3 thoughts on “Daily Office Cheat Sheet

  1. Emily

    Derek, thanks so much for linking to this, I was actually about to sit down to do prep for an Adult Forum on navigating the Daily Office for this coming Sunday.

  2. Gracious Light

    This is helpful. As a neophyte, here’s my question:

    I’ve been using my Contemporary Office Book (exuse the pun) religiously. I’ll al little confused about the placement of the prayer of confession.

    The COB places it between the opening verses and the invitatory. To me it just seems weird for the first words uttered in prayer is not “Open though our lips”.

    I know its probably a stupid question.

    Fire away.

  3. Derek the Ænglican

    Dave, theOffice originally did begin with Open thou our lips–your instincts are entirely right. Thatr’s the way it appears in the 1549 office. However, the 1552 revision was heavily Calvinist and was concerned that people were not properly aware of and forgiven of their sins. Lest they offer prayer to God with impure lips, the 1552 book placed an ante-office consisting of the exhortation/general confession/absolution before the start of the office proper. All of the suceeding books have followed the 1552 pattern. In some of the recent American ones, though, the confession bit has become optional. It is typically not said in Easter or Christmas, on Saints’ days or when mass is to follow (either immediately after or at noon).

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