I have not even a single day's experience in seminary or monastic life but I cannot ignore how essential the public Office was to the devout laymen of the Ages of Faith. I am sure there is much more that can be said about the spiritual nature of the Office that I have neglected here, being the mere lay student of history that I am. As the morning Hours were not celebrated merely as a precursor to the Mass, the people must have attended the Office solely on its own merits! Furthermore, Gasquet goes on to explain that the people would return to the church yet again later in the day, around the hours of 2 and 3, to attend Vespers.
This highlights two things: first, the fact that Communion was not regularly received in those days (or else they could not break the fast before Mass), and second, that the attending of Matins and Lauds was so important to the people that they could be bothered to rise quite early in the morning to attend the Offices and still have time to go back home, before returning to church once again for Mass. Gasquet goes on to say that high Mass was celebrated around 9 or 10, giving the laity enough time to return to their homes and break the fast before returning to church.
#Ordinariate divine office trial#
At last, there is Compline, which some say was introduced by Saint Benedict for his monks to have a suitable prayer immediately before bedtime.Īt least the great trial of waking up in the morning is not a new one but the placement of Matins was adjusted enough to allow the people to reasonably attend. Waking at nine in the morning was considered slothful in the eyes of certain abbots, so an additional hour, that of Prime, was imposed to ensure that the monks would rise at dawn.
As the early medieval monasteries commonly prayed Matins and Lauds in the dead of night, it allowed them to go back to sleep without any further obligations until Terce. Both were introduced in the monastic communities before making their way to the Church at large. This leaves only Prime and Compline, seemingly the least ancient of the Divine Hours. The great vigils of the early Church, therefore, account for the three major hours (Vespers, Matins, and Lauds) of the traditional Office, while the day hours marked by the bells of the Roman Forum account for the Office's minor hours ( Terce, Sext, and None). The last portion of the vigil, to coincide with the dawn, was the divine praises, now called Lauds.
#Ordinariate divine office series#
The vigil would continue through the night in a series of watches, which may be the origin of the nocturns of the great office of Matins. Just as the Jews had always observed the beginning of the day at sunset, we can imagine the early Church beginning the vigil with what would eventually be known as Vespers. These prayers grew to become distinct, yet intimately related to the Eucharistic liturgy. The early Christians sang hymns of praise from the Psalms above all, but likely also hymns of their own composition (the Gloria and Te Deum being ancient examples), as well as lessons from the other parts of Scripture. In the days of persecution, the Eucharistic liturgy, celebrated in the catacombs or the private homes of the faithful, was preceded on great feasts by a vigil starting the night before, terminating with the Eucharist after dawn. There is, however, one very critical aspect of traditional Christian worship which has been near-completely overlooked: the Divine Office. Other extra-liturgical practices like the Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament are being asserted as part of Catholic life. More and more churches are, once again, offering the traditional Roman Mass in Latin. Thanks to their efforts, we've received such fruits as a more faithful English translation of the Mass and a revival of interest in Gregorian chant. The liturgical movement has already made great headway in this department. I, and an ever-increasing number of other young adults, simply expect the Catholic Church to be the Catholic Church: unapologetically Christian, unabashedly unreformed, with all its "backward" traditions and beliefs in tow. From raves and rock bands at Mass to pizza parties, lock-ins, and weekly meetings to gather 'round the campfire and discuss each other's feelings, the Church has tried all the gimmicks, yet the cathedrals remain mostly silent. And since the decline of religion in the West is no surprise, there is also no lack of attempts to bring the youth back to church.
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