The Divine Office: A Study of the Roman BreviaryQuigley, Edward J.
Religion
The Divine Office: A Study of the Roman Breviary
Quigley, Edward J.
Catholic Church. Breviary; Divine office
In making commemorations, the order of the commemoration as laid down in
the _Ordo_ should be followed. Elements of a commemoration are the
Antiphon of the _Benedictus_ or the _Magnificat_ with versicle and
response. These antiphons are considered most excellent, preceding as
they do the Gospel canticles (St. Luke I.). The antiphon, versicle and
prayer of the commemoration at an hour should never be repetitions of
others said in the same hour. Thus, if in the office of a confessor
pontiff having the prayer _Da quaesumus_, another confessor pontiff's
feast, commemorated in the same hour, should not have the same prayer.
About the prayer, or, as it is called, the collect, the following should
be noted: first, the commemoration is omitted if the prayer of the
office which is being recited and the prayer of the feast to be
commemorated have the same object. Thus, a feast of the Blessed Virgin,
falling within the octave of the Assumption, should not be commemorated.
Second, where a commemoration for a saint or saints of title similar to
that of the saints whose office is being said, is to be made, the
Congregation of Rites (5th May, 1736) arranged that not even the
versicles and response be repeated and that the following order be
observed:--
IN VESPERS--
1st Com. made by Antiphon and Versicle of Lauds.
2nd Com. made by Antiphon of second Vesper and Ver. of II. Nocturn.
3rd Com. made by Antiphon of I. Noct. and Vers. of III. Nocturn.
IN LAUDS--
1st Com. made by Antiphon and Vers. from first Vesp.
2nd Com. made by Antiphon I. Noct., and Ver., III. Noct.
3rd Com. made by Antiphon II. Vesp., Vers., II. Noct.
If it should happen in commemorating a day within an octave that the
versicle from the common had already been taken for the office, then the
rule is "_Sumenda est in laudibus antiphona de secundis Vesperis; et pro
secundis Vesperis antiphona de laudibus in utroque tamen casu cum v. de
primis Vesperis_" (S.C.R., 18th Dec., 1779). In the above given form
of making commemorations it may be noted that the second commemoration
in Lauds is made up from the versicles and response of Matins and not
from second Vespers, so as to avoid repeating in Lauds what was said at
Vespers (Cavalieri).
As regards prayers in the office the reminder that the same formula must
not be repeated in the same hour may be supplemented. Because, prayers
having all words identical, save one single word, are not considered in
liturgy as different prayers (_e.g., Accendamur exemplis; instruamur
exemplis_, Feast of St. Philip and St. James, Feasts of several
martyrs). So, too, prayers which have the same form of petition (e.g.,
the prayers on feast of St. Joseph and on feast of St. Mathew), are not
considered as different and must not be repeated in the same hour. But
where the petition is different, even though all the remainder of the
prayers are similar in wording, they may be repeated in the same hour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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