ADVENT WEEK 3 SATURDAY MORNING PRAYER



SAINT GABRIEL HOURS

The Good News:

Praying with Christ Every Day. 

Anytime. Anywhere. With Anyone. 


SATURDAY MORNING PRAYER

THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT



DECEMBER 21

PSALTER WEEK III

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VIRTUAL RESOURCES

Virtual resources provide more than the dry bones of the liturgical text. They celebrate the Hours with sounds and images. Most importantly they provide community, both community with those who produced the sounds and images, and community with those who celebrate the Hours with the same sounds and images at various times and places.  

This website contains two posts per day. one for Morning Prayer and one for Evening Prayer. 

The post for each hour contains both a link (DivineOffice.org) with the complete text of the Hour recited by a small group, and a link (SingtheHours.org) with the complete sung text of the Hour, mostly by a single cantor.  By clinking on either of these two links you can celebrate the Hour without making any other choices.   YOU DO NOT NEED ANY OTHER BOOK OR BOOKLET or other virtual resources. 

Breviaries which provide the liturgical texts for the Hours have multiple ribbons to help switch between sections of the breviary. Word on Fire provides a monthly booklet containing the texts for Morning and Evening Prayer. It reads straight through just like a book, except for the Hymns which are in the back of the book. WHILE YOU CAN USE THEIR BOOKLET WITHOUT VIRTUAL RESOURCES, THIS WEBSITE HELPS YOU INTEGRATE VIRTUAL RESOURCES WITH THE BOOKLET.  

Each post also contains the following YouTube links: two additional alternatives for the beginning Hymn, an alternative for each psalm of the Hour, an alternative Gospel Canticle and alternative Lord's Prayer. Each of these sample alternatives has a link to a large selection of alternatives.

Becoming skillful at using these virtual resources 
for both personal and communal prayer is the major goal of this website. 
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FULL ROMAN RITE SERVICES

Three Models (Options) for Morning Prayer (Lauds):

Praying with Christ Every Day Anywhere will be greatly helped by three models each illustrated here by a particular option. 

Becoming proficient at adapting these models 
for both personal and communal prayer is a major goal of this website. 

The Instruction for the Liturgy of the Hours promotes both recitation in common as well as singing the Hours. 

The first model below emphasizes recitation in common. The second model emphasizes the sung nature of the celebration. The third model below with its easy-to- read monthly booklet is very suitable for personal meditative prayer and study, including marking the text. Don't throw the booklets away! 

Each of the three Options contains the full text of the Roman Rite for Morning Prayer.  

Each of the three Options has a beginning hymn. These are noted below as an aid to choosing among options.  With a little practice, one can begin with one option and its hymn, then switch to another option.

RECITATION IN COMMON MODEL

DIVINE OFFICE.ORG OPTION

Excellent model of small (household size) community reciting the office with sung hymn at the beginning. Experience the Hours as community prayer even when praying alone. 






INVITATORY: PSALM 95

Hymn: "The Dawn is Sprinkling in the East"
Translation by Edward Caswall of "Aurora iam spargit polum"
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COMPLETELY SUNG MODEL

SING THE HOURS OPTION

Excellent model of totally sung office, mostly by one very talented young person. His father is an excellent translator of Latin hymns. Although they use some Latin, there is always an English translation. If English is preferred, either pause the Latin after a verse to pray the English text or mute the Latin and pray the English text. 




Hymn: Magnis Prophetae Vocibus
English Gospel Canticle & LATIN Lord's Prayer
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PERSONAL MEDITATION MODEL

WORD ON FIRE OPTION

Bishop Barron's organization produces a monthly booklet that contains Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer for each day. It reads straight through like a book except for the beginning hymns for each hour which are all in the back of the booklet. Try using a prayer card instead of a ribbon!

Below is a close approximation to the hymn they have chosen. Often the video has more or different verses. Sometimes the translation and or the tune will be different.  Unfortunately, sometimes the choice of hymn has to be changed due to the lack of available videos, or last year's has been used. 
 

 WORD ON FIRE BOOKLET:  DECEMBER 2024, pages 230-239

O ORIENS / O DAYSPRING - O Antiphons: Day 5 -

 December 21 - Latin and English - Gregorian Chant



Text, Music and Piano Accompaniment



HYMN SELECTED FROM MY PERSONAL FAVORITES

This fourth hymn option is strongly influenced by the blog author's liturgical music collection (first vinyl discs, then cassettes, finally CDs). For decades this musical collection has supported the celebration of the Hours.  Now with YouTube videos, anyone can start a blog like this to link to their favorite hymns for the celebration of the Hours.  

