Liturgy of the Hours questions on translation, etc

[Kristen]

I have a few questions for those of you who pray the LOH from the four-volume set put-out by Catholic Book Publishing and might be kind enough to help a newbie. I would be so grateful!

I’m considering buying the set on Amazon, as it seems to be the cheapest there by far, but I’m concerned about the translation of the Bible used. So:

1. What translation of the Scriptures does this set use? (I know that the translation is “official ICEL,” but I don’t know which Bible version that is and I’ve heard that ICEL’s work may not be as reliable as, say, the Douay-Rheims/RSVCE/1966 Jerusalem Bible for a number of reasons, including gender-inclusive language. What think ye?)

A related question concerns Universalis (the free online LOH site), which I am currently using. I’m very new to all of this, but my understanding is that a) it is incomplete (lacking the complete texts for use during the day and some of the Office of Readings) and b) it uses the old Jerusalem Bible for all Scriptures but the Psalms (for copyright reasons). So, for those of you who have used both the hardbound set and Universalis:

1. Is Universalis incomplete, and if so, how?
2. Are the corresponding parts identical? In other words, does the bound set read the same as Universalis?
3. Does anyone know how to get all four either real or imitation leather-bound volumes shipped in the US for cheaper than $122 total (Amazon’s price)?
4. Is there some sort of publication that simply cites what Scriptures are used during each hour of each day of the year (so that one can look the text up in a favorite translation) and prints in full only the patristic readings, intercessions and non-Scripture parts?

I hope that this post is in the right place and is not too cumbersome to answer. Thanks!

Kristen

 

[MoreThan1Hat]

In order:

Biblical Readings and OT Canticles from the 1970 NAB.

Psalms ex. Ps. 95 from the Grail Psalter.

Other texts translated from either the Roman Missal or they are original prayers.

Universalis is incomplete in that, just on a very quick look, the antiphons for the Psalms seem to be missing. I also have been under the impression that it is an Anglican site, which may or may not be true (and may or may not be important; if you’re not a member of a Confraternity or Third Order etc. that binds one to the Catholic Book Publishing or Paulist Press breviary then this is not an issue)

What’s there corresponds to my breviary, Scripture translation excepted (the citations are the same)

I’d jump on that price of $122; that’s less than I paid 5 years ago before I learned to shop around.

As for a source that is complete with only Scripture citations, so that one may use one’s own personal preference, I have no idea. Of course you could always pray the Hours with both the breviary and a Bible.

Hope this is a little bit of help.

 

[AJV]

I have a few questions for those of you who pray the LOH from the four-volume set put-out by Catholic Book Publishing and might be kind enough to help a newbie. I would be so grateful!

I’m considering buying the set on Amazon, as it seems to be the cheapest there by far, but I’m concerned about the translation of the Bible used. So:

1. What translation of the Scriptures does this set use? (I know that the translation is “official ICEL,” but I don’t know which Bible version that is and I’ve heard that ICEL’s work may not be as reliable as, say, the Douay-Rheims/RSVCE/1966 Jerusalem Bible for a number of reasons, including gender-inclusive language. What think ye?)

A related question concerns Universalis (the free online LOH site), which I am currently using. I’m very new to all of this, but my understanding is that a) it is incomplete (lacking the complete texts for use during the day and some of the Office of Readings) and b) it uses the old Jerusalem Bible for all Scriptures but the Psalms (for copyright reasons). So, for those of you who have used both the hardbound set and Universalis:

1. Is Universalis incomplete, and if so, how?
2. Are the corresponding parts identical? In other words, does the bound set read the same as Universalis?
3. Does anyone know how to get all four either real or imitation leather-bound volumes shipped in the US for cheaper than $122 total (Amazon’s price)?
4. Is there some sort of publication that simply cites what Scriptures are used during each hour of each day of the year (so that one can look the text up in a favorite translation) and prints in full only the patristic readings, intercessions and non-Scripture parts?

I hope that this post is in the right place and is not too cumbersome to answer. Thanks!

Kristen

To add to what MoreThan1Hat said:

Universalis, due to copyright reasons uses their own translations for several parts. The psalms and Scripture are taken from the Jerusalem Bible. However, because they use their own stuff, some material is not there and you do not get certain options for hymns, the intercessions are often ‘re-used’, etc. Not saying this to bash them- they do the best they can given all the copyrights they have to work around. However, it is not an approved trasnlation.

In addition to the ICEL “Liturgy of the Hours”, there exists another translation approved for the UK, Australia, Ireland and other countrie. This is known as the “Divine Office” (4 vol.) or Daily Prayer (1 vol.). Like the US edition, the psalms are from the Grail but the others are different:

• Scripture- the Jerusalem Bible, the RSV, occasionally the Good News
• Canticles- RSV (majority), Grail, Jerusalem bible (3 canticles)
• The intercessions, collects, responses, long readings from the Fathers and saints at the Office of Readings, etc. : translation by a separate liturgical commission and are copyrighted to the episcopal conferences of the UK/Aust/Ireland.

(The US “Liturgy of the Hours” has the last one translated by ICEL)

 

[jbebeau]

MoreThan1Hat did a good job covering the readings and every thing found in the Divine Office published by CBPC.

Universalis is an unofficial effort in that its work is no sanctioned by the hierarchy (i.e. Imprimatur). Members of the faithful who are not obliged by Church law to recite the Divine Office may use it, however it may not be used by sacred ministers and religious who recited the Office.

If you are concerned about the biblical translations of the CBPC version, perhaps you might want to consider getting a copy of the British version. It is in 3 volumes and is generally regarded as of a higher quality than the CBPC version.

There is another online edition which uses the official texts. liturgyhours.org/

If you are only looking to prayer Lauds and Vespers, there is an interesting volume that has the parallel Latin and English texts. The Latin is official, the English is a literal translation and the RSVCE is used for the scripture portions. It is called Lauds and Vespers: Latin-English Enlarged Edition (Hardcover)
by Peter M.J. Stravinskas (Editor), and is on Amazon.

Hope all this is helpful.

 

[AJV]

In addition to the ICEL “Liturgy of the Hours”, there exists another translation approved for the UK, Australia, Ireland and other countrie. This is known as the “Divine Office” (4 vol.) or Daily Prayer (1 vol.).

Whoops…I meant 3 volumes, not 4.

 

[Kristen]

Thanks for the prompt and useful responses! I just bought the four-volume set on Amazon and am eagerly looking forward to its arrival.

Kristen