Coffee and Canticles

Ecclesiastes and Job can be Downers...

2013-05-20T13:06:00.001-04:00

...if you just read through them on your own. The only way to go is the Office of Readings, which for the next three weeks (starting today) includes selections from these books followed by commentary on them from the saints and fathers of the Church. Here, Augustine, Dorotheus, Gregory the Great , and others show us the way out of the depression of Ecclesiastes, and an answer to the problem of suffering the goes beyond what God told Job.

The way and the answer, of course, is Jesus. But you have to do these readings to really appreciate it.
Just one more example of the Word who is God fulfilling the questions, types, hopes and longings in the word of God.

Even if Office of Readings is not in your daily routine, you could always do just the readings, minus psalmody, to have a fantastic Bible study/lectio divina/spiritual reading time.

Flash: apostles in upper room not scared this time around!

2013-05-20T11:45:00.001-04:00

This is my yearly post Pentecost rant, generally made to my husband. This year I'll make it here.

Despite what appears in numerous articles, sermons and devotionals, I think the authors are wrong when they suggest that the apostles in the upper room were hiding in fear during the nine days before Pentecost. There is no scriptural evidence for this. It seems that these writers are confusing the mental state of the apostles in the days following the Crucifixion with their mental state after the Ascension.

We see in John 20,19 that the apostles were behind closed doors "for fear of the Jews" on the evening of the Resurrection. But after Jesus ascended into heaven, they returned to Jerusalem "with great joy" (Luke 24,52), fully convinced of His divinity ad having received His promise to be with them always. The returned to the upper room, and rather than act like fearful men in hiding, made plans to carry out their mission in a pretty business like manner, choosing a replacement for Judas. Then continued to persevere in prayer with Mary.Luke also tells us that, far from being sequestered, they were "continually in the temple blessing God"(53) The reason for that retreat in the upper room was not to hide out, but simply to pray for guidance and await the promised coming of the Holy Spirit. It seems that their reasoning for this first novena was not that they were too scared to begin spreading the kingdom, but not sure exactly how to proceed in doing that. Hence the sensible decision to pray and wait. And, no doubt, to receive comfort and wisdom from the Blessed Mother.

Obviously, the coming of the Holy Spirit gave them an increase in courage, (the gift of fortitude). But the scriptures do not indicate anything resembling the fear they had experienced before the Ascension. At least, that is how it appears to me.

End of rant.

Liturgy of the Hours at the Catholic Register

2013-05-18T11:55:00.005-04:00

Check it out!

Avoiding Post Pentecost breviary trauma

2013-05-16T17:09:00.000-04:00

I'll be travelling for the next few days, so this is my last change to wish you all a blessed Pentecost. What follows is an adaptation of an older post which I re-run annually. If you are new at the Liturgy of the Hours and use a breviary rather than a website or app, you will need this information.

Once the grand finale of the Easter season, namely Pentecost, has passed us by this weekend, one might tend to think that things go "back to normal" in the liturgy. After all, we do call it "Ordinary Time", right?

But no, not exactly. For one thing, the term "ordinary" in "Ordinary Time" does not quite correspond to the,um ordinary definition: routine, normal, business-as-usual. It mostly refers to the fact that the Sundays and weeks are numbered, or "ordered". (Although we certainly can feel the contrast between the solemn events of the previous holy seasons as compared to ordinary time, so we're not entirely wrong to feel that Ordinary time is somewhat ordinary in the popular English sense of the word.)
For another thing, for those who use mostly hard copy breviaries, rather than rely on breviary websites to do their work for them, the next week or so can be among the most confusing of the entire year. Although we enter Ordinary time as of Monday, there are no Sundays of Ordinary Time until the second week of June! All this makes for plenty of head scratching as we flip here and there trying to figure things out.
So just keep an eye on your parish calendar if you forget what week we're in. Or print this post and keep it in your book.

Monday starts the 7th week of ordinary time, using week III of the Psalter. There is no 7th Sunday in ordinary time because of Pentecost.
Next Sunday is Trinity Sunday. (with its own special liturgy in the proper of Seasons. DON'T use the 8th Sunday. Continue with the 8th week (Psalter week IV) on Monday.
The Sunday after (6/02) that is Corpus Christi (with its own special liturgy), so DON"T use the 9th Sunday of Ordinary time. Continue on Monday with the 9th week and week I of the Psalter.
The next Sunday, June 9th, we finally get a Sunday of Ordinary Time, the 10th. Now you are fully back in Ordinary Time, even on Sundays. (Psalter week II)

Then we shall be back to nothing but Sundays in Ordinary time clear through until Christ the King in November.
Hope this is helpful.

