Liturgy of the Hours Questions

[William777]

Hello Brethren,

I have three questions on the Liturgy of the Hours. Numbered for clarity and organization.

1 - I have been following the Divine Office on this site divineoffice.org/, and the Invitatory changes at times. I always thought it was just Psalm 95. I’m wondering why it changes? Out of Christian Prayer, I’ve always seen it just as Psalm 95…

2 - In the psalmody I keep seeing this:

***Ant. 1 Yours is more than mortal beauty; every word you speak is full of grace.

Psalm 45
The marriage of the king
The Bridegroom is here; go out and welcome him (Matthew 25:6).

I

My heart overflows with noble words.
To the king I must speak the song I have made;
my tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe.

You are the fairest of the children of men
and graciousness is poured upon your lips:
because God has blessed you for evermore.

etc…***

My question is - why does it say, “The Bridegroom is here; go out and welcome him (Matthew 25:6).”? This line will change from psalm to psalm, but it doesn’t get read aloud (at least not at the places I attend), so I wonder what we are supposed to do with it?

3 - Translations. I keep reading the Christian Prayer translation, but then there are many translations of the Bible, no? So are there other translations of the Liturgy (other than in Christian Prayer) which are still approved by the church?

 

[coachdennis]

I can only answer your first question.

My copy of Christian Prayer came with a small card that said that Psalm 95 could be substituted with Psalm 100, Psalm 67, or Psalm 24. When these alternatives are used, Psalm 95 is substituted when one of the three come up in the psalter.

 

[Richca]

Hello Brethren,

I have three questions on the Liturgy of the Hours. Numbered for clarity and organization.

1 - I have been following the Divine Office on this site divineoffice.org/, and the Invitatory changes at times. I always thought it was just Psalm 95. I’m wondering why it changes? Out of Christian Prayer, I’ve always seen it just as Psalm 95…

2 - In the psalmody I keep seeing this:

***Ant. 1 Yours is more than mortal beauty; every word you speak is full of grace.

Psalm 45
The marriage of the king
The Bridegroom is here; go out and welcome him (Matthew 25:6).

I

My heart overflows with noble words.
To the king I must speak the song I have made;
my tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe.

You are the fairest of the children of men
and graciousness is poured upon your lips:
because God has blessed you for evermore.

etc…***

My question is - why does it say, “The Bridegroom is here; go out and welcome him (Matthew 25:6).”? This line will change from psalm to psalm, but it doesn’t get read aloud (at least not at the places I attend), so I wonder what we are supposed to do with it?

3 - Translations. I keep reading the Christian Prayer translation, but then there are many translations of the Bible, no? So are there other translations of the Liturgy (other than in Christian Prayer) which are still approved by the church?

Hi William 777,
For the invitatory psalm, one can use psalm 95, 100, 67, or 24. If psalm 100, 67, or 24 occur in the hour you are praying such as morning prayer, then psalm 95 should be used.

Under psalm 45, it does say The marriage of the King, The bridegroom is here, go out and welcome him. This is simply a little commentary on the psalm. You will find that all the psalms in the Liturgy of the Hours have this little commentary. It is for your personal reading and understanding. This little commentary is not read aloud. Only the Antiphons before and after each psalm or part of a psalm are read aloud.

As far as I know, the Christian Prayer translation is the only approved english translation by the Church for the Liturgy of the Hours.

 

[triumphguy]

There is another English version for The UK and some commonwealth countries with slightly different translations.

 

[curlycool89]

3 - Translations. I keep reading the Christian Prayer translation, but then there are many translations of the Bible, no? So are there other translations of the Liturgy (other than in Christian Prayer) which are still approved by the church?

Christian Prayer (CP) is an abridged edition of a set called the Liturgy of the Hours (LOTH), which is in 4-volumes. The LOTH is the officially approved for use in Canada, the US, and a whole bunch of other places. The Psalms (minus Psalm 95) used are from a translation called The Grail Psalter, and all the biblical readings are from the New American Bible.

In Britain and Australia (and more others), there is a different approved edition called the Divine Office, which is a 3-volume set. It uses the same Psalms (Grail Psalter), but (as far as I understand it), the biblical readings are from a variety of different english Bible translations.

Remember, the Liturgy of the Hours is a liturgy, which means it is a prayer of the whole Church. Like the Mass, priests are to use the approved translation to pray with the Church.