The Divine Office Part 10

THE CANONICAL HOURS.

CHAPTER I.

MATINS.

_Etymology_. The word _Matins_ is derived from _Matuta_, the Latin name for the Greek G.o.ddess of morning. The word used in the Roman Breviary is _matutinum (i.e., tempus)_. It is the old name for Lauds, _Laudes matutinae_. The word was also used to denote the office of Vigils.

Hence, the word was used in three senses, to denote the nocturns and lauds, to denote Lauds only and to denote the vigil office. In liturgical study the word was confusing, and sometimes it is the context only which gives the author's meaning. This, the princ.i.p.al Hour of the Church's public prayer, was, in the early days of Christianity, said at night, and was called _Nocturnum_ and _Vigiliae_.

_Origin_. The night office of vigils dates from the very earliest days of Christianity. It derived its name from the vigils or night watches of the soldiers, who divided the night, from six o'clock in the evening to six o'clock in the morning, into four watches of three hours each. The nightly meetings of the Christians came to be called by the name _vigils_, but the meetings were not begun at the stated hours of military vigil and did not finish with them. Why these meetings of Christians were held at night, and in what their religious exercises consisted in, both in matter and form, is an unsolved problem. But it is certain that they resembled the services of the Jewish synagogue in the readings from Scripture, psalm-singing and prayers, and differed from those services by having readings from the Gospels, the Epistles, and from non-canonical books, such as the Epistle of St. Clement. The Eucharistic service always formed part of them. Indeed, the very name, Synagogue was given to these a.s.semblies of Christians, as we see from the Pastor of Hermes. In their common prayer, they faced towards the East, as the Jews did towards Jerusalem. They had precentors and janitors as in the Jewish rites. Their services consisted of the readings from the Mosaic law, from Gospels and Epistles, exposition of Scripture, a set sermon, long and fervent "blessings" or thanksgiving and psalms. Before there were any written gospels to read, we gather that the reading of the Old Law, of the Prophets and the Psalms, was followed by a set sermon on the life and death of Christ (Bickel, _Messe und Pascha,_ p, 91). From St. Basil (fourth century) it is concluded that two choirs sang the Psalms. Ca.s.sian writes that the monks of the fifth century celebrated the Night Office with twelve psalms and readings from the Old and the New Testaments. Hence, "we find the same elements repeated, the psalms generally chanted in the form of responses, that is to say, by one or more cantors, the choir repeating one verse which served as a response, alternately with the verses of the psalms, which were sung by the cantors, readings taken from the Old and the New Testaments and, later on, from the works of the Fathers and Doctors; litanies, supplications, prayers for divers members of the Church, clergy, faithful, neophytes and catechumens; for emperors, travellers; the sick; and generally for all the necessities of the Church, and even for Jews and for heretics. It is quite easy to find these essentials in our modern Matins" (Dom Cabrol, _Cath.

Encyclopedia_, art. "Matins").

Matins on account of its length and position in the Breviary is the most important part of the daily Office. And, on account of the variety and beauty of its elements, is considered the most remarkable.

The prayer _Pater Noster_ begins the Office. It is the Lord's prayer, _divina inst.i.tutions formata_, when Christ told His Apostles "_Sic vos orabitis_" (St. Matt. vi. 9). It is the most excellent of all prayers, being most excellent in its author, its form, its depth of meaning, its effects. The prayer consists of a preface, "Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And in the body of the prayer are seven pet.i.tions--three for the honour and glory of G.o.d, in and by ourselves, and four for our own wants, spiritual and temporal.

Very excellent matter on the greatest of prayers is to be found in the _Catechism of the Council of Trent_ (translation, Duffy, Dublin) and in _A Lapide_ (St. Matt. vi.). Writers on liturgy say that the recitation of the _Pater Noster_ as the opening prayer of Matins was _not obligatory_ until the beginning of the twelfth century. It is said that the monks were wont to say a _Pater Noster_ at each altar in the church before entering their stalls for Office recitation.

This practice delayed the beginning of the Office in choir, and a rule was made that those who wished to say this prayer must say it in their stalls, in a low tone. Of course, in the Breviary of Pius V. (1568) this practice became obligatory on each person bound to read the Hours.

