Little Office of Our Lady

Little Office of Our Lady

The Little Office of Our Lady also known as Hours of the Virgin is a liturgical devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in imitation of, and usually in addition to, the Divine Office in the Roman Catholic Church (Some secular orders did use the Little Office on its own as their official form of prayer). It is a weekly cycle of psalms, hymns, scripture and other readings.

All of the daily variation occurs in Matins (which is usually said with Lauds). The text of the other offices (Prime to Compline) remains the same every day in the Roman rite and most other rites. In the Roman rite there are seasonal variations in Advent and Christmastide. The Gospel antiphon also changes in Eastertide, although there are no other changes during that season. The Little Office was a core text of the medieval book of hours.

History

The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary probably originated as a monastic devotion around the middle of the eighth century. Peter the Deacon reports that at the Benedictine Monastery of Monte Cassino there was, in addition to the Divine Office, another office "which it is customary to perform in honour of the Holy Mother of God, which Zachary the Pope commanded under strict precept to the Cassinese Monastery."

However, the Little Office did not come into general use before the tenth century; and in the eleventh century there were at least two versions the Little Office extant in England. Pre-English Reformation versions varied considerably, and in England in medieval times the main differences were between the Sarum and York uses. Several early printed versions of the English uses of the Little Office survive in the Primers.

Peter Damian states that it was already commonly recited amongst the secular clergy of Italy and France, and through his influence that the practice of reciting it in choir after the Monastic Office, was introduced into several Italian houses.

In the twelfth century, the new foundation of the Augustinian (Austin) Canons of Prémontré prescribed the Little Office in addition to the eight hours of the Divine Office. The Austin Canons also used it, and, perhaps through their influence, it developed from a private devotion into part of the daily duty of the secular clergy as well in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

By the fourteenth century the Little Office was obligatory for all the clergy. This obligation remained until St. Pius V suppressed it in 1568. Down to the Reformation it formed a central part of the "Primer" and was customarily recited by the devout laity, by whom the practice was continued for long afterwards among the persecuted Catholics. An English-only version appears appended to versions of Bishop Richard Challoner's 'Garden of the Soul' in the eighteenth century, and with the restoration of the hierarchy in the 1860s James Burns issued a Latin and English edition.

Minor revisions of the Office occurred in the twentieth century, most notably in 1910, as part of Pope Pius X's liturgical reforms. The most significant change made by the pontiff was the shortening of the numbers of psalms recited at Lauds from seven to four (excluding the canticle).

In the reforms following the Second Vatican Council, the Little Office was overshadowed by the revised Liturgy of the Hours. According to Apostolic Letter Ecclesiae sanctae of Pope Paul VI,

"20. Although Religious who recite a duly approved Little Office perform the public prayer of the Church (cf. Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 98), it is nevertheless recommended to the institutes that in place of the Little Office they adopt the Divine Office either in part or in whole so that they may participate more intimately in the liturgical life of the Church...."

The Little Office was not officially revised after the Council, as many Congregations abandoned it in order to adopt the Liturgy of the Hours. However, that has not stopped several post-conciliar editions being issued. The Carmelites produced a revised version of their form of the office, which is still used by some Religious and those who are enrolled in the Brown Scapular. Additionally Tony Horner, a layman, and Father John Rotelle, O.S.A. both formulated their own editions of the Little Office which conformed to the revised Liturgy of the Hours, both of these are approved for private use. These newer versions include vernacular translations from the Latin and follow the new structure of each Hour in the Office.

Despite its decline among religious orders after the Council, the traditional Little Office in English and Latin has never been out of print. From the 1970s onwards Carmel Books in the UK kept the traditional version in print , and several other publishers also issued editions, usually containing the text as it was in the 1950s. St Bonaventure Publications publish the 1904 edition, which gives the office as it was before Pius X's revisions. The 1961 text, which is the one permitted by Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio summorum pontificum in 2007, was published for the first time in a bilingual English and Latin edition by Baronius Press later that same year. This edition collected all the Gregorian chant for the office for the first time in a published edition.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Little Office of Our Lady — • Historical article on the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, modeled on the Divine Office Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Little Office of Our Lady     Little Office of Our Lady …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Our Lady of La Salette — Location La Salette Fallavaux, France Date 19 September 1846 Witness …   Wikipedia

  • Our Lady of Europe — Nuestra Señora de Europa Statue of Our Lady of Europe at the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned, Gibraltar. Honored in Gibr …   Wikipedia

  • Our Lady of Providence Junior-Senior High School — Address 707 Providence Way Clarksville, Indiana, (Clark County), 47 …   Wikipedia

  • Our Lady of Pontmain — Our Lady of Hope is the title given to the Virgin Mary on her apparition at Pontmain, France on January 17, 1871. A series of articles on Roman Catholic Mariology General articles Overview of Mariology • …   Wikipedia

  • Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd — • The aim of this institute is to provide a shelter for girls and women of dissolute habits, who wish to do penance for their iniquities and to lead a truly christian life Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Our Lady of Charity of the Good …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College, Sydney — Our Lady of the Sacred Heart College May Christ Reign Location Kensington, New South Wales …   Wikipedia

  • Our Lady of Fátima — For other uses, see Fatima (disambiguation). Our Lady of Fátima Location Fátima, Portugal Date 13 May 13 October 1917 …   Wikipedia

  • Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta — For other schools of the same name, see Our Lady of Mercy College (disambiguation). Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta Latin: Sub tuum praesidium Under Your Protection …   Wikipedia

  • Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel —     Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel     Records dating from the reign of Paul II (1464 71) relate that the picture of Our Lady, at first called La Madonna del Paradiso and now… …   Catholic encyclopedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”