divine office

5 min read 2022-10-05 00:40:00

A Proper Hymn of St Francis of Assisi

Here is a nice recording of the hymn for 2nd Vespers of St Francis, taken from the proper Office composed for him shortly after his canonization, and

4 min read 2022-09-24 02:50:00

The ancient corpus of Matins responsories that accompanies the readings from the book of Tobias this week includes one that is actually not Biblical

4 min read 2022-09-24 02:50:00

The ancient corpus of Matins responsories that accompanies the readings from the book of Tobias this week includes one that is actually not Biblical

6 min read 2022-09-19 19:00:00

Not long ago I was reading a fascinating book, Sergius Bulgakov’s Spiritual Diary—newly translated and published for the first time in English by

8 min read 2022-08-10 03:00:00

In the Roman Rite, the term “vigilia – vigil” traditionally means a penitential day of preparation for a major feast. The Mass of a Saint’s

8 min read 2022-08-10 03:00:00

In the Roman Rite, the term “vigilia – vigil” traditionally means a penitential day of preparation for a major feast. The Mass of a Saint’s

4 min read 2022-07-06 19:00:00

In the slow but steady work of restoring the Roman liturgical tradition, it seems that we are never quite fully equipped with all the resources we

4 min read 2022-06-14 03:07:00

R. Si quaeris miracula,Mors, error, calamitas,Daemon, lepra fugiunt,Aegri surgunt sani.* Cedunt mare, vincula:Membra resque perditasPetunt et

4 min read 2022-04-30 21:48:00

In the Roman Rite, the minor Hours of Easter and its octave are celebrated according to a very simple and archaic form, which consists solely of the

6 min read 2022-04-28 05:38:00

Recent events have provoked a good deal of discussion in various fora about papal actions in matters of liturgical reform. In several of these

7 min read 2022-04-08 05:00:00

Today’s Divine Office contains an unusual feature: the antiphons of the Benedictus and Magnificat are not taken from the Gospel of the Mass (Luke

29 min read 2022-03-14 19:00:00

The following lecture was given in Davenport, Iowa, on March 2, 2022, at the invitation of Una Voce Quad City. I am grateful to the organizers for

5 min read 2022-03-04 05:29:00

Many of the features of the third part of Great Compline are also in the shorter and more frequently used version of that Hour known as Small

5 min read 2022-02-26 23:30:00

As I described in an article in November of 2020, the Byzantine Rite has a feature called the Inter-Hours, a second Prime, Terce, Sext and None,

8 min read 2022-02-25 04:37:00

The longer form of Byzantine Compline known as “Great Compline” is celebrated twice in the first week before Lent (this week on the Gregorian