Cardinals announce adoration, Vespers ceremony for conclave

cna ^ | March 5, 2013 | David Uebbing

[NYer]

Father Federico Lombardi speaks at a March 5, 2013 Vatican press conference. Credit: David Uebbing/CNA.

Vatican City, Mar 5, 2013 / 07:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The College of Cardinals has agreed to hold a public prayer service on March 6 in St. Peter’s Basilica to pray for the upcoming conclave and the process of electing a new Pope.

“Since there is no afternoon meeting, tomorrow afternoon at 5:00 p.m. at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica, the cardinals are inviting people to a time of adoration and Vespers,” Vatican press office director Father Federico Lombardi announced March 5.

The proposal was made at the end of the March 5 general meeting, which was the third in a series that the cardinals are holding as they prepare for the conclave. It was gladly accepted by the cardinals.

The papal master of ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini, said that it will last for approximately one hour and will begin with the recitation of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary in Italian and Latin.

This will be followed by the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and a brief time for adoration.

Vespers, the evening prayer of the Church, will then be recited.

The ceremony will close with benediction offered by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica.

The initiative was announced as a way for the entire Church to gather in prayer as it prepares to make an important decision that will impact its future.

In other news, the cardinals decided to not hold afternoon sessions as they did on March 4. This will allow the newer princes of the Church to get a better grasp of the issues at hand and who the various papal contenders are.

There are still five cardinals who have not yet arrived in Rome, but they are all expected in the next couple days. Those who are not yet present are: Cardinals Antonios Naguib, Karl Lehmann, Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, Kazimierz Nycz and John Tong Hon.

Fr. Lombardi stressed that their arrival is tied to personal commitments that had already been made and that they have been in communication with the College of Cardinals about their travel plans.

Once all the cardinals arrive in Rome, there will be 115 electors who will vote for the next Pope.

Updated at 7:11 p.m. Rome time with more information about the ceremony. The story originally listed Cardinal Angelo Sodano as the presider, but no one will officially preside over the ceremony.

[NYer]

Solemn Vespers From St. Peters Basilica

Wed. Mar. 6 at 11 AM ET

St. Peter's Basilica: Prayer for the Church on the occasion of the General Congregations of the College of Cardinals.

[svcw]

Vespers are evening prayers, is that correct?
Do Catholics have different names for prayer based on who says them or when they are?
I am just used to the word prayer for whenever or who ever says them, except benediction is on occasion used for the last prayer of a more formal event.

(I am not Catholic, so just wondering)

[MomwithHope]

This is not the best explanation so sorry in advance. The Liturgy of the Hours are a collection of prayers prayed throughout the day by religious (priests, nuns,etc.)It is also called the Divine Office. Lay people are also called by the Church to pray these prayers, especially morning prayer, evening prayer, and night prayer (compline). The prayers themselves are a collection of psalms, readings from the gospel, prayers of intercession, and special prayers on special days for saints or special feast days. I pray the morning, evening and compline as I am a secular Carmelite. It has greatly enriched my life. If you go to any Catholic religious goods store you can ask for the Christian Pyers book and the calendar guide for 2013. It gives you all the page numbers.

[longfellowsmuse]

yes... vespers are evening prayers. morning prayers are called lauds and prayers before bed are called none. They are together referred to as the liturgy of the hours.

Names are based on time of day.

[MomwithHope]

Christian Pyers book = Christian Prayer book

[svcw]

Well, thanks.
It is way to confusing for me, I like just “prayer”.

[longfellowsmuse]

prayer is beautiful in its simplicity. the liturgy of the hours is traditional among those with religious vocations but is not something that most catholics observe ( although they certainly can) hearing prayers chanted in latin can be a beautiful experience but it is not something required of catholics.

Catholics indeed know well that Jesus was a carpenter and when asked how we should pray he responded wit The Our Father. We say this at every mass.

[Hieronymus]

Vespers is the latin term. Evening prayer or vespers may both be used in english.

