The Office Of Prime. Improve Your Prayer Life.

The Office of Prime.

Text and Illustration: RORATE CAELI

The Divine Office: Prime.

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In 1889, a simplified Divine Office of Prime, in English, was recommended for Morning Prayer by The American Bishops, who also produced The Baltimore Catechism. 

Predating both the Vatican II Changes and The Breviary Revisions of Pope Saint Pius X, in 1911, this Divine Office is an organic American development that is also firmly rooted in a continuous Roman Tradition going back to Saint Benedict.

The Office of Prime, in "The Baltimore Office", consisted of two invariant Psalms for all seven days of the week (Psalm 53 and Psalm 118), Proper Antiphons for Sundays and Week-Days, and, characteristically, The Creed of Saint Athanasius (Quicumque Vult) for Sundays.

The elegance of this edition is in the way it faithfully preserves the essentials of Prime down the Centuries, yet adapts itself to Lay Use quite well—without complicated systems of Psalms and Propers.

Ancilla Press makes this available in a sixteen-page booklet.

The following Text is from Wikipedia -the free encyclopaedia.

Prime, or "The First Hour", is a fixed Time of Prayer of The Traditional Divine Office (Canonical Hours), said at The First Hour of Daylight (approximately 6:00 a.m.), between The Morning Hour of Lauds and The 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. 

In the 1960s, Vatican II suppressed The Divine Office of Prime. The only question is: " Why ? "

It is part of The Christian Liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but, in The Latin Rite, it was suppressed by The Liturgical Reforms following The Second Vatican Council. 

[Editor: The only question is: WHY ? It is noticeable that Vatican II TOOK AWAY so much from The Traditional Liturgy and GAVE BACK nothing. Consider. Debate. Digest. And look for the nearest Traditional Latin Mass.]

 However, Clergy, who have an obligation to Celebrate The Liturgy of The Hours [Editor: The Divine Office] may still fulfil their obligation by using The Roman Breviary promulgated by Pope Saint John XXIII in 1962, which contains The Hour of Prime. 

Like all The Liturgical Hours, except The Office of Readings, it consists primarily of Psalms. It is one of The Little Hours [Editor: Prime; Terce; Sext; None].