The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-02-10
The PRIESTS BREV|ARY.
TO Be- REVISED BY Plus KITS
CONTENTS AND HIsToRY-AT.
TEMPTs TO CHANGE IT.

The recent decree Of the Pope re-
vising the Breviary has served to call
public attention to the little black
covered book which is noticed so often
in the hands Of the priest. The Pope's
decree consists principally in shorten
ing the offices SO that they may be
read in half an hour each day; but the
clergy, however, are enjoined in the
future to recite the entire psalter each
week. The reform of the Breviary will
become operative in 1913
Most people have but vague idea
as to what the Breviary really is, and
it will, perhaps, surprise many to
know that it is simply a systemised
collection of prayers, psalms, passages
from the Scriptures, the Fathers and
the Lives of the Saints, interspersed
with antfphons, versfc1es, responses,
hymns, ETC., and divided into seven
parts called hours" because they are
assigned to the various parts of the
day: Mathis, or morning hour with
Laud or praises) said after midnight;
Prime, said at early morning; Terce,
the third hour OF the morning or 9
o'clock; Sext, the sixth hour or noon;
None, the ninth hour or p. M; Yes
pers, or the evening hour, said at SUM-
down, and Compline, or the compile
ton said as a finish-off by way of
night prayers. Thus it should be re-
cited according to the names of hours,
but practically priest is allowed to
distribute the recital more convenient
ly over the waking and working day.
In the monasteries of strict observ-
ance, however, the hours are said
more or less at the times implied by
their names; and they are recited pub
licly in choir. In ordinary churches,
Vespers is often recited or sung as an
ordinary evening service and In other
churches Conpline is used instead for
the same purpose; while Mathis and
Lauds are publicly sung only in the
officers for the dead. The Catholic
people are thus familiar with the char
acter of the greater part Of the Office.
History of the Breviary.
The Breviary as now in use is the
Official edition published by Pope Plus
v, in the year 1863 Since then few
minor changes and especially the addi-
tons of new Offices for new feasts,
have been made; but otherwise the
text and general arrangement have
remained the same.
The history Of the Breviary falls into
three periods. The first known as the
patristic period, covers the first six
centuries. Definite evidence respect
ing the beginning of the office is not
found earlier than the third century,
when Tertu1lian makes it clear that
Lauds and Vespers existed as forms of
public prayer for the people. A little
after Tertullian's time we find Terce,
Sext, and None recognized as hours of
private prayer Hymns and prayers
are not found earlier than the fourth
century, and the prevalence Of differ
emit local customs then becomes; notice.
able
1t was by the assistance of the
Monks that it was possible to preserve
in the cathedrals the daily recitation
of the office, and in the East, as later
in the West, monastic influences be-
came all powerful in the formation of
the office.
At the beginning OF the fifth century
there were five canonicar hours in the
East-Vigils (Matins), Lauds, Sext,
None, Vespers. At that time the Sun
day ceremonies began at cock-crow,
and lasted till midday because every
priest present preached a sermon.
About the sixth century the private
recitation of the office became binding
upon priests and the lower clergy.
Monastfc Influences now became strong
in the West; the two schools OF st.
COLUMBIA and St. Benedict arose. and
the latter saint has been called the
creator of the Breviary Of the West.
Attempts to Change II.
Very interesting fs the account OF
the attempted changes I'm the Breviary
ON the part of the Humanists under
Nicholas " and Leo X. Their desire
was that the Breviary should be a
book written in Cfeeronian Latin, with
its hymns modelled ON the odes OF
Horace. This attempt to put new
wine into old bottles was, as usual
with such attempts, failure; the
characteristic vigor of ecclesiastical
Latin was destroyed, but nothing
could make the hymn classical. In
opposition to them and contemporane
ously existed the Traditional school
which showed excessive love for the
past.
| The golden mean was that OF the
Moderate school, of which Cardinal
Quignonez was the chief representa-
tive. They set q high value on pure
Latinity, but they laid greater stress
on Christian tone. The outcome of the
efforts of the Cardinal was the "Bre
viarium Sanctae Crucis," which was
II - -,