A brief introduction to Benedictine Office
In a Benedictine monastery the Liturgy of the Hours dominates the timetable, and all the other activities of the day are arranged around it. When I met Bishop Eric Varden of Trondheim recently, he mentioned how, whilst he was Abbot at Mount St Bernard’s and the Abbey re-introduced Trappist beer to England, their main criteria for brewing was to follow a recipe which fits in with their monastic hours!
These hours consists of seven offices during the day, which corresponds to the words of the psalmist, seven times a day I praise you (Ps118:164) and one office during the night, at midnight I rise to praise you (Ps118:62)
The content of Divine Office are mainly taken from Scripture, and the Psalms form the core of each Hour. Our Lord Himself would have recited these Psalms,
and they form a unique vocabulary of prayer for monks of all ages. The whole spectrum of human emotion is found in them, including violence.
You may find some of the passages such as "A blessing on anyone who seizes your little ones and shatters them against a rock" (Ps 136:9) troubling, however this is interpreted by St Benedict (RB prol.28 & 4:50) as referring to evil thoughts being dashed, as soon as they arise, against the rock which is Christ (cf Cor 10:4). Prayer is meant to transform us, therefore it is fitting that we are also reminded of human reality from which we are to be transformed.
The addition of the short prayer of praise to the Holy Trinity 'Gloria Patri...' to the end of each psalm emphasises that they are always to be interpreted with Christ in mind. St Benedict stresses the importance of the 'Gloria Patri" by saying that during it, all the monks should rise from their seats in honour and reverence for the Holy Trinity (RB9:7)
The two main Day Hours, LAUDS, morning praise, and VESPERS, evening prayer before sundown, each consists of psalmody, a short reading and a hymn followed by a Canticle from the Gospel: The Benedictus (Song of Zachariah, Lk 1:68-79) at LAUDS and the Magnificat (Our Lady's song, Lk 1:46-55) at VESPERS.
The rest of the day is sanctified by Offices at the first (prima) hour ~ PRIME, and third (tertia) hour~ TERCE~ the sixth (sexta) hour~ SEXT~ and the ninth (nona) hour~ NONE. These Hours all have the same structure. On Sundays and Mondays each has three sections from Psalm 118 whereas for the rest of the week the same psalms~ 119-127~ are sung, three at each Hour. The three so called Little Hours have traditionally been linked to mysteries of the New Testament: Terce is the time of the Crucifixion (Mk 15:25) and also of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:15). Sext, midday, is when Christ hung on the cross and the whole world became dark (Mk 15:33) and also when God's saving will for the gentiles was revealed to St Peter (Acts 10:9). None is when Christ died on the cross and the veil of the Temple was rent in two (Mk 15:34-39).
COMPLINE, (completum) which completes the day hours is sung before the monks retire to bed, and always has the same three psalms. It can thus be sung from memory in the dark, which is how the monks do it at my monastery in Norcia. Compline begins with an examination of conscience and with the Confiteor, twice said as at Mass. The Abbot or his designate gives absolution after its recitation. Compline ends with a seasonal Marian antiphon and after the Abbot has blessed the monks with Holy Water, the Grand Silence begins until after Prime the following day.
VIGILS, often called Mattins, is the night office. The Lord said that He would come again at an unexpected hour and so His servants keep vigil. Those who keep vigil take their place with their victorious Lord in the battle against Satan and the powers of darkness. This office is absent in the Monastic Diurnal (day time office) that some of you bought at Farnbourgh Abbey, and has much variance in the time it’s said in each monastery. The Monks at Norcia however pray Vigils at 02:30 !
Besides the Roman rite, the Oriental rite and the Ambrosian rite, the Middle ages also recognised a Cursus S. Benedicti as one of the most complete expositions of the Divine Office. St Gregory says the Cursus is outstanding for its discretion.
Consider that St Benedict divides the longer psalms into two sections; that during the short summer nights, in order not to abbreviate unduly the monks' rest, he shortens and cuts down even the Scriptural reading; that for smaller communities he dispenses from the obligation of singing the antiphons; that between Matins and Lauds he prescribes a brief intermission, so that the old men may retire a moment for the necessities of nature.
It is a most humane effort, of Opus Dei, I urge you to take up the habit of praying divine office, to transform yourselves as Our Lord would have you.