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Disclaimer

This programlet is my own work, and does not represent any official order, neither the view or opinion of any group. I tried to follow my sources, but naturaly the more I work on this project the more mistakes I make. Such a project can be done only by teamwork. I keep doing this in the hope, that a team will pick up the idea, and will use the computers in entirety to help worship God.

Word of caution:

Those who are obliged to recite the office should do so from canonically approved books. (Can 276.2.3), and according to the Summorum Pontificium only the 1962 books are accepted as extraordinary form. I make every effort to make in this website the Rubrics 1960 version to be identical with the 1962 typical edition, but this internet text is not approved as so.

  • Also I have written sources for the Divino Afflatu and Trident 1910 and Trident 1570 versions, which I follow carefully as much as possible
  • The pre Trident monastic version is projection backward
  • The Reduced 1955 version never existed in printed form
  • The <1960 Newcalendar> version is projection forward ,and with some probability disapproved by the Ecclesia Dei Commission January 20 2010 (Prot 13/2007) decision accepted form of the Liturgy.


Historical versions of the Divinum Officium

The Divinum Officium was the official prayer of the Roman Catholic Church for at least 1500 years, until 1971, when it was significantly changed to The Liturgy of the Hours. This programlet is partially a device for me to pray the Office easily, and partially a historical document to visually show the changes in the last few hundred years. This project shows how the daily Office was collected from the same psalms, lections, hymns, versicles and responsories for the different versions.:

  • The pre Tridentine Monastic version is an attempt to illustrate the Benedictine Breviary, as it is described in the Regula of St Benedict, with the exception that for lack of resources only 9 lessons are included for Sundays and Feasts instead of 12 lesson See details below

  • The version ordered after the Council of Trent, by Pope St. Pius V, which except for the ever increasing number of feasts in the Proprium Sanctorum was unchanged until the 20th Century. This Tridentine version was based on the many centuries before printed books, therefore the majority of psalms were prayed in Mattins, Lauds, and Vespers. The little hours contained the same psalm 118 everyday, which was memorized by heart and could be prayed without a book, at the little hours. Sunday Matutinum contained 18 psalms, and the weekday mattins contained 12 psalms. Lauds and Vespers were considerably longer, due to the length of of the psalm and their suffragia. The Feasts of Saints offered some relief in the number of psalms. Those Mattins consisted of 9 psalms only which broke the rule of the required 150 psalms a week. The number of Festive Offices came to exceed the number of ferial Sunday Offices, when more than two thirds of the days were Festive Offices.

    The Trident 1570 version uses the original 1570 calendar, the Trident 1910 version uses the permanent calendar from the 1888 Pustet edition Hiemalis volume. The two differ only in the calendars, both uses the Clementine psalter and hymns, as well as the same rubrics. See details below

  • The Divino Afflatu version is named from the Encyclical of St. Pius X., and was the Official version from 1911 to 1960. St Pius X. mixed two changes
    • The version uses the ferial psalms for the festive offices except for the 1st and 2nd class feasts, and for a few others which antiphons hand down for a feast. The Trindent version Sesonal mode is an attempt to show the effect of this change without the change of the Psalter
    • Also psalms are divided into a weekly cycle without significant repetion of the psalms (9 psalms for matins, 5 each for the major hours, 3 each for the minor hours). The encyclical also shortened significantly the suffragia, and other parts of the office, reducing the time at prayer about 20%.

    The Divino Afflatu version uses the permanent Kalendar from the printed 1943 Ratisbone Pustet edition Hiemalis volume. Missing offices are updated as sources allows.

  • The version Reduced 1955 based on Cum Nostra Hac aetate decree, and the version Rubrics 1960 ordered by the Motu Proprio Rubricarum Instructum 1960 of John XXIII. furter shortened the prayer time by and additional 5% and 15% respectively.

    Both versions are using the permanent calendar from David Siefker's Lulu Breviary. Missing offices are updated as sources allows.
    See details below

    The 1960 New Calendar version implements the 2009 permanent calendar. It uses the 1960 rubrics, which is now the extraordinary form of the office. It is an experiment of the idea, that this form should be living prayer of the Church.
    See details below


I pray the The Divino Afflatu version but the main point of this project is to show the changes published 1955, and 1960 are not more than the changes which were made in 1911 by Divino Afflatu. In all changes the reason was to simplify and shorten the office.

Implemented pre Tridentine Monastic changes
  • Matins starts with Domine labia and Psalm 3
  • Fist Nocturn is always six psalms.
  • First Nocturn has 3 lessons with responsories from Scriptures from November to Low Sunday, one short lesson summertime Second Nocturn is always 6 psalms
  • Except for Sundays and Feasts (Duplex majus, 2nd class, 1st class) second nocturn has a scriptural capitulum with responsory only, and there is no third nocturn
  • For Sundays and Feast (for lack of resource only 3 * 3 instead if 3 * 4 lessons) there are three nocturns. The third nocturn has Old Testament canticles under one antiphon also it has responsory after the last lesson too, followed by Te Deum, reading of the full passage of Gospel and the short hymn Te decet.
  • Lauds starts with Psalm 6
  • Lauds has 3 psalms, a canticle and psalms 148-149-150 as one unit. Responsory is added to Capitulum
  • Prime has 4 or 3 psalms (parts). Preces, reading of the Regula and commemoration of the dead (which was not part of Prime) is added to the office
  • Minor Hours have psalm sheme only for Sunday, Monday and the rest of days. Capitulum is followed only by Verse.
  • Vespers has 4 psalms, Responsory is added to Capitulum
  • has always the same psalms without antiphons; also without Nunc dimittis


