Liturgy of the Hours Morning Psalms

[SouthernCatholic99]

In the opening to the Morning prayers, is there a specific psalm that is said each day, or is it by personal choice to read either Psalm 24, 67, 100 or 95? I ask this because I use the iBreviary app and it is not explained well. They have Psalm 95 written completely each day, but with the others it is a link to see them. So could I choose to read 24 instead of 95 and on another day choose to read 100 instead of 95?

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

TL;DR: (name removed by moderator) has answered you above, but here’s some explanation if you’re interested.

If memory serves, when iBreviary first came about, it was billed as a sort of companion app for those already praying from the books - a sort of travel version. Whether that memory is accurate or not, there are certainly assumptions in the app that you understand some basics of how the books would work if you were to use them, like this.

In the book, Christian Prayer, the instruction reads like this:

“For psalm 95 one may substitute psalm 100, 67, or 24. If any of these psalms should occur in the office, psalm 95 is then said in place of it.”

(So if you choose psalm 100 as your invitatory, then you’re moving along through Morning Prayer and discover psalm 100 is in the line up that day, use psalm 95 instead of praying psalm 100 a second time.)

 

[mrsdizzyd]

Psalm 95 is the traditional one, but you may use whichever you like.

Psalm 100 is one of my favorite Psalms, and I have it committed to memory, so I usually use that one. There is only one day in the Psalter that has Psalm 100 as one of the Psalms for Lauds. On that day, I say Psalm 95 in its place.

 

[OraLabora]

Psalm 95 is the traditional one, but you may use whichever you like.

66(67) too has a long tradition as the first psalm of Lauds every day, in the Monastic Office of St Benedict which was written in the 6th Century and is still used in post-VII form today.

There was a pre-invitatory and invitatory in the Monastic Office before Matins: Ps 3 and 94(95) respectively.

 

[mrsdizzyd]

66(67) too has a long tradition as the first psalm of Lauds every day, in the Monastic Office of St Benedict

That’s not surprising. Everything about the monastic LOTH seems very different. I know the monks near me use a format and psalter that is completely unfamiliar to me.

 

[OraLabora]

To add to the confusion, since VII there’s more than one monastic schema!

 

[SouthernCatholic99]

Thank you all. I had a feeling it was a choice of psalms as nowhere could I find a direct rule on it. Thanks again.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Trappist and Benedictines use a two week cycle in their LOTH’s. They also use their own text. The Trappist near me are my favorite. They translated the chants into English.

The breviary by the Catholic Book Publishing Company, uses a four week cycle and trying to us it when visiting the Trappist monastery is useless.

They finally put guest books in the side visitors chapel.

 

[OraLabora]

Trappist and Benedictines use a two week cycle in their LOTH’s.

Depends on the Benedictines. The abbey I’m associated with uses a one-week cycle. Some use a two-week cycle, and some use the standard 4-week LOTH, but with a monastic calendar of saints. The minimum is 2 weeks, unless a monastery has a valid reason to use 4 weeks (age, external apostolates like a school, etc.). The Rule calls for a 1 week cycle.

The Benedictine seat of the Abbot Primate, Sant’ Anselmo in Rome, uses the 4-week LOTH. It’s a pontifical college so the lighter Office makes sense. If the standard 1-week monastic cycle was used, coupled with the Italian culture of afternoon siesta, nothing would get done!

Monastics using the 4-week LOTH are strongly encouraged to use the Office of Readings as Vigils, and on a 2-week cycle according to the monastic LOTH rubrics.

It’s why the Benedictine order is sometimes called the Benedictine dis-Order

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Yeah I should’ve qualified the statement by saying the Benedictines and Trappist in my area.