Office Liturgy - My Prayer
If I really want to make the Office my prayer, there are
three elements which are implicit in this effort.
The first is that I will, in practice, make the effort. I
sometimes see actors on "N.Y.P.D. Blue" reading the
‘perp their rights with more gusto than I say the
Office. This should be not be. The mere recitation of the
Office which at times is [canonically] necessary due to
time, tiredness, location etc., is not to be the norm. I
have had the flu and had to say Mass in record time, but
again, this is not be the norm. A thanksgiving dinner is
not to be wolfed down like a fast-food meal. A relationship
does not grow with a few, two minute encounters.
One the other hand, dinner each day is not to take four
hours, a weekday Mass is not the time to give a 45-minute
homily, and a smothering relationship will not endure.
There has to be balance. Yes, there are times when I will
say the Office slower than usual. A word will strike me.
I'll linger over a passage in the Office of Readings. But I
have to find a way of praying Vespers with proper intention
and disposition when I am just walking in from the
hospital, the sun is setting, and dinner is in five
minutes.
Each person's life and devotional endurance is different.
In the effort to say the Office well, there can be few
absolute norms. Aside from saying it and saying all of it
for those who by Canon Law or vow are bound to do so, the
only other norm is to pray it well. The Church wisely was
not more specific here. Since the point of the Office is to
consecrate the day to God and sometimes God has a way of
planning a day that is different from the most efficient
plans of a time manager, there must be flexibility. Like a
program of exercise, we have to find our pace. We have to
determine how, when, and where we will pray the Office.
Personally, I enjoy saying the Office standing or walking.
At Lauds, I like to make my bed while I say the Benedictus.
At Vespers, I like to stand looking at the sunset while
saying the Magnificat. I like to turn off the lights in my
room as I say the Nunc Dimittis. These personal mannerisms
are mine and I can not say that some one should or should
not do the same. Surprisingly, in the past, while there was
an indulgence attached to saying the Office in the presence
of the Blessed Sacrament, many spiritual authors suggested
that it be prayed outdoors. One parishioner I know says the
Office of Readings in the middle of the night when she
rises to care for her infant. She has found the pace of her
Office prayer. How each person comes to that point is their
own spiritual program and when that pace is set, it becomes
a regular part of life.
The second element to growth in Office prayer is to see it
as it truly is - prayer. If prayer is the lifting up pf the
"mind and heart to God" (and for that matter, the body as
well), then prayer is rarely something we can jump right
into. There must be a moment for the "lifting up." The
Office prayer is not meant to shock the system. It is meant
to be part of the ebb and flow of life. We rarely go to
dinner without preparing ourselves to step out. We don't
just turn on the oven and throw food into it. We plan a
menu, go shopping and tell people that we have to get
dinner ready. We need to transition to prayer. Many
spiritualities in the Church emphasize this need. Whether
it be a moment of silence, a vocal prayer or even the
listening to music, we need to be in a "prayer-state"
rather than a "go-go state" or a "I-have-to call-her
state." I certainly do not mean that one needs to go into a
catatonic state or a disposition reserved for the most
advanced of souls, but some sort of "this is now the time
to pray" mentality is required. The Office itself sees this
need and so has an opening verse as well as a hymn in order
to set the mood, if you will, for the act of praying the
Psalms, reading of the Word of God, and the written and
unwritten prayer. We have to acknowledge this wisdom in our
own Office prayer.
Perhaps now is the time to consider the role of personal
prayer in the Office. This is an issue as it is in
individual (verses public) prayer in the Eucharistic
liturgy. For example, many liturgists are militant on the
importance of the communal aspect of receiving Holy
Communion at Mass. We have been told that it is not
primarily the time for private prayer and so we must cease
our personal post-communion devotions and meditations to
sing a sometimes insipid "song." This may make sense from a
theological and rubrical point of view but practically
after Communion, most people are absorbed in their own
devotions. Why don't most people take the theology to heart
and stop saying their won prayers? I think there is and
should be time and room for both. It is clear from the
evidence of practice that most people do not have a problem
with personal prayer within the public Liturgy. Perhaps
they say "Yes, we are here together, but I am still here
with my God." There is, then, no need for a dichotomy and
in the case of the Divine Office, there is - thanks to its
constitution - none to be set up.
The
Office Hymn
The Hymn is one of those debated rubrics. Do I need to sing
or say it? Do I have to use the one in my edition of the
Office? Can I omit it?
The function of the Hymn is to set the theme of the Office
being prayed. Hymns are religious poems having a subject
and a movement throughout the work. Most hymns (as opposed
to many modern "religious songs") focus on the time and
theme of the particular Office. To sing the Dies Irae on
Christmas morning would not make sense. For this reason,
most English editions print a hymn or song in the text of
the hour. Some even have a section of religious poetry in
the back as an appendix which can be chosen (assumedly in
private recitation) as an option to the hymn of the hour.
