FOUR BREVIARIES OVER 500 + YEARS

 

    In the 20th Century, the Divine Office, or as it is currently called, The Liturgy of the Hours, was "reformed" twice:  the first was in 1911, intended by Pius X as a first step of breviary reform, and the second was in 1971 (as a result of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council).  Of course, during that period, there were several adjustments to the 1911 breviary, and as of January, 2001, the Liturgy of the Hours is still incomplete. 

 

    Until 1911, the breviary which issued by Pius V in 1568 (as a result of directives of the Fathers of the Council of Trent) was in use for more than 300 years, changed in minor ways at several different times during those years.  The Pius V breviary was not a great reform, but essentially a pruning of the divine office in use by most of the Roman Rite for centuries prior to 1568.

 

    It was also a formal end to a breviary reform which had been entrusted by an earlier Pope to Cardinal Francisco Quiñonez,  and which was published in 1535, slightly modified and republished in 1536.    This was intended by its compiler as a private breviary for the use of priests not obliged to pray the office in choir with others.  It, too, was a major break with any known Divine Office  tradition, but its popularity is evidenced by the more than 100 editions over a very few years, until its suppression and the advent of the breviary of Pius V.

 

    Alongside the Roman breviary, there were office books of other western traditions, such as the Ambrosian Rite of the Archdiocese of Milan, or the Mozarabic Rite in Toledo, Spain.  There was also the Monastic breviary, which had a major influence on the development of the Roman Breviary.  Then, there were local "uses" or "rites", such as Lyons, Sarum, Braga, etc.  Finally, there were several religious orders which maintained their own uses for their liturgical life, such as Dominicans, Carmelites, the Bridgettine Nuns, and the Premonstratensian Canons.  

 

    Very few of these uses or rites still exist as living examples of liturgical identity: Milan, Toledo (in a small way), the Monastic Rite (among the Carthusians, Benedictines, Cistercians, etc.), and the Bridgettine Office.  All of these were approved.  Others were very popular but not approved, for example, the Gallican breviaries, an example of which is the Paris Breviary of 1736, issued by Charles de Vintimille, Archbishop of Paris.  For a number of reasons, most of these "uses" are no longer in existence, The current Liturgy of the Hours remains the "official" (approved) text for most of the members of the Roman Rite today.

 

    Until 1971, the first rule for any official breviary in the Roman Rite was that the entire 150 psalms be prayed weekly.  The Ambrosian Rite, however, had a different arrangement, i.e., Matins psalms were distributed over weekdays of 2 weeks.   It appears that the larger Church inherited this practice from the early Monks; over time, it became the law for the Roman Rite.

 

    Until 1911, the second rule for the Roman Rite was that the psalms be prayed in their entirety.  This was maintained in the Ambrosian Rite, as well.  The exception in this case was the Monastic Office, compiled by St. Benedict in the 6th Century.  He uses divisi (divided psalms) in his psalter, which is distributed over a week's time. 

 

    Another tradition of the Western church was that Psalms 1 through 108 were reserved for the "night" office (Matins) and Psalms 109 through 147 were set aside for Vespers. 

 

    Few complained of the basic idea of the weekly psalter.  Few, however, were able to pray the 150 psalms in the course of a week.   Centuries of devotional accretions, feasts and other types of addenda had made the office, called the Opus Dei, the "work of God, into the Onus Dei ("onus" means much the same in English: burden).  The psalm schemas given here are the major various attempts to correct the problems.  

 

Some things to remember:

            a)  Quiñonez kept the weekly psalter, and kept the undivided psalms, but ignored the principle of the "night office" and "Vesper" psalms.  He proposed that there be only 3 psalms for each hour of the Divine Office.  The longer psalms were kept for Matins.  Psalm 118 was divided into 11 sections for the Sunday "Little Hours".  

            His work was condemned immediately:  he had changed a public celebration (i.e. , a liturgy) into a private (i.e., personal)  prayer.  He did this for the convenience of ordinary priests.  In his first edition, all elements of communal celebration were removed (antiphons, versicles, etc.).  Some of these were restored in the second edition.   But that the office was a private prayer was the principal reason for his breviary's suppression by the Church (which had, at first, approved the book's use for several years).

 

                b)  The Paris breviary of 1736 keeps the weekly psalter, but makes use of divisi.   Its compilers also included new hymns, stressed scripture in the Matins readings, removed many of the other "extras".  However, they were also considered anti-Roman and the Paris breviary was only one of several editions of what are called "neo Gallican" breviaries.  The wider church also believed that  Jansenist thinking had influenced the breviary texts.    By the mid 19th century, most of these neo-Gallican books had been either suppressed or no longer published. 