Ever Pray the Hours with a group? Q&A plus weekly welcome!

2013-05-15T17:21:00.002-04:00

A warm welcome to new blog followers Julie, Michelle, Monica, David and Emily, who now bring the official blog followers number to 201! I can't tell you how much this cheers my little numerological heart.

And welcome to others who use feed readers whose names I may never know. As always, C&C is your forum to share both your questions and your comments about the Liturgy of the Hours.

Today an anonymous reader asked an interesting question in the comments section on the "About" tab:

"Has anyone experimented with online or local groups for recitation of LOTH? I am a home worker with a lot of flexibility and am lucky enough to have a nearby parish where Morning Prayer is recited by a few people before Mass every weekday - but how about the other hours? I have seen Rosary groups via Skype but never LOTH groups. No monasteries nearby, sadly. Glad to hear of any experiences."

Since the majority of laymen who pray the LOTH daily are doing it mostly on their own, at home, with at most a spouse or older children to share the experience, I don't tend to write a lot here about group recitation of the hours. And that may be a defect, since, after all, praying in community is the ideal. The Church's instructions on the LOTH say that in a number of places. The very nature of these prayers is communal, and they are set up for dialog. (antiphons, response, strophes, etc.) Even when praying alone we should try to be conscious of praying with the universal Church. But if there is an opportunity to pray literally, physically, with others, we should take those opportunities when possible.

Here at my parish Morning Prayer is offered after 8am mass on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Scott, another blog follower, responded to Anonymous' request with this:

Here in Chicago, Daytime Prayer and Evening Prayer are recited in Holy Name Cathedral before the 12:10pm and 5:15pm Masses respectively, Monday through Friday. The Evening Prayer group is quite large sometimes. They're led by two leaders, one standing on each side of the front pews. The psalms are said alternating sides, strophe by strophe. They use (and provide copies to borrow) Christian Prayer published by the Daughters of St. Paul.

The Canons Regular of St. John Cantius chant the LotH publicly in church daily at St. John Cantius Parish:
http://cantius.org/
Copies of Shorter Christian Prayer (published by Catholic Book Publishing) are provided for borrowing.
As to the second query about "community" recitation via Skype or a Google Hangout: I have no idea? Does anyone out there do such a thing? Would anyone like to try? Being on the (relatively young and cool, but still.) end of the baby boom generation, I'm not well versed/comfortable enough to run such a thing myself. But if any of you want to do something like that, feel free to use the space here to get to know who might be interested.

So--tell us when and where if at all, you pray any of the liturgical hours with others, and what you might know about online venues for same.

Or just ask any other question you may have about the Divine Office.

PS. This week's National Catholic Register has a feature article about the Liturgy of the Hours by journalist Celeste Behe, and I am quoted frequently therein. So far this has only appeared in the print edition. I'll let you all know if and when it is posted online.

Why Does God Need so Much Praise?

2013-05-14T00:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's psalter included Psalm 50, which twice refers to the necessity of giving praise to God:

Give your praise as a sacrifice to God (vs. 14)

A sacrifice of praise gives me honor (vs 23)

Why are we supposed to praise God all the time? Is the Lord eternally fishing for compliments, like a beautiful actress past her prime? Does He really need us to tell him how wonderful He is every single day, and be hurt if we forget to do so?

Of course not. If the whole world neglected to utter a single breath of praise for all of history, God would not be hurt or diminished in any way. But we, the non-praisers, would be sadly crippled. The duty to praise God is for our benefit, not His.

To praise God is to acknowledge and be in touch with Reality. To be whole and sane, because we recognize what we are and What God is. To praise is to admire and appreciate. It's a natural response to beauty, goodness, and truth. Someone who had seen a hundred gorgeous sunsets but never felt moved to say "Wow! That's beautiful! Just look at that!" would be suffering from a terrible impairment. (Notice the impulse to say "Just look at that!" Part of the nature of praise is the urge to invite others to praise as well. Which is why the psalms constantly say "Praise the Lord.")

When we recognize our place in the universe--as mere creatures, fallen creatures, who have been miraculously elevated to the status of sons and daughters--praise is the only fitting response. C.S. Lewis says that "In commanding us to praise Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him."

Office of Our Lady of Fatima

2013-05-13T10:40:00.001-04:00

A friend recently remarked that the work my husband and I do adds up to a perfect blend of liturgy and devotion.

