A Resource for Those Learning the Pre-55 Breviary

Thanks once again to our friend Mr Sean Pilcher, this time for sharing with us this a review of a resource newly reprinted by Church Latin Publications for those who want to learn to say the pre-55 Breviary, a book will be especially useful for those who have been used to the edition of 1960. Mr Pilcher is the director of Sacra: Relics of the Saints (sacrarelics.org), an apostolate that promotes education about relics, and works to repair, research, and document relics for religious houses and dioceses.

The transition from the breviary in force in 1962 to the more traditional breviary before 1955 can be disorienting, even for priests, religious, and interested layfolk who are familiar with the traditional Roman rite. The 1962 breviary is vastly simplified and pared down, so that is, in some ways easier to use. Setting aside the question of whether this outweighs the drastic reduction in patristic readings and hagiographies, as well as a neutered calendar, we can feel puzzled by the additional commemorations, lessons, and ranking of feasts when beginning to pray the older Office.

A very useful resource, especially for those looking for an intuitive transition from the reduced ’62 breviary, but really anyone interested in the Office, is Learning the Breviary by Fr Bernard A. Hausmann, S.J. The book, which was written in 1932, has been recently reprinted by Church Latin Publishing. The book begins with a touching exhortation to fidelity to the breviary written by His Excellency William Hayden, bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes, Australia, which he originally penned to his priests: “The priest who says his Office every day, digne, attente ac devote, is traveling on very safe lines. I do not mean to say that the reciting of the Office alone is all that is required of him. What I mean is, that the priest who is faithful to this duty will also be faithful to the many other obligations which are inseparably linked with the sacerdotal state.” The author also frankly acknowledges that the complex structure and the language can be real obstacles to appreciating the rich treasure of the Roman Breviary.

The text is directed toward those approaching Orders (and therefore obligation to the Divine Office) and those who have already spent much time reciting the breviary but with less profit than they wish. The introduction is especially stirring for clerics, but can be helpful for anyone who wishes to pray with the liturgy of the Church. He addresses the difficulty of the psalter: ‘Who could say when asked on the spot the meaning of words such as absistat et vecordia; or Virginis proles opifexque matris?’, and the value of the cursus of Scripture, saints’ lives, and patristic commentaries in the lessons of matins. The introduction also stresses the hidden beauty of the hymns, however altered, and ends by giving real paternal advice to priests in prioritizing the hours and staying faithful to them: “My dear Fathers, I know that many of you have to live in lonely places, without many home comforts and without the companionship of your fellow-priests. Hence I would advise you to make the Breviary your special friend and companion.” The bishop stresses that for him, not even a busy schedule, travel, or primitive accommodations should be real obstacles to faithful prayer of the breviary.

The Dictionary of Terms, or glossary, that follows is invaluable. The author defines all of the unique terms associated with the canonical hours (antiphon, versicle, ferial office) in clear, unambiguous language to assist beginners. Beyond this, however, he explains many terms which those coming from the ‘62 breviary may find puzzling, and which are in many texts taken for granted. Anyone who has ever had a second thought about ‘double,’ ‘semidouble’ or ‘duplex majus’ feasts will benefit. Finally, certain shorthands and rubrical notes (‘m.t.v.,’ ‘vesperae de sequenti’) used as technical terms are explained. ~ Besides its spiritual words of encouragement at the outset, the book is deeply practical. What follows is an individual treatment of each hour, an explanation of each of its parts and how they can vary, and an anticipation of many of the most common misunderstandings and errors in recitation of the office in question. The explanation even prints out many abbreviated texts in full, so that beginners can understand the sometimes confusing way the breviary prints the prayers for our ease and to economize space.

After the individual treatment of matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, vespers, and compline individually on their own terms, the author dedicates a section to summarizing the structure of the Divine Office as a whole. Once the reader has a grasp of each of the hours, this helpful summary can solidify the general pattern of the Office as a unity throughout the year as seasons, feasts, and fasts come by. Two short sections follow explaining the Office of Our Lady on Saturdays, and the Office of the Dead, with special direction on how to pray the latter on particular days of commemoration (the day of death or burial, and on anniversaries), and how to pray them in conjunction with the regular offices for the day. The next section presents general changes throughout the seasons, such as on Sundays, during Lent and Holy Week, and for Paschaltide. There is also a small set of notes to aid beginners in reading an ordo.

Finally, the author presents sample offices and a series of charts to compare the various possible forms each one can take. The book ends with a very useful index of the explanations given.

Church Latin Publishing also reprints a similar resource for the 1962 Office, which could be of use to those learning the traditional breviary coming from no prior experience or from the Liturgy of the Hours.