Happiness Is ... New Breviaries!!
Many of you probably recall the excitement (and initial confusion!) associated with the new English translation of the Mass back in 2011. Less well-known to most Catholics is the forthcoming new translation of the Liturgy of the Hours. For the past 20+ years, the USCCB has been promising an updated English Breviary, so that priests, seminarians, religious men and women, and laypeople throughout the USA can begin praying their daily Divine Office in words that are more faithful to the original Latin text. Some other changes will also be made - among them, the addition of numerous new Saints who have been placed on the Church’s liturgical calendar since the 1970s!
We gather in chapel 6-7 times daily to chant the Divine Office - the Liturgy of the Hours
As contemplative nuns, one of our chief duties in the Church is the praying of the full Office each day, so the prospect of this new translation has engendered great interest and excitement among us! Year after year, we have scanned the liturgical horizon for any signs of progress on the new Breviary. Piece by piece, the massive project inched closer to completion, and we began to taste tantalizing hints of what was to come: the Abbey Psalms and Canticles … the Divine Office Hymnal … the announcement of publishers …
But this year, the long-awaited news finally came: the Liturgy of the Hours, 2nd English Edition, will begin to be available for purchase NEXT YEAR, 2027!!! Vol. II (Lent and Easter) will be published first, with the other volumes coming out in time for their respective liturgical seasons. Although the use of the new Breviary will not be mandatory until Advent of 2028, we are eager to start using it much sooner!
Of course, preparation for such a monumental change in our daily prayer life is already underway …
Divine Office class with Sr. Rosemary (in our new Chapter Room)
We are taking this first of all as an opportunity for spiritual renewal. With the help of Sr. Rosemary Esseff, OP, we have been looking more closely at the nature of the Divine Office and its importance as the official prayer of the Church. Our goal in deepening our own understanding of the Liturgy of the Hours is, of course, deepening our ability to truly pray it, lifting up the needs of the Church and the world to God ever more faithfully and fruitfully.
Many people who have visited our monastery are deeply touched by our singing of the Office, and we want this rich musical heritage of our community to be carried on with the new Breviary! Our Sister Liturgist has been in touch with some musically-talented (and well-connected) friends of ours to begin exploring the massive implications that the new translation will have for our liturgical repertoire.
Finally, there is the mundane but essential question of buying the books themselves! Mother Mary Veronica has begun looking at the two publishers (Ascension Press and Word on Fire) that were chosen by the USCCB to print the new Divine Office books, with an eye to eventually purchasing new sets for the community and guests. As you can imagine, this will be a considerable investment, albeit an essential one for our work of prayer and praise.
If you would be interested in helping to defray the cost of such a large investment we would be most grateful for your assistance. May God bless and reward you abundantly.
Help Sponsor Our New Breviaries!
“By offering praise to God in the Hours, the Church joins in singing that canticle of praise which is sung throughout all ages in the halls of heaven; it is a foretaste of the heavenly praise sung unceasingly before the throne of God and the Lamb, as described by John in Revelation.”