Bill, my husband, travels the country with the National Pilgrim Virgin statue of Our Lady of Fatima. He speaks about the Fatima message, particularly a part of the message that is least noticed but most practical. This would be the part that we can play daily in answering Our Lady's requests: that we accept, bear with submission, and "offer up" every big and small pain, inconvenience, frustration, suffering, etc., for the love of God, in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for the conversion of sinners. This facet of the Fatima message gets a warm welcome from everyone who hears it. Many people who come to Bill's talks don't feel up to a commitment to the daily rosary, but are relieved to learn of something that they can do. After all, daily suffering comes to everyone regardless of their degree of piety and devotion to prayer. Traffic jams, stubbed toes, overdue bills. So much daily straw that can be spun into gold. A brief prayer of offering that makes suffering meaningful is within everyone's grasp.

Instant penance, joining our little problems to the sufferings of Christ. No hairshirt required.

So Bill goes around telling everyone about this easy and valuable spiritual practice.

And I write about the Liturgy of the Hours.

So we enjoy today's optional memorial of Our Lady of Fatima. This memorial was only put on the calendar a few years back, so the second reading and the concluding prayer will not appear in your printed breviary. But you will find them at ibreviary.com. Scroll down to the end of each hours to find the Our Lady of Fatima elements.

O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love you. I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love you.

Digital Breviary fail today. Update: all is well

2013-05-12T08:35:00.003-04:00

Update: as of noon both websites appear to have been fixed. Thank you to the good people who respond to readers and rectify problems, even on a Sunday.

The Office of Readings on ibreviary today has the correct psalmody but the readings of the 3rd Sunday of Easter.

Divineoffice.org appears to be having problems this morning with all of today's content.

Thankfully, Universalis.com has its act together.

And there's always your good, old fashioned print breviaries, the content of which never leaps out of its rightful spot into the wrong day.

I like to trumpet the ease of breviary sites and apps, especially to beginners, but this is the other side of the coin. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

Evening Prayer I for Ascension tonight...

2013-05-08T08:52:00.002-04:00

...unless your diocese moves Ascension to Sunday.

It looks like the breviary is pretty clear what page you use in each situation. Check your online/mobile breviary carefully to make sure you are doing the appropriate liturgy according to the ordo of your diocese. Right now it seems that DivineOffice.org has the Solemnity of the Ascension starting tonight, without provision for Thursday, sixth week of Easter offices.

Most dioceses in the United States apparently transfer the Ascension to Sunday.

According to the knowledgeable Scott Richert of the About.com Catholicism page, only the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, and Omaha retain the Thursday celebration. So it's sort of an east coast thing, with Nebraska as an outrider.

There are arguments for and against this Ascension-shifting business. I know them all, and have my opinion, which is irrelevant here. I just want to help everyone follow the appropriate liturgy for the day.

Now, if you pray the Pentecost Novena, you have to start Friday, regardless of when your diocese observes the Ascension. And if you want daily reminders and links to the actual prayers, then sign up with Pray More Novenas

Why Does Prayer Have to Be Structured?

2013-05-04T10:19:00.001-04:00

That was a question that a caller asked me yesterday on Relevant Radio's "On Call" program. The host, Wendy Wiese, had been discussing the Liturgy of the Hours with me for the better part of half an hour when caller asked his question. I didn't ask first whether he was Catholic or Protestant. That might have given me information that would have helped me tailor my answer. But there's nothing like unscripted Q&A's to induce a grand fit of I- should- have -saids later on.

I answered that prayer could and should be both: at times informal, simple conversation with God. Brief phrases of faith, trust, praise and love. But most of us need structure at times as well. Unless our energy level and emotions are at perfect pitch, we often don't know what to say when we pray, or don't feel much like praying. Structured prayer--by which we mean using words that others have written, in a certain pattern or method--is a great help. These prayers give us, as Pope Benedict put it, "the language for the encounter with God." And when God has given us inspired prayers, such as the psalms, it's probably because he wants us to use them!

Later, another caller supported what I was saying by bringing up the example of buying greeting cards for our loved ones on special days. Sure, we are perfectly capable of saying "I love you." "Happy Birthday" , and whatnot. So why do we waste time browsing through phrases and verses printed with a pretty picture and hawked by Hallmark? That's a very "structured" way to communicate love or good wishes, don't you think?

I wonder if people who defend spontaneous prayer by denigrating structured/memorized/liturgical prayer less likely to buy greeting cards for their spouses, lovers, children, etc., than the rest of us? They ought to do a study on this.

