We all know that the Psalms are the backbone of the Liturgy of the Hours, but do we know why?

O. Pick me. I can tell you, but only because I’ve been learning from Fr. David Anderson in an awesome, online Liturgy of the Hours class. (I know some of y’all are taking that class with me. Fist bump for the LotH Club).

The Psalter was the hymnbook of ancient Judaism. When Jesus arrived on the scene, it was his hymnbook too. And, as you who are probably smarter than I, know, he said this about them:

These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you; that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”

(Luke 24v44 NRSVCE, emphasis mine).

The early Christians (who were Jews with a tradition of psalmody) took this really seriously. Then, in the 300s and 400s AD (and for the first time in the history of psalmody) some of them went out into the desert and began chanting the psalter nightly from beginning to end. It took them all night. By the morning hours they would finish their chanting with Psalms 148, 149, and 150.

Guess what those Psalms are called.

Correcto! They’re called “The Praises,” because they each begin with “Praise the Lord!”

In Latin: “Laudate Dominum!”

They became known as “Laudes,” or “The Praises,” from which we get our modern nomenclature: “Lauds.”

Our history is a little shaky on this next point, and liturgical scholar Fr. Taft in his book The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West has this to say about how these praise psalms made it into the morning office:

But there are still other particular issues for which a generally agreed and satisfying solution is yet to be found. Among them is the question of the origins of...morning praise (lauds)... This remains the outstanding problem in the history of the formation of the Divine Office.

(Taft, pg. 191)

But here’s one way liturgical historians have reconstructed how The Praises made it into the morning office.

The desert-dwelling, Psalm-chanting monks (almost entirely laity, by the way) did not all live far away from cities. In the East and West, they often had their monasteries near large cathedral churches in places like Jerusalem, Rome, Antioch, and eventually Constantinople. The cathedral churches were, in these early years, the places where all the Christians gathered for morning and evening prayer services of their own. Bishop presiding, lamps lit, incense billowing, everybody was there.

In these cathedral offices, they chose fixed psalms to match the time of day: at sunset, the psalm about evening incense rising up like prayer (Psalm 141, or 140 in the Septuagint). In the morning, they chanted Psalm 63 (62 Septuagint).

These cathedral church Christians were also greatly influenced by the “monastic” office, which used The Praises in their morning prayers (because they were just finishing their whole psalter for the night). Eventually, the “cathedral office” imported Psalms 148, 149, and 150 into their morning prayers, and hence the morning office came to be called “Lauds.” (See chapter 10 of Fr. Taft’s book for more details).

Pretty neat, yea?

Anyway, in the new version of the Roman Rite Liturgy of the Hours, we no longer include these three psalms in every morning office. Instead, they are scattered throughout the month (though always at Lauds).

Signing off, and God be praised!

Chelsie

Welcome to [not-so] Ordinary Time.

It wasn’t always called that, by the way. The two parts of the year we now call “Ordinary Time” used to be called “The Time after Epiphany” and “The Time after Pentecost.”

A little clunky but not without meaning. Now that you are a resident of [Ordinary] Time after Pentecost, the day is fine for taking a peek around your new domicile and deciding where the furniture (of your soul) should go.

Happily, we are not without direction. The liturgical year has a particular shape, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. But let me hand the mic over to our man, Dom Gueranger, who writes most eloquently about this topic. It’s a little long, but absolutely nothing could be cut from it. Resist the brainrot of short-form media consumption, It’s worth it I promise!

That we may thoroughly understand the meaning and influence of the Season of the Liturgical Year upon which we have now entered, it is requisite for us to grasp the entire sequel of mysteries, which holy Church has celebrated in our presence and company; we have witnessed her Services, and we have shared in them. The celebration of those mysteries was not an empty pageant, acted for the sake of being looked at. Each one of them brought with it a special grace, which produced in our souls the reality signified by the Rites of the Liturgy. At Christmas, Christ was born within us; at Passiontide, He passed on and into us his sufferings and atonements; at Easter, he communicated to us his glorious, his untrammelled life; in his Ascension, he drew us after him, and this even to heaven’s summit; in a word, as the Apostle expresses all this working, Christ was formed in us.

