The Divine Office - Rev. E. J. Quigley
In all other hymns the doxology is read as it is printed in the
Breviary.
_Antiphons_. Antiphon, coming from Greek words meaning a re-echoing of
the sound, is a chant performed alternately by two choirs, and was used
in pagan drama, long before the Christian era. At what date it was
introduced into Church liturgy it is difficult to determine. Some say it
was introduced by St. Ignatius, second Bishop of Antioch. It is certain
that it was used by bishops and priests to attract, retain and teach the
faithful during the Arian heresy. In church music, the lector ceased to
recite the psalm as a solo and the faithful divided into two choirs,
united in the refrain _Gloria Patri_.
With us, the antiphon generally is a verse or verses from Scripture,
recited before and after each psalm. "The verse which serves as the
antiphon text contains the fundamental thought of the psalm to which it
is sung and indicates the point of view from which it is to be
understood. In other words, it gives the key to the liturgical and
mystical meaning of the psalm, with regard to the feast on which it
occurs" (_Cath. Encycl._, art. "Antiphon").
_Psalms._ In the Breviary, before the recent reform, twelve psalms were
recited in the first nocturn of Sundays and on ferias. This recitation
of twelve psalms was, Cassian tells us, caused by the apparition of an
angel, who appeared to the monks and sang at one session twelve psalms,
terminating with _Alleluia_. The event was mentioned at the Council of
Tours, In the new reform, nine psalms are recited at Matins; they
should, the old writers on liturgy tell us, remind us of the nine choirs
of angels who without ceasing sing God's praise.
In the new Psalter, the Psalms have been divided into two large
divisions, Psalms I.--CVIII. being assigned to the night Office, Matins;
and Psalms CIX.--CL. for the day Offices, Lauds to Compline. From this
latter division has been made:--
(1) a selection of psalms suitable by their character and meaning to
Lauds (_vide infra_, psalms at Lauds);
(2) a selection of psalms suitable to Compline;
(3) the psalms long used in the small Hours of Sunday's Office;
(4) the first psalms assigned by Pope Pius V. to Prime on Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The remaining psalms are divided into seven groups, in simple numerical
order. The psalms of Matins generally come first, and are followed
immediately by the groups of psalms for the day Hours.
In the new Breviary, seven new canticles are added to the ten, which
stood in the older book. The ten taken from the old and from the new
Testament are _Audite coeli_ (Deut., chap. 32) in Lauds for Saturday;
_Benedicite_ (Daniel, chap. 3) Sunday's Lauds; _Cantemus_ (Exod., chap.
15) Thursday's Lauds; _Confitebor_ (Isaias, chap. 12) Monday's Lauds;
_Domine audivi_ (Habacuc, chap. 3) Friday's Lauds; _Ego dixi_ (Isaias,
chap. 38) Tuesday's Lauds; _Exultavit_ (I. Kings, chap 2) Wednesday's
Lauds. From the new Testament we have _Benedictus, Magnificat, Nunc
dimittis_. To these are now added _Audite verbum_ (Jeremias, chap. 31),
_Benedictus es_ (I. Paralip., chap. 29), _Benedictus es_ (Daniel, chap.
3), _Hymnum cantemus_ (Judith, chap. 16), _Magnus es_ (Tobias, chap.
13), _Miserere nostri_ (Ecclus. 36), _Vere tu es Deus_ (Isaias, chap.
45). (_Cf. The New Psalter_, Burton and Myers, pp. 51-52).
"The psalms retain the accentuation of the Latin words, which was
inserted at the request of Pius V. in the Reformed Breviary of 1568; and
also the asterisk, which was introduced to mark the division of the
verses of the Psalms in Urban VIII.'s Reform in 1632." The verse
division of the psalms do not, in the Breviary, always coincide with
those of the Vulgate--e.g., Psalm X.:--
PSALTER VULGATE
Dominus in templo sancto suo Dominus in templo sancto suo
Dominus in coelo sedes ejus Dominus in coela sedes ejus:
(v.4). Oculi ejus in pauperem respsiciunt;
palpebrae ejus
interrogant filios hominum
(verse 5).
