Using a breviary to say Matins: a quick guide

Some of those saying Matins are using breviaries of various vintages, so in response to a request for more information on how to do that, a quick guide.  

A note of caution!

I should note though, that my view is that you shouldn't be attempting to use a breviary unless you have reasonably good Latin (or are in the process of learning the language) and are reasonably familiar with how the Office works.  

First, I see no point in saying an Office you can't understand even the gist of, and secondly, the Office is complex enough to learn without adding a language you don't know into the equation.  Accordingly, if you want to learn Matins, start with the bilingual Clear Creek Matins booklet to learn the fixed texts for that hour and become familiar with the structure of the hour.

Secondly, you really need to be familiar with how the Office works.  Accordingly, if your Latin is not good, I strongly recommend starting by learning the day hours using one of the bilingual editions of the Monastic Diurnal (it comes in Latin-English, Latin-French and Latin-Italian).   

Only once you have all that under your belt should you try and tackle the Office using a breviary in my view (unless of course you are able to visit a traditional monastery and learn by trying to follow what they are doing).

That said, here is a brief users guide.

(1) Which volume

The first point to note is that breviaries are generally multi-volume products.

The 1962-3 version has two parts labelled 'Tomus Prior' (covering Advent to Pentecost) and 'Tomus Alter' (Trinity Sunday onwards) on the cover page.  

Pre-twentieth century versions though typically have four parts, labelled for the seasons - so at the time I'm writing now (June), you need to be looking for Pars Aestiva (summer).  One quick cross-check is which months the texts for the feasts of saints cover.

(2) Finding key sections of text you need

Breviaries are typically divided into several sections. 

 Not all breviaries include all of the parts in each volume though, so you may need to hunt around a bit depending on the edition.  They also differ in which order they provide it - many older breviaries put the psalter section first in the book for example, though the 1962 version has it after the Propers of time (ie middle).

I would suggest taking a look at this post on the ordering of the Monastic Diurnal and making sure you can find the equivalent sections in your breviary volume(s).

In general, for Matins on ferial weekdays:

• after Pentecost in summer you only need to find the right day of the week in the psalter section, plus the collect from the previous Sunday from the Proprium de Tempore section; and
• in 'winter' and during the major liturgical seasons (Advent, Lent etc) you will need to find the readings and some other texts (such as canticle antiphons) from the propers of time section.

On feasts of saints, you will need some texts from the Proprium Sanctorum and/or Commune Sanctorum sections as well or instead.  On higher level feasts you may also need to refer to the Sunday psalter section for some of the texts (such as blessings for the readings, Te Deum etc), though some breviaries (such as the 1962) helpfully provide these separately upfront, and standard chanted parts of the Office such as the Te Deum can also be found in the Liber Responsorialis.

On Sundays you will need readings and responsories for the Sunday - and after Pentecost the readings for Nocturns I&II and those for Nocturn III generally come from separate parts of the Propers of Time section.

(3) Navigating the psalter section

The core of the Office is to be found in the psalter (Psalterium) section of the breviary.  

Most breviaries are organised roughly in order of the number of the psalms.  

That means they typically start with Prime (as it covers Psalms 1-19 less a few), then Matins followed by Lauds of each day of the week, starting with Sunday (Psalm 20).

The days are labelled mostly by numbers (of the days of creation) - so feria secunda = Monday; feria sexta= Friday.

(4) Breviary shortucts

Even though they are large, they could be larger still, so all breviaries take shortcuts.

In particular:

• they generally don't bother repeating texts common to a particular hour, such as the opening versicle for Matins, Psalms 3&94, they just assume you know to say them;
• they don't write out the Gloria at the end of each psalms, responses to chapters and readings, etc etc.  I've summarised some of the key shortcuts  here, but take a look at the other posts on this topic on my Learn the Office page as well if you haven't already.

(5) Adapting older calendars

Another issue particular to pre-1962 breviaries is differences in level of days and octaves which affect the readings and responsories used.  

If you want to use the 1962-3 calendar and rubrics, just keep a close eye on the Ordo on the Saints Will Arise blog, and where differences on the names of feasts/Sunday etc arise, double-check against the readings on Lectio Divina Notes. 

In most cases the changes are not hard to manage  - Sunday within the Octave of Corpus Christi, for example, has exactly the same readings as the 1962 equivalent Sunday II after Pentecost, but does change the responsories to be used (mind you, in these days of the 'External Solemnity' of Corpus Christi celebrated in many places, you could make a good case for sticking with the older responsories I think...).  The correct responsories can be found either on Lectio Divina Notes or by using the label function on the Benedictine Responsories Blog (in this case 'pp2').