Learn the Office 3.12 Lauds Pt 1 - Introduction to Lauds

For we must also pray in the morning, that the Lord's resurrection may be celebrated by morning prayer. And this formerly the Holy Spirit pointed out in the Psalms, saying, My King, and my God, because unto You will I cry; O Lord, in the morning shall You hear my voice; in the morning will I stand before You, and will look up to You. And again, the Lord speaks by the mouth of the prophet: Early in the morning shall they watch for me, saying, Let us go, and return unto the Lord our God....For since Christ is the true sun and the true day...

St Cyprian, Treatise 4 On Prayer

Lauds is easily the longest of the 'day' hours in the Benedictine Office, and in some respects, the most complicated, not least because it comes in three different versions, for Sundays, weekdays and feasts.

St Benedict's Rule makes it clear that Lauds should start at first light, so as to pray in the sunrise, and the coming light is a key theme in its psalms and canticles.

The key theme of the hour, though, is the coming of light of Christ, symbolised by the rising sun, making it a daily mini-celebration of the Resurrection.

The modern rubrics are more flexible though, and most monasteries these days say it at the same time each day, rather than adjusting to meet the time of sunrise.

About Lauds

History of the hour

The origins of Lauds are debated.

One theory (and in my view the most plausible) is that it is one of the oldest of the hours, maintained in continuity with practice in the Jewish temple, where this was one of the two times of the day (with Vespers/evening) when incense was offered.

The other view holds that it was a fourth century invention, designed to keep monks awake to see in the dawn.

Either way, St Benedict tells us that his version of Lauds largely follows the Roman Office of his time (though for reasons I don't entirely understand liturgists have not tended to take seriously his comment that the two variable psalms he uses each day were ones customary in his time).

Regardless, many of the elements of Lauds - such as the use of Psalms 59, 148-150 and some of the Old Testament canticles  - are ancient indeed, with roots in the liturgy of the Jewish temple, and even earlier: the instruction to say the Deuteronomy canticle every Saturday, for example, is recorded as being given to Moses.

The psalmody of Lauds

Lauds can seem quite repetitive at first glance, as several of its psalms are repeated every day.

Each of these repeated psalms, though, contain important messages that shape the hour, and are meant to help form us in the values St Benedict articulates in his Rule.  In particular:

• Psalm 66 asks for God's blessing on the day, and is a prayer for the spread of the Gospel throughout the world; 
• Psalm 50 reminds us of the need for contrition for our sins, and the need to cultivate humility, if we wish to contribute to the task of rebuilding the walls of the Church; and 
• the three Laudate, or 'praising' psalms that give the hour its name call us to rejoice in God's work of creation, and the recreation of the universe through and in Christ.

The two variable psalms each day may well have mostly been chosen primarily for their references to light and its coming.

They also though, share a number of other common themes, not least in setting before us our key goal, namely, to enter heaven.

The Lauds canticles

Lauds is unique in having not one, but two canticles: an Old Testament canticle proper to each day of the week, and a New Testament canticle said each day, the Benedictus.

The 'ferial' Old Testament canticles  - which St Benedict says were customary in the Roman Church of his time - arguably trace out the life of Christ in seven days, an idea St Benedict builds on, I think, in his assignment of psalms to each day of the week.

Sunday, festal and weekday Lauds

Like Matins, Lauds has two basic structures, one for Sundays (RB 12), using three antiphons for the psalms (and Old Testament canticle), and another, using five antiphons, for weekdays (RB 13).

In the Office as it has developed down the centuries, festal versions of the hour, including a fixed set of 'festal' psalms have also been added.

Lauds is also the hour at which 'memorials' of saints, as well as feasts or days that are displaced by higher level days or feats, are recognised in the Office.

The structure of Lauds 

Lauds shares several structural features with Vespers.

In particular, once the psalmody of the hour is done, it contains the same basic Office components (chapter, responsory, hymn, versicle and New Testament canticle) said in the same order.

Like Vespers, Lauds has a New Testament canticle, in this case the song of Zachariah, the Benedictus, from Luke 1.

