The Divine Office by Edward J. Quigley (cool books to read .txt) 📕

Let us find out with what dispositions we recite the Divine Office, and if we say it in the manner in which the Church wishes it to be said, digne, attente, ac devote. (Orat. rec. ante offic.).

1. Have we considered well that God is present and that we speak to Him? Do we look on ourselves as instruments which need to be animated with God's holy spirit in order to bless His holy name? Have we said the Office with all the respect and all the veneration which His almighty majesty calls for? Cum timore et humilitate, tanquam Deo visibiliter presente, psallant (S. Bona, spec, discip., p. 1, c. 15).

2. In order to say it attentively have we taken great pains to put away all kinds of distractions?

"Munda cor meum ab omnibus vanis perversis et alienis cogitationibus" (ibid.).

Have we rejected even good thoughts which were unsuitable for the time of recitation, and above all have we banished idle or indifferent ones?

Have we tried, following the example of the saints, to excite in ourselves the different sentiments expressed by the Psalms, or to dwell on some perfection of God, or on some mystery of our Lord, or on some virtue of the saint whose office we read? Have we piously dwelt on these, or on some other subject proper to the Church's season or according to our needs?

"Si orat psalmus, orate; si gemit, gemite; si gratulatur, gaudete; si timet, timete" (St. Aug. in Ps. 30).

In order to say the Office devoutly, have we said it with love, having our hearts and souls fully alive to the advantages and the excellence and the beauties of the Divine Office?

Have we said it with fervour, abandoning ourselves to a good emotion, to holy affections, and to joyous transports, which the Holy Ghost usually works in fervent souls? Have we done this work with joy, taking a peculiar pleasure in this holy labour, recognising the great honour it is to be a partaker in the songs of praise offered to God by the heavenly company, whose hosts are filled with His glory?

III. How we must keep watch over ourselves in reading the Office:—

Let us examine ourselves to find out if in reading the Breviary we keep the rules of good recitation, as laid down by the saints—Distincte, integre, continue, reverenter, ordinate (St. Bonav., spec. discip. p. 1, c. 16).

1. Distincte, Do we recite distinctly, observing the ordinary pause at the middle and at the end of each verse, not hurrying the one on the other? Do we articulate every word, not adopting a careless or too speedy pronunciation?

"Non in gutture vel inter dentes, seu deglutiendo et syncopando dictiones vel verba" (Con. Basil, sess. 22).

2. Integre. Do we say the Office in its entirety, being scrupulously careful not to omit the smallest part, and taking great care that a part that we should wish or try to say by heart shall not slip out of our recitation altogether or be mutilated?

"Integre, ut de dicendis nihil omittant" (St. Bona., spec, discip., p. 1).

3. Continue. Do we say our Hours without interruption? Do we love this holy exercise? Or do we easily interrupt our prayer on any trifling pretext, and on the first opportunity?

"Interruptiones in eo non fiant, nisi urgente necessitate" (ibid.).

4. Ordinate. Do we say our Office with order, that is, order both in substance (not substituting one Office for another) and in manner, according to the rubrics arranging the several hours?

"Ordinate in substantia, tempore et modo" (St. Bona. spec., ibid.).

5. Have we said our Hours piously, with all the modesty and all the reverence which so holy an action demands? With becoming attitude, not lying prone, not crossing our legs; without saluting or speaking to those passing by?

"In officio curando magnopere reverentia et honestas, cum ubique sit eadem cui tune loquimur et adstamus Deitas et majestas" (ibid.). (From Examens Particulers sur l'Office Divin, par M. Tronson).

