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Liturgia Horarum
Introduction to the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin
In days of old the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin was the favourite devotion among all who could read. In fact, it was from the Book of Hours containing the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, that children were ordinarily taught to read. The examples of some celebrated personages may well be cited. St. Louis, King of France, said it daily, and caused his children to do likewise. St. Antonine, Archbishop of Florence, St. Edmund, St. Vincent Ferrer, Ven. Alphonsus Rodriguez, and many others, recited it daily on their knees. St. Ambrose of Sienna knew it by heart at the age of seven. St. Margaret of Hungary, St. Isabella. of Portugal, St. Catherine, St. Bridget of Sweden, and especially St. Frances of Rome., experienced great consolation in its recital. We read of St. Gertrude that one day our Lord told her that no devotion pleased Him better than the devout recitation of the Hours of the Office of His Blessed Mother. The unfortunate Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, comforted herself in her long and dreary captivity by the pious recital of the Little Office, and even on the scaffold she used her Book of Hours to recommend, for the last time, her soul to Christ and His Holy Mother.
236 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1988
190 people are currently reading
222 people want to read
About the author
Catholic Church
3,812 books175 followersThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity. The Catholic Church is among the oldest institutions in the world and has played a prominent role in the history of Western civilisation. It teaches that it is the church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles and that the Pope is the successor to Saint Peter. Catholic doctrine maintains that the Church is infallible when it dogmatically teaches a doctrine of faith or morals. Catholic worship is centred on the Eucharist in which the Church teaches bread and wine are supernaturally transubstantiated into the body and blood of Christ. The Church holds the Blessed Virgin Mary in special regard. Catholic beliefs concerning Mary include her Immaculate Conception and bodily Assumption at the end of her earthly life.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 17, 2022
A charming alternative to the regular Breviary. I keep this slim volume in my car for odd times and used it the other day when I left home without doing Morning Prayer and then also forgot my phone. Yes, it seemed the day was not getting off to a good start, but this was the perfect remedy.
For all that it is called ‘The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ don’t let that word ‘little’ make you think you are going to be doing an abbreviated version of anything. It simply refers to the fact that this is an alternative to the primary Divine Office, as a side chapel would stand next to the main cathedral. It is of lesser size, yes, but a Mass said there would be equally valid, convey the same Grace, and could not be assumed to take less time.
Since I wanted to do Morning Prayer, I turned to Lauds* on p56. The Office begins in the usual way with the cry for God’s assistance, although the words are slightly different: ‘O God, hasten to mine aid. O Lord, make haste to help me.’
Then come 3 psalms: 93, 98, 63, followed by the Canticle from Daniel 3, which begins: “Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever...” Then the last three psalms of the Psalter: 148, 149 and 150, followed by the Hymn, “O Queen of all the Virgin Choir”:
1 O Queen of all the Virgin choir,
Enthroned above the starry sky;
Who with thy bosom’s milk didst feed
Thine own Creator, Lord most high.
2 What man hath lost in hapless Eve,
Thy sacred womb to man restore
Thou to the wretched here beneath
Hast open’d Heaven’s eternal doors.
3 Hail, O refulgent Hall of light!
Hail, Gate august of Heaven’s high King!
Through thee redeem’d to endless life,
Thy praise let all the nations sing.
4 O Jesu! born of Virgin bright,
Immortal glory be to Thee;
Praise to the Father infinite,
And Holy Ghost eternally.
I include the words to this hymn as it was unfamiliar to me. The Office concludes with the Canticle of Zachary (Zachariah) and Commemoration of the Saints. Closing words are also similar.
There are additional prayers throughout to be prayed depending on the season of the year: 1) from Candlemas (Presentation of Jesus in the Temple) to Advent; 2) during Advent; 3) from Christmas to Candlemas and a few which are said onlyduring Eastertide.
Also, this version comes with side-by-side English to Latin text. A nice variation on the usual Office and a beautiful way to pay special tribute to the Mother of God.
*Lauds - a service of morning prayer in the Divine Office of the Western Christian Church,
For all that it is called ‘The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary’ don’t let that word ‘little’ make you think you are going to be doing an abbreviated version of anything. It simply refers to the fact that this is an alternative to the primary Divine Office, as a side chapel would stand next to the main cathedral. It is of lesser size, yes, but a Mass said there would be equally valid, convey the same Grace, and could not be assumed to take less time.