Do you have any simple, articulate responses to the informal vs.formal prayer issue? If so, share them here.

Persecution Complex? plus weekly Q&A

2013-05-02T22:01:00.001-04:00

Don't forget it's the feast of Sts. Phillip and James (the son of Alphaeus not Zebedee) on Friday. Common of Apostles with Easter options plus the stuff specific to Phillip&James in the proper of saints.

Reading psalm 18 this morning (Office of Readings), with it's talk of powerful enemies, misfortune, entrapment, and eventual rescue by the Lord had me thinking again about how to pray these "persecution" psalms. I'm not aware (happily) of any flesh and blood enemies who are out to hurt me. So I'm most likely to think about the evils suffered by persecuted Christians around the world, or else I think about Satan, who is the enemy of each of us individually and the Church as a whole.

The last week or so there's been a number of items in the news that makes me wonder if the idea of "persecution" is about to become less abstract, less generalized, less something-that-occurs-far-away. Marriage was just re-defined away from its nature (as the foundation of the family) in the state of Rhode Island. This is the state with the largest percentage of Catholics in the nation. It is inevitable that lawsuits will eventually be mounted against Catholic pastors, teachers, and others who continue to speak, think, and act in accordance with Catholic morals. Another news item states that the Pentagon is making it a court-martial offense for Christians in the military to speak about their faith to others.

Not to be an alarmist, but it seems like a real possibility that we may soon be praying Psalm 18 in a more personal way than before. Not firing squads or prison (one hopes), but fines, job loss, law suits and public ridicule. Which, should it happen, will be a grace--there's a beatitude for this, right?

Welcome new followers Richard M. and Bob.

It's Q&A time. Any questions about the Liturgy of the Hours, from simple to complex, are welcome here.

Divine Office Factoid #7 - the Sounds of Silence

2013-04-30T10:58:00.000-04:00

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."

A Jim-Dandy, Cat's Meow, Bee's Knees, Super Duper Review

2013-04-30T10:28:00.001-04:00

...of The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours appeared recently at The Wine Dark Sea, by Melanie Bettinelli. Melanie has this Catholic Mommie blog with a rather classical flare: posts about the small doings of her cute kids alternate with commentary on T.S. Eliot, great works of art, and various events in the archdiocese of Boston, where she lives. Melanie has been a Coffee&Canticles cheerleader almost from its very beginnings, and her review of my book just demonstrates more of her kindness to me and her enthusiasm for the Liturgy of the Hours.

I'm very grateful, knowing from experience (as Melanie mentions in her post) what a pain book reviews are for a writer. Book reviews are so deceptive: it seems they would be a cinch to write. Your topic is well defined, and you don't have to come up with lots of original ideas, since the book itself supplied them. But then you sit down to write it, and you're transported back to the fifth grade, with a big fat book report assignment looming over you. An assignment which deflates all the enjoyment you actually had in reading the book!

A reviewer has to write that boring book report but make it sound like a clever little essay, revealing enough information to arouse reader interest but not too much. It's not easy. I write four reviews per month for Catholic Digest, and it's a huge chore! New writers are often encouraged to break into writing for magazines or websites by writing book reviews, not because they are easy, but because they make huge demands on one's ability to write clear, concise and readable prose. So I very much appreciate it anytime someone bothers to review my book, even if it's only a one-liner on Amazon.

Thanks, Melanie.

I Hate When that Happens! + Weekly Q&A

2013-04-25T10:08:00.002-04:00

Woke up a littler earlier this morning and thought, "I know! I'll do the Office of Readings right now, then get my son off to school, go to morning mass, and stay after mass for Morning Prayer. Then I"ll get home and be able to plunge right into my chores without having to stop for the OOR."

And so I did. Then, arriving at mass, noticed Father come out in red vestments. The feast of St. Mark.
And here I'd just done Office of Readings for the weekday. I hate when that happens. Yes, our parish calendar is hanging on the refrigerator. And I have a Catholic calendar app. Do I look at them first thing in the morning? Never.

I need a solution for this. Hi tech: start entering all feasts on my google calendar. Low tech: put a card in my breviary marking my place in the psalter which says, "Check the proper of saints, stupid!"

If you have a better idea, please let me know in comments.

Here's something else I was wondering about today as one of the ladies at Morning Prayer today reflexively began sayng "Glory to the Father--" and stopped with embarrassment at the end of the Benedicite (Canticle of the three children in Daniel). How ancient is the unique doxology (Let us bless the Father, etc.) that is used only at the end of this canticle? If any of you historian types know (are you there James McAuley?) please share with the rest of us. I mean to research this eventually, but today there's a hallway to paint before the curious, hyperactive, can't- resist- touching- anything child arrives home from school.