These (and other) collections of religious poetry can be a
great aid to prayer as well as a way to explore some of the
great works of Christian literature.
The Latin official texts has assigned proper hymns to each
hour in the same way (and usually with the same texts ) as
the pre- Vatican II office. The Church wisely left the
decision of which hymn to the assigned texts, the local
Bishop's Conference and the choice of the individual. To
limit preferred expressions with rigid liturgical mandates
would be counter-productive to the ability of all who pray
the Office to enter into the mystery of each of hour.
Whatever the form or text the hymn takes, it should be an
opportunity of transition and personal prayer.
Psalm
Prayers
In most English editions of the Divine Office, in full or
abbreviated form, there are "Psalm Prayers" at the end of
each Psalm or section of a Psalm. These do not appear in
the official Latin text but were suggested in the General
Instructions of the Divine Office as an option to offer a
Christian reflection on the Psalm. Perhaps here is a moment
in private recitation to offer a personal prayer for
ourselves and\or others based on the sentiment of the
Psalm.
Responsory
The Responsory at Lauds and Vespers is - in private
recitation - optional. It is an expression of a meditative
response to the short reading from Scripture. Prior to it
is one of those moments of "sacred silence" where the Word
of God take root within. It is an officially sanctioned
opportunity for lectio divina and private meditation. This
is one place in the public recitation of the Office where
an extended a period of private Scriptural mediation and
reflective prayer is allowed, if not encouraged. The
subject can be the text provided or, in Ordinary Time,
another Biblical text chosen.
Intercessions
In the Office at Morning and Evening Prayer, there is space
for personal prayer in addition to the public prayer of the
liturgical texts. In fact, at the end of the intercessions
at Lauds and Vespers, it is specifically included in the
rubrics for the Office. It is a time to offer personal
prayers in either a communal or private celebration,
similar to the "Prayer of the Faithful" at Mass.
As an aside, I believe that the distinction between the
Intercessions at Morning and Evening Prayer is a good
reflection of the unique character and spirituality of
these two Offices. At Morning Prayer (Lauds) the
intercessions, generally, are reflective of the intention
of the Office which is to laud, to praise, God. Rather than
presenting needs before God, the drift of these
intercessions is to consecrate the day through praise.
While allowed prior to the Our Father, personal and
universal needs are offered at Vespers in the context of
thanksgiving for the day past. It is interesting to note
that the intercessions are couched within either praise or
thanksgiving and are not generally offered on their own.
Tradition spiritual norms define four primary movement of
prayer as the pneumonic "A.C.T.S" - Adoration, Contrition,
Thanksgiving, Supplication. The Office embodies all four of
these. Adoration at Morning Prayer, Contrition in the
examen at Night Prayer, Thanksgiving at Evening Prayer, and
Supplication as a part of the Intercessions. Since
childhood, most people have been taught that prayer begins
with "God bless mommy and daddy and..." This is a far cry
from prayer which begins with Praise or Thanksgiving and
then, and only then, ends up with supplication. If the
Office is a school of prayer, then here is a lesson for the
mature Christian to learn.
Before
and After the Office
The Office provides a succinct prayer to prepare for the
recitation of the Office and older devotionals provided
additional prayers for both before and after the reciting
the Office. While these are not a part of the official
required liturgical texts, they are sometimes helpful for
the transition to and from prayer. I use both the official
private prayer before as well as some others I have
composed and edited.
The third aspect to this personalizing of the Office prayer
is to make it my own. I have to put my own stamp on my
manner of recitation. We are people of ritual. Whether it
be our morning hygiene, our eating patterns, or our
organization of a closet, we have our own way of doing
things. The same is true of our religious practices. I have
certain prayers I say after Communion, even if I do sing
the Communion hymn. These are things which are applicable
to the Office.
Lighting a candle used only for the Office is one of these.
Some will play some light background music, change the
lighting, etc. I will use some of these as well and since
these are personal symbols of prayer, their use is depends
based on my disposition at the time.
Singing the Office, even privately, is quite admirable and
often brings out the meaning of texts which otherwise could
be missed. There are tapes of the parts of the Office which
can be used for this.
Whatever the personal ritual is, it must have as its goal
to aid the individual in saying the Office as much as any
public ritual needs to do the same. As people whose daily
routines are, in many ways, ritualized, they have a role to
play in any truly human prayer. Rituals for habit's sake
are not worth much if they become the prayer. Rather, when
used and understood properly, they can highlight and
personalize prayer.
When all is said and done, so long as we are faithful to
the intention of the Office and the Church which composed
and prays it, we can only enhance our prayer. The daily and
indeed hourly, prayer of the Church will then be our own.
