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August 20, 2021If you’re new to praying the North American edition of Divine Worship: Daily Office, the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter’s form of the Liturgy of the Hours, and you’re looking for a basic run-through or even a refresher, then here’s a video tutorial just for you.
Father Al Scharbach, pastor of Mount Calvary Catholic Church in Baltimore, MD, has produced a very accessible video tutorial on YouTube that gives an overview of Divine Worship: Daily Office and makes it easy to learn how to pray with the book for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer.
Both these prayers, also called “Mattins” and “Evensong” in the Ordinariate’s Anglican tradition, are the chief prayers (or offices) of the Liturgy of the Hours, the public prayer of the Catholic Church. The Second Vatican Council called on all the faithful – not just priests and religious -- to pray this liturgy to “sanctify the day.”
This is one area in which the Ordinariate has provided a source of mutual enrichment to the broader Catholic Church as the Anglican patrimony has strongly emphasized the importance of the faithful in praying Morning and Evening Prayer both in common (at church or with others), and in the home, whether with one's family or by oneself. And Ordinariate Bishop Steven J. Lopes has strongly encouraged this practice saying, “This is the liturgy of the baptismal priesthood offering this prayer for, and with, the entire Church — for and with the entire world, really — for the sanctification of the world.”
In this 18 min. video tutorial, Father Scharbach explains the organization of Mattins and Evensong: the optional penitential rite with a sentence of scripture before each main office, and then each office’s division between invitatory prayers, scriptures (psalms, canticles, and lessons), and the prayers.
Father Scharbach gives suggestions on ribbons placement to both use the book quickly, and explains some standard conventions and postures for praying the canticles and psalms. The priest also gives a quick run-through, twice over, so that learners can visualize how the prayers and postures go together, and how easy it is to get the hang of it.
The YouTube video also contains a helpful explanatory text as well for reference. Father Scharbach explains there that the Daily Office “strikes a good balance between being both comprehensive and yet relatively easy to use.” And he adds that the Daily Office’s decision to use a “separate Bible” for the lectionary is a real benefit, because “it keeps us in the habit of handling the entire Scriptures so that we remain familiar with the context and flow of God's Word.”
Plus, the Daily Office makes sure your Bible frequently gets off the shelf and into your hands where it belongs, and puts you on pace to cover nearly all of Holy Scripture within a year.
“Let this prayer inform your life, and learn to let them become part of you, to memorize them, so we can truly redeem the time as St. Paul encouraged us,” Father Scharbach said.
Watch Father Scharbach's video here.
Editor’s note: You can purchase copies of Divine Worship: Daily Office (North American edition) directly through the OCSP chancery. Books are $30 each, plus shipping. Bulk orders of 10 or more are discounted to $25/book plus shipping.
To place an order, send an email to secretary@ordinariate.net that includes your name, number of books, and shipping address. After receiving your order, the OCSP chancery will send a confirmation email asking for payment via their online payment portal. After the Ordinariate receives payment for your Daily Office book(s), you will receive an email with tracking notification for the package. Please direct any questions to secretary@ordinariate.net.
