Chapter XXII. Of the Church Office, or the Canonical Hours of Prayer in the Catholic Church

Q. What do you mean by the Church-Office?

A. It is a form of prayer, consisting of Psalms Lessons, Hymns, &c. used by all the clergy and by the religious of both sexes in the Catholit! Church. This Office is divided into seven parli^| commonly called the Seven Canonical Hours, according to the different stage or stations of Christ's passion, viz. the Matins, or Midnight-Office, to which are annexed the Lauds, or Morning-Praises of God; the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours of prayer, commonly called prime, terce, sext, and* none; the Vespers, or Evening-song; and the Complin. All these are duly performed by the clergy and religious every day, according to that of the Royal Prophet, Psalm cxviii. ' Seven times in the day I gave praise to thee.'

Q. Have you any warrant in scripture for these different hours of prayer?

A, Yes: as to the Midnight-Office, King David tells us, Psalm cxxviii. that 'he arose at midnight to confess to God,' and we find that St. Paul and Silas, even in prison, ' pra3fed at midnight and sung praises to God,' Acts xvi. 25.

As for the Lauds, or praises of God at break of day, they are also recommended to us by the example of the Psalmist, Psalm Ixii. ^O God! my God! to thee do I watch from the morning light;' and by the admonition of the Wise-man, Wisd. xvL 28. 'That we ought to get up before the sun to bless God, and at the rising of light to adore him.'

Of Prime, or the first hour of prayer at sunrising, we may understand that of the Royal Prophet, Psalm v. 'In the morning thou shalt hear my voice,' &c. At Terce, or the third hour of prayer, it was, that the Apostles received the Holy Ghost, Acts ii. 15. At Sext, or the sixth hour, St. Peter was praying when he was called by a vision to open the church to the Gentiles, Acts x. 9. And we read also of St. Peter, with St. John, going up to the Temple to the 'ninth hour of prayer,' Acts iii. 1. For Vespers, or even-song, and Complin, which are evening-prayer, we have the example of the Royal prophet, Psalm liv. ' In the even ng, and the morning, and at noon-day,

I will speak and declare, and he will hear my voice,' Hence we find, that the night Office, the morning praises, the third, sixth, and ninth hours of prayer, and the even-song, were among the primitive Christians regularly observed, not only by the clergy, but also by the rest of the faithful; to which the religious afterwards added the Prime and Complin.

Q. Can you give me a short scheme of tho canonical hours of prayer, according to the Roman Breviary?

A. Matins begin with the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles' Creed: then, after a Versicle or two, to call for God's assistance, and the Gloria Patri, &c. follows the 94th Psalm, (alias 95,) by which we invite one another to praise and adore God. Then comes a hymn, which is followed by the Psalms, with their proper anthems, and the lessons of the day, with their responsories. In the Matins for Sunday, we read eighteen psalms, and nine lessons: on festivals, and saints' days, we read nine psalms and nine lessons, divided into three Nocturns: on Ferial, or common days, we read twelve psalms and three lessons. The psalms are so distributed, that in the week we go through the whole Psalter: the lessons are partly taken out of the scriptures of the Old and New Testament, partly out of the acts of the saints, and the writings and homilies of the holy fathers. Upon fasting days, and during the whole Paschal time, and upon all Sundays from Easter to Advent, and from Christmas till Septuagesima, we close the Matins with the Te Deum.

In the Lauds we recite seven psalms, and one of the scripture canticles, with their respective anthems, and a hymn, then the canticle Ben©- dictus, with the prayer or prayers of the day: and in the end an anthem and prayer of the blessed Virgin Mary.

The Prime begins with the Pater, Ave, and Creed, Deus in adjutorium, dec. Gloria Patri, dz;c. After which there follow a morning hymn, the 63d Psalm, (alias 54,) with a part of the 118th, (alias 119) to which on Sundays, is prefixed the 117th Psalm, and subjoined the Athanasian Creed. Then follow an anthem, a capitulum, or short lesson, with its responsory, and diverse prayers to beg God^s grace for the following day.

Terce, Sext and None, begin with Pater, Ave, &c. and consist each of them of a proper hymn, and six divisions of the 118th Psalm: which excellent psalm the church would have her clergy daily recite, because every verse of it contains the praises of God''s holy law and commandments, or excites the soul to the love and esteem thereof, or in fine, prays for the grace to fulfil the same. After the psalm follows an anthem; then a short lesson, responsory and prayer: and each hour is concluded with the Pater Noster.

Vespers, or even-song, are begun also with Pater, Ave, &;c. and consist of five psalms, with their anthems, a short chapter or lesson, a hymn, and the Magnificat, or canticle of the blessed Virgin Mary, with its proper anthem, and a collect or prayer, to which are usually joined three or four commemorations, consisting of anthems, verses and prayers.

Complin, consists of the Lord's Prayer, the Coniiteor, dec. four psalms, an anthem, hymn, lesson, ^responsory, the canticle Nunc dimittis, with its anthem, and some short prayers which are closed with an anthem and prayer of the blessed Virgin, and the Pater, Ave and Creed.