By Love Inspired or Duty Bound:
A Spirituality of the Divine Office
Introduction
When I told a parishioner the title of this work, she said to me that it sounded like a romance. She is right. This is a romance. It is a romance that is both deeply personal and at the same time universal. There are only two types of people who say the Divine Office - those who have to and those who want to. This is not to say that those who are obligated by Canon Law to say it don't actually like the Office. Far from it. But it is a reality. This work is perhaps a way to see the Office as a means of spirituality rather than an as solely an obligation or a fleeting period of piety.
To say that the Divine Office is a "Liturgy of the Hours" (as its secondary title states) conjures up images that are essentially ceremonial. I would venture to say that these images are replete with chanting monks, ceremonies of incense full-vested choirs, etc. This the public image of the liturgy. And it is a wonderful experience whether it be in a remote monastery or at a Papal Vespers such as in Newark's cathedral in 1995. Many seminaries, religious houses and even parishes regularly celebrate the Divine Office in public with varying degrees of solemnity. One of my finest memories of Seminary is the Solemn Vespers we celebrated as a house in Advent and Lent. This form of celebration can be said to be, with full accuracy, the "proper" way of celebrating the Divine Office. But it is not the usual.
To say that the Divine Office is a "private Liturgy" is both a recognition of reality for most people as well as a practical heresy to some liturgists. The idea that any liturgy of the Church can be celebrated without a cast of thousands or myriad committees is unthinkable in many circles. For instance, the idea of a "simple Sunday Mass" (read: without music) is an anathema. Even the most private of religious moments, Confession, seems to be surrounded by a liturgical celebration that calls for hymns, gestures, numerous participants. I sometimes feel you walk into church ready to shout "Lights! Cameras! Liturgy!" For hundreds of years, it was not this way. The image of the Divine Office is similar. It was Father walking up and down the aisles of the Church with his Breviary, "doing" his Office. Of course, the reason he was walking was to stay awake since the priest in the busy urban parish was praying what was then a lengthy monastic breviary. But said it he did. And by himself.
While the Office today has been considerably shortened, Deo gratias, most priests still say it privately. One of the main goals of Vatican II's reform of the Office was to shorten it for the sake not only of relieving the modern priest of what - given today's demands - was becoming excessively burdensome, but it was also clearly intended to be accessible to the laity. This goal of Vatican II is not realized. Unfortunately, I have rarely seen "Morning Prayer" or "Evening Prayer" on a Sunday schedule and attended with enthusiasm. In some places, and in parts, it is and I salute those whose efforts and dedication have made it possible.
So how does a priest, religious, or a lay person heed Vatican II's call to this "Official Prayer of the Church" given that the public and communal celebrations are not [yet?] a vibrant part of the scheduled liturgies of their parish? This work will attempt to answer this question. First, we have to understand why we are not an "Office Church" and thus, why we are not a community that strongly feels the desire to pray in common in order to mark the passing of time. Secondly, we have to appreciate what the Liturgical prayer of the Office is apart from its communal celebration. In making this distinction, we will have to go the roots of our understanding of what worship is. Thirdly, we have to consider the dynamics of the Office itself which point to the heart of its prayer. Lastly, we need to come to a practical appreciation of what this prayer is for us and, thereby, for the Church.
The Divine Office is the circulatory system of the Body of Christ. It carries the nourishment of the Sacraments to the whole Church. In whatever form it is celebrated or even understood, it is the song sung throughout the ages which joins the grace of grace of God to creation. I am in love with the Divine Office and it is not without seriousness that I refer to my Breviary as my "wife." I hope this work will deepen our marriage.
