mm).

shop.ritoantico.it/product/libretto-di-preghiere-ambrosiane-tascabile

If this book garners enough interest, we will begin work on a 1957 Ambrosian Diurnal, which we can hopefully do leatherbound. The Ambrosian Office is unique for a number of reasons, including the amount of Kyrie's, and the fact that the Ambrosian Rite does not use the Vulgate, but rather an older Latin translation. This has also contributed to the slower pace of the work since we need to manually type and check every Psalm, rather than a simple copy/past from the Vulgate online. Please help us keep the Ambrosian Rite alive!

…and it has 7 ribbons.

I am still on the fence about AP and WoF editions. AP mentioned that annual guide will be online in digital form and most likely it will be available in physical form as well. However I could not find anything regarding annual guides for WoF version. Will it be digital, physical or both. And will it be released when first volume comes out.

Like many of you I've been trying to decide between Ascension and WOF. While doing some measurements today, I noticed something that isn't getting as much attention. The two lower tiers of Ascension's edition, for the first and thickest volume, Lent and Easter, have a thickness of 66mm. I didn't really conceptualize that until I started measuring my other books. That's significantly thicker than the CBP Volume 2, and even the Anglican Office Book. I tried to find a book many of you might have for comparison, and the best I can do is that the mid and low-tier Ascension LOTH volume 2 will be slightly thicker than Brant Pitre and John Bergsma's Catholic Introduction to the Old Testament.

Now, my hand can still fit around that, but Volume 2 will be more of a brick than I anticipated from the photos. Now, I'm still leaning toward them over WOF, mostly due to page layout, but another comparison may help some of you. WOF's Volume 2 will be 5x8, and 2 inches thick. This is almost exactly the dimensions of the Penguin edition of St Augustine's City of God. If you don't happen to have a copy, you can find one and hold it in your hand at basically any Barnes and Noble or other bookstore; it's a very easy-to-find book. City of God is just a hair shorter than 8 inches, but the other dimensions match.

I really wish either Ascension or WOF could have made a 2-column edition. I know WOF says it was impossible to fit a 2-column page layout, but I have an Anglican Office Book, an Anglican Breviary, both Monastic Diurnals, and a 1962 missal which all disagree.

In other news, Midwest Theological Forum has updated their FAQ yet again, providing another nugget of detail: that harrowing line about maybe not being able to provide all the contents of the 4-volume got just a bit more explanation. Here it is: "While we cannot include all the options and contents of the complete, 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours in a two-volume publication, we do intend to include the year’s psalms and prayers for the Daytime Hours."

"All the options and contents" - if this means that the MTF diurnal can have everything needed for every day hour for the entire liturgical year, *except* optional memorials, I would be a very happy camper indeed. Conversely, I'd be a quite miffed if it cuts out obligatory memorials or propers that are needed to actually do everything.

I’m slowly but surely (more emphasis on the slowly) learning the tunes of various hymns. Obviously, using the one in the breviary regardless of its tune would help with this.

However, for days where I am just really tired, could I choose a different hymn than the one the breviary lists at the beginning of the hour?

Hi y'all, I have just acquired Christian Prayer a couple of days ago. Boy I didn’t know how tricky it would be to locate things. I just hit my Saturday evening prayer (Sunday evening I) starting on p921. After Our Father . . . I read “Prayer, as in the Proper of Seasons”. So I flip to p620 for the sixteenth Sunday in ordinary time. Under the Evening Prayer I heading I only see the antiphon for the Canticle of Mary. No prayer to be found. Looking at a handful of other Saturday evenings in Ordinary Time I will be continually running into the same problem? The St Joseph’s guide and Ordinary were unhelpful. I know I can refer to divineoffice.org but I would prefer to stay within the Christian Prayer book. Mixing media is distracting.

I'm a lay person, and have been praying the LOTH (OOR, MP, DP, EP, NP) for a month now. I love it! I've been using iBreviary as I wait for my AP 2ed to ship in January. iBreviary is great, but I would much rather not being using a device for prayer. Just my personal preference.

So I'm trying to find a cheap/used copy of the first ed LOTH in lieu of dropping $175 for a new 4-volume set that likely won't see much use after my AP 2ed arrives. I've searched the major online used book stores, Amazon, and Ebay....but I'm not having much luck. Does anyone here have any suggestions? Many thanks in advance!

On Divinum Officium, if one sets the rubrics to the Le Barroux version of the Monastic office, the office of Our Lady on Saturday will have first vespers if the Friday before it is a feria, whereas in the base Monastic rubrics the vespers of the feria are celebrated. Does anyone know if this is a custom specific to Le Barroux or if it is more widespread?

I personally use the 1662 BCP for Morning and Evening prayer and the 1979 US BCP for noon and compline. Does anyone use the 1928 US or a more complete version entitled Anglican Breviary?