 

                c)  The 1911 breviary was a major rupture in the psalter schema as it had been known by the Roman Rite for centuries.  In order to provide for an actual complete psalter, the schema was changed and divisi were used for the first time.  The emphasis was placed on the week and its days and taken off the celebrations of saints.  When saints' feasts were celebrated, adjustments were made so that the weekly psalter could be used, and not a particular set of festal psalms, which, by then, had become overused and abused. 

 

    The most interesting point of all these "reforms", whether approved or not, is that each contributed to what is today the Roman Rite's Liturgy of the Hours.  Quiñonez, Paris, Pius X, and even Pius V stressed ideas, some of which were, in the end, found very worthy of attention by those who prepared the current Divine Office texts.  There is still a great deal to learn from all these schemas.

 

 


 

 

 

1536

Quiñonez

1568

Pius V

1736

Paris

1911

Pius X

Sunday

Matins

94,

1, 9, 17

94

I: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

II: 15, 16, 17

III: 18, 19, 20

94

I: 1, 2, 3

II: 17a, 17b, 17c

III: 27, 29, 65

94

I: 1, 2, 3

II: 8, 9a, 9b

III: 9c, 9d, 10

Lauds

65, 95, Daniel

92, 99, 62+66, Dan, 148+149+150

62, 69, 99, Daniel, 148

92, 99, 62, Daniel, 148

Prime

53, 118a, 118b

53, 117, 118a, 118b

117m 118a, 118b

117, 118a, 118b

Terce

118c. 118d, 188e

118c, 118d, 118e

118c, 118d, 118e

118c, 118d, 118e

Sext

118f, 118g, 118h

118f, 118g, 118h

118f, 118g, 118g

118e, 118g, 118h

None

118i, 118j, 118k

118i, 118j, 118k

118i, 118j, 118k

118i, 118j, 118k

Vespers

109, 110, 113

109, 110, 111, 112, 113

109, 110, 111, 112, 113

109, 110, 111, 112, 113

Compline

4, 30, 90

4, 30 (1-6), 90, 133

4, 90, 133

4, 90, 133

Monday

Matins

94

30, 34, 104

94

26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37

94

I: 103a, 103b, 103c

II: 104a, 104b, 104c

III: 105a, 105b, 105c

94

I: 13, 14, 16

II: 17a, 17b, 17c

III: 19, 20, 29

Lauds

97, 103, Is 12 (1-6)

50, 5, 62+66, Is, 148+149+150

91, 135a, 135b, Exodus, 134

46, 5, 28, David, 116

Prime

22, 23, 24

53, 23, 118a, 118b

8, 76a, 76b

23, 18a, 18b

Terce

13, 18, 19

118c, 118d, 118e

24a, 24b, 95

26a. 26b, 27

Sext

38, 61, 114

118f, 118g, 118h

46, 97, 98

30a, 30b, 30c

None

79, 98, 125

118i, 118j, 118k

52, 72a, 72b

31, 32, 32b

Vespers

76, 115, 142

114, 115, 116, 119, 120

114, 120, 123, 125, 136

114, 115, 119, 120, 121

Compline

7, 114, 124

4, 30 (1-6), 90, 133

6, 7a, 7b

6, 7a, 7b

Tuesday

Matins

94

39, 43, 108

94

38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51

94

I: 14, 18a, 18b

II: 71a, 71b, 100

III. 106a, 106b, 106c

94

I: 34a, 34b, 34c

II: 36a, 36b, 36c

III: 37a, 37b, 38

Lauds

94, 144, Is 38 (10-20)

50, 42, 62+66, Ezech, 148+149+150

23, 84, 96, Ezech, 150

95, 42, 66, Tobit, 134

Prime

5, 16, 25

53, 24, 118a, 118b

34a, 34b, 34c

24a, 24b, 24c

Terce

20, 28, 31

118c, 118d, 118e

25, 49a, 49b

39a, 39b, 39c

Sext

51, 71, 120

118f, 118g, 118h

36a, 36b, 36c

40, 41a, 41b

None

89, 96, 126

118i, 118j, 118k

108a, 108b, 108c

43a, 43b, 43c

Vespers

33, 40, 112

121, 122, 123, 124, 125

119, 121, 132, 140, 141

122, 123, 124, 125, 126

Compline

10, 15, 29

4, 30 (1-6), 90, 133

12, 31, 78

11, 12, 15

Wednesday

Matins

94

48, 58, 77

94

52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 65, 67

94

I: 9a, 9b, 9c

II: 77a, 77b, 77c

III: 77d, 77e, 77f

94

I: 44a, 44b,. 45

II: 47, 48a, 48b

III: 49a, 49b, 50

Lauds

80, 134, 1 Kings 2 (1-10)

