Little Office Of The Blessed Virgin Mary

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='BarbaraTherese' timestamp='1345632700' post='2471898']
For any interested who may not have The Office of Readings, Universalis has the Office of Readings including for today's Memorial of Our Lady Queen of Heaven. The whole Hour is there and you will need to scroll down almost to the end of the Hour for the Second Reading - and particularly beautiful re Our Lady.

[url="http://www.universalis.com/readings.htm"]http://www.universal...om/readings.htm[/url]
[/quote]

I love the homily by St. Amadeus. It reduced me to tears because it is absolute truth. Mary is the most wonderful Mother anyone could ever ask for -- so pure and loving.

[Totally Franciscan]

Mater, after reading your post asking about the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I remembered I had one that I used when I was in the convent. I had planned to send it to you, but then I noticed that it is called a A Short Breviary, not the Little Office of the BVM. It has all the Franciscan feasts and prayers. Wish I had a Little Office, as I would send it to you in a heartbeat. Sorry!

[OnlySunshine]

[quote name='Totally Franciscan' timestamp='1345685162' post='2472286']
Mater, after reading your post asking about the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I remembered I had one that I used when I was in the convent. I had planned to send it to you, but then I noticed that it is called a A Short Breviary, not the Little Office of the BVM. It has all the Franciscan feasts and prayers. Wish I had a Little Office, as I would send it to you in a heartbeat. Sorry!
[/quote]

Ah, well. It's the thought that counts! Thanks anyway.

[AnneLine]

hiccup - double post below. Someone should send the forum to AA..... it seems to be hiccupping and seeing double a LOT!!!!!

Edited August 23, 2012 by AnneLine

[AnneLine]

[quote name='emmaberry' timestamp='1345615505' post='2471855']
Wow AnneLine, that introductory plan you posted is very helpful. That seems like an excellent way to acquaint people with their vocational life-I am not sure whether to call it third order or secular, since each indicates different things. Do all secular/third orders give this kind of plan to newcomers to help them adjust, or is this unique? Thanks.
[/quote]

Sorry, I didn't get a chance to respond to this thread earlier - I've been fighting a headcold.



[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]Emma, I can't speak for all orders, or even all communities within my own order or province. I think there is a focus now on really providing a good spiritual foundation and a chance to really know and understand our vocation [i](Yes, dUSt I know you see a secular/lay vocation as different... but in this case, can we just call it a lower case 'v' vocation?)[/i][/color][/color]

[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]I can tell you that in our province, when I entered in the mid 1970's, we literally had 6 months as an aspirant, 2 years as a novice, and then we made our Promises. End discussion. DONE. Formation complete! If you had shown up and not displayed problems, you just got professed. As far as the Office, they just told us what to get and to read the directions. Pretty much the way the whole formation was done at that point. (I realize now, probably because they had just gotten the new books themselves and were as lost as we were!) Sigh... not good![/color][/color]

[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]The year after I made my promises, the Order started rquiringing a 3 year temporary promise period...and made a bigger deal of the 6 month aspirance and 2 year novice period. At the time I felt sorry for the ones who got slowed down and couldn't make their final Promise for so much longer, but I now understand a lot more the wisdom of that extra period to think about what one is doing and to live the life a while before a final commitment.[/color][/color]

[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]About 20 years ago, when iI first started working as the Novice Mistress, we did better... we developed a very simple outline of what they needed to know, and went over it with them. We showed them how to use the books, and gave them some actual classes on prayer and saints & spirituality of the order. Not too much in depth, but we gave them the basics. But it wasn't standardized by the order or province, and it varied a LOT from community to community. Hey the 1970's and 1980's were like that!!!![/color][/color]

[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]The big change happened about 10 years ago. The Order made an apology to the Seculars, saying they realized we hadn't been getting a very good formation, and they realized that it was just as vital for us as for those who are friars or nuns or religous Sisters. So, they put some general requirements in place, and encouraged each province to develop a standardized formation program that included a solid preparation in prayer, LOTH, role of laity in the Church, history and writings of our principal saints, etc. They also encouraged us to SLOW DOWN and give people more formation even BEFORE they became novices, because it is harder for someone to leave after being clothed and/or making public Promises.... And there was A LOT of stuff to do and study almost from day 1. (Possibly too MUCH stufff....) [/color][/color]

[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]So... it's just easier and more sensible to give people a head start before they formally join us, and then to spend a good solid year going over the rule & constitutions and the lifestyle of our Order... before someone even becomes a novice. If it isn't right, they and/or we will see it early on.... and do what we can to see if it can be fixed. But Wow, one really does need to be ready to do all that... and sometimes people start and realize it is just too much! And that is part of discernment whether in religious life or secular life... yes?[/color][/color]

[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]We don't expect perfection, but we expect someone to try and to be open to suggestions on how to get it all done..... [/color][/color]

[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]I think some of the lay/secular orders do this much, and with others it is closer to what we were doing 20 years ago. [/color][/color]

Time to get off my soapbox! Anyone who has questions is welcome to PM me!

[color=#A52A2A][color=#222222]And I think it is a good basic outline of how to start good habits of prayer and spiritual growth in general.....[/color][/color]

[AnneLine]

[quote name='BarbaraTherese' timestamp='1345632700' post='2471898']
For any interested who may not have The Office of Readings, Universalis has the Office of Readings including for today's Memorial of Our Lady Queen of Heaven. The whole Hour is there and you will need to scroll down almost to the end of the Hour for the Second Reading - and particularly beautiful re Our Lady.

[url="http://www.universalis.com/readings.htm"]http://www.universal...om/readings.htm[/url]
[/quote]

Agreed, Barbara, those readings are beautiful. I used Universalis for many years when my office book wasn't handy.

My preference these days is Divineoffice.org only because the psalm & reading translations match those used in the USA.... they got the permission that the Universalis people didn't get to use the actual translations.....

[url="http://divineoffice.org/"]http://divineoffice.org/[/url]

but you can find the readings on here, too... just look for the tab following the 'piano key' tabs at the top. They are not using the special reading for St. Rose (but it is an optional memorial, so that's legal....) but do have the appropriate scripture & and Second readings for today... and they are very clear what they are doing & why:

Note: Optional Memorials and Commemorations are optional celebrations and, at present, we do not include content specific to these special days. This “About Today” is provided so that you can celebrate this Saint as you worship Christ.

[url="http://divineoffice.org/"]http://divineoffice.org/[/url]

They also have a podcast if someone wants to feel the sense of praying with others. They are using the revised prayers, etc. since Dec 2012; ;it's a little disconcerning if you follow along with a book, but they do have the texts on line....

[BarbTherese]

I use "Daily Prayer from The Divine Office" and a separate book for Office of Readings - both from Pauline Media. I use Universalis now and then if necessary. My books are quite old and don't have all the feast days and it costs much to update.