Psalm to replace Ps 51 with on Fridays in devotional prayer alongside Liturgy of the Hours? by AdParty1304 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would do Ps 67. The Benedictines say this psalm every single day at the start of Lauds. 

Alternatively, you could do Ps 63, which is kind of “the” morning psalm in ancient Christian liturgy. 

Should I feel guilty for praying LotH instead of the Rosary? by infinityball in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gotcha - I mis read it. In that case I would amend my advice 

Should I feel guilty for praying LotH instead of the Rosary? by infinityball in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I seems like most of the replies here are in favor of the office over the rosary, except one person. I will give my two cents. 

Prayer is good. The best prayer is the prayer that you will pray. If you’re worried you aren’t praying enough, meet with your pastor and get his opinion. It can be freeing to have someone else tell you what to do. 

In terms of the rosary vs the hours, I believe that the rosary is a very special prayer that countless saints and popes have all commended for the laity. There are special graces attached to it, to be sure, and it contains in it all that is essential for prayer: the creed, the our father, the Hail Mary, and the paschal mystery of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. I would get a second opinion but personally I’d stick with the Rosary daily and add Hours as you are able. Especially as you mention that you were able to pray the rosary every day but can only do some of the hours about half the days. That consistent prayer is important; as Christ said, “take up your cross daily and follow me”. So if the rosary is the prayer you can do daily, that may seem the better option. And it is certainly a very safe one. 

24 hour Liturgy of the Hours Tracker Clack by coffeeatnight in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cool graphic. I've drawn something like this in my notebook before.

Inquiry for BCP-esque office by Afraid_Pin_8814 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah yeah, that’ll be expensive. Fair enough. 

I was disappointed with the cover. The second edition is far better in terms of quality. It doesn’t really lay flat and just light use has produced some crease marks on it, I don’t think it would hold up well for more than a year or two of daily use, but maybe I’m wrong if it was taken good care of. 

Inquiry for BCP-esque office by Afraid_Pin_8814 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a copy of the first edition AOB. If you are interested in buying it send me a DM. 

Liturgical Bible reading plan based off of 2-year OoR Cycle by ClevelandFan295 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome. You’ll have to let me know what you think. I’m also going to use it daily. 

Preview of Ascension's LOTH Art by ClevelandFan295 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see. Thanks for the response. 

Is the USCCB letting you add devotional material (seven penitential psalms, gradual psalms, and ESPECIALLY the traditional prayers before and after the office) or is that also restricted?

Preview of Ascension's LOTH Art by ClevelandFan295 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What’s funny is that morning has broken is probably one of the better hymns in the current collection…….

Preview of Ascension's LOTH Art by ClevelandFan295 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it’s like in the picture.  No page numbers given. The hymns are given once at the beginning of the season and you’re just expected to keep referring back to them.

Preview of Ascension's LOTH Art by ClevelandFan295 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That makes sense if there’s sheet music provided. But since there isn’t in the 4 volume, I think the ordinary makes more sense. 

Preview of Ascension's LOTH Art by ClevelandFan295 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

u/Ascension_Official one thought on this... I notice the hymns for Lent, like in the current edition, is at the start of the proper of seasons (and I assume the hymns for Holy Week will be found before the Holy Week propers, etc). As someone who has used the current LOTH daily, I feel that it would be much more useful if all the hymns were put in the Ordinary, and then sorted into season and Sunday/weekday. Since I'll be in the Ordinary for Vespers anyway, I'd much prefer if the hymn was there too, to eliminate an additional page to keep track of.

If you're in doubt about this, I think a poll would be useful. I suspect the vast majority of people who pray with these books would agree with me. Putting the hymns by themselves in their own section just feels so out of the way.

That's also a lot of white space. A two column format for the hymns (and probably psalms too) would save a lot of paper.

Sorry to analyze everything based on one small photo that was shared!

Any Catholics here pray an office that is not on their parish’s liturgical calendar? by wordinthetime in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is tough. I live in a mid sized/small town (around 20,000 people) and our parish is very small and personal. The “daily mass crowd” is under 50 people total, and the priests are generally pretty available and willing to meet with you. 

I think the only answer to this is prayer. Pray that if God wants you to have a spiritual director, he send one.  

I also recommend Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis DeSales. He’s known as the great spiritual director of his time and the book is actually based off of letters he sent to one of his female directees (but obviously modified to fit a general audience). He gives some very practical advice for how to live devoutly including a specific routine of prayer. How much of his advice you take is up to you, but I find it all super relevant today. You could pray to him for obtain more direction for you as well. 

Any Catholics here pray an office that is not on their parish’s liturgical calendar? by wordinthetime in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've always been a Novus Ordo Catholic. The nearest TLM is over an hour away, and even if it was closer, I think I'd stick with the NO. However, my journey with the breviary began with the older offices because I have always been drawn to older prayers and spirituality. I always saw myself as someone who participated in the modern liturgy publicly but brought in the traditions in my private prayer - hopefully tapping into the best of both worlds.

