I believe an ideal monastic office would do all it can to include the ancient hymns handed down over the centuries, and to use them either in their original Latin or in faithful translations.Īn argument might also be made for retaining the traditional Gregorian chant melodies as well, which change throughout the year according to the liturgical season, thus calling to mind immediately what time of year or day it is by the tunes being sung at the Divine Office. It is a great loss to replace these rich and venerable hymn texts assigned to the Opus Dei with mediocre modern compositions of lesser value and depth. They help us to enter more fully into the season we are celebrating in the Liturgical Year, be it Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time, Lent, or Paschaltide and to focus our attention on Christ’s redemptive work on behalf of the human race. The Lord’s resurrection and the cycle of night associated with sin and the light of day with redemption in Christ, “the Sun of Righteousness,” are also made manifest in the hymns. Those who use the ancient hymns of the traditional monastic office either in Latin or in vernacular translation, can experience, for example, the work of God creating all things, sung about at Vespers in Ordinary Time. Hence, the hymns are not divinely inspired like the scriptures, but nonetheless they have always had an important place in the Divine Office of the Catholic Church. The hymns are not scripture texts, but use scripture as their basis, so to speak, in order to weave thoughts that inspire us to reflect on God’s goodness to humankind, revealed in both sacred scripture and tradition. D.), Juan de la Concepcion from the seventeenth century, and a number of anonymous or unknown authors of the early Christian centuries, as well as from modern times, all of whom wrote in Latin. The Roman Breviary, however, has undergone several revisions since then. It was first published in 1486 and was revised by Pope Pius V in 1568. The breviary is a set of prayers and readings used during the Divine Office. D.), Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (+1621 A. While most Catholics today use the Roman breviary for morning prayer, there are some who prefer to use a Latin version. D.), Elpis, a woman author of the eighth century, as well as Thomas Aquinas (+1264 A. D.) from the eight century, Rabanas Maurus (+856 A. D.), Paulinus of Aquileia and Paul the Deacon (+799 A.
The poetic hymns of the Divine Office are attributed to various ancient authors, most of them saints of the Church: Ambrose (+397 A. Sayings and Stories from the Desert Fathers.How We Pray and Chant – Monastic life has prayer at its very heart.Abbot’s Archives – Personal reflections from our abbots across the years.
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