Liturgy of the Hours rubrics

[Catholic36]

Is it disobedient to read all three of the readings on days when there’s a saint in the Office of Readings?

 

[Della]

When you are praying the Office in private, you can do anything you want.

 

[estesbob]

Is it disobedient to read all three of the readings on days when there’s a saint in the Office of Readings?

I do it all the time.

 

[puzzleannie]

disobedient to what? if you are not canonically required to pray LOTH you can pray it anyway you want if you are doing it alone, all or part of the office, any of the offices or all of them, the regular psalm cycle or the readings and psalms for the feast or saint. Even if you are required there is nothing wrong with reading more than is required.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Is it disobedient to read all three of the readings on days when there’s a saint in the Office of Readings?

Three readings are permitted for the vigil of a Sunday, Solemnity or Feast.

For a Saint’s memorial, yes, it would be disobedient. According to the Code of Canon Law, canon 846 “The liturigcal books, approved by the competent authority, are to be faithfully followed in the celebration of the sacraments.” (The Code of Canon Law: New Revised English Translation, HarperCollins Liturgical, 1997, ISBN 0-00-599375-X.)

One of those liturgical books is the Liturgy of the Hours, which has in its General Introduction:
“III The Office of Readings
… 64 There are two readings: the first is from the scriptures, the second is either from the works of the Fathers or Church writers, or is hagiographical.”
(Divine Office, published by E.J. Dwyer, Sydney, 1974, ISBN 085574233X, page xlv).

The exception to this is to add a Gospel reading:
“73. … those who desire, in accordance with tradition, to extend the celebration of the vigils of Sundays, solemnities, and feasts should do so as follows.
First, the office of readings is to be celebrated as in The Liturgy of the Hours up to the end of the readings. After the two readings and before the Te Deum canticles should be added from the special appendix of The Liturgy of the Hours. Then the gospel should be read; a homily on the gospel may be added. After this the Te Deum is sung and the prayer said.
On solemnities and feasts the gospel is to be taken from the Lectionary for Mass; on Sundays, from the series on the paschal mystery in the appendix of The Liturgy of the Hours.”
(From General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours, n. 73, in Documents on the Liturgy 1963-1979, Liturgical Press, Minnesota, 1982, ISBN 0-8146-1281-4, page 1107).

 

[AlexV]

The Divine Office isn’t a “sacrament”.

This has NOTHING to do with Canon Law, so Mr. Lilburne’s nice quote from the CIC is irrelevant. Canon Law, incidentally, as a rule doesn’t involve itself in liturgical issues. Sometimes, but not regularly.

Is it “disobedient” to use the full readings?

No, it’s not.

Only a scrupulous pedant would tell you that in your own celebration of the Hours it’s somehow wrong, disobedient, a bad idea, or whatever else you want to call it to read the extra reading for a saint’s memorial.

And, by the way, I have written to Rome about these sorts of issues. The nice official who answered my letter on curial stationery said clearly that in private recitation of the Office, you’re fine to do that sort of thing.

And don’t even start saying you’d be opening some floodgates to chaos. Let’s use some common sense, for once, in liturgy.

It’s a sure sign of a decadent and poor liturgical period when liturgical issues are solved by quoting documents and not exploring the whole issue fully and critically. One of the sad realities of today’s liturgical world is the whole climate of expecting a document to explain every possible eventuality of liturgy.

 

[Della]

The Divine Office isn’t a “sacrament”.

This has NOTHING to do with Canon Law, so Mr. Lilburne’s nice quote from the CIC is irrelevant. Canon Law, incidentally, as a rule doesn’t involve itself in liturgical issues. Sometimes, but not regularly.

Is it “disobedient” to use the full readings?

No, it’s not.

Only a scrupulous pedant would tell you that in your own celebration of the Hours it’s somehow wrong, disobedient, a bad idea, or whatever else you want to call it to read the extra reading for a saint’s memorial.

And, by the way, I have written to Rome about these sorts of issues. The nice official who answered my letter on curial stationery said clearly that in private recitation of the Office, you’re fine to do that sort of thing.

And don’t even start saying you’d be opening some floodgates to chaos. Let’s use some common sense, for once, in liturgy.

It’s a sure sign of a decadent and poor liturgical period when liturgical issues are solved by quoting documents and not exploring the whole issue fully and critically. One of the sad realities of today’s liturgical world is the whole climate of expecting a document to explain every possible eventuality of liturgy.

