Daily Reflection from the Bishop
Friday in the Fourth Week of Lent
27 March 2020
A Guide to the Daily Office
Stay Home. Stop the Spread. Save Lives.
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We are re-discovering the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer during this time of physical distancing and virtual worship, and this is a great and unexpected gift of this time. When Archbishop Cranmer conceived of the first English Book of Common Prayer, he was clear in his objective to put the Daily Office easily back into the hands not just of the parish clergy, but also of the laity.
Traditionally, of course, Anglican clergy have been expected to say the Daily Office, and this was certainly Cranmer’s intention – indeed that the clergy should say the Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer in church, and ring the bell before to let the people know that they were doing so. The Episcopal Church is one of the few, if only, provinces of the Anglican Communion that does not bind the clergy by Canon Law to this discipline. But whether mandated by canon or not, the Daily Office remains an authentic and important living out of our Anglican heritage, and our Prayer Book states this on page 13, where it says that “The Holy Eucharist…and Daily Morning and Evening Prayer…are the regular services appointed for public worship in this Church.” When it comes to the Daily Office, this means daily, not just when the Eucharist cannot be celebrated.
So the renewed attention that the Daily Office is receiving is most welcome, not just as a convenient way to worship when it is not possible to celebrate or attend the Eucharist, but as a recovery of an essential aspect of our Anglican identity and daily practice.
Cranmer wanted to do two things. He wanted the clergy and laity to pray regularly every day, twice a day, and he wanted us to read through the Scriptures in an ordered and complete way. Before the more recent revision of the Church’s liturgy, the pattern of readings (called the lectionary) was constructed so that one would read through the entire Old Testament in a year, and the New Testament twice a year. The Psalter was broken up so that the psalms were read in their entirety.
New lectionaries tend to have us read the Bible through over a two-year cycle, and the psalter over about three months. But the principle of reading through the Scriptures regularly remains.
Because our Prayer Book Daily Office contains a range of options and choices, it can seem at first glance to be difficult to use. But it is really quite easy, and here is a simple guide to using the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer every day. I shall use the Rite II forms for this outline, but you can use the Rite I forms in the same way.
Remember that if you recite Morning and Evening Prayer every day, you do not need to use everything that is set out in the rite.
The Morning Prayer begins on p. 75 with a seasonal sentence. One is enough! These are set out quite clearly on pp 75-78.
Then go directly to the Invitatory and Psalter on p. 80. There is no need to use the Confession and Absolution unless this rite is used as the main service on Sunday.
Then we say the Opening psalm or anthem (pp. 82-84). Normally we recite the Venite on p. 82. The Jubilate is said when we say Psalm 95 as part of the daily psalter (as seminarians we used to have it drilled into our heads to remember to use the Jubilate on the 19th morning of the month). The Easter Anthems are said instead of the Venite every day from Easter Day to Pentecost. You may use one of the seasonal antiphons (pp. 80-82) before and after the Venite.
Then we recite the psalms for the day. You have two choices: you can recite the psalms (in the BCP beginning on p. 585) for the day of the month, or according to the lectionary. If you look at the psalms as they are set out in the BCP, you will see that they begin with the heading First Day: Morning Prayer. These are the psalms that we say on the first day of the month at Morning Prayer. The rest of the Psalter is divided up into 30 days, with psalms for Morning and Evening Prayer each day. On the 31st day of the month, we repeat the psalms for the 30th day. Then back to Psalm 1 for the first day of the next month, and so on, month by month. If you want to use the psalms according to the lectionary, you will find instructions about the lectionary below.
After the psalms, we read the first reading, from the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament). At the end of the reading it is customary to say “Here the reading ends” and not “The Word of the Lord.”
After the first reading, we recite the first canticle. The canticles (a word that means “song”) are on pp. 85-96. Traditionally the canticle at this point in Morning Prayer is the Te Deum (Canticle 21 on p. 95), but because we now have a choice of canticles, you can use them during the week according to the schedule on p. 144. This schedule gives you some choices for each day of the week, and also during Advent and Lent.
There follows the second reading, usually from the Gospels.
After the second reading, there is a second canticle. Traditionally at Morning Prayer, this is Canticle 16, the Benedictus, but the schedule of canticles on p. 144 gives you some choices for each day if you would like to do that.
