A STUDY GUIDE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS

START with the Psalter

The PSALTER- there are FOUR weeks to the Psalter: Week I, Week II, Week III, Week IV. The central portion of the breviary is the Four-Week Psalter.  The psalms are the heart of the Divine Office.  It is the prayer of the people of God, the prayer used by Jesus, the public prayer of the Church, exceeded only by the prayer of the Holy Mass.

Each week begins with Sunday Evening Prayer I (Saturday evening) and ends with Saturday Midday Prayer.  There are FOUR weeks to the PSALTER as noted already. Each week follows the other in sequence. After Week 4 of the Psalter is finished, Week I begins again! Basically the rotation is a continuum of Week 1, 2,3,4,1,2,3,4 etc

.Which week of the Psalter is the current week of the Psalter?

          To determine WHICH week of the PSALTER is the current week of the Psalter do one of the following:

• Refer to the ORDO (guide) which lists the current week of the PSALTER.

• Go to the Proper of the Season on Sunday then you will see on the upper right side of the page, in red, the Psalter Week.

• If a copy of the Ordo is unavailable, uses a Catholic calendar. Refer to the Sunday of the current week to see which week in the liturgical year is being celebrated.  Remember that the Psalter is arranged in conjunction with the liturgical year: the First Sunday in Advent, in Lent and in Ordinary Time each uses the First Week of the Psalter. Once you know the week of the liturgical season, it’s easy to find the current week of the Psalter!

Let’s take an example

             
The 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time uses Week 3 of the Psalter.  How do I know? Since there are 4 weeks in the cycle, divide 4 into the number of the current week. In this example (27th Week), we divide 27 weeks by 4, which gives us 6 cycles with 3 weeks left over. The 27th Week in Ordinary Time thus uses Week 3 of the Psalter!

     Another example: Which week of the Psalter do we use during the Third Week in Lent? This is easy to figure out since the First Sunday  in Lent coincides with the First Week of the Psalter. Week 3 of the Psalter is therefore used for the Third Week in Lent.  The Last example: Which week of the Psalter do we use for the fourth week of Advent? The same rule applies! Since the first week of Advent uses the First Week of the Psalter, it therefore follows that the fourth week of Advent uses the 4th Week of the Psalter. Got It?
At a few points in the liturgical year the Proper of the Season will instruct you to a different week that the usual rotation.  For example,  no matter which Week of the Psalms are being prayed when we arrive at the eve of the 1st Sunday of Advent the Proper of the Season will instruct us to use Week 1.

Schema of the Presentation of the Psalm or Canticle

The repeated schema of the presentation of the psalm or canticle follows this pattern:
         
          1. the antiphon
          2. the psalm or canticle
          3. the doxology (Glory to the Father…)
          4. the Psalm-Prayer (not included with every section of the Psalms)
          5. the antiphon is repeated.

The Office then continues with the next psalm/canticle using the same schema. There are usually 3 sets following this pattern in the body of the Office as well as the praying of the Canticle of Zechariah or Mary.

          There is a similarity of form among the various Offices. However, the text takes certain things for granted and does not print out everything at each of the Hours.One example is the Introductory Verses:    “O God, come to my assistance”, with the response, “O Lord, make haste to help me”.  That is printed out in the Ordinary, but in the Psalter section only the initial phrase is printed. It is expected that when the prompt of the initial phrase is given one will automatically recall what response is made.

          Another example is found in the single volume, Christian Prayer.
The antiphon that accompanies each psalm or canticle is printed at the beginning of the Psalm, but not at the end.  In the 4 volume the antiphon is included in both of its proper locations.

Thus, becoming familiar with the Ordinary enables you to use the Psalter section more efficiently.

          For the feasts of Saints and special liturgical seasons there are many options found in the Proper of the Season, the Proper of Saints and the Commons that will be substituted for the standard antiphons, readings, intercessions, and prayers found in the body of the Psalter.