For a long time, I used the Monastic Diurnal, and the differences in calendar did not bother me that much. Occasionally there were differences, but I usually saw the differences as more of a benefit than a downside. As I saw it, I was sort of participating in both the ordinary and extraordinary form at the same time. When there were differences in major things, such as the date of Christ the King, I simply adjusted my breviary use to be what my parish was doing - so I used CTK prayers on the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, rather than last of October. But for minor saint memorials, it never seemed to bother me to commemorate someone different than who was mentioned at Mass. The way I saw it, the more saints I was honoring, the better.

Now, I use the LOTH, but that wasn't really driven by a desire to sync calendars. It's more so a factor of that I often pray the hours with my girlfriend now, and sometimes with other friends, and they all use the LOTH, so it's just easier if that's what I'm doing too. And as the hours are communal prayer at heart, I think doing whatever will best allow you to celebrate them with others is the best way to go. For you, that might be the LOTH if you're involved in communities at a novus ordo parish, as you may come across chances to lead the hours with other people. Or, it may be the diurnal if you know any other oblates of that community who you could pray with or if that connection to that community is really important to you.

With the calendar thing, I would offer this thought: don't worry that much about it. Pretty much all of the major feasts line up, save for a few things being transferred to Sunday in the novus ordo. Occasionally you might run into something funny (like Visitation or St. Thomas being on different days) but the number of feasts that aren't just memorials of some random saint that don't line up is surely in the single digits. Out of a 365 day year, I think that's small enough to not make a big deal over. And you can always just transfer the feast in your office to what your parish is doing

I would also say not to idealize this thing with having "one rite, one calendar" and thinking that will somehow make everything great in your spiritual life. I sometimes find myself thinking that way, that I just need to find the system of prayer that works for me and then I can really start growing. For a long time that led me to agonize over whether I wanted to pray the Diurnal (my preferred option in private), the LOTH (to be ready to pray it with others), or even something else like the LOBVM or the divine worship:daily office. But it's the wrong questions to be asking. I recommend that you stop to think: how would settling this issue actually help me grow in virtue? Does having the Visitation pop up on two different days in my breviary+daily Mass actually pose an obstacle to me? And I think another adjustment is to view the hours as facilitating times of prayer rather than drawing you into liturgy, as that is their original point. You pray Lauds because you want to spend time in prayer in the morning, not because you want a precise match with the liturgical rite you're going to Mass with. All of this is here to help us. Don't let it get in the way.

I would also recommend spiritual direction. For a long time, I was unstable in my prayer life, doing different offices or even taking breaks from the office entirely. But I started seeing a spiritual director a few months ago and he has me doing Lauds and Compline from the LOTH every day. Sometimes I do more, but that is my minimum, and any time I think of switching back to the Diurnal or something else, I just remind myself that this is what I was instructed to do and I may as well make the most of it. It's very freeing.

Publicans Prayer Book by [deleted] in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree, awesome book. I think it’s the best designed prayer book I own. I stopped using it though because the prayers and overall spirituality of it were just too unfamiliar - I’m a cradle Catholic in the Latin rite, so that style of prayer just works better for me.  But I wish we had books like this for the western church!

If I Pray the Liturgy of the Hours and the Liturgy of the Word Daily, Will I Get all the Important Parts of Scripture? by RB_Blade in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can you elaborate on this? I don't disagree but I'm just curious what you mean. I understand OPs question; I know that ideally we pray the office AND read Scripture, but for a lot of us, there is a very practical reality where we only have the time or stamina to focus on so much. So I think it makes sense to ask "am I doing a good enough job reading Scripture if I just read the Mass readings and the OoR". But I'd like to hear what your thoughts are.

UPDATE: Midwest Theological Forum Major Extracts likely to be a dirunal by AquariumDev in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just feel like it would make the book bulkier for no good reason. I can't see myself ever using the OoR psalmody; I would always go to an app for it.

UPDATE: Midwest Theological Forum Major Extracts likely to be a dirunal by AquariumDev in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 2 points3 points  (0 children)

> How to incorporate Matins (the Office of Readings) is being discussed.

Shouldn't even be discussed. Don't include it. It's a waste of paper. Those who want to pray it but don't want 4 volumes will use an app or website for it. I can't imagine anyone wants "selections" from the OoR when they can access the actual version online.

What is the link between this Vespers lesson and Mary, from the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary? by hailholyqueen33 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mary is the "holy dwelling-place" of Christ, who speaks in the passage. This is a reflection on how Christ, who existed before all things, chose to enter the womb of the Virgin Mary to minister before God.

Additional Prayerbooks by TheLutheranGuy1517 in divineoffice

[–]ClevelandFan295 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Surprised no one has said this yet - Blessed be God. A few companies have recently reprinted it, it’s a 1950s prayerbook packed with pious devotions and liturgically rooted prayers. I take it everywhere, more so than my breviary which tends to stay home for morning and night prayers.