The present verse divisions of the Vulgate were introduced by a
Calvinistic printer of Geneva, who used them in an edition of the Greek
new Testament published in 1561. Formerly, biblical chapters were, for
sake of reference, divided into seven sections denoted by letters of the
alphabet a, b, c, etc. In the older breviaries, the reference to the
little lesson at Compline stood, I. Pet. v.c. The new Breviary has
adopted the modern form of reference, and we now read I. Pet. v. 8-9. It
is sometimes confusing to find reference made to the psalms by
non-Catholic writers. This arises from the different method of numbering
which is used by them. In the Greek version of the old Testament--the
septuagent--the Psalter is arranged differently from the Hebrew. Psalms
9 and 10 are counted as one and so are Psalms 114 and 115, but 116 and
117 are divided into two, leaving the complete number 150, as in the
Hebrew version. The Vulgate and the Douay version follow the Greek, and
Psalm 9 contains 21 verses, not 38 as in the English Authorised Version.
The English revised version follows the numbering of the Vulgate.
"Our Latin version of the Psalms is that of the old Itala; it was not
made directly on the Hebrew original ... it is then a translation (the
Greek). By the time of St. Jerome, it had become very faulty, owing to
the very many transcriptions which had been made of it; and this great
scholar revised it, about 383 A.D., on the request of Pope Damascus. His
corrections were not very numerous, because, he feared to upset, by too
many changes, the habits of the faithful, most of whom knew the psalms
by heart. This first version is known as the Roman Psalter. It was soon
deemed insufficient. St. Jerome once more set to work between 387 and
391, and published a second edition, more carefully and more extensively
corrected, of the Italic version of the Psalms; it is called the
_Gallican Psalter_, because it was adopted by the churches of Gaul. When
he, later on, translated the Old Testament from the Hebrew, he published
his third edition of the Psalms, the _Hebraic Psalter_. This version was
a good one, but the faithful were so familiar with the old Itala psalter
that the Church, in her wisdom, thought best to keep it in the editions
of the Vulgate according to the Gallican form.... Our official version
of the psalms is then in many ways defective. It is frequently
incorrect and barbarous in style, obscure in places, and even fails at
times to give the exact sense of the original. Although our Vulgate is
not perfect, it possesses admirable strength and conciseness, joined to
an agreeable savour which gives it the greatest value and causes the
words of the sacred singers, under this form of the Latin spoken by the
people, to strike the mind and become engraved upon the memory much
better than if they were clothed in all the elegance of a modern tongue"
(Vigouroux; _Manuel Biblique_, tom. ii., 663-664).
The following replies by the Biblical Commission (May, 1910) may not be
deemed out of place:--
I. Whether the appellations, Psalms of David, Hymns of David, Davidical
Psaltery, employed in the old collections and in the Councils themselves
to designate the Book of the one hundred and fifty Psalms of the Old
Testament, as well as the opinion of many Fathers and Doctors who held
that absolutely all the psalms of the Psaltery are to be ascribed to
David alone, have so much force that David must be regarded as the sole
author of the entire Psaltery?
ANSWER: In the negative.
II. Whether it may rightly be argued from the concordance of the Hebrew
text with the Alexandrine Greek text and other ancient versions, that
the titles prefixed to the Hebrew text are older than the version known
as the Septuagint, and that therefore they have been derived if not from
the authors themselves of the Psalms at least from the ancient Judaic
tradition?
ANSWER: In the affirmative.
III. Whether the said titles of the Psalms, as witnesses of Judaic
tradition, may be prudently called into question when there is no grave
argument against their genuineness?
ANSWER: In the negative.