Priests are provided in their text-books of College days with reliable guides dealing directly and indirectly with liturgy. Hence, some of the books quoted here may already be favourites with many readers; but, perhaps, some books in the list may be brought to the notice of students of liturgy for the first time, and may be useful in introducing priests and church students to easy, pleasant paths in liturgical studies. The prices quoted may be useful to book-buyers,

1. Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year (1895, Duffy, Dublin, 16 vols. Ł3 9s.)—This work is a favourite with all lovers of liturgy, It studies and comments on the Church's liturgy day by day, week by week. It gives readers of the Missal and the Breviary a new interest and an additional fervour in their daily prayers. It is a standard work and holds its own wonderfully against all competitors.

2. Cours De Liturgie Romaine Le Breviare, L'abbe Bernard, Sulpician (Paris. 1887, 2 vols, 7 francs). This is a text-book written with great care, showing fine scholarship and deep piety. It is the work of a skilled teacher.

3. Le Breviare Romain, Commente par L'abbe Maugere. Paris. 1887, 6 francs.—A very concise and useful work, which I have used often in compiling my book.

4. The articles in the Catholic Encyclopedia, on the Breviary and liturgy generally.

5. Duchesne, Christian Worship (London. 1904. 10s.). Very readable and serviceable to students of early Church history.

6. Battifol, History of the Roman Breviary. (London, 1912. 15s.)

7. Biron-Baumer, Histoire du Breviaire. (Paris. 2 vols. 11 francs.)

8. Baudot, The Roman Breviary (London. Cath. Truth Society. Price 4s.6d.)

Monsignor Battifol's book is well and favourably known. It is in English, and has had a large circulation. It received searching and severe criticism from Dom Baumer, the author of Geschichte des Breviers. Baumer's work (translated into French by Biron) is a work showing wonderful industry, learning and critical acumen. The great German Benedictine was aided in several parts of his work by Mr. E. Bishop, the English liturgiologist, who intended to translate the work into English. Dom Baudot's book gives in concise form the results of the labours of Battifol and Baumer. The book is readable, accurate, and is excellent value for the price.

9. The Calendar. The introductory matter given in the Breviary suffices for the wants of the ordinary student of liturgy. But those who wish for an exhaustive study of times and seasons may safely read Kalendarium Manuale, Pars I. Festa immobilia, Editio secunda; price 9 lire; and Pars. II. Festa Mobilia, price 13 lire, by Rev. N. Nilles, S.J. Calendar study is highly interesting, and the articles in the Catholic Encyclopedia and Father Thurston's articles in the Month on Calendar affairs are always instructive.

The New Psalter (Myers and Burton. London. 1915. 3s.6d.) is a very useful and practical help to the understanding and application of the new rubrics. I have quoted several times from its pages,

Heortology, a History of Christian Festivals from their Origin to the Present Day, by Dr. Kellner, Professor of Catholic Theology in Bonn, is a translation of a text-book written for German students preparing to pass Government examinations. It is a fine book, and if a student of liturgy knew its contents well he would have no poor knowledge of this and, incidentally, of other questions of liturgy. Gueranger, Duchesne and Kellner constitute the beginnings of a student's liturgical library (London, Keegan, Paul. 1908. Price 10s. 6d.). An excellent little volume by Father McKee, dealing with the same subject, is published by Catholic Truth Society, London, 2s, 6d. It is introductory and elementary.

10. Thousands of works on the Psalms have been published. But any priest or student who studies Steenkiste's work on the Psalms learns nearly all that is needed to recite his psalms digne, attente ac devote. His work is a mine of useful, pious, and, in the main, accurate comment on the inspired text. Breviary students studying this commentary need little else to help them to admire, to understand and to use their psalmody in a prayerful manner. Steenkiste, Liber Psalmorum (3 vols, Bruges. 1886. Price 15s.).

The New Psalter of the Roman Breviary, by Fillon, S.S. (London, Herder. 1915. Price 6s.).

Father Fillon was consultor to the Biblical Commission. His notes are short and useful to those who, having studied the psalms, can recall their meaning by a few brief hints. Its comments are too brief, but it gives the Latin text, English translation, notes on psalms and newly added canticles, and is arranged in the order in which they stand in the Pian psaltery.