Implemented Tridentine (pre Divino Afflatu) changes:
  • Festive Offices for both the Tridentine, and the Divino Afflatu versions are similar, except that in the Tridentine version, Feasts of semiduplex rank and above use the Festive psalms, which is three nocturns each of three psalms for Matins, with a slightly different set for holy men and holy women, with the Sunday's psalms from the Psalter for the rest of the hours. Simplex Offices from the proper of the Saints have only one nocturn in the Tridentine version with the psalms of the Feria.
  • In feriale offices:
    • Matutinum Sunday 18 psalms, weekdays 12 psalms with antiphones according to the day of week Lauds and Vespers have their set of psalms and antiphones according to the day of week;
    • The Laudes II psalms were introduced with the Divino Afflatu version for seasons of Advent and Lent. In the Tridentine version each Ferial Office Lauds began with Psalm 50 (Miserere mei Deus), and only the 2nd and 4th (canticle) change throughout the week.
      The Little Hours have the same psalm set over the week, but the antiphons change according to the day of week.
      Prime has 4 psalms, except on Saturdays were it was only 3 psalms. For the other days 1, 3, 4 is the same for all days of the week, 2nd is different.
    • For Preces Feriales Psalm 129 is added at Lauds, and Psalm 50 is added at Vespers.
    • The Suffragium is expanded with the Commemoratio de Cruce ( in the feriis; this is first ) To the Blessed Virgin, to St. Joseph, St. Peter and Paul, de Pace.


Implemented 1955 only changes:
  • First Vespers only for Sundays and 1st and 2nd class feasts
  • Simplex feasts are commemorated in Laudes and Vespera only, no reading in Mattins
  • Former semiduplex feasts are considered simplex, commemorating lesson in Mattins
Implemented 1956-1960 changes:
  • Pater noster, Ave Maria at the beginning and end of the horas, (also Credo for beginning of Mattins and Prime, and end of Compline) is omitted,
  • Preces feriales only in ember days (except Pentecost week) and Wednesdays Fridays of Advent Lent time
  • Suffragium, Preces dominicales deleted
  • Athanasium Creed (Quicumque) only on Trinity Sunday
  • Marian Antiphone at the end of Lauds deleted
  • Vigils only for: Nativity, Pentecost; Ascension, Midsummer day, St Peter & Paul, St Laurence, Assumption,
  • Octaves only for Christmas, Easter and Pentecost
Implemented 1960 only changes:
  • Antiphons are always double
  • Doxologies for hymns are never changed
  • Lectio brevis in Prime is not changing for the saints only for the season
  • Psalm 50 in holy triduum prayers deleted
  • Rank only 1st to 4th class
    • 4th class commemoratio only,
    • 3rd class (former semiduplex, duplex and some duplex majus) 3 lectiones only
    • 2nd class (with some former duplex majus) 9 lections but for horas antiphones and psalms from the weekday
    • 1st class: unchanged
  • First week of month (from August to November) always starts in the month, instead of the closest Sunday to Kalendas
  • Some additional Kalendar changes are implemented


1960 New Calendar version changes:
  • implementing the 2009 Calendar ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_calendar_of_saints) Only those offices are parts of the office for Proper of Saints, which are listed here; some offices are relocated. Offices not found in the Extraordinary form, are created from the Common of Saints
  • Memorial offices are implemented as 3rd class offices according to the 1960 rubrics (1, 2-3 readings from the season, 3rd reading from the saint). Feasts are implemented as 2nd class (semifestive offices), solemnities as 1st class (festive) offices
  • optional memorial offices are prayed in 'regular' mode, the ferial office is used in 'seasonal' mode, except for Advent, when always the ferial office is recited if the saint's office is optional
  • in Lent all memorial offices are trumped by the ferial office, in accordance to the 1960 rubrics (there is only Gospel homily, no Scriptural reading for the season)
  • if two saints are assigned for the same day, the first in the calendar is chosen
  • commemoration of a saint would be implemented only for local Feast or Solemnity in the O antiphon (Dec 17-24) days in Advent
  • Seasonal feast days moved to Sundays (Ascencion etc) cannot be handled, there would be no office left for the feria. Feasts days of saints can be moved through the translation table (Latin/Psalterium/Trnewcal.txt, Latin/Psalterium/Trnewcalyyyy.txt)
  • Ember days, Rogation days, and the Octave of Pentecost is dropped following the previous trend since 1955; however the lessons are Gospel homilies for that days
  • The traditional schema of Sundays (Septuagesima time, 6 Sundays after Epiphany and 24 Sundays after Pentecost) is not changed because any change of this would require to create a new scriptural reading schema


Click
here for recitation times of the different versions.

Additional variations in the standalone version:
  • regular : regular version according to the rules

  • Seasonal : Hymns, Short readings and Short responses for minor horas are taken from the proprium de tempora, except for 1st and 2nd class feasts days; also the Preces Dominicales and the Suffrages are included for duplex offices in case of Tridentine or Divinu Afflatu versions.

    For Tridentine versions seasonal mode also uses the ferial psalter for duplex or lesser offices

    For 1960 new calendar version sesonal mode uses the ferial office for optional offices



laszlo kiss
l dot kiss at sbcglobal dot net

T.A.D.M.N.
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