Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary

by Maxwell E. Johnson (Compiler)

For those who want to grow spiritually, Benedictine Daily Prayer provides an everyday edition of the Divine Office. People who desire to pray with the church can do so in a simple manner by following this Benedictine daily prayer model. Based on solid and traditional prayer patterns of more than fifteen hundred years of liturgical prayer within the Benedictine monastic tradition, Benedictine Daily Prayer helps readers celebrate and appreciate God's presence that is found everywhere, especially within the Divine Office. It offers a richer diet of classic office hymnody, psalmody, and Scripture than shorter resources are able to provide. Benedictine Daily Prayer is designed for Benedictine Oblates, Benedictine monastics, and men and women everywhere. It's small enough to fit in a briefcase for travel. Scripture readings are from the NRSV. Click here for an easy reference guide on how to use Benedictine Daily Prayer. Benedictine Daily Prayer includes "Introduction," "An Aid to Praying Benedictine Daily Prayer ," "Monastic Calendar," "Sunday and Weekday Readings," "The Ordinary of the Liturgy of the Hours," "The Weekly Psalter," "Supplemental Psalms and Canticles for Vigils and Lauds," "Festival Psalter," "Common for Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary," "Common for Feasts of Apostles," "Common for Feasts of Martyrs," "Common for Feasts of Holy Men and Women," "Office for the Dead," "Proper of the Season (Advent, Christmas, Lent, Triduum, Easter, Pentecost)," "Proper of the Saints," and " A Selection of Benedictine Prayers ." Maxwell E. Johnson, PhD, is an oblate of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota, and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He is professor of liturgy at the University of Notre Dame. His articles have appeared frequently in Worship . He is the author of Living Water, Sealing Spirit, The Rites of Christian Initiation , and Between Memory and Hope , published by Liturgical Press. "

Genres: Reference, Spirituality, Religion, Devotional, Prayer

2266 pages, Leather Bound

First published June 30, 2005

Reviews

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

(The book is much darker brown than in the picture here.)
This is ‘a short breviary’, with 2291 pages of text! So if one would want to use this in daily prayer, you do need the five bookmark-ribbons attached to it, as different days are grouped differently, and some parts need stuff from others. This is an everyday edition of the Divine Office, specifically for those who are Benedictines, oblates, or laypersons connection to it, but I think one could still use it even without such connection. The Bible version used here is the NRSV one. There is some America-centredness, but the rest of the world is not ignored. Some parts of the book are quite suitable to Anglicans and Lutherans, too.

This book is divided like this:
At the first pages, before the title page, are some prayers, and the monastic terminology for the hours. After introduction comes the monastic calendar before the main part begins.
- Sunday and Weekday readings
- Ordinary Liturgy Of The Hours
- Weekly Psalter (for each day and its hours)
- Extra Psalms & Canticles for the Vigils and Lauds
- Festival Psalter
- Common for the feasts of Blessed Virgin Mary, apostles, martys, and holy men & women
- Office for the dead
- Proper for seasons (which are listed)
- Proper of the Saints (with especial attention to those connected to the Benedictines; more variation than in Proper for seasons)
Then appendix with extra Benedictine prayers, some more prayers, and a list of Principal celebrations of the liturgical year, from 2005 to 2030 (US and non-US dates may be different in some).

The texts within each category are from the Bible, but also from sermons, saint biographies, and such. Some of the sermons were really memorable (at least six motivating me to copy them to a notebook). The order of the texts may at first seem confusing, but as I read I could see why these texts were put as they are. You do need those ribbons, I’m sure!
This book is in no way a short read – took me a couple of months, at least partly because I was reading other books at the same time – but if you’re a bit stubborn, curious, and just really motivated, it can be quite interesting, inspiring, and even heartwarming to read this book. Worth it.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best single-volume Liturgy of Hours for those who read/recite (rather than sing) the Office. Captures the depth and richness of the four-volume Office without so many fussy page turns. This Office is faithful to the outline of the Hours in the Rule of St. Benedict, including more Psalms than the four-volume Office. Options to opt out of some Psalms are provided in a way that doesn’t disrupt the flow. Hymn texts are provided, but no music or Psalm Tones. Unlike the single-volume Christian Prayer, this book is not meant to directly interface with the official four-volume Office. Rather, it is faithful to the outline in the Rule of St. Benedict.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ll organized; easy to follow. Could do much better on using inclusive language for God and people. Also, enough with sacrificial atonement! It makes God a child abuser!

[Siim Rahnu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good companion for daily prayer. Has a liturgical cycle calender until 2050.

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary

Desire for the Book:
I want to practice a monastic community prayer rhythm as best I can for a season and discover if there's something there that I can integrate into my life, if not the whole thing.

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Learning:
I've practiced the daily prayer rhythms in this book for a few stretched seasons - seasons where I would start and then stop. I discovered that, while practicing all seven of the "Divine Hours of Prayer" was quite a jump, it was actually doable, if I put my mind (and desire) to it.

The "small hours" during the work day are not half-hour or hour-long prayers, but more like intentional pauses.

The part that I would rebel against with this prayer book was the necessity of such a strong rhythm of prayer. My Protestant enjoyment of liturgy met my Protestant enjoyment of heart-felt-ness when it comes to prayer.

Now: a great gift of this book comes in the presence and balance of liturgical prayer and psalmody with a free-flowing opportunity in litany.

I imagine I'll be revisiting this prayer book again soon.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little hard to follow at first. I asked some Trappist monks to help orient me to all the pages.

I use it more than any other prayer guide and practice, besides Centering Prayer.