_Ave Maria_. This is a leading prayer amongst the great prayers of the Ma.s.s and the Office. It, too, is excellent in its authors, its form (clear, short devotional), in motive (in honouring Mary, Mother of G.o.d, and in begging her intercession). It is divided into three parts, the words of the angel, of St. Elizabeth and of the Church, Devout thoughts on this prayer have been penned by countless clients of Mary in every age. Priests are familiar with many such writings, great and small, but _A Lapide_ (St. Luke I.) bears reading and re-reading. The prayer, as it stands in the Breviary to-day, is not of very ancient date. "In point of fact there is little or no trace of the Hail Mary as an accepted devotional formula before 1050.... To understand the developments of the devotion, it is important to grasp the fact that the _Ave Maria_ was merely a form of greeting. It was, therefore, long customary to accompany the words with some external gesture of homage, a genuflexion, or at least an inclination of the head.... In the time of St. Louis the _Ave Maria_ ended with the words _benedictus fructus ventris tui_: it has since been extended by the introduction both of the Holy Name and of a clause of pet.i.tion.... We meet the _Ave_ as we know it now, printed in the Breviary of the Camaldolese monks and in that of the Order de Mercede C. 1514. ... The official recognition of the _Ave Maria_ in its complete form, though foreshadowed in the Catechism of the Council of Trent, was finally given in the Roman Breviary of 1568" (Father Thurston, S.J., _Cath. Encyclopedia_, art. "Hail Mary.")

_Credo_. The Apostles' Creed is placed at the beginning of Matins, because Matins is the beginning of the whole Office, and faith is the beginning, the _principium_ of every supernatural work. St. Paul teaches us that it is necessary for us to stir up our faith when we approach G.o.d, "For he that cometh to G.o.d must believe that He is." In reciting the Creed we should think of the sublime truths of our faith, and our hearts should feel, what our lips say, "For with the heart we believe unto justice; but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation"

(Rom. x. 10). We should remember too, that this formula of faith comes to us from Apostolic times and that it has been repeated millions of times by saints and martyrs; their sentiments of belief, of confidence in G.o.d and love of G.o.d should be ours.

_Domine l.a.b.i.a mea aperies_. The practice of this beautiful invocation dates from the time of St. Benedict (480-553). In his Office it stood after the words _Deus in adjutorium_. These words _Domine l.a.b.i.a mea aperies_, taken from the Psalm _Miserere_, remind us of G.o.d purifying the lips of Isaias His prophet with a burning coal, of how G.o.d opened the lips of Zachary to bless G.o.d and to prophesy. "And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke blessing G.o.d" (St.

Luke, i. 64). Very appropriately, does the priest reciting the Divine Office ask G.o.d to open his lips, to fortify his conscience, to touch his heart.

_Deus in adjutorium_. These words, the opening words of Psalm 69, were always and everywhere used by the monks of old, says Ca.s.sian, who called this short prayer the formula of piety, the continual prayer. The Church repeats it often in her Office. St. John Climacus says it is the great cry of pet.i.tion for help to triumph over our invisible enemy, who wishes to distract us and to mar our prayer. It should be said with humility and with confidence in G.o.d. In repeating these holy words we make the sign of the Cross; for, all grace comes from the sacrifice of the Cross; and besides, it is a holy and an ancient practice to begin all good works with the sacred sign.

_Gloria Patri_. This little prayer indicates the purpose and end of the recitation of the Office, the glory of the Holy Trinity. "Bring to the Lord glory and honour; bring to the Lord glory to His name" (Psalm 28).

The many repet.i.tions of this formula in the Church liturgy shows the great honour which she pays to it, and the trust she places in its efficacy. It was especially loved by St. Francis of a.s.sisi, who said that it contained all wisdom.

This form of doxology, "Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," was adopted to repel Arianism, by giving to the faithful a compact theological formula by which they could end every dispute. Some authors quote St. Ephrem (circa 363) as the originator of this much-used prayer. The form would seem to be of Syrian origin, translated into Greek and later into Latin (Dom Cambrol, _Dictionnaire d' Archeologie Chretienne_, I., 2282, _et seq.,_ word Antienne, Liturgie; _Month_, May, 1910).

