Learn the Office 3.9: Vespers Pt 2 - Ordinary days 'throughout the year'

Vespers shall be sung every day with four psalms. Let these begin with the hundred and ninth and go on to the hundred and forty-seventh, omitting those of them which are set aside for special Hours, namely the hundred and seventeenth to the hundred and twenty-seventh, the hundred and thirty-third and hundred and forty-second.  All the rest are to be said at Vespers. And since there are three psalms too few, let the longer psalms in the number above be divided, namely the hundred and thirty-eighth, hundred and forty-third and hundred and forty-fourth. But the hundred and sixteenth psalm, being short, shall be joined to the hundred and fifteenth. The order of the vesper psalms being thus settled, let the rest of the Hour, that is to say lesson, responsory, hymn, versicle and canticle, be carried out as we prescribed before.

Rule of St Benedict, ch 18

This post describes how Vespers is said on ordinary days throughout the year, or (usually Class IV)  'ferias': that is, Vespers when not affected by special seasons such as Lent, feasts, or other special days.

In the previous post I noted something of the traditions around the hour of Vespers.

Despite the superficial similarities, St Benedict's own take on the hour is, I think, rather different to that of the early Roman Office.

First, rather than being said strictly at sunset, and thus associated with the lighting of lamps, St Benedict wanted Vespers timed so that the evening meal (when eaten) can be eaten in daylight.

Secondly, the use of the Magnificat at this hour is almost certainly a Benedictine innovation, reflecting the key rule themes of humility, as well as of the ultimate exaltation of those who labour for God.

Thirdly, the allocation of psalms to each day of the week is, in my view, not merely random or a mechanistic adaptation of an earlier version of the hour, but rather gives the hour a strong focus on the attributes of God in himself, as well as his work of creation and providential guidance of history.

The psalms of  ferial Vespers

Unlike the pre-1911 Roman Office, which featured five undivided psalms at this hour, St Benedict's Vespers uses only four psalms each night, and divides several of these in two.

St Benedict has, in my view, carefully engineered the hour to reflect some key themes, such as:

• the attributes of God (have a look at the first psalm of the hour each day);
• the ascent through humility (particularly with the continuation of the Gradual Psalms on Tuesdays);
• the days of creation, reflected also in the hymns of the hour from Sunday to Friday, anciently attributed to St Gregory;
• God's providential guidance of history; and
• the life of Christ in seven days (culminating in I Vespers of the Resurrection on Saturdays).

You can find links to notes on most of the psalms of Vespers in the table below.

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wed.	Thurs.	Friday	Saturday
Ps 109	Ps 113	Ps 129	Ps 134	Ps 138.1	[Ps 141]	[Ps 144] (2)
Ps 110	Ps 114	Ps 130	Ps 135	Ps 138.2	[Ps 143]	[Ps 145]
Ps 111	Ps 115 Ps 116	Ps 131	Ps 136	[Ps 139]	[Ps 143]	146
Ps 112	Ps 128	Ps 132	Ps 137	[Ps 140]	[Ps 144]	147

From the end of the psalmody to the closing prayers

Monday to Friday

For most of the year, the texts that come after the psalms and antiphons (ie the chapter, short responsory, hymn, versicle, Magnificat antiphon, etc) on ordinary days fall into two categories:

• texts that are the same each day at Vespers from Monday to Friday, such as the chapter (Benedictus Deus), responsory (Benedicam Dominum), versicle (Dirgatur Domine) and Magnificat; and
• those that are fixed to the particular day of the week, namely the hymn and canticle antiphon.

The only part of the hour you need to look for texts outside the psalter section of your Office book, in other words, is the collect (which is normally of the week of the liturgical year).

Fridays: I Vespers of the Office of Our Lady on Saturday

In the 1962 Office, the Office of Our Lady on Saturday runs from Matins to None on Saturday, and so Friday Vespers is of the 'ferial' Friday.

Some traditional monasteries, however, retain the older custom of saying I Vespers for the Office of Our Lady on Saturday (ie Friday Vespers).

In this case the psalms and antiphons are of the Friday, but the rest of the variable texts (ie chapter, responsory, hymn, versicle, canticle antiphon and collect) are from the Office of Our Lady on Saturday.

You can find the texts and chants for this Office in the Antiphonale Monasticum from page 712.

Saturdays 

Saturday Vespers is, in the Benedictine Office, I Vespers of the Sunday, and the psalms point us, I think, to a particular focus on the joy of the Resurrection.

To reflect the additional solemnity of I Vespers of Sunday, the chapter (O altitudo), responsory (Magnus Dominus noster, also used at Sunday Vespers) and versicle (vespertina oratio) differ from those used for the rest of the week.

In addition, in common with Sundays, there is an extra moving part at Vespers, in the form of the Magnificat antiphon.

In the case of Saturday Vespers, the Magnificat (canticle antiphon) is usually of the Saturday (before the Sunday) of the liturgical year, rather than being fixed for the day.  

You will find the relevant antiphon in the temporale (of time) section of your Office book for the relevant week (consult an Ordo to ensure you have the correct week).

The text of the antiphon usually refers to the first nocturn Scriptural readings for Sunday Matins.

In addition, the collect is of the following Sunday (rather than the previous one).

Sundays

On Sundays, the Magnificat antiphon is also 'proper' to the relevant Sunday, and normally relates to the Gospel said at Matins (and at the EF Mass).

SUMMARY

The table below provides a summary of the structure of Vespers on ordinary weekdays, including page numbers for the Monastic Diurnal (MD) and Antiphonale Monasticum (AM).

Links to more detailed notes on how to say each part of the hour can be found in the first column (Office components).

Office component	‘Default’ texts	Rubrics and other notes
Opening of the hours	MD 1/AM 1	Stand, +
Psalms with antiphons	Sunday, MD 203/AM 125 Monday - MD 212/AM 132 Tuesday - MD 220/AM 138 Wednesday – MD 226/AM 143 Thursday – MD 235/AM 149 Friday - MD 243/AM 154 Saturday - MD 249/AM 159	Antiphon is said in full at beginning and end of each psalm. Each psalm has a doxology (Gloria Patri...). Stand for antiphon, (first half of) first verse, and doxology of each psalm; sit for rest.
Chapter	Sunday to Friday; Saturday texts	Stand to the end of the hour. Note Deo Gratias added to end of the chapter
Short Responsory	[Saturday&Sunday]/rest of the week texts	Text provided in abbreviated form - check the notes on how to expand out the cues provided.
Hymn	Of the day of the week, see page numbers above	Bow on last verse doxology
Versicle	Sunday to Friday/Saturday texts
Antiphon for the Magnificat	Of the day of the week: Monday to Friday, fixed to the day. On Saturdays and Sundays, of the week of the liturgical year - see Ordo.	+ In choir, antiphon intoned by abbot/abbess (or presiding priest), and incense offered here.
Magnificat	MD 209/AM 129
Antiphon for the Magnificat	As above
Closing prayers, including collect	MD 210	Stand, bow for Pater Noster and collects; during Advent and Lent, kneel
Collect	Of the week of the liturgical year - see Ordo

And for the next part in this series continue on here.