The Little Office Of the Blessed Virgin Mary; is it Liturgy?

[Michael16]

I was listening to EWTN and one lady asked about the Liturgy of the Hours and that sparked a question: Is the Little Office Of the Blessed Virgin Mary considered part of the Liturgy?

 

[phil19034]

I was listening to EWTN and one lady asked about the Liturgy of the Hours and that sparked a question: Is the Little Office Of the Blessed Virgin Mary considered part of the Liturgy?

Not really, no.

It’s a liturgical prayer, but it’s not part of the official Liturgy like the hours & mass are.

 

[Venite]

Michael16:

I was listening to EWTN and one lady asked about the Liturgy of the Hours and that sparked a question: Is the Little Office Of the Blessed Virgin Mary considered part of the Liturgy?

Not really, no.

It’s a liturgical prayer, but it’s not part of the official Liturgy like the hours & mass are.

What does that mean?

From St. Paul VI’s Ecclesiae Sanctae:

Although Religious who recite a duly approved Little Office perform the public prayer of the Church (cf. Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 98), it is nevertheless recommended to the institutes that in place of the Little Office they adopt the Divine Office either in part or in whole so that they may participate more intimately in the liturgical life of the Church.

 

[Mintaka]

The Little.Office has a format that copies a liturgy in some.ways (ie, the Divine Office), but it is not a liturgy of the Church.

Think.of the Rosary. It was designed to be like praying the Psalms, but it is not the Psalms. It has its own character, with different strengths than the Bible.

 

[0331]

I understand the Little Office to be liturgical but not a substitute for the Divine Office for priests and religious who are supposed to pray it daily. However, some of my browsing says that the Little Office was once approved as a substitute for members of lay orders. I cannot tell if it is now approved for them or not—perhaps a third order member will set me straight here.

From Sacrosanctum Concilium:

‘98. They too perform the public prayer of the Church who, in virtue of their constitutions, recite any short office, provided this is drawn up after the pattern of the divine office and is duly approved.’

I understand this to mean that the Little Office is certainly acceptable for laypeople who are not obligated, but are encouraged, to take part in the liturgical life of the Church.

I am curious to see what a priest or deacon says about this.

 

[Michael16]

Same here. I’d love to know what they’d say.

 

[phil19034]

I think @0331 explains it better than I do