And of course, your weekly quandaries and quibbles about the Liturgy of the Hours are welcome too.

And welcome to recent new followers Serene, Jack, Esma, Elizabeth, Ahavotich, and "shesallthatdana".
Very, very glad to have you here. Make yourselves at home.

Book Winner is FraterMater

2013-04-19T12:30:00.000-04:00

The randomly selected winner of my book is "fratermater" I don't have any way to email this person, so if he or she does not get back to me in twenty-four hours I'll pick someone else.
FraterMater, email me. thesockeys"at"gmail"dot com

The Harp of the Holy Spirit

2013-04-19T10:28:00.001-04:00

The second reading in this mornings Office of Readings is from a sermon on Our Lord by Ephrem of Syria. After being--what?--moved, delighted, enchanted, thrilled by this reading, I looked Ephrem up in Witness of the Saints by Milton Walsh (fantastic reference on Church Fathers/Doctors represented in the Office of Readings). It wasn't a surprise to learn that he was considered the "greatest poet of the patristic era and has been called 'The Harp of the Holy Spirit'." He actually composed most of his theological writings and sermons in verse. The sermon from which today's reading is taken is one of the few prose examples we have from Ephrem, but it' pretty poetic prose, if you ask me. The imagery is glorious. Here's a little bit, but the best thing to do is go to the ibreviary widget on the right and read the whole thing:

Death trampled our Lord underfoot, but he in his turn treated death as a highroad for his own feet. He submitted to it, enduring it willingly, because by this means he would be able to destroy death in spite of itself. Death had its own way when our Lord went out from Jerusalem carrying his cross; but when by a loud cry from that cross he summoned the dead from the underworld, death was powerless to prevent it.

Death slew him by means of the body which he had assumed, but that same body proved to be the weapon with which he conquered death. Concealed beneath the cloak of his manhood, his godhead engaged death in combat; but in slaying our Lord, death itself was slain. It was able to kill natural human life, but was itself killed by the life that is above the nature of man.

Isn't that gorgeous? I know some people don't like combat imagery in spiritual writing, but I find it glorious. Energizing.

Next post: book winner announced. Check back this afternoon.

Weekly Q&A Time plus Welcome...

2013-04-17T02:00:00.000-04:00

...to new blog followers Karen Louise and David, not to mention other, more anonymous types who have recently added Coffee and Canticles to their reader feeds.
Wednesday is Q&A day.
Unless I forget to write this post on time, in which case it may be Thursday or Friday. But I'm on my game this week.

Those of you who do the Office of Readings: are all those readings from the Book of Revelation leaving you shaking your head and wondering what it's all about? Has you understanding of this book been further confused by reading one or more of the Left Behind novels back in the day when these books were the latest Christian fad?

A sure cure for the Apocalytpic heebie-jeebies it the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. Introductory notes, footnotes, and word studies by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch really help the reader to make some sense of the final book of the Bible.

I hope everyone is enjoying all the extra alleluias and antiphons reminding us the the Lord has risen. There's nothing like the Divine Office to keep us mindful of the Easter season for its entire 50 days.

Okay. Any questions about breviaries, psalms, feasts, seasons, rubrics, whatever--the comment box is the place to ask.

Divine Office Factoid #6 - the Perenniel Psalm Prayer Question

2013-04-16T11:33:00.001-04:00

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.

Win my book! (Second chance!)

2013-04-16T11:00:00.001-04:00

I'd like to give away another copy of my book. This time, I want it to go, for certain, to one of the regular readers of this blog.

I'm not going to put a notice on Facebook or Google+ or Twitter. I'm only mentioning it here. That will narrow down the field of entries a bit an increase the chances that one of you guys (I can't help saying you guys, having been brought up in New Jersey), who have been loyal fans of the Liturgy of the Hours, will win it. In addition, since many of you have already purchased the book, you'll probably give it away to a friend or relative, thus spreading the good news of liturgical prayer even further.

It will also be a heck of a lot easier to contact the winner this way. These visitors often enter the giveaway and then promptly disappear!

Okay, bretheren. And sistren. Put you "Want it!" in the combox and I'll get back to you on Friday.

