If you’ve been wanting to start praying the traditional Divine Office, but are feeling a bit overwhelmed, The Little Office of Baltimore (RR15 for 15% off) is an excellent place to begin. The Divine Office compliments the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as the public prayer life of the Church. Little offices—like the Little Office of Baltimore (LOB) and the more well-known Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary—have been adapted for use by the laity or certain orders with simpler structures and less readings. They tap into an ancient tradition of praying the Psalms. And, as we just read from St. Augustine, the Psalms are a powerful form of prayer. The LOB comes from the Manual of Prayers prepared in English by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1888 along with the Baltimore Catechism. While 1888 is relatively new in the history of the church, it precedes the changes made to the Divine Office over the last century. In other words, it is strongly rooted in the essential parts of the traditional Divine Office that St. Benedict would have recognized in the 500s. Moreover, Compline in the LOB is basically identical to the pre-1910 full Divine Office. The LOB marks the intervals of the day with prayer, as does the full Divine Office. Here is a breakdown of the hours:
You’ll note that I give the times in intervals. That’s because the times are approximate and can vary based on the sun—as is the case especially with Lauds and Compline—or on your station in life. If you “miss” an hour, say because your toddler breaks a glass in the kitchen or you got an urgent call from your boss, it is better to pray that hour a little late in the interval than not at all. Or if you just happen to have some free time at random, you can look at the clock and pray the hour whose interval the time happens to fall between. Each hour in the LOB takes about 5-15 minutes to pray. Vespers is on the longer side of that estimate, while the minor hours—Terce, Sext, and None—are on the shorter side. Prime & Compline CatholicsI recommend starting with either Prime or Compline or both. Whatever you decide, make sure it is something you can stick with for a time so that you don’t miss your goal and become discouraged. Compline is written into our rule at our house. I try to pray Prime as well. Any other hour after that is a treat. Prime and Compline in the LOB are a good place to start because they can be added to morning and nighttime routines, and most especially because they are simpler in that both stay the same throughout the week and throughout the year—unlike Matins and Vespers, which contain propers that change according to the season or special feast day. This means you will not have to flip back and forth in the book and figure out where you are, but simply read through the hour as it is printed (phew, the more you can focus your attention on the words of the psalms and less on page flipping, the better!). Moreover, there is a long tradition of “Prime & Compline Catholics”—that is, us ordinary laymen who would stick to these two hours (and yes, pray them in our mother tongues) because of their brevity and appropriateness to our states in life as caretakers and providers of our families. In fact, when the LOB was first published, it actually only included the hours of Prime and Compline (along with an Office of the Dead and Vespers for Sundays and Feast Days). The expectation was, of course, that these two hours alone were sufficient for most laity. How to Pray Prime & Compline In the LOBHere is a breakdown of Prime and Compline in the LOB:Prime A Hymn (bow
slightly during the last stanza) Compline The Short Lesson The BasicsReally, you can pray the LOB anywhere and in any posture. But, I recommend praying each hour while standing before a sacred image or the beauty of God’s hand in nature. It may be helpful to go through and mark the following actions in your margins: Bow deeply during the Confiteor (Compline), and strike the breast at the line “through my fault… through my most grievous fault.” Bow at least the head any time the Holy Trinity is mentioned (e.g. the first half of the Glory Be or the last stanzas of the hymns). In addition to before and after praying, make the sign of the cross when the following lines are read: “Come unto my help, O God” (Prime p.43), and “Our help is in the name of the Lord” (Compline p.91), and “grant us pardon, + absolution,” (Compline, already conveniently marked with a cross to remind you p.92). Make the sign of the cross over your heart when “Convert us, O God our Saviour” is read (Compline p. 92). Praying alonePraying alone is the most straightforward. Flip to the beginning of the hour (Prime starts on p.43; Compline on p.91), and read straight through while following the instructions written in red. Praying with Family or Friends When there are two or more people praying aloud there are four parts: a leader, everyone, the males, and the females. The leader (usually the head of the household) leads alone all the parts that are followed by a response marked “r.” (for example on p.43 the start of Prime “Come unto my help O God,” or the Antiphon on p.52) or more explicitly, he reads the parts marked “v.” (as on p. 53). He also reads aloud the first few words of the prayers (“Our Father,” “I Believe in God,” “Hail Mary”), but the rest is prayed inaudibly by everyone. Everyone responds with the parts marked “r” and everyone reads the Confiteor (Compline). For the rest of the text, the males and females alternate every stanza beginning with the males. When praying with all females or all males, divide yourselves in two groups and alternate between the two. Some additional TipsThis all may seem like a lot written down, but I promise it is not! After only a few times, it will become quite natural. When it says, “Through our Lord, etc.,” (for example in Compline on p.99) finish with the rest of the prayer written out the first time in Prime on p.57: “Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee In Compline, you can replace the “Our Father” right before the Confiteor with a short examination of conscience. Once you have a feel for how it works, try adding Latin. The easiest way to do this is to replace every Glory Be with the Latin: Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto, sicut erat in
principio, (Bow the head for this first line) And also the Marian Hymns with the Latin. Most of the year (from First Vespers of Trinity Sunday to Advent), this is the Salve Regina: Salve, Regina, Mater misericordiæ, Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos ℣ Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genitrix, ℟ Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi. You can purchase The Little Office of Baltimore through TAN Books. Use coupon code RR15 to help support our work and receive 15% off at the same time!  At what times do you pray the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary?1) Like the Breviary or Liturgy of the Hours, the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary comprises a Morning and Evening prayer, a Midday and Night prayer before retiring.
How do you ask for Mary's intercession?O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.
What are the 3 Marian prayers?3 Marian Prayers of Protection & Hope. Pokrov: Holy Protection of the Theotokos.. Our Lady, Queen of Ireland.. Our Lady, Queen of Hope.. How do I show my devotion to Mary?9 Ways to Celebrate the Month of Mary. Pray a Novena to Our Lady. ... . Spread Devotion to the Rosary. ... . Learn About a New Marian Devotion. ... . Memorize a Marian Prayer or Hymn. ... . Pray the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.. |
How to pray the little office of the blessed virgin mary
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