But, in order to give solidity and permanence to the image of Christ formed within us, it was necessary that the Holy Ghost should come, that so he might increase our light, and enkindle a fire within us that should never be quenched. This divine Paraclete came down from heaven; he gave himself to us; he wishes to take up his abode within us, and take our life of regeneration entirely into his own hands. Now, it is during the period called, by the Liturgy, The Time after Pentecost, that there is signified and expressed this regenerated life, which is to be spent on the model of Christ’s, and under the direction of his Spirit.

Two objects here offer themselves to our consideration: the Church and the Christian soul. As to holy Church, the Bride of Christ, filled as she is with the Paraclete Spirit, who has poured himself forth upon her, and, from that time forward, is her animating principle,—she is advancing onwards in her militant career, and will do so till the second Coming of her heavenly Spouse. She has within her the gifts of Truth and Holiness. Endowed with Infallibility of Faith, and Authority to govern, she feeds Christ’s flock, sometimes enjoying liberty and peace, sometimes going through persecutions and trials. Her divine Spouse abides with her, by his grace and the efficacy of his promises, even to the end of time; she is in possession of all the favors he has bestowed upon her; and the Holy Ghost dwells with her, and in her, forever. All this is expressed by this present portion of the Liturgical Year. It is one wherein we shall not meet with any of those great events which prepared and consummated the divine work; but, on the other hand, it is a season when holy Church reaps the fruits of that holiness and doctrine, which those ineffable mysteries have already produced, and will continue to produce, during the course of ages. It is during this same season, that we shall meet with the preparation for, and, in due time, the fulfillment of, those final events which will transform our Mother’s militant life on earth into the triumphant one in heaven. As far, then, as regards holy Church, this is the meaning of the portion of the Cycle we are commencing.

As to the faithful soul, whose life is but a compendium of that of the Church, her progress, during the period which is opened to her after the Pentecostal Feasts, should be in keeping with that of our common Mother. The soul should live and act according to that Jesus, who has united himself with her by the mysteries she has gone through; she should be governed by the Holy Spirit, whom she has received. The sublime episodes, peculiar to this second portion of the year, will give her an increase of light and life. She will put unity into these rays, which, though scattered in various directions, emanate from one common center: and, advancing from brightness to brightness, she will aspire to being consummated in him whom she now knows so well, and whom death will enable her to possess as her own. Should it not be the will of God, however, to take her as yet to himself, she will begin a fresh year, and live, over again, those mysteries which she has already enjoyed in the foregoing first half of the Liturgical Cycle, after which, she will find herself, once more, in the season that is under the direction of the Holy Ghost; till at last, her God will summon her from this world, on the day and at the hour which he has appointed from all eternity.

(From CHAPTER THE SECOND. THE MYSTERY OF THE TIME AFTER PENTECOST.)

TLDR: Christ is formed in us through our ordered liturgical celebrations - His Birth, Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension. And now with the gift of the Holy Spirit given at Pentecost, we abide in this “Ordinary” time, “advancing from brightness to brightness” until our complete union with Christ in the consummation of the age (which we celebrate at the culmination of the liturgical year on the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe!). Gueranger’s exposition of the meanings of the year is masterful.

Ordinary time is not “ordinary” in the colloquial sense of being average, every day, humdrum (or “mid” as the kids say). It is the time we live out our regenerated lives, militantly.

As this Catholic Culture article puts it, “If the faithful are to mature in the spiritual life and increase in faith, they must descend the great mountain peaks of Easter and Christmas in order to ‘pasture’ in the vast verdant meadows of tempus per annum, or Ordinary Time.”

Which leads us to ask, HOW do we go about doing that? Being Catholic makes it so easy. We participate in and cooperate with the sacraments with a prayerful spirit. This is how we arrange our lives throughout the whole year, but now we do it with a special emphasis on what we’ve experienced, liturgically, in the first half of the year.

Watch this video in which Paul explains how we can make Christ’s prayer our prayer, by extending the Mass throughout the day.

