Nocturns/6 - About responsories and their rubrics

[Matins on weekdays in winter] …let three lessons be read from the book on the lectern by the brethren in their turns, and let three responsories be chanted between them. Two of the responsories shall be said without the Gloria; but after the third lesson let the reader chant the Gloria. And as soon as he has begun it, let all rise from their seats in honour and reverence to the Holy Trinity.

Rule of St Benedict, chapter 9

[Matins on weekdays in summer] Instead of the three lessons, let there be one from the Old Testament said by heart, and let it be followed by a short responsory.

Rule of St Benedict, chapter 10

[Matins on Sundays] …then let there be read from the book, as we said before, four lessons with their responsories. In the fourth responsory only shall the reader chant the Gloria, and when he begins it let all rise immediately with reverence.

Rule of St Benedict, chapter 11

The rubrics for the elements of Matins

The last element of the rubrics we need to cover is the responsories, as the table below illustrates.

ELEMENTS   OF MATINS

OPENING SECTION

Opening prayer – Domine labia mea aperies

Psalm 3

Invitatory antiphon and Psalm 94

Hymn

NOCTURNS

Antiphons

Psalms of the day of the week

Psalms of Commons and feasts

Canticles

Versicle, Our Father and absolution

Blessings for the reader

Readings

Responsories

CONCLUDING SECTION

Te Deum (hymn)

Gospel

Te Decet Laus (hymn)

Concluding Prayers

What are responsories?

Responsories are chants sung after the readings.

On weekdays during 'summer', they have the same structure as the short responsories of Lauds and Vespers.  On Sundays, feasts and in 'winter' they have a slightly different structure, and generally come with much more elaborate chant settings.

There are essentially three streams of responsories:

• those relating to the books of the Bible being read over the year, so on Sundays, the Scriptural readings in Nocturn I, and the commentaries on them in Nocturn II;
• those relating to the season (most notably in Advent, where they largely displace those relating to the Scriptural books being read); and 
• those for specific feasts.

Some of the responsories may be very ancient indeed, most notably those for the books of the Bible some of which almost certainly predate St Benedict.  

All of the sets though, have developed over time, with some of the earliest additions and deletions to the repertoire traceable to the later sixth century (for example for Advent, when that season was added to the Roman calendar); the eighth century, when the reading cycle was revised; and later revisions to reflect new theological and spiritual insights, as well as assorted liturgical reform movements from the ninth century onwards.  

Rubrics for the responsories

If you are saying the Office alone, you simply say (or preferably sing!) the whole of the responsory.  If the Office is said in choir, a cantor usually starts, with the choir (or a sub-set of it in the case of more complicated responsories) singing the refrain.

Interpreting the breviary

The key issue with responsories is that in a breviary and chant books, they are often not written out in full, so you have to know the structure and/or be able to interpret the cues.

A Matins responsory typically appears in the breviary, for example, looking like this:

R. Adjutor et susceptor meus es tu Domine: et in verbum tuum speravi:* Declinate a me magni: et scrutabor mandata Dei mei. V. Iniquos odio habui: et legem tuam dilexi.  Declinate

R. Thou art my Helper and my Protector, O Lord, and in thy word do I hope.* Depart from me, ye evil doers, for I will keep the commandments of my God. V. I hate the unrighteous, but thy law do I love.  Depart

The red initial letter for 'Declinate' is a cue to say all of the words following the asterix (*) in the first line, viz  in this case, Declinate a me magni: et scrutabor mandata Dei mei.

In the case of the third (or fourth on Sundays) responsory, containing the half doxology, the breviary pattern normally goes like this:

R. Adjutor et susceptor meus es tu Domine: et in verbum tuum speravi:* Declinate a me magni: et scrutabor mandata Dei mei. V. Iniquos odio habui: et legem tuam dilexi.  Declinate Gloria Patri. Declinate

R. Thou art my Helper and my Protector, O Lord, and in thy word do I hope.* Depart from me, ye evil doers, for I will keep the commandments of my God. V. I hate the unrighteous, but thy law do I love.  Depart.  Glory be. Depart.

