DIVINE OFFICE
"The
primary role of Cistercian life is to seek union with God and to witness to His
holiness and His desire for the salvation and sanctification of all persons and
to unite all peoples in their adherence to Him through their faith in Christ and
his Catholic Church. The means of fulfilling this role in the world and in the
Church is primarily by prayer, both public and private."
Abbot J.E. Bamberger, OCSO
PUBLIC PRAYER: DIVINE OFFICES
"Seven
times a day I praise you Lord!"
|
VIGILS |
2:30 am |
|
LAUDS |
5:30
am |
|
TERCE |
6:45
am |
|
SEXT |
11:30
am |
|
NONE |
1:45
am |
|
VESPERS |
5:00
pm |
|
COMPLINE |
6:45
pm |
VIGILS,
or watching in the night, is prayer to be celebrated in the middle of the night during which
we meditate on salvation history as it unfolded down through the ages. The
office of Vigils consists of a hymn, psalms, readings, scriptural and
patristic, and canticles suitable to the spirit of the midnight hour when one
awaits the arrival of the Bridegroom (Mt 25:6; Mk 13:35). In monastic
communities the concentration on vigilance begun with this office continues
until lauds. Monastics spend this time enveloped in
and supported by darkness and silence in lectio divina prayer and meditation.
LAUDS is celebrated at daybreak when the
sun is dispelling the night and the new day is born. The Church has always
considered the sun to be a symbol of Christ rising from the dead. This prayer
is called Lauds because it is a laudatory liturgy of praise in the early
morning light. We thank God for the first light at the beginning of creation
and for the second light of our redemption in Christ's paschal victory. This
prayer breathes the atmosphere of bright youth, of beginning, of innocence, of
blossoming spring. It is a joyful, optimistic hour reflected by the hymn,
psalms and canticles.
TERCE, a Latin term for third hour, is
prayed at mid-morning. It is a shorter prayer referred to as one of the little hours.
Traditionally it is dedicated to the coming of the Holy Spirit which took place
at mid-morning in the account found in the Acts of the Apostles. One prays for
light and strength as the day waxes strong and one's work begins.
SEXT, another of the little hours, is
Latin for the sixth hour. It takes place at midday when the sun is at its apex
and one has become a bit weary and mindfulness is all but impossible. It is a
time for earnest prayer to resist temptation, to keep from being overcome by
the demands and pressures of life. We are reminded of Christ being crucified at
the sixth hour and we unite ourselves with Him. One is aware of one's failures
and mistakes and prays for deep and abiding conversion even to the point of
sacrifice.
NONE refers to the ninth hour, roughly
mid-afternoon, and is the third of the little hours. It is a time to pray for
perseverance, to pray for the strength to continue bearing fruit as one reaches
one's prime and needs to keep going. It is a time when one becomes aware of the
sun's gradual descent and the strength one needs to cope with the demands and
responsibilities of life.
VESPERS celebrated at day's end, takes on
the character of evening. The day is almost over, our work is done. The golden
evening light is like old, mature wine, and in some late summer and autumn days
it is like gold, transfiguring our world and making it transparent for God.
This is the hour of wise age, of resting in thanksgiving and humility after the
struggles, successes and failures of the day of one's productive life. There
are appropriate hymns, psalms, readings and canticles for celebrating this
vesper hour.
COMPLINE comes from the Latin which means to
complete. It is the last common prayer before retiring for the night. It marks
the completion of our day and heralds life's end. It
leads back into the darkness of the night, but a darkness
different from that of vigils. It is not the darkness of waiting where all the
possibilities of good and evil were still ahead. This is the darkness of God's
mysterious presence, the abyss of his mercy into which he let us fall. Compline may be understood as a daily exercise in the art
of dying. For what is sleep if not a little rehearsal for death? But dying a death which will open the fullness of life and light.
That is why the cantor sings the wonderful song of old Simeon on the threshold
of death: "Now Lord, you will let your servant go in peace, according to
your word, for my eyes have seen your saving deed which you have set before
all: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for the glory to your people
Israel." (Luke 2:29-32).
Fr. Oh Musu,