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| Fra Angelico |
If we wish to prefer a
petition to men of high station, we do not presume to do it without humility
and reverence; how much more ought we to supplicate the Lord God of all things
with humility and pure devotion.
Rule of St Benedict, ch 20
Yesterday I talked about the issue of adhering to the rubrics. I want to say a little more on that topic today, since I think it is important to understand the issues around praying Matins 'liturgically' or 'devotionally'. The decision makes a difference in terms of what books you use, and how much you can adapt it to your own needs.
1. What is liturgical prayer?
The Catechism of Trent makes a distinction between public and private prayer:
There are two sorts of prayer, private and public. Private prayer is employed in order to assist interior attention and devotion; whereas in public prayer, which has been instituted to excite the piety of the faithful, and has been prescribed for certain fixed times, the use of words is indispensably required. (On prayer)Public prayer, or liturgy, refers to the official, public worship of the Church.
A number of Papal Encyclicals have touched on the question of the place of the liturgy, and its regulation prior to Vatican II, but the most important of these was probably Pope Pius XII's Mediator Dei, written to correct some of the excesses and errors that sprung up in the wake of the Liturgical Movement. In it, he gave this of the which gave this run down on the things that constitute liturgy:
...the Church prolongs the priestly mission of Jesus Christ mainly by means of the sacred liturgy. She does this in the first place at the altar, where constantly the sacrifice of the cross is represented and with a single difference in the manner of its offering, renewed. She does it next by means of the sacraments, those special channels through which men are made partakers in the supernatural life. She does it, finally, by offering to God, all Good and Great, the daily tribute of her prayer of praise. (MD 3)Just to confuse things, though, 'public prayer' can be done in private - for example a Mass aid by a priest alone, or the Office said by one person at home - and private prayer can be done publicly, such as the recitation of the rosary in Church.
2. What is devotional prayer?
Devotional, or private prayer, basically encompasses every other type of prayer, including formally approved and highly efficacious and valuable prayers such as the rosary and stations of the cross, as well as less formal types of prayers.
3. How can the same text be said both devotionally and liturgically?
Imagine you are sick and cannot get to Mass. Instead you read through the texts of the Mass while in bed, or perhaps watch a video of Mass. Are you participating in the liturgy?
The answer is no. Instead you are saying a devotion what was traditionally called a missa secca, or dry Mass.
But why isn't it liturgical? First because unless you are a priest, you don't hold the appropriate 'delegation' to say Mass. But even if you are a priest, you are clearly not intending to say an actual Mass, including consecrating the sacrament in this situation.
Similarly,even though Scripture is used in the liturgy, simply reading Scripture by yourself, whether the readings set for Mass for that day, for study or lectio divina purposes, or as prayer (for example saying the penitential or Gradual psalms) is, on the face of it, a devotional exercise.
The same principles apply to the Office: to say it liturgically you need to be properly delegated to say it (and laypeople are so delegated), and you need to intend to engage in the public worship of the Church rather than just private prayer. Of course, if you have the books in front of you, and start off saying the Office, it's a reasonable assumption that you intend to say the public prayer of the Church, you don't need to be explicit about your intention each time.
4. Why pray liturgically?
The advantage of praying liturgically is because it is the work of Christ as priest, and of his body the Church, 'a sacred action par excellence, who efficacy no other action of the Church can equal and to the same degree' (SC). In the Office we prolong the worship Christ gave to His Father on earth, and also participate in the heavenly liturgy. The 1983 Code of Canon Law for example says:
In the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church, hearing God speaking to his people and recalling the mystery of salvation, praises him without ceasing by song and prayer and intercedes for the salvation of the whole world.
Dom Fernard Cabrol, first abbot of Farnborough, writing in 1915, explains it this way:
Private prayer has a personal value, varying according to the degree of faith, fervour, and holiness of he who prays. The Church's prayer has always, in itself, and independently of the person praying, an absolute value. It is a formula composed by the Church, and carrying with it her authority...Liturgical prayer is superior to all others not only because it is the Church's prayer but also because of the elements of which is composed...liturgical prayer holds the first rank on account of its efficacy, or the effects it produces in the soul. (Introduction to Day Hours of the Church, vol 1)
5. Why pray the Office devotionally?
As I noted yesterday, if you choose to pray the Office liturgically, you are obliged to follow the rubrics. Sacrosanctam Concilium notes that:
Regulation of the sacred liturgy depends solely on the authority of the Church...Therefore, no other person at all, not even a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.The Code of Canon Law spells out that this means using the approved books, rubrics and so forth.
Praying liturgically carries serious obligations which many of us may not be able to fulfil, in terms of fidelity to the rubrics, understanding of the texts and the amount of time needed to pray it. Praying devotionally provides much greater freedom and flexibility.
Moreover the Church has always advocated that its adherents undertake a mix of types of prayer: Scripture enjoins us to pray without ceasing, and we cannot possibly pray liturgically all of the time!
Sacrosanctum Concilium, for example, says:
The spiritual life, however, is not limited solely to participation in the liturgy. The Christian is indeed called to pray with his brethren, but he must also enter into his chamber to pray to the Father, in secret; yet more, according to the teaching of the Apostle, he should pray without ceasing. We learn from the same Apostle that we must always bear about in our body the dying of Jesus, so that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodily frame. This is why we ask the Lord in the sacrifice of the Mass that, "receiving the offering of the spiritual victim," he may fashion us for himself "as an eternal gift".
Popular devotions of the Christian people are to be highly commended, provided they accord with the laws and norms of the Church, above all when they are ordered by the Apostolic See.By praying some or all of the Office devotionally, we gain the benefit of forms of prayers sanctified by centuries of use, and can offer it for the benefit of others as we do our other prayers and sacrifices.
Mediator Dei confirms that both forms of prayer have value:
Unquestionably, liturgical prayer, being the public supplication of the illustrious Spouse of Jesus Christ, is superior in excellence to private prayers...But this superior worth does not at all imply contrast or incompatibility between these two kinds of prayer. For both merge harmoniously in the single spirit which animates them, "Christ is all and in all." Both tend to the same objective: until Christ be formed in us."
Coming up next
And that is it by way of introduction - next week, I'll start working through the opening section of Matins.
