Benedictine Oblates actually have a separate breviary they use.
The monastic breviaries are solely for the monastic communities. For example, a diocesan priest cannot celebrate the Carmelite Rite, as it is a monastic Mass solely for the Carmelites. It is really late, and I am exhausted, so I am not going to look for a citation. But you can trust me, I am correct.
Not exactly. First of all, oblates of the abbey I’m associated with can either pray the Monastic breviary, or the Roman one; we don’t have a separate breviary, just an abridged version of the monastic one, that is Lauds, Vespers and Compline only. I do either depending on my time constraints (the monastic one is considerably longer). Other abbeys may have special breviaries for oblates or simply recommend the LOTH. Each abbey will do according to its own oblate charter.
We have a few parish priests and deacons, who are also oblates. I am sure that the authority to allow them to use the monastic breviary resides with their bishop, i.e. they can ask for permission to do so. Also I believe the current Carmelite breviary is the current 4-week LOTH but with a Carmelite calendar.
Again, the Benedictine Divine Office is solely for Benedictines. It is a two-way street. Benedictines cannot pray the regular Liturgy of the Hours. They must use the Benedictine Breviary, as that is what their order dictates. It would be sort of like saying that since the Benedictines celebrate the Mass of Paul VI, they should be allowed to pray the regular Liturgy of the Hours. It doesn’t work that way.
There are actually several Monastic Breviaries that divide the psalter over either 1 or two weeks; 4 schemas are defined in the Thesaurus Liturgiae Horarum Monasticum; the first, schema A, is the one described by St. Benedict himself and spreads the psalter over 1 week with many psalms repeated; schema B as used at our abbey, is post-Vatican II and says the entire psalter in 1 week with no repetitions, with a couple of 2-week adaptation (our abbey does it in one week). Schemas C and D are two-week psalters.
That said, the General Instructions of the Monastic Liturgy of the Hours
does allow the use of the Roman Breviary in certain cases (my translation from French):
- If a community, for particular reasons, wishes to adopt the Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite, it is recommended to chant entirely the principle hours (Lauds and Vespers) and to distribute the psalms of Vigils (Office of Readings) over two weeks…
- For the private recitation of the Office, monks who habitually exercise a pastoral responsibility may use the LOTH according to the Roman Rite, or according to another schema approved by the abbot. The same applies for monks who are traveling, or for particular reasons, those who with the consent of the abbot are unable to present in choir.
So as you can see for private recitation and when outside choir, monks
are allowed to use the Roman Rite.
Keep in mind that the Benedictine Order is a loose confederation only. Therefore considerable latitude is given to each community, under the authority of its abbot, to use different breviaries or even design its own as I have seen in some places. Similarly, whether oblates use the same breviary, or abridged version, or a separate one for oblates only, or the LOTH, is a matter for individual abbeys to define in their Oblate Charter. Our abbey obliges recitation of
part of the Divine Office, and
recommends Lauds, Vespers and Compline (hence those three hours in our abridged breviary), but does allow the substitution of the Roman Rite, or the recitation of the entire breviary. Houses that use Schema A are likely to see their oblates use a very abridge version since it is so heavy, or allow the Roman Rite.
Similarly the bishop cannot impose a breviary on a monastery, it’s outside his jurisdiction. It is however, within his jurisdiction to allow a priest of his diocese to use a different breviary, for instance for a priest belonging to a third order or is a Benedictine Oblate.
