Learn the Office 2.10 - The closing prayers of the hours - Pt 1

Knowledgeable people understand missae [the dismissal] in two ways: let the missae be done, that is, let absolutions be done; missae can also be called transmissions, akin to that prayer by which the prayers of the people are addressed to God through the ministry of the priest, whence the priest says: Hear, Lord, the voice of your people and so on .

Hildemar, Commentary on the Rule of St Benedict, c850

All of the day hours use more or less the same framework of prayers to conclude the hour.  The key moving parts are the collect, which I will deal with in the next post, and commemorations.

Interpreting the Office books

The words of the closing prayers (except the Collect) do not change except on a few special days in the Office, and are the same for all hours, except for some minor variants at Compline.

For this reason, most Office books do not bother writing them out in full each time they occur.

Accordingly, you either need to learn these by heart or keep a ribbon on the correct page (Monastic Diurnal  page 8 is probably the best one to use, but see the table below for the pages numbers for each hour). 

In addition, most Office books use some shortcuts which make it easy to make mistakes if you are not familiar with the Rules.

(1) The litany

The concluding prayers for most of the hours start with a short litany: 'Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison' (Greek for Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy).

Note that these are not repeated as at the Mass, they are just said once each.

The litany is generally sung on one note at Prime (see AM 1243).  For the other hours, the chant tones for the short litany can be found on AM 1236 and 1239 of the Antiphonale Monasticum.

(2) The Our Father

One of the distinctive features of the Benedictine Office is that the Our Father is said at each of the hours, so at least eight times in total each day.

At most of the hours, the first words 'Pater Noster' are said aloud by the person leading the hour (or you if you are praying it alone), and then everyone prays it through silently until the last line, 'sed libera nos a malo', which is said aloud.  Everyone then joins in the Amen.  The chant tones are set out on AM  1239.

At Lauds and Vespers the entire Pater Noster is sung aloud, traditionally by the Superior, in accordance with the instruction in chapter 13 of the Rule.  Everyone else joins in the last line only (ie from Sed libera nos a malo).  The chant tone for this purpose (which is not the same as that used at Mass) can be found on AM 1236.

(3) The Office with priests vs laity

The particular form of the closing prayers varies depending on whether said by clerics or non-clerics.

If you look at the Diurnal in the psalter section, MD 8 (closing prayers of  Prime on Monday) you will see that it instructs you not to use the verse 'Dominus vobiscum' (the Lord be with you) suggesting the standard response 'Et cum spiritu tui' (and with your spirit), as in the Mass, when praying the Office alone, or with non-clerics.

Instead you have to substitute in 'Domine exaudi orationem' and the response 'Et clamor meus ad te veniat' (O Lord hear my prayer, And let my cry come unto Thee).'

Unfortunately, the Diurnal (and most other Office books) provides the clerical option in most places, and it mostly doesn't bother repeating that instruction, it just expects you to know.

Accordingly, it is important to know where you are likely to find it, and train yourself to automatically say the proper verse and response. The table below smmarises the various places the issue arises in the Monastic Diurnal.

Dominus vobiscum vs Domine exaudi orationem meam - Guide to the Diurnal 

HOUR	Full instruction	'Dominus vobiscum vel Domine exaudi'	Dominus vobiscum only
Lauds (2 places)	na	na	MD 57,75
Prime	MD 8	na	na
Terce, Sext and None	na	na	MD 155
Vespers (2 places)	na	MD 211, 220	na
Compline	na	MD 264	na

(4) Benedicamus Domino/Deo Gratias


The Antiphonale Monasticum provides a large number of chant tones for use with the words Benedicamus Domino/Deo Gratias'(Let us bless the Lord/Thanks be to God), depending on the level of solemnity of the day, the season, and the hour, from AM 1244 onwards.

(5) Fidelium animae...

The final prayer at each hour is a prayer for the repose of the dead, and in some cases, a prayer for absent brethren.  These are generally sung softly on one note, see AM 1242.

Body postures and gestures

The other key thing to keep in mind is the gestures and postures used when saying the prayers.  While these are not compulsory when saying the Office by yourself, the rubrics specify they should be used 'as convenient'.

In a monastery the hebdomadary (person in change of leading the chant for the day) normally says the opening words, everyone else responds.  The abbot or abbess (or Prior/Prioress) sings the Pater Noster out loud at Lauds and Vespers, and gives the blessing at Compline.  When saying it by yourself, of course, you need to say (or sing) it all.

The  closing prayers for Compline are on MD 264 - look there to follow the table below.

CLOSING PRAYERS
WORDS	GESTURES	NOTES
[v] Kýrie, eléison. (R) Christe, eléison. Kýrie, eléison. Pater noster...Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem: R. Sed líbera nos a malo.	Stand (kneel in Advent and Lent) (Bow)	Superior alone customarily sings the Pater Noster at Lauds  and Vespers; otherwise silent except for opening two words and closing lines.
V. Dominus vobiscum... or Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam....		Version for celebration with a priest vs when alone.
Oremus: COLLECT  for the hour (with appropriate ending)	(Bow)	Prime and Compline always have the same Collect; the collect for all other hours varies (see next post)
V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam. R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat.
V. Benedicámus Dómino. R. Deo grátias.		Prime-None  and Compline use simple one;  there are 21 different possible chant tones for Lauds and Vespers depending on season, feast however.
Blessing: Benedícat et custódiat nos omnípotens et miséricors Dóminus,  Pater, et Fílius, et Spíritus Sanctus. R. Amen.	☩ (Sign of the cross)	Compline only
[V. Fidélium ánimæ per misericórdiam Dei requiéscant in pace. R. Amen.]	[☩] Not specifically mentioned in the rubrics, but customary	Not said at Compline; can be found at MD 9.
V. Divínum auxílium  máneat semper nobíscum. R. Et cum frátribus nostris abséntibus. Amen.	☩ (Sign of the cross)	Lauds, Vespers and Compline (after the Marian antiphon) in public recitation

SUMMARY

In the closing prayers of the Office each phrase of the litany (Kyrie eleison/Christe eleison/Christe eleison, or Lord have mercy/Christ have mercy/Lord have mercy) is said once only.

The formula ‘The Lord be with your spirit’ is only used when led by clerics.  In private recitation by laypeople, use ‘O Lord hear my prayer And let my cry come unto you’ instead.

The basic structure of the closing prayers is:

Litany (Kyrie…)

Pater Noster (Our Father)

Domine exaudi...(O Lord hear my prayer...)

Collect

Domine exaudi... (O Lord hear my prayer...

Benedicamus Domino/Deo Gratias (Let us bless the Lord...)

Fidelium animae... (May the souls...)

The next part of this series covers collects.