I agree with the general thrust of your comments. Private prayer is just that–private. Unless one is engaged in public prayer, then whatever helps us in our prayer life is just fine (as long as it is in accord with Catholic teaching, of course). I too don’t know why people want to make things overly complicated when they don’t need to be. The danger is becoming like the Pharisees who put all sorts of ridiculous burdens on the people that took them away from loving God and neighbor to focus on trivialities. It’s one of Satan’s favorite ways of getting people’s minds off God and onto things that aren’t important.

 

[John_Lilburne]

Why assume the question is about private recitation? Even if it is, why encourage people to disregard the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours?

 

[porthos11]

Why assume the question is about private recitation? Even if it is, why encourage people to disregard the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours?

I’m with you here John. The Liturgy of the Hours is public prayer, even when said alone.

 

[AlexV]

They’re not disregarding the General Instruction.

They’re reading what’s required.

They’re just adding something.

And Rome has said this sort of thing is perfectly fine in private recitation.

I restate what I said. It’s a sad liturgical age when all some do nothing more with liturgy than check a document and stop at that.

Adding a reading is NOT “disobedient”…

The nice Roman curial official who wrote this to me from the Sacred Congregation was very clear that in private recitation, despite this still being “liturgy”, it’s FINE.

Imagine the pitiful liturgical world we’d be in if people were thinking, “Now I have some extra time for the Office of Readings, and would like to read this beautiful reading from Leo for Advent as well as the lesson for Lucy, but I can’t because the rubrics say I MUST NOT read Saint Leo today.”

What nonsense…

 

[porthos11]

When you are praying the Office in private, you can do anything you want.

Yes, but then let’s make no pretenses that we’re still praying the Liturgy of the Hours per se. It’s now devotional, private prayer based on the Office, but not the Office itself. The GILH and rubrics governs individual recitation as well.

If it is one’s intention to pray the Office as liturgy, i.e. the Prayer of the Church, then the Liturgy’s governing laws apply, even in individual recitation. That’s why the Divine Office is liturgy; it is prayer of a public nature.

If you want to read the ferial Second Reading on a Memorial, then the best thing to do would be to finish the Office of Readings as prescribed, close it with the prayer or “Let us bless the Lord/ and give him thanks” then after that read the desired reading.

 

[AlexV]

Well, the nice curial official I wrote to about this has a much more urbane, humane, and civilized view of liturgy.

 

[estesbob]

Well, the nice curial official I wrote to about this has a much more urbane, humane, and civilized view of liturgy.

I just had this terrible image. I am suffring in Purgatory and i ask the guy to my right “what did you do’ and he says I killed a man " and i look at the guy to my left and ask him what he did and he says"I robbed a bank” then they ask me “what didn you do” “I added an extra reading when praying the LOTH”

 

[AlexV]

It really comes down to judgment and sense.

Obviously, there are some things that are clear abuses.

But to say that every single thing that isn’t strictly in conformity with a quotable rubric is somehow disobedient, wrong, ill-advised…that reduces liturgy to a game of “check the document”.

Liturgy is more than that.

Adding a lesson at the Office of Readings isn’t “disobedient”, wrong, a bad idea…at worst, the prayer will get some extra edifying words. They’re still praying the public prayer of the Church, in union with the Church, etc., etc.

I mean sheesh. When did this climate of hyper-rubricism start?

I encourage anyone who is disturbed by this to write to Rome, as I did…you’ll get civilized, humane, urbane, intelligent replies. I love writing to the Curia.

 

[WanderAimlessly]

I do it all the time.

You ain’t the only one.

 

[estesbob]

You ain’t the only one.

See you in Purgatory!

I guess i should fess up and admit on days when there is more than one saint celebrated i readthe second reading for All the saints. Somedays that means you end up with 4 extra readings!!!

 

[WanderAimlessly]

See you in Purgatory!

I guess i should fess up and admit on days when there is more than one saint celebrated i readthe second reading for All the saints. Somedays that means you end up with 4 extra readings!!!

Me to!!! Also, if I read the Daily Mass readings, I read them all :bigyikes:

 

[WanderAimlessly]

I mean sheesh. When did this climate of hyper-rubricism start?

In this case, I see it as a case, at most, of uncertainty.

hyper-rubricism is something I think we do not want to get into.

 

[AlexV]

Reading the extra readings could be called “organic development”.

 

[Trevelyan]

I pray the office daily, but - excuse my ignorance - I don’t understand what “reading all three of the readings on days when there’s a saint in the Office of Readings” means.

Does this mean just reading from the 4-week psalter instead of what the Proper of the Saints prescribes? or adding to what is prescribed?

And what are the three readings? (What part/s of which hour/s?)

Thanks