50, 64, 62+66, Anna, 148+149+150

5, 35, 64, Is 12, 146

96, 64, 100, Judith, 145

Prime

6, 117, 130

53, 25, 118a, 118b

30a, 30b, 30c

25, 51, 52

Terce

42, 44, 59

118c, 118d, 118e

41a, 41b, 43

53, 54a, 54b

Sext

41, 64, 121

118f, 118g, 118h

20, 102a, 102b

55, 56, 57

None

81, 84, 89

118i, 118j, 118k

81, 93a, 93b

58a, 58b, 59

Vespers

12, 83, 111

126, 127, 128, 129, 130

122, 124, 126, 129, 130

127, 128, 129, 130, 131

Compline

39, 119, 133

4, 30 (1-6), 90, 133

10, 13, 15

33a, 33b, 60

Thursday

Matins

94

67, 72, 88

94

68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79

94

I: 19, 32a, 32b

II: 67a, 67b, 67c

III: 88a, 88b, 88c

94

I: 61, 65a, 65b

II: 67a, 67b, 67c

III: 68a, 68b, 68c

Lauds

99, 102 Exod 15 (1-19)

50, 89, 62+66, Moses, 148+149+150

80, 107a, 107b, Anna, 147

97, 89, 35, Jeremias, 146

Prime

8, 26, 27

53, 22, 118a, 118b

66, 89a, 89b

22, 71a, 71b

Terce

91, 92, 107

118c, 118d, 118e

26a, 26b, 83

72a, 72b, 72c

Sext

49, 74, 122

118f, 118g, 118h

22, 33a, 33b

73a, 73b, 73c

None

35, 82, 100

118i, 118j, 118k

79a, 79b, 92

74, 75a, 75b

Vespers

131, 136, 145

131, 133, 134, 135, 136

115, 137, 144a, 144b, 144c

132, 135a, 135b, 136, 137

Compline

45, 46, 47

4, 30 (1-6), 90, 133

11, 38a, 38b

68, 70a, 70b

Friday

Matins

94

21, 68, 70

94

80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 93, 95, 96

94

I: 51, 54a, 54b

II: 58a, 58b, 60

III: 68a, 68b, 68c

94

I: 77a, 77b, 77c

II: 77d, 77e, 77f

III: 78, 80, 82

Lauds

148, 149 Habac 3 (2-19)

50, 142, 62+66, Habac, 148+149+150

53, 70a, 70b, Habac, 145

98, 142, 84, Is (45), 147

Prime

2, 11, 50

53, 21, 118a, 118b

43a, 43b, 43c

21a, 21b, 21c

Terce

3, 37, 55

118c, 118d, 118e

39a, 39b, 57

79a, 79b, 81

Sext

56, 65, 139

118f, 118g, 118h

101a, 101b, 101c

83a, 83b, 86

None

60. 69, 73

118i, 118j, 118k

21a, 21b, 21c

88a, 88b, 88c

Vespers

137. 138, 141

137, 138, 139, 140, 141

128, 138a, 138b, 139a, 139b

138a, 138b, 139, 140, 141

Compline

12, 85, 140

4, 30 (1-6), 90, 133

37a, 37b, 55

76a, 76b, 85

Saturday

Matins

94

54, 105, 106

94

97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108

94

I: 40, 48a, 48b

II: 61, 63, 74

III: 75, 82a, 82b

94

I: 104a, 104b, 104c

II: 105a, 105b, 105c

III: 106a, 106b, 106c

Lauds

116, 150, Deut 32 (1-43)

50, 91, 62+66, Moses, 148+149+150

16a, 16b, 56, Moses, 116

149, 91, 63,Ecclus, 150

Prime

62, 66, 135

53, 118a, 118b

87, 142a, 142b

93a, 93b, 107

Terce

51, 57, 87

118c, 118d, 118e

28, 44, 149

101a, 101b, 101c

Sext

75, 78, 123

118f, 118g, 118h

45, 47, 86

103a, 103b, 103c

None

101, 127, 132

118i, 118j, 118k

59, 73a, 73b

108a, 108b, 108c

Vespers

143, 146, 147

143, 144, 145, 146, 147

127, 131a, 131b, 143a, 143b

143a, 143b, 144a, 144b, 144c

Compline

84, 128, 129

4, 30 (1-6), 90, 133

50, 85a, 85b

87, 102a, 102b

 


Added January 25, 2001

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