Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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I want to become enrolled in the Brown Scapular Confraternity … and along with wearing the Scapular you are supposed to read the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I found an edition on Amazon, but several people said they didn’t like the Vatican II version of it … does anyone do this devotion, and do you have an edition of the Office that you prefer?
 
Katherine438 said:
I want to become enrolled in the Brown Scapular Confraternity … and along with wearing the Scapular you are supposed to read the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I found an edition on Amazon, but several people said they didn’t like the Vatican II version of it … does anyone do this devotion, and do you have an edition of the Office that you prefer?
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This is no longer a requirement. What is asked for is the practice of some aspect of Carmelite spirituality. One way of doing this is with the standard Liturgy of the Hours.

The best Carmelite information regarding the Brown Scapular is this Catechesis from both Carmelite orders: meditationsfromcarmel.com/content/scapular-catechesis

Excerpt from there:

*What is this Carmelite spirituality that one must practice in order to have an affiliation with the Carmelite Order?
*
The spirituality of the Carmelite Order is one of the preeminent spiritual traditions of the Catholic Church. It is difficult to reduce this spirituality to a few sentences. One who wears the scapular should certainly reflect upon the teachings of the great Carmelite saints, three of whom are doctors of the Church.

A few basic introductory principles of Carmelite spirituality would be
  • frequent participation in the Mass and reception of Holy Communion;
  • frequent reading of and meditation on the Word of God in Sacred Scripture;
  • the regular praying of at least part of the Liturgy of the Hours;
  • imitation of and devotion to Mary, the woman of faith who hears the Word of God and puts it into practice;
  • the practice of the virtues, notably charity, chastity (according to one’s state of life), and obedience to the will of God.
 
Katherine438 said:
I want to become enrolled in the Brown Scapular Confraternity … and along with wearing the Scapular you are supposed to read the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I found an edition on Amazon, but several people said they didn’t like the Vatican II version of it … does anyone do this devotion, and do you have an edition of the Office that you prefer?
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You have already been provided with a link to the contemporary catechesis concerning the Carmelite scapular. This catechesis was done by both branches of Carmel – the Ancient Observance as well as the Teresian Reform/Discalced. It is excellent and properly corrects/places in context things one can read in older resources that should be today seen in a different light.

As for the Little Office…the Little Offices were particularly for Religious who were not Choir Religious (which means they lacked sufficient education in Latin to be able to pray the Office, which then did not exist in the vernacular; they may have chosen this path of Religious Life either because they did not wish to pursue the necessary studies, were unable to, or they preferred the manual labour these roles normally entailed) and these Little Offices were also used by lay people, typically for the same reason of not being able to use the Latin texts.

I remember using the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin when I was a child, many many many years ago, as I wanted to begin to pray the Office but it was not accessible to us then.

Thankfully, with the renewal and reform of the liturgy, the Divine Office (that is the Liturgy of the Hours, as we properly term it today) is accessible to everyone. Everyone is encouraged today to pray it, either in Latin or in a vernacular language. A lay woman on her train commute to and from work can pray Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Vespers (evening prayer) and thus pray/celebrate the liturgy of the Church from her train seat.

The one volume Christian Prayer gives access to Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer – it does not include the Office of Readings – with the Proper of Seasons and the Propers for the Saints.

It is the summit of an individual praying since it is, truly, the liturgy of the Church even when prayed by individual laity.

The Liturgy of the Hours is also available electronically through various websites.
 
Don_Ruggero said:
You have already been provided with a link to the contemporary catechesis concerning the Carmelite scapular. This catechesis was done by both branches of Carmel – the Ancient Observance as well as the Teresian Reform/Discalced. It is excellent and properly corrects/places in context things one can read in older resources that should be today seen in a different light.

As for the Little Office…the Little Offices were particularly for Religious who were not Choir Religious (which means they lacked sufficient education in Latin to be able to pray the Office, which then did not exist in the vernacular; they may have chosen this path of Religious Life either because they did not wish to pursue the necessary studies, were unable to, or they preferred the manual labour these roles normally entailed) and these Little Offices were also used by lay people, typically for the same reason of not being able to use the Latin texts.

I remember using the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin when I was a child, many many many years ago, as I wanted to begin to pray the Office but it was not accessible to us then.

Thankfully, with the renewal and reform of the liturgy, the Divine Office (that is the Liturgy of the Hours, as we properly term it today) is accessible to everyone. Everyone is encouraged today to pray it, either in Latin or in a vernacular language. A lay woman on her train commute to and from work can pray Lauds (Morning Prayer) and Vespers (evening prayer) and thus pray/celebrate the liturgy of the Church from her train seat.

The one volume Christian Prayer gives access to Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer and Night Prayer – it does not include the Office of Readings – with the Proper of Seasons and the Propers for the Saints.

It is the summit of an individual praying since it is, truly, the liturgy of the Church even when prayed by individual laity.

The Liturgy of the Hours is also available electronically through various websites.
Click to expand...
I compared the site I was given here to the site I was getting information from … the site I was getting old information from was a Carmelite Sister site … but it was dated … so I should have realized that … so happy I brought this up so that I could get the correct information. I pray the Liturgy of the Hours … I have the books, but I also found it online … very convenient. Thanks for all the info.
 
Katherine438 said:
I compared the site I was given here to the site I was getting information from … the site I was getting old information from was a Carmelite Sister site … but it was dated … so I should have realized that … so happy I brought this up so that I could get the correct information. I pray the Liturgy of the Hours … I have the books, but I also found it online … very convenient. Thanks for all the info.
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I’m afraid the problem with the Carmelite Sister site is more than old information. Their site is an excellent example of the need to meticulously check sources.

The sisters are a renegade order existing without approval, and or affiliation to the Vatican, local Bishop, or both branches of the Carmelite Order. You can prove this for yourself. On their website, you will see no mention of the Holy Father, the local Bishop, or the Carmelite Order, whether it be O. Carm. or Discalced. The Bishop of Colorado Springs had a letter addressed to the faithful asking us to pray for the return of the Sisters to proper authority. Unfortunately, the letter didn’t make it back on after the website design.

I live in a neighboring Archdiocese. We’ve been praying for the return of the Sisters for a very long time.
 
I have the Baronius Press Little Office. There’s nothing “little” about it, as far as obligations go. It’s a LOT of praying. Do yourself a favor and get a priest to commute the obligation to a daily Rosary. It’s way more do-able.
 
Windmill said:
I have the Baronius Press Little Office. There’s nothing “little” about it, as far as obligations go. It’s a LOT of praying. Do yourself a favor and get a priest to commute the obligation to a daily Rosary. It’s way more do-able.
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Praying the Llittle Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or substituting the Rosary is no longer a requirement.

Please see Post #3, porthos11 gives the most current requirements for the Brown Scapular from both branches of the Carmelite Order, and the website to confirm these requirments
 
asia53 said:
I’m afraid the problem with the Carmelite Sister site is more than old information. Their site is an excellent example of the need to meticulously check sources.

The sisters are a renegade order existing without approval, and or affiliation to the Vatican, local Bishop, or both branches of the Carmelite Order. You can prove this for yourself. On their website, you will see no mention of the Holy Father, the local Bishop, or the Carmelite Order, whether it be O. Carm. or Discalced. The Bishop of Colorado Springs had a letter addressed to the faithful asking us to pray for the return of the Sisters to proper authority. Unfortunately, the letter didn’t make it back on after the website design.

I live in a neighboring Archdiocese. We’ve been praying for the return of the Sisters for a very long time.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information … I was wondering why they would have outdated information on their site.
 
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