Bodily Posture during the Liturgy of the Hours:

Invitatory	Stand
Hymn	Stand
Psalms	Sit
Reading	Sit
Responsory	Sit
Antiphon to the Canticle	Sit
Canticle of Zachariah (Make the sign of the Cross as you begin the Canticle)	Stand
Intercessions	Stand
Prayer (final)	Stand

Beginning and Ending the Hours

• Beginning Morning Prayer: [Make the Sign of the Cross on the lips.)

1.  Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise. (If Morning Prayer is the first liturgical prayer of the day, the Invitatory Psalm and its antiphon are now prayed.)

2.  Antiphon - depending on the type of celebration, it is found in the current week of the Psalter, or in the PROPER of Saints, or in the COMMONS or in the PROPER of the Season. See insert, also!

3.  Invitatory [Psalm 95 or Psalm 100 or psalm 67 or Psalm 24]

4.  Antiphon may be repeated after each strophe.

5.  Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

6. Antiphon

Example:

November 22 is the Memorial of St. Cecilia, a Virgin and Martyr. The antiphon for the Invitatory comes from either the Common of Virgins or the Common of One Martyr.  
Don’t panic: it isn’t as hard as it seems!

Beginning the other Hours:  The Sign of the Cross is made as we say:

God, come to my assistance, Lord, make haste to help me. Glory to the
Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is
now, and will be forever. Amen. AlIeluia  [omitted in Lent.]

Concluding Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer:

The PRAYER following the Our Father begins without using the words “Let us pray.”

The PRAYER has a long conclusion: “We ask this through Our Lord JESUS Christ, Thy Son Who lives and reigns with Thee and the Holy Spirit, One God forever and ever. Amen.”

• This is followed by : “May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen” while making the Sign of the Cross.
• Concluding Night Prayer: The Sign of the Cross is made as we say:

May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
Amen.

 PROPER of SAINTS:

In the Liturgy of the Hours, turn to the PROPER of SAINTS.  Look at the following dates and determine the type of celebration that is indicated:

August 15th :  Assumption of the Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary into Heaven

March 18th :   St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor

September 8th :  the Birth of the Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary

November 4th :  St. Charles Borrome          

Each of them will fall into one of the following categories:

SOLEMNITY

FEAST

MEMORIAL

COMMEMORATION

At certain times during the liturgical year -to emphasize the sacred nature of the season or time - a Memorial is celebrated as a Commemoration only:

• December 17th to December 23rd
• During the octave of Christmas
• During the Season of Lent
  

Understanding the PROPER of SEASONS

1  Our New Year begins on January 1st each year and ends on December 31st. The Church’s liturgical year begins with the First Sunday of Advent and ends on the Solemnity of Christ the King. The four weeks of Advent are collectively called the PROPER of the Season of Advent.

3.  Christmas begins the PROPER of the Season of Christmas which ends after the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord.

4.  The Season of Ordinary Time (before Lent) begins after the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and extends until Lent. The Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord takes the place of the First Sunday in Ordinary lime.

5.  The six weeks of Lent are collectively called the PROPER of the Season of Lent. This season is so sacred that all Memorials during this time are only celebrated as COMMEMORATIONS. [ In a Commemoration, the antiphon and final prayer of the day’s saint are prayed after the final Lenten prayer.]

6.  The PROPER of the Season of EASTER begins on Easter Day. It is preceded by the Easter Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord. The PROPER of the Season of EASTER ends on Pentecost Sunday.

7.  The Season of Ordinary Time (after Pentecost) begins after the Solemnity of Pentecost. The Solemnity of Christ the King is the last Sunday in the Season of Ordinary Time. The Sunday following this Solemnity is the First Sunday of Advent.

8.  Acquaint yourself with the PROPER of Seasons by referring to the pages listed below, taken from the St. Paul edition (one volume).

In summary:
PROPER of the SEASON

• Advent (Proper of the Season)

(The First Sunday of Advent begins the new Church Year.)

• Christmas (Proper of the Season)

          (After the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, Ordinary Time begins.)

• Ordinary Time (before Pentecost)
• Lent (Proper of the Season)

Easter Tridium of the Passion and Resurrection

Easter (Proper of the Season )  

     Ordinary Time (after Pentecost)    

(Easter Season ends with the conclusion of Evening Prayer II on Pentecost.)

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