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Brookline Carmel Bulletin
May 29, 1960
J M J T
Cogitatio Sancta
(Holy
Meditation)
The Little Office
Although the Little Office
of Our Lady is considerably shorter than the ever-varying Office which the
clergy and religious of both sexes in solemn vows have to say, yet, coming as
it does from the same authority (the Church) which regulates and prescribes its
use, it is as much a liturgical prayer as the other, and has the same claims to
be considered as part of the public official worship which the mystical Spouse
of Christ, the Church, daily offers to her Divine Head. (Little Office of Our Lady, by
Ethelred Taunton, published by Pustet, London, 1903)
The Little
Office of Our Lady seems to have developed according to the form of the
Divine Office itself, and alongside it.
The earliest historical reference to the Little Office seems to be the
fact that Pope Zachary (died about 752 A.D.) commanded that the monks of Monte
Casino recite under
strict precept, in addition to the Divine Office, another (office) which it is customary to
perform in honour of the Holy Mother of God. The word customary indicates that the Little Office had already existed for
some time before Pope Zachary imposed his precept. The Little Office became more and more widespread during the
centuries that followed and was inserted in the breviary by Pope Pius V in
1568.
Two great themes run
through the Little Office (cf. Our Ladys Hours, by Mary Perkins Ryan,
Newman Press, 1946): We praise and thank God for
His great gifts to Mary and through her to the human race; we congratulate her
on her glory and invoke her intercession.
The two themes are interwoven, and dominate the Office. Even when, reading the appointed Psalms and
trying to penetrate their meaning, we do not explicitly refer them to Mary
though this can be done and there is some appropriateness, symbolic or other,
of the various Psalms to her the thought of her is implicit. First, because in praising God we are pleasing
and praising Mary: how can one please
and praise any mother more than by glorifying her son? Further, but for her and her acceptance of
the angels message we should not be making the spiritual pilgrimage through
Christ to God. We have her watchful
intercession, her intense interest in our salvation, and if we may say so with
reverence her companionship; for she too trod the pilgrim road. Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces. When we appeal to her in our private
devotions, we open
the floodgates of Gods grace which flows through her hands. How much more, then, must we open these
gates when we appeal to her in liturgical prayer, the official and public
prayer of the Church, the Mystical Body of her divine Son! The Little Office is not primarily a private
devotion (although one at times may feel great devotion in reciting it and may
throw himself heart and soul into the sentiments expressed in it); the Little
Office is, first and foremost, a liturgical prayer, i.e., part of the public
worship for the Church. One who recites
the Little Office does so, not so much as an individual, but as a member of
that great chorus of persons delegated by the Church to offer praise and
worship (in a more or less official capacity) to God.
The chief and oldest part
of the Office is the Psalter, i.e., the book of psalms. It is fitting these ancient songs should
have this prominent place, since, as a part of the Scriptures, they have the
Holy Spirit as their Author. We may say,
then, with all due reverence, that when we pray the Psalms, God Himself puts the words in our mouths. To view this remarkable privilege from
another aspect, it is Christ Who speaks through us. As one writer puts it, It is always Jesus Christ, the Mediator, the great
High Priest, the only worthy Adorer of His Father Who stands before the
throne. It is always He Who prays, He
Who speaks through us. In the
words of St. Augustine, It is our Lord Jesus Christ Who frequently speaks in His Own Person as
our Head; often in the person of His Body which is ourselves and His Church; yet
since the words seem to come from the mouth of but one man, we may understand
that the Head and the Body are integrally one and cannot be separated
When we
pray the Office, we pray not so much as individuals, but as members of the
Mystical Body of Christ. We pray in
union with Him, praising and glorifying His Father and our Father. And all of this we do through Mary and with Mary, His
Mother and our Mother.
(to be continued)
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