Since I wanted to do Morning Prayer, I turned to Lauds* on p56. The Office begins in the usual way with the cry for God’s assistance, although the words are slightly different: ‘O God, hasten to mine aid. O Lord, make haste to help me.’
Then come 3 psalms: 93, 98, 63, followed by the Canticle from Daniel 3, which begins: “Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord; sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever...” Then the last three psalms of the Psalter: 148, 149 and 150, followed by the Hymn, “O Queen of all the Virgin Choir”:
1 O Queen of all the Virgin choir,
Enthroned above the starry sky;
Who with thy bosom’s milk didst feed
Thine own Creator, Lord most high.
2 What man hath lost in hapless Eve,
Thy sacred womb to man restore
Thou to the wretched here beneath
Hast open’d Heaven’s eternal doors.
3 Hail, O refulgent Hall of light!
Hail, Gate august of Heaven’s high King!
Through thee redeem’d to endless life,
Thy praise let all the nations sing.
4 O Jesu! born of Virgin bright,
Immortal glory be to Thee;
Praise to the Father infinite,
And Holy Ghost eternally.
I include the words to this hymn as it was unfamiliar to me. The Office concludes with the Canticle of Zachary (Zachariah) and Commemoration of the Saints. Closing words are also similar.
There are additional prayers throughout to be prayed depending on the season of the year: 1) from Candlemas (Presentation of Jesus in the Temple) to Advent; 2) during Advent; 3) from Christmas to Candlemas and a few which are said onlyduring Eastertide.
Also, this version comes with side-by-side English to Latin text. A nice variation on the usual Office and a beautiful way to pay special tribute to the Mother of God.
*Lauds - a service of morning prayer in the Divine Office of the Western Christian Church,
August 4, 2016
Like all other prayer books, this book has no real "finished date", especially when it is a Little Office, which you can (and you should!) pray for your entire life! This "little blue book", as I call it, published by Baronius Press, is a pocket-sized treasure. It has helped me get into the rhythm of saying the Office and be familiar with the "motion". As a Lay Dominican I should be an expert in navigating the Divine Office but for me it is still too hard!! :-( So yea I gotta be content with the Little Office first. But hey, no complain here! This book is simply yet beautifully designed, English and Latin side by side, and at the end of the book there's also a small collection of essays about the tradition.
The Little Office of the BVM is highly recommended for those who have a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and also for those who, like me, want to start picking up the Office tradition but still intimidated by the big Divine Office.
The Little Office of the BVM is highly recommended for those who have a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and also for those who, like me, want to start picking up the Office tradition but still intimidated by the big Divine Office.
January 5, 2014
I pray this daily.
September 2, 2021
Repetitive psalms. Strong Marian focus. Not a replacement for the Breviary and Martyrology (with the [Roman or Dominican] Martyrology for a given day recited immediately before the rubric 'Pretiosa in conspectu Domini' in Prima), but much shorter and fitted for most workingmen to be able to pray.
The Little Office of the BVM is basically one day from the Roman Breviary with few hymns, some changes in antiphons and capitulae for different liturgical seasons, and the elimination of most non-Marian prayers. This means you don't get one of the biggest benefits of praying the Hours: repeated readings through the complete 150-psalm Psalter every week (or every two weeks if you don't pray Matutinum), plus reading the entire Martyrology each year, and a decent amount of the gospel, epistles of St Paul, and some of the Patristic Readings taken from ICEL's Liturgy of the Hours, which I don't recommend using as a primary prayer book.
The Little Office and the Breviary are both 1962/63 editions, which I recommend as both traditional and approved by the Church in Pope Benedict's motu proprio Summorum pontificum, disregarding the antichristian and invalid Traditionis custodes of Francis, striking the perfect balance between the 1586 or 1910 Breviary for tradition, and the ICEL's modernist and unaesthetic Liturgy of the Hours/Liturgia Horarum/Christian Prayer for current canonical validity.
As the 1962/3 Breviary strikes the perfect balance between tradition and canonical validity, so does the 1963 Monastic Diurnal strike the best achievable balance between length and repetition, except for the lack of the antiphon 'Protect us Lord while we are awake, safeguard us while we sleep' and the following canticle Nunc dimittis in the Benedictine rite, which is the cornerstone of Compline in every other Rite (Roman and OP), so you have to add it back in.