Book News: Radio "appearances" this Week

2013-04-15T02:00:00.000-04:00

Say a quick prayer that the following radio interviews to well. (As in: Daria does not talk too fast and manages to sound coherent.) And tune in if you receive these programs on your local Catholic radio station:

Monday: Sonrise Morning Show 7:45 am Eastern Time

Tuesday: Catholic Connection (with David Palmer subbing for Teresa Tome) Tuesday 9:39 am Eastern Time

Wednesday: Morning Air with Sean Herriott. 7:40 am Eastern Time.

Thanks!

Rescheduling Prayer when Life is Topsy Turvy

2013-04-14T21:09:00.000-04:00

A recent trip to help my daughter as she recovered from childbirth reminded me that one's neat, consistent routine for praying 5 liturgical hours each day can be blown to bits by the demands of small children. While Bernadette rested and cared for newborn Edward Francis, my job was to fix meals, buy groceries, and most of all, care for 18 month old big brother Harald. All of which was simple enough to do, but definitely at the expense of prayer. Not a single day of my visit saw me getting to all five hours. One day I didn't get around to any of them, and fell into bed too exhausted to even think to do Night Prayer.

It wasn't that caring for Harald was that much more time-consuming than the things I do at home. Problem is, his needs had to met when he wanted them met, not when I would have preferred to meet them. 9:00 am, my preferred time for Office of Readings, was Harald's preferred time for breakfast. My 5pm Evening Prayer time was precisely when he would get cranky if he wasn't being played with. So I was really thrown off kilter.

If I had stayed with my daughter another week, I probably would have taken the time to figure out a new schedule for my prayer times: perhaps getting out of bed a little sooner to do Morning Prayer and Office of Readings; remembering to take advantage of Harald's naptimes to fit in Daytime Prayer; accepting that Evening Prayer would simply not happen unless I waited until the little guy was tucked into bed at 8pm. But as it was, by the time I realized that I'd have to adjust my way of looking at the "proper" times to pray each hour, it was time to return to my home and to my old routine.

Moral of the story: drastic changes in our lives--new jobs, travelling, new babies, new responsibilities--can wreak havoc on even your firmest habits. In these cases, it's time to discern what's realistic and workable in the new lifestyle you're living. This could mean a decision to pray fewer hours while getting accustomed to the new situation, and/or figuring out new times to pray. It also means figuring out new activities to associate with prayer time. (e.g. just before dinner becomes just after dinner or just after a TV program. Just after washing breakfast dishes might become during a coffee break at work.) Nearly every kind of daily schedule allows for some natural breaks. We just have to find them.

Book Winner Announced!

2013-04-11T21:05:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to late entry Leila, who is herself a blogger of some renown. If she will send a mailing address to me, either by message on Facebook, or to thesockeys"at" gmail "dot" com, I'll get her copy of the Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours out in the mail ~~right away~~ as soon as I can bring myself to truck on out to the post office, which is not on the route to any place that I generally go to.

While I'm on the subject of the book, this lovely article about it appeared at Catholic Exchange today. It seems to have had some impact on sales today at Amazon.

For those who did not win, fear not. I'll be doing this again next week. Stay tuned.

St. Therese's poetry &weekly Q&A

2013-04-10T01:00:00.000-04:00

My husband just bought this Kindle book, The poems of St. Therese of Lisieux. and shared with me this one that she wrote about praying the Divine Office.

"Remember that the summits of the hills

Thou often didst ascend at set of sun.

Ah! how Thy prayer the long, long night-hours fills,

Thy chants of praise when weary day is done.

Thy prayer I offer now, with ever new delight,

joined to my own poor prayers, my office,

day and night.

That I, too, near Thy heart,

Take, in Thy prayer, my part,

Remember Thou!"

Isn't that lovely?

It's Wednesday--weekly Q&A day. Ask anything you like about the Liturgy of the Hours. Puzzled about Propers? Confused about Commons? Uncertain about the Psalter? I'm here to help.

Book News: Climbing the lists!

2013-04-08T21:30:00.000-04:00

Shameless brag time!

The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours has now made it into the top 100 books in the Catholicism category on Amazon.

Event:: I'll be on the Sonrise Morning Show within the next week or so.

Publicity: a reporter for the National Catholic Register is talking to me about a feature she's writing on the Liturgy of the Hours!

Thank you to the 11 wonderful review writers who have really helped make the book attractive to Amazon customers. Not all of them are blog followers, but quite a few are. I do appreciate this very much. If every any of you write a book and want it reviewed, let me know!

Solemnity Alert! Annunciation All Day Long! Mark Your Breviary!

2013-04-08T07:34:00.004-04:00