Where the two hours differ most though, is in the psalm section of the hour, which the next post will explain in more detail.

First though, a brief overview of the components of Lauds.

Opening prayers

Although this is not always spelt out in Office books, Lauds always starts with the standard opening prayers for the day hours, that is Deus in ajutorium.../Gloria Patri.../Alleluia or Lauds tibi Domine...

The psalms and Old Testament canticles of Lauds

The psalm section of Lauds has several features worth being aware of.

First,  Lauds features seven psalms, compared to Vespers four a day, and the three of the other day hours.   Five of these are fixed and are normally said each day of the week.

Lauds also employs several different ways of saying the palms: it includes a psalm said without an antiphon (Psalm 66); groups of psalms said under one antiphon (such as the Laudate psalms); and individual psalms/canticles with their own antiphon.

The number of antiphons used in the psalm section can also vary: Sundays usually use three antiphons; other days five.

Finally, Lauds includes an 'eighth psalm' in the form of a variable Old Testament canticle that is placed in the middle of the psalm section of the hour and treated like a psalm.

Chapter, responsory and versicle

For most of the year, feasts aside, the chapter, short responsory and versicle of Lauds are the same on weekdays, but have different texts on Sundays.

In particular, St Benedictus specified that on Sundays the chapter should be from the Book of Revelation, reflecting the upbeat, Resurrection focus of Sunday.

Capitulum (Apo 7:12) Benedíctio, et claritas, et sapiéntia, et gratiárum actio, honor, virtus, et fortitúdo Deo nostro in sæcula sæculórum. Amen. R. Deo grátias. Responsorium breve R. Inclina cor meum Deus *in testimonia tua. R. Inclina cor meum Deus *in testimonia tua. V. Averte oculos meos, ne videant vanitatem: in via tua vivifica me. R. In testimonia tua. V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto. R. Inclina cor meum Deus *in testimonia tua.   [hymnus] Versus V. Dominus regnavit, decorem induit. R. Induit Dominus fortitudinem, et praecinxit se virtute.

Chapter Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honour, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen. R. Thanks be to God. R Incline my heart, O God, Unto Thy testimonies R Incline my heart, O God, Unto Thy testimonies V Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity, enliven me upon thy way. R Unto thy testimonies. V Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. R Incline my heart, O God, Unto Thy testimonies [hymn ] Versicle V. The Lord reigns, he is clothed with beauty. R. The Lord is clothed with strength, and has girded himself.

As at Vespers though, all of these elements can change to reflect feasts and seasons.

The hymn

The hymn varies according to the day of the week.  Sunday actually has two versions, one (much shorter) for summer, and one for winter.  Try the Liber Hymnarius for audio files.

The Benedictus and its antiphon

As for Vespers, the antiphon for the canticle is 'of the Sunday of the year' on Sundays, and has a default text (included in the Diurnal) for weekdays. The text normally picks up some part of the Gospel at Sunday Mass.

The key difference to Vespers is that instead of the Magnificat, the New Testament canticle is the song of Zachariah, the Benedictus.  As at Vespers, it is sung with an intonation for each line of the verse.

Closing prayers

The closing prayers for Lauds follow the same pattern as the other day hours, and the collect is 'of the Sunday' (or day/feast).

As at Vespers, the superior of the community sings the Our Father aloud at Lauds.

A particular feature of Lauds is the inclusion of a commemoration for the lowest level of saints feasts ((memorials).

The hour also generally uses one of the more elaborate options for the 'Benedicamus Domino' (from page 1244 in the Antiphonale Monasticum).

SUMMARY

Lauds Office component	Notes
Opening prayers	As for all the day hours
Psalms and antiphons	7 psalms+OT canticle
Chapter
Short Responsory
Hymn	(default=of the day)
Versicle
Antiphon+NT Canticle	Benedictus
Closing prayers	As for all the hours
Collect	Of the week, day or feast

Lauds is unusual among the hours in that it has three different structures, for Sundays, feasts and weekdays respectively. The next post in this series looks at these in more detail.