Even though it's according to the Benedictine rite and I'm a Dominican (in spirit, as the current Dominican order and especially tertiaries have lost their ways), it's still the best for a layman or tertiary. It contains every hour except for Matutinum (with the caveat about the Compline without the Nunc dimittis), does not add the Martyrology to Prima, cycles through the entire Psalter, is contained in a pocket-Bible sized book, and is of a somewhat abbreviated form compared to the Roman Breviary. (There's an additional Monastic Matins available as well if you wish to add that hour.)
My Marian devotion isn't as strong or advanced as meshes well with the high (though not Liguorian in intensity) Marian devotion of the Little Office, coming from a non-/anti-Catholic background, so the LO of the BVM is a way for me to mortify and discipline my mind to conform it to the mind of Christ which is in his church by hyperfocusing on the Blessed Virgin and her role in salvation history.
Most people can't easily pray the Breviary (it's very long, in large and heavy volumes, and in Latin; only priests and religious are expected to), and Christ's 'yoke is easy and his burden is light': as a layman, you should not pray more than you are excited to, and it should not be a chore unless for a season you are undergoing discipline or mortification to a purpose. The Divine Office is not Islam's sala; there is no demerit in not doing it.
That being said, I think the Little Office is too short and repetitive since you only get about 25 psalms (only about 20 without Matins) instead of all 150 every week and a bit of an unbalanced Marian focus, which may be beneficial if you're like me and come from a background of disrespecting the most holy ever-virgin Mother of God.
Cycle:
Matutinum - early before work or after midnight the night before
Lauds - right before work
Prima through Vesperae - every three-ish hours starting at 9am
Completorum - 11:30pm (can be followed by Matutinum at the stroke of midnight, just remember to say the Paternoster, Ave, and Credo that end Compline and the Paternoster, Ave, and Credo that begin Matins)
The Little Office of the BVM is basically one day from the Roman Breviary with few hymns, some changes in antiphons and capitulae for different liturgical seasons, and the elimination of most non-Marian prayers. This means you don't get one of the biggest benefits of praying the Hours: repeated readings through the complete 150-psalm Psalter every week (or every two weeks if you don't pray Matutinum), plus reading the entire Martyrology each year, and a decent amount of the gospel, epistles of St Paul, and some of the Patristic Readings taken from ICEL's Liturgy of the Hours, which I don't recommend using as a primary prayer book.
The Little Office and the Breviary are both 1962/63 editions, which I recommend as both traditional and approved by the Church in Pope Benedict's motu proprio Summorum pontificum, disregarding the antichristian and invalid Traditionis custodes of Francis, striking the perfect balance between the 1586 or 1910 Breviary for tradition, and the ICEL's modernist and unaesthetic Liturgy of the Hours/Liturgia Horarum/Christian Prayer for current canonical validity.
As the 1962/3 Breviary strikes the perfect balance between tradition and canonical validity, so does the 1963 Monastic Diurnal strike the best achievable balance between length and repetition, except for the lack of the antiphon 'Protect us Lord while we are awake, safeguard us while we sleep' and the following canticle Nunc dimittis in the Benedictine rite, which is the cornerstone of Compline in every other Rite (Roman and OP), so you have to add it back in.
Even though it's according to the Benedictine rite and I'm a Dominican (in spirit, as the current Dominican order and especially tertiaries have lost their ways), it's still the best for a layman or tertiary. It contains every hour except for Matutinum (with the caveat about the Compline without the Nunc dimittis), does not add the Martyrology to Prima, cycles through the entire Psalter, is contained in a pocket-Bible sized book, and is of a somewhat abbreviated form compared to the Roman Breviary. (There's an additional Monastic Matins available as well if you wish to add that hour.)
My Marian devotion isn't as strong or advanced as meshes well with the high (though not Liguorian in intensity) Marian devotion of the Little Office, coming from a non-/anti-Catholic background, so the LO of the BVM is a way for me to mortify and discipline my mind to conform it to the mind of Christ which is in his church by hyperfocusing on the Blessed Virgin and her role in salvation history.
Most people can't easily pray the Breviary (it's very long, in large and heavy volumes, and in Latin; only priests and religious are expected to), and Christ's 'yoke is easy and his burden is light': as a layman, you should not pray more than you are excited to, and it should not be a chore unless for a season you are undergoing discipline or mortification to a purpose. The Divine Office is not Islam's sala; there is no demerit in not doing it.
That being said, I think the Little Office is too short and repetitive since you only get about 25 psalms (only about 20 without Matins) instead of all 150 every week and a bit of an unbalanced Marian focus, which may be beneficial if you're like me and come from a background of disrespecting the most holy ever-virgin Mother of God.
