Repeating Antiphon After the Psalm?

[seeker44]

The Liturgy of the Hours has the antiphon for each psalm printed before and after each respective psalm or canticle. *Christian Prayer *and Shorter Christian Prayer have the antiphon printed ONLY at the beginning but not after each psalm, perhaps to save space. My question is: Is it actually necessary to repeat the antiphon after each psalm? This is what I’m used to; however, I find it a bit distracting to have to flip back the page each time to recall the exact words of the antiphon.

I know that it makes little difference to God, and considering the eternal scheme of things and the state of the world, my question is trivial , but I’d still love to have an answer to it. Thank you.

 

[tee_eff_em]

Apparently it is not (NB the word “may” in the GILH):

1. At the beginning of each psalm its own antiphon is always to be recited, as noted in nos. 113-120. At the end of the psalm the practice of concluding with the Glory to the Father and As it was in the beginning is retained. This is the fitting conclusion endorsed by tradition and it gives to Old Testament prayer a note of praise and a Christological and Trinitarian sense. The antiphon may be repeated at the end of the psalm.

tee

 

[John_Lilburne]

I think saying the antiphon at the end of the psalm is optional.
But the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours (GILH) has a quite a few instructions on this, giving quite a few options. These can be a little confusing, so for a community, having a customary way of doing it would be helpful (perhaps essential).

Some extracts from the GILH:

“123. At the beginning of each psalm its own antiphon is always to be recited, as noted in nos. 113-120. At the end of the psalm the practice of concluding with the Glory to the Father and As it was in the beginning is retained. This is the fitting conclusion endorsed by tradition and it gives to Old Testament prayer a note of praise and a Christological and Trinitarian sense. The antiphon may be repeated at the end of the psalm.”

This is clearly saying Antiphon at the beginning, repeating at the end is optional. But another section has:

“114. The antiphons in the psalter have been designed to lend themselves to vernacular translation and to repetition after each strophe, in accordance with no. 125. When the office of Ordinary Time is recited, not sung, the quotations printed with the psalms may be used in place of these antiphons (see no. 111).”

From n. 111:
“111. In the psalter of The Liturgy of the Hours a caption is given for each psalm to explain its meaning and its import for the personal life of the believer. These captions are intended only as an aid to prayer. A quotation from the New Testament or the Fathers of the Church is added to foster prayer in the light of Christ’s new revelation; it is an invitation to pray the psalms in their Christological meaning.”

So n. 114 is saying the Antiphon does not have to be used at all, it can be replaced by the caption. It also seems to be encouraging the use of the antiphon (or caption) at the end of each strophe.

But the repeating after each strophe is more clearly optional in this part:
“125. In addition, when the literary genre of a psalm suggests it, the divisions into strophes are marked in order that, especially when the psalm is sung in the vernacular,** the antiphons may be repeated after each strophe**; in this case the Glory to the Father need be said only at the end of the psalm.”

But it is encouraged more clearly for the invitatory:

“34. … It is preferable to recite the invitatory psalm responsorially as it is set out in the text, that is, with the antiphon recited at the beginning, then repeated, and repeated again after each strophe.”

 

[porthos11]

The Liturgy of the Hours has the antiphon for each psalm printed before and after each respective psalm or canticle. *Christian Prayer *and Shorter Christian Prayer have the antiphon printed ONLY at the beginning but not after each psalm, perhaps to save space. My question is: Is it actually necessary to repeat the antiphon after each psalm? This is what I’m used to; however, I find it a bit distracting to have to flip back the page each time to recall the exact words of the antiphon.

I know that it makes little difference to God, and considering the eternal scheme of things and the state of the world, my question is trivial , but I’d still love to have an answer to it. Thank you.

The repetition is optional, but encouraged. If you’re using Christian Prayer, just do the flip; don’t try to repeat the antiphon from memory. Trying to do that is only more distracting.