Sing Ye to the Lord, by Rev. R. Eaton (London, Catholic Truth Society. 2 vols. 4s. each).

In these books the leading idea or ideas of the Psalms are taken up, and beautiful explanations and spiritual readings given. The books are delightful reading, and give Breviary readers, old and young, fresh thoughts on psalms which through familiarity and constant repetition may have lost some of their pious meaning and prayerfulness.

Books of Scripture commentary by non-Catholic writers should be read with caution, and often ecclesiastical permission for their perusal must be sought. Neale and Littledale's Commentary on the Psalms (6 vols. London. 1867) is a compilation by two Anglican scholars, from the commentators of the Middle Ages. The wonderful piety of these men of old, saints and scholars, their beautiful comments, their glowing fervour, and above all their knowledge and love of the Bible text, surprise us all. Sometimes, of course, these mediaevalists run into far-fetched, outlandish comments, but the compilers give always the comments of the Masters, St. Thomas, St. Bede, etc.

Very many metrical arrangements of the Psalms by non-Catholic authors exist in English. Most of these metrical efforts are very poor, unreliable in giving the sense, and awkward and ungainly in poetic forms. An interesting book is Prothero's Psalms in Human Life. The author was a Protestant, hence his numbering of the Psalms may at first sight be confusing,

Sermons fresh and beautiful, full of unction, and full of texts, sublime and practical, are to be found in the Psalms. A work, little known in our islands, is Monsignor Doublet's fine work, Psaumes etudies en vue de la Predication (3 vols. 8th Edition. 12s.).

A charming booklet, dealing chiefly with the Psalms as prayers, is
Rolland Gosselin's Prieres et Meditations bibliques (Paris. 1917.
Bauchesne. 3s.).

10. Hymns. Immense labour has been devoted to the study of Latin sacred poetry. The Analecta Hymnica in 60 huge volumes testifies to the learning and zeal of its Jesuit authors. Ordinary mortals content themselves with lesser works, such as Pimont's Hymnes du Breviare Romain (Paris Poussielgne. 2 vols, 12-1/2 francs), or with La Poesie du Breviaire, Les Hymns, by l'abbe C. Albin. Price 6 francs. The opinions and judgments in neither book are infallible; and some of Pimont's findings have been roughly criticised and sometimes rejected. But both books give good, sound knowledge of Breviary hymns and thus help to make their recitation a pious and a rational exercise, not a mechanical, soulless labour.

Translation of poetry has ever been a study and a pastime. Every cleric is familiar with the prose translations which aided his boyhood's labours in rendering the poetry of Horace and Euripides into modern speech. But prose efforts are one thing, and poetical efforts are another, and just as many have laboured to present Virgil and Homer in modern language, in metre, in rhyme, in rhythm; so, many poets and verse-makers, in different ages and in different climes, have laboured to turn into modern poetic form and into their own national tongue the poems of the Breviary. The Breviary hymns have met with several good, kind, translating poets; but very often they have been rudely handled by well-meaning verse builders. Passing over in charitable silence the indifferent efforts of those people, it may interest some students of the Breviary to read the efforts of well-known authors to translate the liturgy, its anthems, responses, collects, hymns, into good English.

(1) The Day Hours of the Church.—A translation of the Horae Diurnae, with the psalms, etc., arranged according to the reform of Pope Pius X. This is a good book, giving in parallel columns on the same page, Latin and English translations. It includes the very best hymn translations by Catholic authors, John Dryden, Cardinal Newman, Father Caswall, etc. (Burns & Gates. 8s.). This book is intended for the use of the laity, and, owing to the strict regulations issued for the printing of the new Roman Breviary, this book may not lawfully be used to replace the Breviarium Romanum. But, as it is a complete translation of the little Hours of the Church, it is a very useful aid to the attentive and devout recitation of the Hours. A look at its pages before each hour's recitation, or a glance