_Invitatory_. _Venite Adoremus_.... The cry of the Church calling on all to adore and praise G.o.d, Who has done all for us, Who is the Great Shepherd, and we, the sheep of His fold, should not harden our hearts as did the ungrateful Jews. We should pray for all, Catholics, infidels and sinners.

"A message from the saints. Let us imagine, like St. Stephen at his martyrdom, we are privileged to see the heavens opened, and before our eyes the City of G.o.d, with its twelve gates all of pearl, and its streets of pure gold, as it were transparent gla.s.s, is laid bare, and that we see the angels in their legions, and the redeemed of the Lord around the throne of G.o.d. Thousands of thousands are ministering to Him," as St. John tells us, "and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stand before Him," and we hear the voice of G.o.d, as the noise of many waters in company with that great mult.i.tude which no man can number, out of every tribe and nation, clothed in white robes, with palms in their hands, coming into Sion with praise, with everlasting joy upon their heads, for from their eyes G.o.d has wiped away all tears, and sorrow and mourning have fled away.

"There are the white-robed army of Martyrs, holy Confessors, too, men of renown in their generation, and Virgins, the Spouses of Christ: there are those who have come through great tribulation, who once, perchance, were far from G.o.d, but have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and are now numbered among the people of G.o.d, sitting in the beauty of peace and in the tabernacle of confidence and in wealthy rest. Let us bring them all before us in vision. They have overcome the beast and are standing by the sea of gla.s.s, having the harps of G.o.d; the Prince of Pastors has appeared to them and they have received a never-failing crown of glory and by the Lamb of G.o.d they have been led to fountains of the waters of life." Let us listen as they sing their canticle to G.o.d, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord G.o.d of Hosts, who is and who was and who is to come"; let us listen as they sing to us, for we are fellow citizens with them, and where they are we also must be if we remain faithful to the end. What do they sing, "O come let us praise the Lord with joy; let us joyfully sing to G.o.d, our Saviour" (_Sing ye to the Lord_, pp.

94-95--Rev. R. Eaton).

The authorship of this psalm--which is said daily in Matins--is attributed to David in the Septuagint and Vulgate. Its Latin form in the invitatory differs slightly from the Vulgate text. The Breviary retains here the text of St. Jerome's revision and the Vulgate contains the second and more correct revision.

_Hymns_. The hymn is an answer to the invitation given to us in the invitatory, to praise G.o.d and to rejoice with Him. It is a song of joy and praise. Hymns were introduced into the Divine Office in the Eastern Church before the time of St. Ambrose (340-397). To combat the Arians, who spread their errors by verse set to popular airs, St. Ambrose, it is said, introduced public liturgical hymn-singing in his church in Milan, and his example was followed gradually through the Western Church. (See Note A, _infra_.)

The final stanza of a Breviary hymn is called the doxology ([Greek: doxa] praise, [Greek: logos] speech), a speaking of praise. Hymns which have the final stanza proper, the _Ave Maris stella_, Lauds hymn of the Blessed Sacrament, Matins hymn for several Martyrs, the first Vesper hymn of the Office of Holy Cross, and the Vesper hymns of St. Venantius and St. John Cantius, never change the wording of the stanza.

But, _where the metre of the hymn_ admits such a change as possible in the last stanza.

(a) From Christmas to Epiphany _Jesu tibi sit gloria, Qui natus es de Virgine_ is inserted in all hymns, even on saints' offices.

(b) From Epiphany till end of its octave, _Jesu tibi sit gloria, Qui apparuisti gentibus_.

(c) From Low Sunday till Ascension Thursday, on Pentecost Sunday and its octave, all hymns end in _Deo Patri sit gloria, Et Filio qui a mortuis_.

This is the ending for all hymns of saints' feasts in Paschal times, excepting those hymns mentioned above.

(d) From Ascension to Pentecost (except in the hymn _Salutis humanae Sator_) the doxology is _Jesu tibi sit gloria, Qui victor in coelum redis_.

(e) Feast of Transfiguration has _Jesu, tibi sit gloria, Qui te revelas parvulis_.

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, Ca.s.sian 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 G.o.d's praise.

In the new Psalter, the Psalms have been divided into two large divisions, Psalms I.--CVIII. being a.s.signed 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 a.s.signed 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 Sat.u.r.day; _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 verb.u.m_ (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).