IV. Whether, considering the not unfrequent testimonies of the Sacred
Scripture concerning the natural skill of David, illumined by the gift
of the Holy Ghost, in the composition of religious canticles, the
institutions laid down by him for the liturgical chant of the Psalms,
the attribution to him of Psalms made both in the Old and New Testament
and in the very inscriptions which have been prefixed to the Psalms from
antiquity, and in addition to all this the agreement of the Jews and the
Fathers and Doctors of the Church, it can be prudently denied that David
is the principal author of the canticles of the Psaltery, or that it can
be affirmed that only a few of the canticles are to be attributed to the
Royal Psalmist?
ANSWER: In the negative to both parts.
V. Whether, specifically, the Davidical origin can be denied of those
psalms which both in the Old and the New Testament are cited expressly
under the name of David, among which are specially to be reckoned Psalm
II., "Quare fremuerunt gentes"; Psalm XV., "Conserva me Domine"; Psalm
XVII., "Diligam te, Domine fortitudo mea"; Psalm XXXI., "Beati quorum
remissae sunt iniquitates"; Psalm LXVIII., "Salvum me fac, Deus"; Psalm
CIX., "Dixit Dominus Domino meo"?
ANSWER: In the negative.
VI. Whether it is possible to admit the opinion of those who hold that
among the Psalms of the Psaltery there are some, either of David or of
other authors which on account of liturgical or musical reasons, the
carelessness of amanuenses or other unknown causes, have been divided or
united; and also that there are other Psalms such as the "Miserere mei,
Deus," which in order that they might be better adapted to the
historical circumstances or solemnities of the Jewish people have been
slightly revised or modified, by the omission or addition of a versicle
or two saving, however, the inspiration of the whole sacred text?
ANSWER: In the affirmative to both parts.
VII. Whether the opinion can with probability be maintained of those
among more recent writers who have endeavoured to show from merely
internal indications or an inaccurate interpretation of the sacred text
that not a few of the psalms were composed after the time of Esdras and
Nehemias, or even after the time of the Macchabees?
ANSWER: In the negative.
VIII. Whether from the manifold testimonies of the Sacred Books of the
New Testament, and the unanimous agreement of the Fathers, as well as
from the admission of the writers of the Jewish people, several
prophetic and Messianic psalms are to be recognised, as prophesying
concerning the coming kingdom, priesthood, passion, death and
resurrection of the future Redeemer; and that therefore the opinion is
to be absolutely rejected of those who, perverting the prophetic and
Messianic character of the Psalms, twist these same prophecies
regarding Christ into merely a prediction regarding the future lot of
the chosen people?
ANSWER: In the affirmative to both parts.
On May 1, 1910, in an audience graciously granted to both Most Reverend
Consultors Secretaries His Holiness approved the foregoing answers and
ordered that they be published.
Rome, May 1, 1910.
PULCRANUS VIGOUROUX, P.S.S.
LAURENTIUS JANSSENS, O.S.B.
Consultors Secretaries.
The Psalms were always dear to the hearts of Christians. Our Lord died
with the words of a psalm on His sacred lips: "Into thy hands I commend
my spirit" (Psalm 30, v. 6). Millions of dying Christians have repeated
His great prayer. On the Church's very birthday, when St. Peter preached
the first Christian sermon, he had three texts and two of them were from
the Psalms (Acts II.). To an educated and rigid Pharisee like St. Paul
they were a treasure house of teaching. To the early Christians the
Psalms were a prayer book, for there was no Christian literature. It was
twenty-five years after the Ascension before the first books of the New
Testament were written. Hence St. Paul and St. James tell their fellow
Christians to use the Psalms in worship (Ephesians, v. 19; Colos. iii.
16; I. St. James 5-13). Some of the greatest of the early Christian
writers and saints, Origen, St. Athanasius, Hilary of Poitiers, St.
Ambrose, St. Chrysostom, Bede, and St. Augustine all studied the psalms
deeply and wrote learned commentaries on them. The works of later saints
abound in happy and beautiful quotations from these religious poems.
