Are you excited about the new translation of the Liturgy of the Hours?

[andrewstx]

In public prayer the community is obligated to use the version of the office which is official for them. So you are correct. When it’s prayed in public, only the version approved for that particular country can be used. *

In my (diocesan) parish, when we pray the office as a public prayer, we must use the approved version (without any changes) and follow the calendar of the diocese.

If I visit a monastery, the monks would use their version (assuming they have approved variations), and follow their calendar. I would be permitted to join with them, even though the details of the prayer might be different from what I would do in the parish.

Let’s say that a group of priests from the UK visits the US. They could use their version, and I could join with them…however I could not use their book in a community celebration of the hours in my US parish.

You’re asking about Japan (just to refresh everyone else’s memory). In private, any person (lay or cleric) who wants to use an English-language book, either the US or the UK or any other, may do so. Again, you’re correct. However, if you have an English-speaking parish, it would be up to the local bishop to approve the parish to use a particular translation when the office is prayed as a community.

In private prayer, any person may use any approved version of the Office. It doesn’t matter where.

• Here in the US, we have a great number of what we call “ethnic parishes.” Pardon me if you already know this (for all I know, you might have been born and raised in the US), but others might not know it. The local bishops can give approval for these parishes to use the liturgical books of their native language—books that have already been approved by the bishops of those countries (not just someone’s private translations). That means that a Polish-speaking parish can use the books approved by the bishops of Poland, even though they’re not actually in Poland.

Does that address what you were asking?

When I was Franciscan we used our own version of the LOTH with our own Franciscan supplement and calendar. Do other religious communities have their own LOTH as well?

 

[FrDavid96]

When I was Franciscan we used our own version of the LOTH with our own Franciscan supplement and calendar. Do other religious communities have their own LOTH as well?

Yes. Some do. As far as I know, the Salesians and Dominicans have their own variations (called “peculiarities”).

Especially when it comes to the calendar, there are many saints which are not necessarily on the universal, or the national calendars but are obviously important to the religious orders, since many of them were members of those orders. There are also feast days (“Our Lady of…”) which might be important for them, but not necessarily be such that they’re observed on the universal calendar.

 

[OraLabora]

Yes. Some do. As far as I know, the Salesians and Dominicans have their own variations (called “peculiarities”).

Especially when it comes to the calendar, there are many saints which are not necessarily on the universal, or the national calendars but are obviously important to the religious orders, since many of them were members of those orders. There are also feast days (“Our Lady of…”) which might be important for them, but not necessarily be such that they’re observed on the universal calendar.

The monastic orders also use their own specific LOTH. There are several general and local monastic psalters; starting from the one that St. Benedict himself described in his Rule and which recites about 250 psalms a week with many repetitions. In general, in the current Benedictine schemas, the psalter is distributed either over 1 week or 2 weeks. A few with busy external apostolates use the LOTH schema but obviously with Benedictine calendar. The abbey I’m associated with uses Monastic Schema B developed by Notker Füglister in the 1960s, and it distributes the psalms on a one-week cycle with no repetitions. But the rest of the Office will be similar if not identical to the LOTH except for the calendar: structure, same collects and intercessions, and many shared antiphons although the Monastic has a separate antiphon for the Benedictus and Magnificat for each of years A, B and C, and an antiphon based on the biblical readings of Vigils for 1st Vespers on Sundays.

 

[NickD]

I’m lookin forward to the new translation.

In some situations, the closing prayers (collects) are such a mangling of the Latin, I need to turn to my Daily Roman Missal for the new translation. The intercession a have some serious problems.

In short, I look forward to formal equivalency translation as in the new Missal translation. The Psalm translation doesn’t concern me, and neither does the translation for the readings.

I also hope that more publishers than CBPC, publishing books stuck in the 70s, and MTF, whose prices are SKY HIGH, can publish the LOTH for us.

How I’ll afford books of a new translation? I’ll leave that up to the Lord…when it happens in 10-20 years

 

[agnes_therese]

When I was Franciscan we used our own version of the LOTH with our own Franciscan supplement and calendar. Do other religious communities have their own LOTH as well?

The Discalced Carmelites do, also.