Cycle:
Matutinum - early before work or after midnight the night before
Lauds - right before work
Prima through Vesperae - every three-ish hours starting at 9am
Completorum - 11:30pm (can be followed by Matutinum at the stroke of midnight, just remember to say the Paternoster, Ave, and Credo that end Compline and the Paternoster, Ave, and Credo that begin Matins)
May 7, 2013
Great art/ ave Maria. Clear organization with a great# of personal choices & clear introduction.
January 27, 2023
The Baronius Press' leather bound copy is my favourite version of this lovely book. Perfect for any Lay person or Religious, the LOBVM is a work that doesn't age as you read it. Made to be read at the Hours, daily, this little book will make the whole world small with it. It is inspirational and stern all at once while ensuring that its readers remember their Creator all the day long. Alongside "Divine Intimacy" by Fr. Gabriel, this book will help anyone wanting to understand Carmelite spirituality a little bit better. Additionally, the LOBVM is easy to follow for the beginner while reading it daily has kept me "in the now," especially as I tend to worry about unnecessary things going on in my own life. It can be read as a family devotional, with a spouse or friend, or by oneself as a start to a time of mental prayer.
April 3, 2020
One does not so much read this as pray it. To that end, I have not read every single word in it, but have rather prayed my way through the main portions, and read the relevant appendices.
One of the most fascinating insights was that this Little Office was used to help teach people Latin, and I'm certainly finding that in my use of it my Latin is improving from its very limited abilities. Henry the VIII had a copy when he was a boy to help train him to this effect.
Highly recommended for those wanting to learn Latin, or more importantly, for those like myself with a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
One of the most fascinating insights was that this Little Office was used to help teach people Latin, and I'm certainly finding that in my use of it my Latin is improving from its very limited abilities. Henry the VIII had a copy when he was a boy to help train him to this effect.
Highly recommended for those wanting to learn Latin, or more importantly, for those like myself with a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
October 10, 2020
This is a Pre-Vatican II prayer book that is not promoted widely in my Catholic community. I wish that it was still taught or at least recommended reading. A special devotion and set of prayers for The Blessed Virgin Mary.
February 20, 2019
Side-by-side English-Latin texts helpful for practice in Ecclesiastical Latin. Also, Gregorian chant notation is provided for those who enjoy the practice of chanted prayer.
July 11, 2019
Great devotion. It is an easy way to start getting into the traditional full Divine Office.
September 6, 2021
The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a shorter form of the Divine Office in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It has long been the Church's daily liturgical prayer to Our Lady.
November 22, 2021
to spend time with Mother Mary is a gift. and this little treasure is perfect for that.
January 29, 2022
Like others have said, a prayer book is not something that you "finish" reading. It is something that you turn to daily, in order to provide recollection and root yourself within the Psalms.
This Little Office of the BVM by Baronius Press is beautifully made and is the perfect way to integrate the Psalms for the life of busy laity, especially those that are traditionally-minded.
This Little Office of the BVM by Baronius Press is beautifully made and is the perfect way to integrate the Psalms for the life of busy laity, especially those that are traditionally-minded.
January 23, 2021
Baronius Press puts out only high-quality material, so that being said the book is well made and the typeface is great! I recommend the LOBVM for anyone new to the Church's office of prayer, those with limited time unable to commit to the LOTH, and or those with a devotion to Our Lady. I love praying the LOBVM. Mater Dei Ora Pro Nobis.
February 3, 2021
A very nice prayer book for reciting the Little Office. Includes prayers for Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline, with sections broken out by the time of the year (Advent, or during Eastertide, etc.). Other versions I have read don't have that. All prayers are presented in English on the left hand pages, and Latin on the right. The Office of the Dead is similar in layout. A very good but for those interested.
May 4, 2014
The edition of The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary published by Baronius Press is a treasure. The original Latin text is laid out side-by-side with the English. The appendices are informative, and the complete Gregorian chant notations are included.
Not difficult to learn to pray, for Little Office newbies like me!
Not difficult to learn to pray, for Little Office newbies like me!
September 17, 2014
This book is a must daily read for spiritual growth
July 27, 2020
Devotion for the brown scapular
Absolutely love this kindle. If you wear the scapular this devotional is a must have. I hope you enjoy as much as I do.
Absolutely love this kindle. If you wear the scapular this devotional is a must have. I hope you enjoy as much as I do.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews