Volunteers needed: Breviary scripture reference project

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Nesrad

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For a few years now, I have been considering compiling all the scriptural references in the Breviarium Romanum for the use of laity who do not own a breviary in the vernacular, but who would like to pray the psalms, canticles, lectiones, and capitula straight from a regular bible.

This project seems too big for me to do alone. I am looking for help. So if anyone is interested and owns a copy of the latest edition of the Breviarium Romanum (1960 rubrics) and understands how to use it, I’d divide the work in this way between each person who volunteers:

Myself: Psalter
Myself: Temporal, first volume
Myself: Sanctoral, first volume
Volunteer 2: Temporal, second volume
Volunteer 3: Sanctoral, second volume
Volunteer 4: Common of saints

The method is simple. Every title and reference will be an exact reproduction, in Latin, from the breviary (adaptations can be made for other languages later). Here is an example from the first Sunday of Advent:
DOMINICA I ADVENTUS
AD I VESPERAS
Psalmi de sabbato, ut in Psalterio
Capit. Rom. 13, 11
AD MATUTINUM
Psalmi de dominica
Incipit liber Isaíæ Prophétæ
Lectio i Cap. 1, 1-3
Lectio ii Cap. 1, 4-9
Lectio iii Cap. 21, 25-33
AD LAUDES
Psalmi cum cantico de dominica 1° loco
Capit. Rom. 13, 11
AD TERTIAM
Capit. Rom. 13, 11.
AD SEXTAM
Capit. Rom. 13, 12
AD NONAM
Capit. Rom 13, 13-14
AD II VESPERAS
Psalmi de dominica
Capit. Rom 13, 11
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In this example, Prime is not mentioned because there are no proper scripture readings on this particular day. At Matins, I have adapted the rubrics to mention that the psalms used are those from Sunday, while omitting the rest that pertain to non-scriptural content. It is important to pay attention to the rubrics in case they affect the psalms or other scripture readings. It should be noted that some breviaries contain slight differences. For example, one edition I have uses “Capitulum” instead of “Capit.” Just write what you see.

There will be no use of tables, special formatting, colours, etc. Only UTF-8 plain text, including accents and ligatures (technical help is available). This will allow the data to be easily ported to various formats, paper/screen sizes, etc.
 
A great idea, but save yourself the effort because it has been done before. If you look into some liturgical journals (cf. Cuthbert Johnson OSB), it’s not too hard to find an index of scriptural references in the Roman Missal and the Roman Breviary.

God bless.
 
Thanks for the tip. I don’t really know where to look. Does anyone have a copy of such an article?
 
I would also point out, that there are at least 4 websites which have the current version of the Breviary, with all the daily antiphons, readings, psalms and canticles available, for free, on-line, and via a range of portable devices (normally subject to a small fee or subscription)

I would also point out that all former version of the Breviary have been suppressed by the Vatican, and except where specific exceptions apply, praying these older versions is nothing more than a private devotion, and does not fulfil the obligation of any religious or cleric to pray the current Divine Office.

If you’re interested 3 of those on-line sources are:
iBreviary
Universalis
DivineOffice.org
 
From the sites you listed, I gather that you mean the Roman Breviary (1960) has been suppressed. If that’s what you mean, then where have you been hiding since 2007? [Hint: Summorum Pontificum]

Also, if you don’t think this project is worthwhile, there’s no need to say so, I’ll get along nicely without your help.
 
Nesrad said:
Thanks for the tip. I don’t really know where to look. Does anyone have a copy of such an article?
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Can’t check the exact one at the moment, but it’s the Congregation for Divine Worship’s publication Notitiae.
Nesrad said:
From the sites you listed, I gather that you mean the Roman Breviary has been suppressed. If that’s what you mean, then where have you been hiding since 2007? [Hint: Summorum Pontificum]
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All that SP says about the Breviary is in Art. 9 §3: “Clerics ordained in sacris constitutis may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962.”

Basically means that you have to be a member of the FSSP or Institute of Christ the King, or some other major order to fulfill your canonical obligation through the 1962 editio. So the poster you were responding to is right insofar that in the vast majority of cases, usage of the 1962 editio is illicit.
 
I’m afraid you’re badly mistaken.

“In sacris constitutis” means the major orders (deacons, priests, bishops) as opposed to minor orders.

All Latin-rite deacons and priests may fulfill their obligation to say the office by using the edition of the Breviarium Romanum in force in 1962.
 
Yikes, I badly mangled up my last post. I was trying to say that a **pre-**1962 editio is illicit unless it’s some sort of order that has permission to use an older text. Certain Benedictine communities for instance are allowed to use a pre-Pius X reformation Psalter.
 
EphelDuath said:
Yikes, I badly mangled up my last post. I was trying to say that a **pre-**1962 editio is illicit unless it’s some sort of order that has permission to use an older text. Certain Benedictine communities for instance are allowed to use a pre-Pius X reformation Psalter.
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You specified the 1962 edition, and gave examples of societies that use the 1962 edition (which is in fact the 1960 edition).
 
The rubrics underwent a minor update in both 1961 and 1962, though I couldn’t tell you precisely what changed without doing research of my own. So I couldn’t tell you if praying a 1960 Breviary would be illicit outside of the FSSP, IoCtK, etc. I would assume that it would be the case since SP specified “the 1962 Breviarium of Pope Bl. John XIII”. If you know otherwise then I will take your word for it.
 
This whole discussion, while interesting, is off-topic, since my project obviously does not aim at providing clerics with a way to fulfill their obligation. The subject was touched upon by someone who intended on disparaging the venerable Roman Breviary, perhaps in order to discourage people from using it, or to explain why he thinks my project is not worthwhile.
 
Devoted Catholics should be able to benefit from both forms of their rite. There exists an excellent Latin-English Roman Breviary. Lay people can pray the English part only if they like, and clerics who, if they choose to pray the Roman Breviary, must do so in Latin, can better understand it by glancing at the translation. It goes without saying that Latin-rite clerics should know Latin.
 
Well first of all praying any office other than the 1970 LOTH or a post-Vatican II monastic version in the vernacular is not liturgical prayer, it is a private devotion. If your idea is to have the vernacular readings alongside the prayed Latin as an aid to comprehension, that’s OK.

The Divine Office is the public prayer of the Church (even in private recitation), so the liturgical character of the prayer is dependent on using an approved version and following the rubrics. For any pre-1970 office it means praying it in Latin according to an official version as per the Motu Proprio. That means 1960, or Monastic which I believe is also 1960.

For the 1970 LOTH an approved vernacular translation may be used. Monastic versions are a gray area. Abbots have the freedom to construct a psalter schema around the 1970 structure, or use a pre V II version. If you’re associated to the community as oblate, you can fulfill your promise with the abbey’s version or the LOTH.

So it may help folks to know your exact plans before they invest of themselves in this project.
 
To be clear, I think you mean that the only “official prayer” one can pray in the vernacular is the LOTH (and some monastic offices). That’s correct. Lay people will not be praying the “official prayer” of the Church if they pray the BR 1962 in the vernacular, but they’ll be pretty close.
 
@Ora et Labora:

What form of the office does your Benedictine community use?

Are there any monastic communities in Quebec that use a pre-Vatican II office?
 
Nesrad said:
@Ora et Labora:

What form of the office does your Benedictine community use?

Are there any monastic communities in Quebec that use a pre-Vatican II office?
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Monastic Schema B, 150 psalms per week, Lauds and Vespers in Latin (Gregorian chant), the other offices chanted in French except Latin hymn, and at compline Latin responsory and Marian antiphon.

The nuns at Ste-Marie-des-Deux-Montagnes use the original Benedictine schema, all in Latin, but the post-Vatican II adaptation (calendar, collects, redistribution of the psalms of Prime, etc.).
 
Nesrad said:
To be clear, I think you mean that the only “official prayer” one can pray in the vernacular is the LOTH (and some monastic offices). That’s correct. Lay people will not be praying the “official prayer” of the Church if they pray the BR 1962 in the vernacular, but they’ll be pretty close.
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It won’t count as liturgy though, that is, participating in the public prayer of the Church. It’s not wrong to pray it as a private devotion of course, far from it. However it needs to be clear so those who do want to participate in the Liturgy are aware.

I personally either use my abbey’s schema or the 4-week LOTH when really busy (which is currently the case), and I usually chant Lauds and Vespers, and occasionally the other hours, in Latin Gregorian chant. There are excellent resources for that now, in particular Les Heures Gregoriennes by the community of St Martin in France. Imprimatur, nihil obstat and concordat cum originali and all that. Also Solesmes has finally published the first volume of the Roman Antiphonary for the LOTH, it includes Vespers for every Sunday as well as feasts and solemnities.
 
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