Deep into the Stillness
The Monks of Weston Priory - Topic

1,055 views  Dec 4, 2020

Microsoft Word - Deep Into The Stillness (westonpriory.org)


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THE FOUR WEEK PSALTER 

The psalms were the prayers of Jesus and his disciples. Under the influence of monasticism, praying the whole 150 psalms each week became the norm in both Eastern and Western Christianity.

Since Vatican II, the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours has spread the Book of Psalms over four weeks rather than one. The practice of praying the psalms in order has been abandoned in favor of psalms specifically selected for Morning and Evening Prayer. 

 A major goal of this website is greater familiarity
 with the Four Week Psalter and its psalms

As noted in the General Instruction, there is an ancient tradition of personal meditation and prayer at the end of each psalm. There are many videos on the internet with psalms sung in a variety of ways, using different languages and translations, and drawing from different musical and spiritual traditions. Some presentations have beautiful slides or videos that can  enhance and interpret the psalm.

VIDEOS FOR TODAY'S PSALMS

The video selections below are intended as a stimulus to personal prayer and meditation in the period after the group have recited the psalm in the first option, or the cantor has sung the psalm in the second option, or while looking at the written psalm in the third option.

PSALM 119 145-152 XIX (Koph)



PSALM 117






Psalm videos were selected to provide as much variety as possible while maintaining substantial ritual consistency by using the same authors or similar musical pieces during the four weeks.  Preference was given to videos that covered most of the psalm. No attempt has been made to judge accuracy of translations. Those celebrating have already experienced the official text.        

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LONGER READINGS

FROM TODAY'S OFFICE OF READINGS

ISAIAH CHAPTER 51-52

Chapter 51:17 - 52: 2, 7-10

FROM TODAY'S MASS

SATURDAY OF THIRD WEEK OF LENT


 Mal 3:1-4, 23-24: 

Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
But who will endure the day of his coming?
And who can stand when he appears?

   Lk 1:57-66

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.

THE GOSPEL CANTICLE 


SELECTION FOR WEEKDAYS: PSALTER WEEK II

Diocese of St. Benedict Old Catholic Missionaries


 44,825 views Jun 23, 2012 



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  THE LORD'S PRAYER



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GUIDE TO PAGES ON THIS SITE

IIn addition to time and date stamped posts, such as one for Morning Prayer and one for Evening Prayer for each day, Blogger allows users to create pages to provide a framework for understanding and using the posts.  The pages for this site are under construction.

A guide to the future PAGES on the site is at the bottom of each post. The guide contains information about each page and relates them to one another. New pages and updated pages will also be noted.

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DIVINE OFFICE / LITURGY OF THE HOURS

is the Prayer of Christ and the Church

"Christ Jesus, high priest of the new and eternal covenant, taking human nature, introduced into this earthly exile that hymn which is sung throughout all ages in the halls of heaven. He joins the entire community of mankind to Himself, associating it with His own singing of this canticle of divine praise."  (Vatican II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, #86)

"For he continues His priestly work through the agency of His Church, which is ceaselessly engaged in praising the Lord and interceding for the salvation of the whole world. She does this, not only by celebrating the Eucharist, but also in other ways, especially by praying the Divine Office."  (Vatican II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, #86)

"Lauds as Morning Prayer and Vespers as Evening Prayer are the two hinges on which the daily office turns; hence they are to be considered as the chief hours and are to be celebrated as such." (Vatican II Constitution on Sacred Liturgy, #89) 


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FUNDAMENTAL DISCERNMENT QUESTION

How can we as persons, households, families, groups and communities,
 use virtual resources such as those above, 
to celebrate in various ways
 the Hours, the Prayer of Christ, 
Every Day, Everywhere
Anytime with Anyone.
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BASIC DISCERNMENT QUESTIONS

Time, Television and the Hours

Do we have time to pray the Hours?


FIFTEEN MINUTES

How much time should we spend in formal prayer each day?


Time Management Principles

How do we pray the Hours?

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BEGINNING PRACTICES

Discerning How to Use the Resources on This Site
Ten days, Fifteen minutes a Day
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BASIC PRACTICES

Celebrating the Gospel Canticles

Praise and Thanksgiving; Gospel Canticle.
 Conversion and Petition; the Lord’s Prayer

Celebrating the Psalms

The Prayers of Jesus and His disciples


Celebrating with Hymns

Songs of the People of God


Option of Longer Readings

Lectionary, Office of Readings, Continuous Reading


Silence

Listening to Creation, our Hearts, and Hearts of Others

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ADVANCED PRACTICES


Keeping a Journal of the Hours

Underlining text, Word documents, a Blog


A Thirty Day Retreat

Discerning the Place of the Hours in My life?


Bible Study

Integrating personal and group bible study with the Hours


Office of the Dead

For Funerals and Votive Offices


Centering the Hours on the Eucharist

Combining the Hours with Mass

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SPIRITUALITY 

by Jack Rakosky