Description
The St. Bernard Breviary is everything needed for a sung Daily Office, according to the Book of Common Prayer (2019), bound between two covers. It includes all the text of the Offices, pointed for simple chants, the entire Psalter, pointed for plainsong, a 100-hymn hymnal, the Collects of the Christian Year, and all of the readings assigned by the Daily Office Lectionary printed in the lectionary sequence, taken from the English Standard Version.
The St. Bernard Breviary has been designed at every turn for ease of use and for visual beauty. It is intended to provide a daily-use musical resource for those who desire to sing the offices, and also the chants have been selected that are the easiest to learn, so that those who have never sung the office before can learn to do so with ease. Together with full “how to use” written tutorials, as well as step-by-step tutorials on how to chant the various chants in the office (all in the front matter), a novice should be able to pick up this book and begin chanting with ease.
As well as the full text of the Daily Office, a number of small inserted additions have been made, in keeping with the rubrics and the spirit of the Book of Common Prayer (2019) to enhance the praying of the office. These include christological “sub-titles” to the psalms, antiphons for the Magnificat, additional prayers from the Occasional Prayers section of the BCP 2019, as well as a night office of Vigils.
A number of devotional extras are also included in the St. Bernard Breviary, such as a daily examen, some directions on lectio divina, and materials for self-examination in preparation for confession.
Handsomely printed on 40gsm bible-paper and bound in British Tan bonded-leather over hardcover board, and complete with eight ribbons, this book should prove to be a treasure house of prayer for a lifetime.
More information and audio-files for learning the chants can be found at www.BernardBreviary.com