With them, too, as with those holy people of whom St. Chrysostom wrote,
"David is first, last and midst." For many years no priest was ordained
who could not recite the whole Psalter without the aid of a book, This
veneration of the inspired words deserves respect and imitation. The
learned Calmet (1672-1757) writing of the universal esteem and study of
the Psalms, said that then there existed more than a thousand
commentaries on them. Since then, the number has been doubled; so great
and universal is the reverence and esteem in which this book of
Scripture is held. To conclude this very long note on the Psalms I quote
the quaint words of a mediaeval poet. It shows how the saints of old
found their Master in the songs of His great ancestor:--
Rithmis et sensu verborum consociatum
Psalterium Jesu, sic est opus hoc vocitatum,
Qui legit intente, quocunque dolore prematur,
Sentiet inde bonum, dolor ejus et alleviatur;
Ergo pius legat hoc ejus sub amore libenter,
Cujus ibi Nomen scriptum videt esse frequenter.
_Versicle and respond_ are placed after the psalms and before the
lessons to rouse the attention which is necessary before all prayer, and
the lessons are a noble form of prayer. These little prayers are of very
ancient origin and were dealt with by Alcuin (735-804) in his recension
of the Gregorian books for use in Gaul. His pupil, Amalare, also studied
them, so that a meaning should be found in what was sung, and that the
truncated repetitions should be avoided. He retained what was
traditional and ancient, introduced versicles and responds taken from
ancient Roman books and from books belonging to Metz, selected passages
from the Gospels which seem to fit in with the antiphons and added them
to what he found in the Roman books, made alterations in the order here
and there and gave completion to the whole by adding some offices for
saints' days proper to the Church of Metz (Baudot, _The Roman Breviary_,
p. 88). Amalare had been administrator of the diocese of Lyons during
the exile of Agobard the Archbishop. The latter, with learning and
bitterness, attacked the reforms of Amalare, but, "in spite of all, the
reform of Amalare held its ground in Metz, and then in the greater
number of the churches north of the Alps" (Baudot, _op. cit._). Much of
the work of Amalare stands in our Breviary.
_Pater Noster_ is said to beg from God, light and grace to understand
the doctrine contained in the lessons. In choir, a part of the Pater
Noster is said in common and in a loud voice to recall the Communion
of saints.
_Absolutions and Blessings_. "The custom of giving a blessing before the
lections was already in existence in the fourth century. The ruler of
the choir, who gave it in the beginning, gave also the signal for the
termination of the lesson by the words, 'Tu autem' (scil, desine or
cessa), to which the reader responded 'Domine miserere nobis,' while the
choir answered _Deo gratias_. In the palace of Aix-la-Chapeile, it was
by knocking, and not by the words _Tu autem_, that the Emperor
Charlemagne gave the signal for the conclusion of the lections, while
the lector recited himself, _Tu autem, Domine miserere nobis_. The
_Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis_, containing fragments of the Roman
liturgy from the end of the seventh to the ninth and tenth centuries,
includes forms of blessing for the different festivals, sometimes three,
sometimes nine. In the latter case each lesson was provided with its own
form of blessing, which correspond with the mystery commemorated by the
festival. The absolutions, _Exaudi Domine_ and _A vinculis peccatorum_
did not appear until the succeeding period" (Baudot, _op. cit._, p. 74).
In offices of three and of nine lessons, the lessons are preceded by the
absolutions and blessings as they stand in the ordinarium, except in the
Office for the Dead and Tenebrae Offices when they are not said. The
Absolution is said immediately after the Pater Noster which follows the
versicle and response under the third, sixth or ninth psalm. The first
benediction is said immediately after it, and the second and third at
the conclusion of the responses after each lesson and in reply to the
words Jube Domine benedicere. The three words are to be said (when only
one person recites the office) before the short Lesson at Prime
and Compline.
In an office of nine lessons, the absolutions and benedictions in the
first two nocturns do not vary; but in the third nocturns the eighth
benediction may be, if the office is of a saint, Cujus festum, or if of
two or more saints, Quorum (vel quarum) festum. The ninth may be _Ad
societatem_ or, if the ninth lesson be a gospel extract with homily,
_Per evangelica_.
In offices of three lessons the Absolution Exaudi is said on Monday and
Thursday; Ipsius, on Tuesday and Friday; A vinculis, on Wednesday and
Saturday. But the benedictions vary. Thus, when a gospel extract and a
homily are read, the three benedictions are Evangelica, Divinum, Ad
societatem. When with the three lessons, no gospel extract is read, the
benedictions are Benedictione, Unigenitus, Spiritus Sancti. In an office
of a saint or saints, where the total number of lessons to be said is
three (e.g., the Office of SS. Abdon et Sennen, 30 July), where first
two lessons are from Scripture occurring and last lesson gives lives of
these saints, the benedictions are, Ille nos, Cujus (vel Quorum aut
Quarum) festum, Ad societatem.
_Lessons._ In the early days of Christendom, the Divine Office consisted
in the singing of psalms, the reading of portions of Sacred Scripture
and the saying of prayers. The principle of continuous reading of the
books of the Bible bears an early date. Later were added readings from
the acts of the martyrs, and later still, readings from the homilies of
the Fathers. Till the seventh century the ferial Office had no lessons
and the Sunday Office had only three, all taken from the Bible, which
was read in its entirety, yearly. In the seventh century, ferial Offices
received three lessons. About the time of St. Gregory, (died 604) the
Office for Matins was divided into three parts or nocturns, each having
lessons. The lessons for the second and third nocturns were not taken
from the Bible, but from the works of the Fathers. These extracts were
collected in book form--the _homilaria_. The collection of extracts made
by Paul the deacon (730-797) and used by Charles the Great (742-814) in
his kingdom, form the foundation of the collected extracts in our
Breviaries. The scripture lessons in our Breviaries are generally known
as "the scripture occurring," and are so arranged that each book of
scripture is begun at least, except the books, Josue, Judges, Ruth,
Paralipomenon and the Canticle of Canticles. Quignonez arranged in his
reform that the whole Bible should be read yearly. But his book was
withdrawn by Pope Paul IV. in 1558.
Although the ecclesiastical year begins with Advent, the beginnings of
the Bible are not read till March. Hence, we begin the lessons from
Genesis, after Septuagesima Sunday, and not, as we should naturally
expect, at Advent, the beginning of the ecclesiastical year. The order
in which the Scripture lessons are read does not follow the order in
which the books of the Bible stand in the sacred volume. Thus, the Acts
of the Apostles begin on the Monday after Low Sunday and are read for a
fortnight; The Apocalypse begins on the third Sunday after Easter and is
read for a week; then the Epistle of St. James begins, and so on, with
special regard to the feasts of the time, rather than to the order of
the books of the Bible.
The lessons of the second nocturn are generally commemorative of a saint
or some episode of a saint's life. They have been much, and often
ignorantly criticised, even by priests. The science of hagiology is a
very wide and far-reaching one, which demands knowledge and reverence.
Priests wishing to study its elements may read with pleasure and profit
and wonder _The Legends of the Saints_, by Pere H. Delehaye, S.J.,
Bollandist (Longmans, 3s. 6d.). "Has Lectiones secundi Nocturni ex
Historiis sanctorum, quas nunc habemus recognitas fuisse a doctissimis
Cardinalibus Bellarmino et Baronio, qui rejecerunt ea omnia, quae jure
merito in dubium revocari poterant et approbatus sub Clemente VIII."
(Gavantus). And Merati adds "quod aliqua qua controversia erant utpote
alicujus aliquam haberent probabilitatem, ideo rejecta non fuerant sed
retenta eo modo quo erant cum falsitatis argui non possent, quamvis
fortasse opposita sententia sit a pluribus recepta" (Merati, _Obser. ad
Gavant_, sec. v., chap. xii., nn. 10 and 16). The words of these learned
men and the writings of the learned Bollandist mentioned above are
worthy of consideration, as sometimes priests are puzzled about the
truth and accuracy of the incidents recorded in those lessons of the
second nocturn. They should be treated with reverence. The ignorant
flippancy of a priest in an article (in a very secular periodical) on
St. Expeditus gave great pain to Catholics and gave material for years
to come to scoffing bigots.
"Legends, _i.e._, narratives, were based upon documents of the nature
described above, and worked up by later writers, either for the purpose
of edification or from the point of view of the historian. The writings,
however, differ endlessly as to their value, according to the knowledge
and authority possessed by the writers, and according to their nearness
to the events described. There were many martyrs whose sufferings were
recorded in no acta or passiones, but were imprinted on the memory of
men and became part of the traditions handed down in the community,
until they were finally committed to writing. The later this took place
the worse for the authenticity. For it was then that anachronisms,
alterations in titles, changes in the persons and other similar
historical errors could more easily creep into the narrative, as we know
in fact they have done in many instances. The historical sense was
unfortunately lacking to the Franks and Byzantines, as well as all idea
of sound criticism.
"A false kind of patriotism and national pride often go along with
credulity, so that we find here and there in literature of this kind,
even downright fabrication. After the introduction of printing, by which
literature became more widely diffused, and comparative criticism was
rendered possible, it at once became evident among Catholics that error
was mixed with truth and that a sifting of the one from the other was
necessary, and, in many cases, possible" (Kellner, _Heorlology_, pp.
209-210). "It was not the intention of the Church or of the compilers
and authors of the service books to claim historical authority for their
statements. And so, the Popes themselves have directed many emendations
to be made in the legends of the Breviary, although many others still
remain to be effected" (Dom Baumer, _Histoire Du Breviare Roman_). Cf.
Dom Cabrol, _Le Reforme du Breviare_, pp. 61-63.
_Responsories._ (Title XXVII.). In the new Breviary the responsories to
the lessons have been restored to their place of honour. They are of
ancient origin, but "how they came to have a place in the Divine Office,
who was responsible for their composition, what was the process of
development until they reached their present form, are questions upon
which liturgical writers are not quite agreed" (Rev. M. Eaton, _Irish
Eccles. Record_, January, 1915). Amalare of Metz found them fully formed
and placed. The rule of St. Benedict, written about 530 A.D., mentions
them as a recognised part of Matins. In solemn vigils, in the early
Church, the congregation took part in the psalm singing, and hence we
find _psalmi responsorii_ mentioned, and we still have a typical
instance in the Invitatory Psalm of our Office. Probably, some similar
practice existed in the readings from Sacred Scripture. "At those
primitive vigils, then, after the reading of the Sacred Scripture, the
responsory was given by the precentor and the assembled faithful took up
the words and chanted them forth in the same simple melody. Next, a
verse was sung frequently echoing the same sentiment, and the choir
again, as in the _psalmi responsorii_, repeated the refrain or the
responsorii proper. Frequently other verses were added according to the
dignity of the festivals, and after each the faithful struck in with the
original refrain.... At first those responsories would probably have
been extempore ... left to the genius or to the inspiration of the
individual chanter, but gradually, by a survival of the fittest, the
most beautiful ones became stereotyped and spread throughout several
churches.... Later they were carefully collected, arranged and codified
by St. Gregory or one of his predecessors and passed into all the books
of liturgy" (Rev. M. Eaton, _loc. cit._). Monsignor Battifol (_History
of the Roman Breviary_, Eng, trans., p. 78) says that these parts of the
liturgy, in beauty and eloquence rival the chorus dialogues of Greek
drama, and quotes as an example the _Aspiciens a longe_ from the first
Sunday of Advent.