My favorite quote from the whole video (which is saying something because it’s all excellent):

“You are absolutely part of the flesh of God. You’re incorporated into His body in baptism, and then again and again in the Eucharist. But that flesh and blood has to do what Christ does...And we know that Christ is eternally praising the Father.”

This is Incarnational theology at its height, my friends.

Disclaimer: by Chelsie the Admin Gopher. Paul thinks my writing is a little unhinged and wants people to know this is me, but have you met him in person? He’s zany.

00:00 In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti
00:20 Credo
02:35 Pater Noster
03:13 Ave Maria x3
05:03 Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto
05:20 Primum Mysterium
- 12:05 Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto
- 12:21 Fatima Prayer
12:45 Secundum Mysterium
- 19:56 Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto
- 20:15 Fatima Prayer
20:37 Tertium Mysterium
- 27:44 Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto
- 28:03 Fatima Prayer
28:28 Quartum Mysterium
- 35:24 Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto
- 35:42 Fatima Prayer
36:04 Quintum Mysterium
- 42:57 Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto
- 43:17 Fatima Prayer
43:39 Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen)
44:54 Ora pro nobis Sancta Dei Genetrix

Chant resources:
Apostle's Creed in Gregorian Chant: https://gregobase.selapa.net/chant.php?id=9176
Pater Noster: https://gregobase.selapa.net/chant.php?id=3326
Ave Maria: https://gregorian-chant-hymns.com/hymns-2/ave-maria.html
Gloria Patri (tone 1)
O Mi Jesu (Sing the hours composition, based on the Te Deum simple tone)
Salve Regina (Simplex): https://gregobase.selapa.net/chant.php?id=11392

Happy Week II Monday in Ordinary Time!

I love Week II Mondays. Why? Because Vespers is particularly lovely.

As you know, the Psalms form the main body of prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Vespers for this Monday frames Psalm 45 in two parts, with the mystery of the Church’s union with Christ as a major theme.

First, Antiphon 1 gives us a focus for how we should think about Psalm 45 as we chant it:

Antiphon 1: “Yours is more than mortal beauty; every word you speak is full of grace.”

Then the psalm begins expounding on the loveliness and kingly nature of Christ. He is “the fairest of the children of men” and “graciousness is poured upon” his lips (hence the antiphon’s text).

He has a sword and He rides in triumphant splendor. His arrows are sharp and peoples fall before Him. His scepter is one of justice and He hates evil.

Be still our hearts.

Here’s where it might get Marian.

“From the ivory palace you are greeted with music. The daughters of kings are among your loved ones. On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.“

There are various interpretations here. The queen could be the Davidic queen (which would be the Blessed Virgin Mary). It could also be another royal title for the princess who has come to marry the King. Either way, the queen can be seen both as Mary, who is the mother of the Church and also the perfect icon of the Church, as Lumen Gentium states:

“Finally, the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, is the image and most excellent model of the Church in its ultimate perfection.” (Lumen Gentium, 63)

Then the Psalm is interrupted for Antiphon 2, which sings:

“The Bridegroom is here. Go out and welcome Him.”

If you have to have something stuck in your head, it’s a great choice. I walk around my house singing this line and I don’t mind at all.

Now the psalm turns from the king to address the princess - i.e. the Church, who is here for her wedding.

“Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words. Forget your own people and your father’s house. So will the King desire your beauty: He is your lord, pay homage to Him.”

This psalm has it all: the King, who is a type of Christ. The Queen, who is a type of Mary and the Church, and the princess come to marry the King. That’s us, the Church who through union with Christ becomes part of His very body.

This whole psalm is a masterclass in ecclesiology. When we sing it, we delight in our Husband, who died and rose again to give us a kingdom and an inheritance.

Forget the old ways and give yourself wholeheartedly to Him.

For copyright reasons, we can’t add all of Psalm 45 here, but if you want to pray with us tonight, you can find the prayer here:
1.19.26 Vespers, Monday Evening Prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours

Written by Chelsie, Sing the Hours.

P.S. If you learn this particular office, you'll be able to chant it again (with a little variation according to the liturgical season) on the following dates: February 16, 2026; March 2, 2026; April 13, 2026; May 11, 2026 etc.