The Divine Office For Dodos

[Nunsense]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1318817492' post='2322425']

definitely! this is how i learned...i also learned not to say the psalm-prayers at the end of each psalm because that was something ICEL added (and shouldn't really be there). so i don't do them.
[/quote]

Yes! And they aren't in the 3 volume UK edition either, so the first time I had to use the 4 volume US LOH, I didn't know what they were! lol I felt really strange saying them too. But since I have spent most of my time in religious life in either the UK, Canada or Australia, I feel most comfortable with the UK set and that is the one I use all the time now (I gave up my LOH set). The other thing I like about the UK set is the chant marks which aren't in the LOH - I suppose because it is designed to be recited, and those who want to chant use the Grail Psalter instead.

[MissScripture]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1318817492' post='2322425']

definitely! this is how i learned...i also learned not to say the psalm-prayers at the end of each psalm because that was something ICEL added (and shouldn't really be there). so i don't do them.
[/quote]
Yeah, I started out using them, and then I kind of thought some of them were, um, inhibiting my prayer, and I mentioned it to my sister, who looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Yeah, we don't say those at all..." After that I just skipped them.

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1318817603' post='2322429']
see, i think it was opposite for me...easier to use the Guide at first, then i weaned myself off it (only using it for feast days), then not using it at all. i think going to the St. Joseph's Guide after not using it would be a step backwards, but that of course, is just my opinion. once you have the rhythm down, i don't see a need to go back to St. Joseph's Guide.
[/quote]
I never used the actual St. Joseph's guide, but I used online guides at first. Now just when I've gotten out of the habit, and need to figure out where we are.

[Nunsense]

One of the beautiful things about praying the Office is offering it up for different people and petitions. When I confessed my lack of focus to a priest, he told me that if I start to think about a particular person during my prayers, then to offer that part of the Office for them. He said he felt that sometimes things come into our mind while praying because those people or situations need our prayers. That was a comfort to me and now I like to offer the Office for others.

[brandelynmarie]

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1318785319' post='2322116']
Another thing you could do is ask a priest to help you if you know one well enough that you would feel comfortable doing that. They all pray it every day, so they know how, and sometimes it's just easiest to have someone walk you through it a few times.
[/quote]

Yeah, I hope to ask some local Dominican priests for help at some point.


[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1318817492' post='2322425']

definitely! this is how i learned...i also learned not to say the psalm-prayers at the end of each psalm because that was something ICEL added (and shouldn't really be there). so i don't do them.
[/quote]

ICEL=International Commision on English in the Liturgy? Goodness! So why on earth did they add the psalm-prayers? Are they more for private use?


[quote name='nunsense' timestamp='1318818032' post='2322448']
One of the beautiful things about praying the Office is offering it up for different people and petitions. When I confessed my lack of focus to a priest, he told me that if I start to think about a particular person during my prayers, then to offer that part of the Office for them. He said he felt that sometimes things come into our mind while praying because those people or situations need our prayers. That was a comfort to me and now I like to offer the Office for others.
[/quote]

Wonderful advice! I did not think you could do that...

[brandelynmarie]

Oh & the book is recommending additional bookmarkers & ribbons & so in the spirit of learning, I will be buying or making some soon. So far I have enjoyed the author's humor & I find it sweet that she even asks her readers to say a pray for her from time to time.

[img]http://img.aquinasandmore.com/items/17921lg.jpg[/img]

[HopefulBride]

When my former SD taught me the LOTH, he taught met to skip those prayers. Then I started listening to divineoffice.org and they say it (it drives me nuts! Because fort the first two years I just ignored them)

[Feankie]

[i]ICEL=International Commision on English in the Liturgy? Goodness! So why on earth did they add the psalm-prayers? Are they more for private use?[/i]

ICEL has done some other strange things. I'm in charge of our parish's transition to the Third Revised Edition of the Roman Missal, and I have to admit, some of the language, etc. is a bit strange. Our priests are even having a difficult time with the wording (about
75 % of the changes apply to the priest) and I pray they will get accustomed to and embrace the changes, even if they are a bit difficult to read and more difficult to pray.

[TIWW]

This web site below has alot of information about LOTH, including many of the various forms and translations. It also has a good review of the changes and accommodations to the Divine Office over time. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy_of_the_Hours"]Liturgy of the Hours - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]

For me personally, the [b]translation of the Psalms[/b] being used is important, because after praying the LOTH for so many years, many of the psalms are committed to memory. If the translation is contemporary, tries to fix the he/she thing, I get very distracted. Because I am used to praying the psalm-prayer, I like it, but again, it is part of my prayer routine. The other wonderful thing about praying the Divine Office, is knowing that our prayer is joining the same prayers of praise going on all over the earth, at all hours of the day and night. That we are the CHURCH at prayer, and raising up these prayers of praise and supplication unite us as people of God, whether Religious or Lay.

[brandelynmarie]

Thank TIWW! The only modern paraphrase of the Psalms that I liked was a book called [u]Psalms Now! [/u]But this was for private use, not liturgical. It didn't mess with pronouns, but put everything into modern language.