Then we recite the Apostles’ Creed on p. 96, followed by the Prayers on pp. 96-97, just as they are printed in the BCP. You have a choice of “Suffrages” between form A and form B.
There are traditionally three Collects at Morning and Evening Prayer:
* The Collect for the Day (pp. 211-261)
* The Collect for Peace (p. 99)
* The Collect for Grace (p. 100)
It is customary always to use the Collect for the Day (which is often the Collect from the previous Sunday, unless there is a saint or a feast, in which case the Collect for that day takes precedence), but you are free to use any of the Collects on pp. 98-100. In Advent it is customary to say the Collect for Advent Sunday every day of the season after the Collect for the Day, and during Lent it is customary to use the Collect for Ash Wednesday every day after the Collect for the Day.
After the Third Collect, there is time for our own prayers. We pray for all those on our prayer lists and those who have asked for our prayers.
Then we say one of the final prayers for mission on pp. 100-101.
The Daily Office ends on p. 102 with the greeting “Let us bless the Lord…” and the Grace. The General Thanksgiving and the Prayer of Saint Chrysostom are said only on special occasions.
The Lectionary
The lectionary can be confusing, but with a little familiarity it becomes much easier. It begins on p, 936 with the First Sunday of Advent, which is the beginning of the Church’s year. There are two cycles – Year One and Year Two. Because we are in an even-numbered year in 2020, we are using Year Two readings. Beginning in Advent we shall change to Year One (as next year is an odd-numbered year 2021).
The lectionary gives psalms for Morning and Evening Prayer, and three readings. It is customary to read the Old Testament reading and the reading from the Gospel at Morning Prayer, and the reading from the New Testament (usually from the Epistles) at Evening Prayer.
There are special psalms and readings for the principal Holy Days of the year beginning on p. 996.
Since there are only three readings from the Scriptures for each day, or the second reading at Evening Prayer it has become customary to have a reading from another suitable source of devotional readings. You are free to use whatever resource of daily devotional readings that you like, and there are many books of daily readings available for use.
Here is a brief outline for Evening Prayer, taking into consideration the notes for Morning Prayer, which I do not repeat.
Opening Sentence (pp. 115-116)
Invitatory (p. 117)
The hymn O Gracious Light (p. 118)
The Psalms (either for each day according to the Psalter or according to the lectionary)
The First Reading (from the Epistles, according to the lectionary)
The First Canticle, traditionally the Song of Mary (p. 119), but you can also use the schedule on p. 145)
The Second Reading (from a book of devotional readings of your choice)
The Second Canticle, traditionally the Song of Simeon (p. 120), but you can also use the schedule on p. 145)
If you have said the Creed in the morning, there is no need to repeat it in the evening.
The Prayers (pp. 121-122)
Three Collects, traditionally the Collect of the Day (pp. 211-261), followed by the Collect for Peace and the Collect for Aid against Perils (p. 123), but you can use any of the other collects. In Advent and Lent you can use the Collects as in the note for Morning Prayer.
Personal Prayers, followed by one of the prayers for mission (pp. 124-125).
The Final Greeting (Let us bless the Lord, &c), followed by the Grace (p. 126).
If you use books, you can purchase books that contain the Daily Office readings for every day, and other resources here:
If you are tech savvy, there are a number of helpful websites dedicated to the Daily Office which have wonderful resources and can help, especially with the daily lectionary.
Here are a few of them, some of which have resources in Spanish as well:
You can put the Daily Office on your iPhone, but ensure that it is the BCP Daily Office, as other Churches also have Daily Office apps for their distinctive rites.
At first glance the Daily Office can seems a bit daunting, but it is really quite straightforward once you get into the habit of reciting it every day. Practice is always the key, and your priest can help you if you get stuck.
The Daily Office is one of the great gifts of the Church to us for the sustaining and deepening of our lives of prayer, both as individuals and as a community, and the period of physical distancing is a chance to make it our daily practice. May we receive this opportunity with joy and with enthusiasm. I this way each of us can join our daily prayers with the great and unceasing prayer of the Church.
Gracious God, you have called us together
to claim the new life you have given us in Christ,
to strengthen our faith and equip us for service.
Come to us in your divinity,
meet us in our humanity
and help us to be the people
you created us to be.
This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