In each case the red letters are a cue for the phrase that should be said, so that this responsory would actually  be said as follows:

R. Adjutor et susceptor meus es tu Domine: et in verbum tuum speravi:* Declinate a me magni: et scrutabor mandata Dei mei.
V. Iniquos odio habui: et legem tuam dilexi.
R: Declinate a me magni: et scrutabor mandata Dei mei.
V: Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto
R:  Declinate a me magni: et scrutabor mandata Dei mei.

In a chant book, the same chant is generally used for the text following the asterix each time, and so the book simply provides the initial word and note as a cue.  In addition, there are fixed tones for the Gloria Patri for each mode, which depending on the book, can either be found integrated with the rest of the responsory, or in some cases set out as an appendix elsewhere.

Variations on the standard pattern

It should be noted that there are a number of variations on this standard pattern that occur during the year.  The very first responsory of the year, in Advent, for example (Aspiciens a longe) has an extended form, while in Passiontide the half doxology is omitted. The key is simply to follow the cues in your book!

Finding responsories (and translations for them!)

In a breviary, the responsories usually follow on immediately after the readings, however they are sometimes set out in a separate section.  This is:

(1) to save space where the same set of responsories is used for more than one week;

(2) because from August to November, the Sunday sets relate to a particular book (or groups of books) of Scripture is being read in that calendar month period, whereas the third Nocturn readings relate to the particular Sunday after Pentecost.  

The responsories used in the Benedictine Office typically have a high degree of overlap with the Roman Office, but because the Roman Office uses fewer responsories (on Sundays eight rather than twelve), sources for the Roman Office will not necessarily provide you with the chants or translations of all of the responsories each week.  

The Nocturns/5 - rubrics for the conclusion of the nocturns and readings

When these [the psalms] are finished and the versicle said, let the abbot give a blessing; and then, all being seated in their places, let three lessons be read from the book on the lectern by the brethren in their turns...

Rule of St Benedict chapter 9

FROM Easter to the first of November let the number of the psalms be exactly as given above; but let there be this difference, that the lessons from the book be not read, on account of the shortness of the nights. Instead of the three lessons, let there be one from the Old Testament said by heart, and let it be followed by a short responsory.

Rule of St Benedict chapter 10

Today I want to cover off most of the rest of the rubrics for the Nocturns, leaving just the responsories for a separate post so far as the general rubrics are concerned.

 Just so you can see where we are up to, here is the table with the elements of Matins, with those covered in today's post highlighted.

ELEMENTS   OF MATINS

OPENING SECTION

Opening prayer – Domine labia mea aperies

Psalm 3

Invitatory antiphon and Psalm 94

Hymn

NOCTURNS

Antiphons

Psalms of the day of the week

Psalms of Commons and feasts

Canticles

Versicle, Our Father and absolution

Blessings for the reader

Readings

Responsories

CONCLUDING SECTION

Te Deum (hymn)

Gospel

Te Decet Laus (hymn)

Concluding Prayers

Versicle, Our Father and Absolution

After the last antiphon is said at the end of the first Nocturn each day, and each Nocturn when there are twelve lessons (ie Sundays and major feasts), a versicle, the Our Father (said silently) an absolution is said standing.

The versicles (ie short verse and response) are proper to the day of the week, season or feast.  The one's for each day and the main seasons can be found in most psalters or breviaries.

The Our Father is said exactly as at the day hours outside of Lauds and Vespers.

There are three absolutions normally used on weekdays:  'Exaudi Domine..' for Monday and Thursday; 'Ipsius pietas..' for Tuesday and Friday; and 'A vinculis peccatorum...' for Wednesdays and Fridays.  These three absolution formulas are also used for the first, second and third Nocturn on Sundays and feasts.

There is also a special absolution for the Office of Our Lady on Saturdays.

On Friday in Lent this section looks like this:

V. Scápulis suis obumbrábit tibi. R. Et sub pennis ejus sperábis.

V. He will overshadow thee with his shoulders. R. And under his wings thou shalt trust.

Pater noster (then silently: qui es in cælis, sanctificétur nomen tuum: advéniat regnum tuum: fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie: et dimítte nobis débita nostra, sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris): V. Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem: R. Sed líbera nos a malo. Absolutio. Exáudi, Dómine Jesu Christe, preces servórum tuórum, et miserére nobis: Qui cum Patre et Spíritu Sancto vivis et regnas in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.

