Help with Shorter Christian Prayer

[elizaveta01]

Help! I’ve recently started using Shorter Christian Prayer and have a problem.

After the Our Father in Evening Prayer there is a concluding prayer. During the week the concluding prayer is in the Psalter, but on Sunday Evening Prayer 1 & 2 it says “concluding prayer, as in the Proper of Seasons”. But when I look in the Proper of Seasons for Ordinary Time there is no concluding prayer for Evening Prayer given! The only thing there is the Antiphon for the Canticle of Mary. Where is the Concluding Prayer? It’s driving me crazy not being able to find it.

 

[jrecortel]

Hello. The concluding prayer is the same as in morning prayer.

 

[elizaveta01]

Thanks. I thought perhaps that was it, but figured if it was they would have explicitly said it.

 

[porthos11]

Thanks. I thought perhaps that was it, but figured if it was they would have explicitly said it.

It’s a little confusing; this also got me the very first time I prayed a Sunday office (Shorter Christian Prayer was my very first Office book). Once I figured out however, that the Sunday concluding prayer was the same as the opening prayer for Mass, then it made sense that this was in fact a Collect for the Sunday itself and needed to be printed only once to save space.

 

[NickD]

There is a lot that the Divine Office books “assume” that you know, just to save space…you’ll learn with time

 

[otjm]

There is a lot that the Divine Office books “assume” that you know, just to save space…you’ll learn with time

Isn’t that why it is called “Shorter…”?:extrahappy:

 

[porthos11]

Isn’t that why it is called “Shorter…”?:extrahappy:

Having started with Shorter Christian Prayer myself before moving up to Christian Prayer and finally the four-volume, I would actually say that Shorter is not actually easier to use than the other editions; if anything, the abbreviation of rubrics adds to the confusion of a beginner. I would say that if one wants to begin praying the Liturgy of the Hours, start with Christian Prayer, not Shorter.

 

[NickD]

Isn’t that why it is called “Shorter…”?:extrahappy:

No…it’s called “shorter” because it contains only Lauds, Vespers, and Compline. When I speak of saving space I mean not reprinting the the Canticles of Mary and Zaechariah at every point they are to be said, not printing the Gloria Patri after each psalm/canticle, not printibg the whole Our Father, and such like that

 

[otjm]

No…it’s called “shorter” because it contains only Lauds, Vespers, and Compline. When I speak of saving space I mean not reprinting the the Canticles of Mary and Zaechariah at every point they are to be said, not printing the Gloria Patri after each psalm/canticle, not printibg the whole Our Father, and such like that

Yeah, I sort of figured that part out in 1964 when I started attending college seminary. That was what we used.

To anyone else out there not sure of where to go, I would start with Shorter Christian Prayer because it is not so much information coming all at once. That may be as far as you advance, which is perfectly fine; or you may wish to move on to Christian Prayer, and eventually to the four volume set.

And my previous comment was meant as a joke - which I thought the emoticon would indicate… :banghead:

Ah well…

 

[NickD]

And my previous comment was meant as a joke - which I thought the emoticon would indicate… :banghead:

Ah well…

I didn’t pick up on that…sometimes, I don’t catch even the most obvious humor. Not to worry, my friend!

 

[otjm]

I didn’t pick up on that…sometimes, I don’t catch even the most obvious humor. Not to worry, my friend!

Me? worry?

Nope.