Our Father (then silently:, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us). V. And lead us not into temptation: R. But deliver us from evil. Absolution. O Lord Jesus Christ, graciously hear the prayers of Thy servants, and have mercy upon us, Who livest and reignest with the Father, and the Holy Ghost, ever world without end. Amen.

The blessing for the readings

After the absolution comes the blessing for the reader.  The pattern for the readings is blessing; reading; responsory.  Accordingly, the number of blessings in each Nocturn depends on how many readings are said (viz 1, 3 or 4).  The table below summarises how many readings to expect.

Type of ‘day’	Number of readings
All Sundays	12 (4 per Nocturn)
Class I&II feasts	12 (4 per Nocturn)
Class II&III days (Lent and Advent, Ember days etc days)	3 (Nocturn I)
Class II&III vigils (of feasts)	3
Class III&IV feasts and days in summer (Eastertide to end of October)	1 (of the day of the week or feast
Class III&IV feasts and days in winter	3 (on feasts 1 or more of the feast)

The blessings for feasts are usually the same as on Sundays, with the possible exception of the blessing for the eleventh reading, which usually reflects the saint or saints being celebrated.

On weekdays, the blessings used depends on the season and types of readings being used.  If you are using a breviary, look for these key words and phrases:

• for Scriptural readings: ...ad lectiones de Scriptura');
• Patristic: de homilia..;
• for Class III feasts in winter: In festis III classis leguntur in hieme...;
• in summer: In aestate
•  or for the Office of Our Lady on Saturday.

An example of how they are said each time is set out below:

Jube, domne, benedícere. Benedictio. Benedictióne perpétua benedícat nos Pater ætérnus. Amen. Lectio 1...

V. Grant, Lord, a blessing. Benediction. May the Eternal Father bless us with an eternal blessing. Amen. Reading 1...

After the blessing for the first reading, everyone (except the reader) sits down.

The endings for the readings

Each reading is given a standard ending, which is usually not written out in breviaries:

V. Tu autem, Dómine, miserére nobis. R. Deo grátias.

V. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us. R. Thanks be to God.

Those listening to the readings stay seated except for the Gospel, and for the short extract from the Gospel in the first reading of the Third Nocturn on Sundays and feasts. 

***Where to find the readings on Sundays

One other key point to note.  For much of the year, the readings for all three Nocturns on Sundays are found together, in the section of the breviary covering the texts for the time of year.

Between August and November, however, the readings and responsories for Nocturns I&II are of the week of the month (ie first week of August, second week of August, etc) rather than the Sunday of the liturgical year.  For this reason, you need to look in (at least) two different places during this part of the year to find the texts you need.

Readings on Class III feasts and the Office of Our Lady on Saturday

The final point to note is that the third reading set for the day (feria) can be displaced by on a Class III feast, or on other days such as a Saturday of Our Lady.  In these cases the text of the reading is not omitted altogether; instead the second and third readings are combined into one, with the reading of the day or feast then being added on.

Further reading

How important are readings in the Benedictine Office?
Book Review: Liturgical readings
Lectio Divina Notes Blog - for translations of the daily readings and responsories of the Benedictine Office

Nocturns/4 - The readings: how important are they really?

Codex Amiatinus

The books to be read at Matins shall be the inspired Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and also the commentaries on them which have been made by well-known and orthodox Catholic Fathers.

Rule of St Benedict chapter 9

I want to turn now to the readings at Matins.

In St Benedict's Office, the readings are treated as far less important than the psalms.

St Benedict decrees, for example, that the lessons be dropped altogether for summer on weekdays, and in relation to Sundays, he notes that if necessary they are to be cut short in order to start Lauds on time.  This probably reflects the fact that monks have a lot of time set aside for lectio divina, as well as hearing readings at meals and in the evening in his timetable.

The content of the readings - temporal cycle

In St Benedict's time, the readings at Matins were probably not fixed (though this is not certain), but rather set by the abbot.  Over time, however, a fixed cycle was established.  The Sunday Gospel cycle and annual Scriptural cycle in the Office (which is essentially the same as that of the Roman Office) can be traced back to the early seventh century, though the 'ordines Romani' concerned may attest to an earlier tradition.  The cycle has really only been modified at the margins since then.  The Patristic readings have their origins in a selection made by Paul the Deacon in the eighth century.

Certainly the readings in the 1963 breviary have not substantially changed, as far as I can see, since at least the time of the (post Council of Trent) Breviary of Pope Paul V (1615), a few new or changed feasts aside.  The basic cycle works like this (feasts aside).  On Sundays:

• the first Nocturn readings are on a seasonal/monthly Scriptural cycle; 
• Second Nocturn readings are usually Patristic commentaries on the first nocturn Scriptural readings; and 
• the third Nocturn readings are generally Patristic commentaries on the Gospel of the (EF) Mass of the day.

On weekdays, the readings are generally from Scripture, filling in (some of the) gaps between the Sundays, save in Lent, when the readings are mostly Patristic commentaries (on the Gospel of the day).

You can find a listing of the Scriptural cycle (Sunday first Nocturns and weekdays) here.

Readings for feasts

On feasts, some or all of the readings are selected to match the type of saint (from the Common) or feast being celebrated.  On third class feasts, usually only the third reading is of the feast, and is on the saint in question's life.  On higher level feasts, the Second Nocturn readings will usually relate specifically to the feast.

Latin or English?

I will come books containing the readings in a post or two, but it is worth noting here that if you are praying the Office devotionally, you can of course, do the readings in English.

For the reasons I have previously set out in relation to the psalms, doing the readings in Latin is preferable, in my view, if at all possible.  One approach you could consider, that I've encountered in some monasteries is to do the readings in Latin in the Office, but then read them in the vernacular at a meal.  Alternatively you could prepare them in advance (or read the English afterwards).

That said, don't let the perfect get in the way of the good - doing them in English devotionally is better then not doing them at all!  In addition, it is, I suppose possible that a case can probably be made for the use of the vernacular for the readings even for liturgical use of the Office - Universae Ecclesiae after all, gives such permission in relation to the Mass.

Set your own cycle?

The other area of possible flexibility, at least in the devotional use of the Office, relates to the cycle of readings.

The Scriptural cycle

First, the readings at Matins do not cover the entire Bible.   The lack of summer weekday readings aside, some books are not read at all, or get only one or two readings (generally for feasts).  The books of the Pentateuch other than Genesis, Chronicles (Parahelion), Acts, and Revelations in particular get short shrift in my view, and even those books that are notionally included in the cycle can be omitted depending on the number of weeks after Epiphany and Pentecost.

In addition, the readings typically select out a few verses from the opening chapters of many books, they don't cover the full chapter or book.

Moreover, some receive, on the face of it, quite a quite disproportionate amount of time (Maccabees for example, compared to the Wisdom books).

That said, there is an underlying logic to the schedule of books read in the first Nocturn (and weekdays) that relates to the liturgical seasons, so I wouldn't lightly discard it.  But it is true that some monasteries have reverted to setting their own readings cycle in recent times, or working from the continuous lectionary used in the Ordinary Form.  And there are a few websites around that will help you with this.

Patristic readings

The second issue relates to the Patristic readings.  Personally, I find I am still getting something out of the Patristic readings even after reading the same texts for several years now and am happy enough to fill these out with other sources as part of my lectio divina program.  But if you did want more variety in the Office itself, it would be easy to rotate at least the third Nocturn readings on Sundays, by using the 'Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers' volumes, which generally provide several sermons keyed to the Sunday Gospels (in the EF).

Keep in mind though, that these kinds of changes are only permissible if you are praying the Office devotionally - while monasteries have permission under the 1977 guidelines to do this (within specified limits), individuals are not monasteries and so do not hold the required delegation to design their own (liturgical) office.

The Nocturns/3 - Tackling the Latin

Vespasian Psalter, c8th

And the time that remains after the Night Office should be devoted to study by those brethren who still have some of the Psalter or lessons to learn.

Rule of St Benedict, ch 8

Many people starting off want to pray Matins in English (or another modern language) for various reasons.

That's fine, but I want to make a case for at least considering also learning the Latin. 

Why the Septuagint-Vulgate tradition?

For centuries the Catholic Church has used the Latin Vulgate psalter translated from the Greek Septuagint for liturgical and other purposes.  The Septuagint translation was made in turn from the third century before Christ.

There are, in my view, strong arguments for using translations based on this tradition rather than those based on the Hebrew Masoretic Text such as the KJV/Authorized Version and 1979 neo-Vulgate.

The short version is that St Jerome - and Luther - were wrong on this issue; the Septuagint was a providentially given translation that is integral to the tradition of the Church, and its integrity and authenticity has now been borne out by the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The slightly longer version you can find below in relation to the use of Latin.  In terms of the Septuagint-Vulgate vs neo-Vulgate debate, I've written a little more on this topic from a Catholic point of view here.

For those coming from an Anglican, Lutheran or other perspective, an excellent presentation of the issues aimed at a general audience can be found in Timothy Michael law's book When God Spoke Greek.

And for a general online introduction to the topic I would highly recommend a little series by Fr Hunwicke which starts here.

The case for Vulgate Latin

You do not need to formally learn Latin in order to pray in it.

Rather, I am suggesting learning how to pronounce it, and work with a reasonably literal translation of the Vulgate, such as the Douay-Rheims, to help you understand it, and gradually build your knowledge of it over time.

But why bother?  Here goes:

(1) The rubrics: For Catholics, the 1963 rubrics in my view require the use of Latin if you want to pray the Office liturgically (with the possible exception of the readings to which I'll come in due course).  Even if you plan to start by just praying it devotionally, gradually learning how to say the Latin gives you an additional option.

(2) Seeing the connections to the Benedictine Rule: St Benedict's Rule draws heavily on the psalms, and in my view, he has also organised his Office in ways that reflect some of the themes set up in the Rule.  Those connections are much easier to see if you use the Latin rather than English.

A good example is the use of the word 'suscipio' and its derivatives which means sustainer or upholder.  In his description of the monastic profession ceremony, St Benedict has the novice repeat a verse from Psalm 118, the 'Suscipe' three times:

**116  Súscipe me secúndum elóquium tuum, et vivam: * et non confúndas me ab exspectatióne mea.

116 Uphold me according to your word, and I shall live: and let me not be confounded in my expectation.

But St Benedict also uses the word many other times in the Rule in ways that suggest connections between these usages - in relation to the teaching of the abbot and the reception of guests for example.  In doing so, he is almost certainly drawing on both St Cassian, and  several of St Augustine's expositions on the several levels of meaning of this word.  And to reinforce the importance of these concepts, St Benedict sets psalms that use this key concept at the start and end of each day, in Psalms 3&90.

These connections are a lot easier to make, and then explore the implications of in your meditations, if you start learning some of the key Latin words in the text.  Indeed most translations of Psalm 3 and 90 completely lose this connection, suing words like shield or protector (which reflect the Hebrew rather than Greek-Latin tradition of the text) for 'susceptor' rather than upholder or sustainer.  So if you an Oblate, or otherwise a follower of St Benedict, learning the Latin will help you understand the Rule.

(3) Seeing the connections to the other psalms of each day/hour: St Benedict has also, in my view, built in a lot of horizontal and vertical linkages around key words, phrases and ideas into his Office - some 'memes' appear far more frequently on particular days or in particular hours than you would expect.

This reflects, in my view, the programmatic nature of St Benedict's Office, built around the seven days of creation, connected to events in Old Testament history, which in turn foreshadow events in the life of Christ.  St Bede, for example, sees the division of the waters on day two of creation as connected to Noah's Ark, which in turn is connected by St Peter to baptism (1 Peter 3:20).  St Benedict's Office reflects this idea with a strong concentration of images associated with baptism.  We consciously or unconsciously make those links, I think, as we say the Office week after week, year after year.  But again, many of those recurring words and phrases are often translated in quite different ways between psalms in English, and so the connections are often lost in translation.

(4) Seeing the connections to Scripture: The psalms are also quoted frequently throughout Scripture, but above all in the New Testament.  But the version they are quoted in is not the received Hebrew text we know today, but rather the Septuagint Greek version, reflected in the Vulgate Latin.  If you want to recognise these quotes, or track them back as part of your lectio divina, you will find it much easier if you have learnt the psalms in Latin.

(5) Singing the Office: Latin is also essential if you want to sing the Office using Gregorian chant, or to get the most out of others singing it, for example when you visit a traditional monastery.

Convinced?!  Start slow...

If I've convinced you, there is still, of course,a  practical problem (unless you have previously studied Latin and probably even then), namely the steep learning curve involved.  Here are some suggestions for getting around that.

(1) Start with a small number of psalms.  Try starting with perhaps three psalms a night (the same number as the Little Office of Our Lady for example), perhaps saying the same three psalms for a couple of weeks until you know them.

(2) Start in English then swap to Latin.  If you have little or no Latin, start by saying them in English but using a very literal translation of the Vulgate, viz the Douay-Rheims so you get a general sense of what the psalms are about.

While you are doing that, start working on how to pronounce the Latin correctly.  You can a pronunciation guide here. and recordings of the psalms being read in Latin on youtube.  Then switch to the Latin, working on just saying it, and preferably singing it on one note until you can say it fluently.

(3) Pick out key words and phrases. Then gradually continue to build your understanding by working with a dictionary, picking out key words and phrases.  Britt's Dictionary of the Psalter is an extremely useful source, but if you don't have much or any Latin, working out what the root word of the Latin form is can be tricky.  A great online tool that gets around this problem, as well as linking to a much more extensive dictionary, is Perseus.

(4) Dig further.  The next stage (over time) is to read a good commentary or two on each psalm. And really this one applies no matter what language you are using!

(5) Build up gradually.  How many psalms you do using this process will depend on your starting point knowledge and how much time you can devote to learning them.  If you are starting from absolutely no knowledge of Latin or the psalms, for example, you could just say the same three psalms each night for a few weeks, until you learn those, then gradually add three more perhaps from the next day of the week, until you have three of each days Matins psalms under your belt.

Then start on the next three of each days sequence, until you can say them on a four week rotation.

Then maybe try a two week rotation...

Not convinced? 

Up to you of course - but either way I will start looking at the various books in the next post or two.

The choices basically fall into four categories:

• breviaries - contain all of the texts you need for the Office;
• Matins only books/resources - contain some or all of the texts you need for Matins;
• psalters - technically psalter just means a book of psalms, but it is usually used to mean the psalms interspersed with the prayers and other texts of the Office; and
• psalms translations - the book of psalms in numerical order in various translations.

Psalm translations in numerical order, whether the Vulgate or in the vernacular, can be pretty useful for the Office, for example for use on feasts when the normal daily psalms are not used.  I don't plan however, on going through these, but will instead focus firstly on the various psalters that can be used to say Matins.

Further reading: 

Magisterial commentary and decisions

Pope Saint John XXIII, Apostolic Constitution On the Study of Latin, Veterum Sapientia 1962
Pope Blessed Paul VI, Sacrificium Laudis 1966
Pope Saint John Paul II, Allocution Libenter vos salutamus 27 November 1978
Pope Benedict XVI, Moto Proprio Establishing the Pontifical Academy for Latin, Latina Lingua 2012

Some excellent posts on reasons for using Latin

Pluscarden Benedictines
Carmelites of Michigan

Nocturns/2 - Rubrics for the psalms, antiphons and canticles

Antiphons are said at each of the hours, following their institution by Holy Ambrose; this as done because…Blessed Ignatius, the third bishop of Antioch after Blessed Peter, was on a certain mountain and heard choirs of angels singing antiphons.  Thus the Greeks first composed antiphons, and arranged their singing with Psalms in a choir, as though in a choral dance…the antiphon itself signifies the bond of charity or mutual love,  without which a work cannot come forth and through which a work starts to be meritorious.  It is therefore proper that the melody of the Psalm is formed according to the tone of the antiphon, because love forms our works…

William Durand, Rationale V

The rubrics - charting your progress!

Because the psalms are so important to the Benedictine Office, I plan to devote the next couple of posts to issues around selecting books containing them.

Before I do that though I thought I would briefly cover the rubrics for the psalms, which are pretty straightforward.  Just so you can keep track of where we are at, here is a listing of the elements of Matins - the one's bolded are the rubrics I have already covered; the ones dealt with in this post are highlighted in yellow.

ELEMENTS   OF MATINS

OPENING SECTION

Opening prayer – Domine labia mea aperies

Psalm 3

Invitatory antiphon and Psalm 94

Hymn

NOCTURNS

Antiphons

Psalms of the day of the week

Psalms of Commons and feasts

Canticles

Versicle, Our Father and absolution

Blessings for the reader

Readings

Responsories

CONCLUDING SECTION

Te Deum (hymn)

Gospel

Te Decet Laus (hymn)

Concluding Prayers

Rubrics for the psalms and antiphons

In fact the psalms at Matins are sung exactly the same way as for the other hours, with only a few minor points worth noting.  As for the other hours:

• an antiphon is said before and after each psalm or group of psalms (or canticles);
• in choir, the antiphon is intoned by a cantor, then everyone joins in the second half;
• the cantor also sings the first half of the first verse, and is joined in the second half by his or her side of the choir;
• verses then alternate between sides of the choir; and
• everyone stands for the antiphons, and for the Gloria Patri at the end of each psalm.

The psalms can either be said (if you saying the Office by yourself); sung on one note; or chanted to the psalm tones dictated by the antiphons.

How many antiphons?

One point worth noting is that the number of antiphons said can vary.  On major feasts, there is usually one antiphon for each psalm, but on Sundays throughout the year, the first and second Nocturns generally have one antiphon for every two psalms.

Nocturns I&II: Sundays/Major feasts

When?	Number of antiphons	Where found
Class I feasts	1 antiphon per psalm (6 in total)	Liber Responsorialis or other sources
Class II Sundays outside Paschaltide	3 antiphons	Psalter
Paschaltide to Pentecost	1 antiphon	Psalter

On weekdays, one antiphon is normally used for every two psalms in the first Nocturn (found in the psalter), but outside of Septuagesima and Lent, all of the psalms of the second Nocturn are said under an Alleluia as antiphon.

Weekdays/Class III feasts

When?	Number of antiphons
Nocturn I	As per psalter (3)
Nocturn II – Septuagesima and Lent	As per psalter (3)
Nocturn II outside of Lent	1 antiphon (alleluia)

Third Nocturn canticles

The canticles are performed in exactly the same way as the psalms, but the third Nocturn only ever has one antiphon for its three canticles.  You can find a listing of the canticles used for seasons and in the Commons, with links to notes on some of them here.

The Nocturns/1 - Why are the psalms so important?

Bibliothèque municipale de Rouen

Let the hymn follow next, and then six psalms with antiphons… let there follow the remaining six psalms which shall be chanted with Alleluia.

Rule of St Benedict, chapter 9

Now that we have looked at the opening and closing sections of Matins, I want to move to the main sections of the hour, the Nocturns, and today, start looking at the psalms.

The psalms - the core of Matins

The table below is reminder of the structure of the hour.  The table shows that every day, the first two Nocturns include six psalms with antiphons, with a third Nocturn of canticles added for Sundays and major feasts.

SECTION
OPENING SECTION (INVITATORY)	Same elements everyday – opening prayer, Ps 3, Ps 94 (with verse), hymn
NOCTURN I	Six psalms with antiphon(s) Versicle, Our Father, absolution Blessing, reading and responsory (1,3 or 4 sets)
NOCTURN II	Six psalms with antiphon(s) Sundays and major feasts only: Versicle, Our Father, absolution Blessing, reading and responsory *4
NOCTURN III	Sundays and major feasts only: Three OT canticles under one antiphon Versicle, Our Father, absolution Blessing, reading and responsory *4
CONCLUDING SECTION	Weekdays and minor feasts: Chapter and versicle Sundays: Te Deum, Gospel, Te Decet Laus
CLOSING PRAYERS	Collect only or concluding prayers

In the Roman Office (particularly the modern Liturgy of the Hours), Matins has a strong focus on Patristic and Scriptural readings.  But this isn't true of the Benedictine monastic Office.   In fact through much of the year weekday Matins has only a short chapter verse.

Moreover, even where there are readings, St Benedict instructed his monks to cut the readings and responsories short if necessary, in order to start Lauds at first light: St Benedict makes it very clear that the psalms are the core of his Office.

Why are the psalms so important?

There are, I suspect, several different reasons why St Benedict put such a premium on the psalms, but the key ones, I think go to the importance of the psalms in general, particularly in spiritual formation; their thematic role in the design of the Office; the intercessory role of the Office more generally; and the function of the hour.

First, St Benedict gives a privileged status to the psalms as a source of spiritual formation.  He frequently quotes from them in the Rule, or alludes to them.  And in the Rule he talks about lectio (on the rest of Scripture) or meditation/learning of the psalms.  Monks and nuns of his time were expected to learn all of the psalter off by heart.

Secondly, and related to this, my own view is that the ordering of the psalms in the Benedictine Office is not random, but very carefully programmed.  The natural starting point for Sunday Matins, the first our of the liturgical week, would be, as in the Roman Office, to start at Psalm 1.  Instead St Benedict starts at Psalm 20.  Why?  Because this allows him to use a group of psalms that have a strong focus on the Resurrection on the day of the week most associated with that event.  And similar connections can be found with the other days of the week.

St Benedict also organises his psalter so that certain key themes, words and phrases resonate throughout a particular day, aiding us in reading each psalm in the context of Scripture as a whole, not just an isolated text, as well as suggesting directions for our meditation during the day.

The third reason, I think, has to do with the symbolism embedded in the architecture of the Office that signals, I think, the function of the Office.  Let me just briefly note here, for now, two pieces of symbolism particularly pertinent to this particular hour, viz:

• twelve psalms at Matins and again during the day from Prime to None perhaps symbolises offering praise to God for each hour of the day and night (with the seven psalms of Lauds and Vespers/Compline having its own figural associations); and
• if you add the two psalms of the opening section (Psalm 3 and 94) that adds up to fourteen, a number associated with the coming of Christ (from the generations to Christ in Matthew 1), and in the Night Office we especially wait for his second Coming. 

The daily psalms and the 1963 rubrics

In his Rule, St Benedict sets out the psalms to be said on each day of the week - the table below summarises his listing.  If you look at the wording of the Rule, it isn't necessarily obvious which ones should be divided, but in practice his specification of the longest psalms makes it pretty clear-cut.

Daily invitatory	3, 94
Sunday	20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25; 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 +three canticles of the season
Monday	32, 33, 34, 36, 36, 37; 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44
Tuesday	45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51; 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58
Wednesday	59, 60, 61, 65, 67, 67; 68, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72
Thursday	73, 74, 76, 77, 77, 78; 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84
Friday	85, 86, 88, 88, 92, 93; 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100
Saturday	101, 102, 103, 103, 104, 104; 105, 105, 106, 106, 107, 108

St Benedict does not, however, specify exactly what the dividing point of the psalms should be.  In reality though, the dividing points seem to be the product of fairly long established traditions.  The 1963 breviary, however, actually changes these division point in Psalm 106 (perhaps to highlight the well known hymn based on them?) so that the start of the second section is two verses earlier, at Qui descendant mare (Who go down to the sea).

The festal psalms

The other point to note on the psalms is that although St Benedict doesn't mention the concept (unsurprisingly given his emphasis on saying all of the psalms each and every week), over time the idea of a 'festal Office', including the use of especially selected psalms for major feasts has emerged.

This probably happened quite early - there is a letter associated with the refoundation of Monte Cassino after 717 that notes that they were following certain Roman customs there rather than the strict letter of the Benedictine Office when it came to the major feasts of the year.

Nonetheless, if you are praying the Office devotionally, one option is surely to ignore the 'Commons' and psalms specified for feasts, and stick with some or all of those set for the day of the week...