[vladimir998]

This might help...maybe: http://sheetmusic.berkeley.edu/litday.jpg This is neat, but definitely not for lay people: http://www.thebeckoning.com/art/limbourg/divine-office.html I think this is a good description: As you may remember from Part 1, the Mass is essentially a ritual re-enactment of the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection in a (very) condensed period of time. The Divine Office, or Liturgy of the Hours, and the Liturgical Year also do this, but on slightly larger scales. The Divine Office aligns this central story with the movement of the sun in one day, the Liturgical Year extends it over the course of (surprise…) a whole year, combined with other significant events such as Christmas and saints’ feast days. These two cycles are interconnected; though the format of the Divine Office is stable, the content varies depending on the specific day of the Liturgical Year. First, the Divine Office. (note: times are approximate and vary between locations and traditions, i.e. Benedictine, Cisternian, Franciscan, etc.) Night/Midnight/Pre-dawn – Matins ■Also known as Vigils, Matins developed out of the night services of early Christianity. 6:00 am – Lauds / Morning ■This Hour, which draws its name from its finishing psalms (148-150, the Laudate psalms), happens just after dawn. Its timing with the sunrise corresponds with the Resurrection and brings to mind many divine light metaphors. 9:00 am – Terce ■The first of the daytime hours, Terce is so named because it is the third hour after dawn. Medieval liturgists connect this Hour with the time of Christ’s condemnation to death. 12:00 noon – Sext ■The sixth hour after dawn, Sext is highly significant as the midpoint in the day and when the sun is at its highest. In addition to an abundance of solar-powered metaphors, this Hour is connected to quite a variety of stories and imagery – most notably the time when Adam and Eve ate that forbidden apple and the time at which Jesus was nailed to the cross. 3:00 pm – None ■The ninth hour after dawn and the third and last of the daytime hours, None corresponds with the death of Christ. Various medieval liturgists wrote that it was the time at which the soul was most vulnerable to temptation, demons, and such. 6:00 pm – Vespers / Evening ■Also known as Lucernalis or Lucernaria hora, early and medieval Vespers services included the lighting of many candles – which this anthropologist connects with the preservation of (divine) light as the sun sets. The Anglican tradition of Evensong parallels this Hour. 9:00 pm – Compline / Night ■This last Hour draws parallels between sleep, death, and night-time. It always ends with a devotional to Mary. Lauds, Vespers, and Compline, considered to be the Major Hours, follow this format: There's a good chart at the website: http://symphonialisestanima.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/an-anthropologists-field-guide-to-catholic-liturgy-part-2-the-divine-office-and-the-liturgical-year/

[svcw]

Wow. Thanks. A lot of information.
For me it is just simple, prayer no matter by who no matter when.
As I said I am not Catholic but my husbands family is and a few cousins that are Nuns.
They are lovely people with hearts of gold, we talk much about the love of God, and it is never this complicated.
Thanks again.

[AnAmericanMother]

OK, let's all hit our knees at 11 a.m. Eastern.

There's a kinda kooky church around the corner from my job, but the Blessed Sacrament is there no matter how kooky the clergy. I'll be there.

[Salvation]

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[AnAmericanMother]

The prayers are different depending on the time of day.

And if you think about it, it makes sense. Pray in the morning for grace and strength to get through the day. Pray in the evening thanks for being upheld through work and labor, pray at night for a safe rest now and eternally. Noon is the hour for the Angelus, the Annunciation, and the prayers reflect that too.

The great thing about the Hours is that it gives you a pattern and structure for prayer, not just when you happen to remember it, and whatever you happen to pray. Don't know about you, but I appreciate a pattern to go by. You can add your own petitions, the Hours allow for that.

The Episcopalians (I used to be one) have kept the Liturgy of the Hours in modified form, so I'm used to this system. The Piskies are famous for what they call Evensong and what Catholics call Choral Vespers. It is one of the most beautiful prayer services you will ever attend. We once went to Evensong in St. Paul's Cathedral in London - they have a fabulous men-and-boys choir (the traditional English choir) and it was magnificent.

This is not Evensong (it's the Queen's jubilee service, I believe) but this is a well known anthem that you could well hear at Choral Vespers: Ralph Vaughan Williams, "Let all the world in every corner sing. Words by George Herbert. We sing this one too, but we don't have the reverb time of the St. Paul's dome.

. . . and THAT's why we have Choral Vespers! :-)

[svcw]

The Bible says we are to pray without ceasing.
I get praying all day, I am just not getting the different names, seems to be chaotic.
Also, I do not get prayer books, I think that prayers that are read aren’t much of a prayer.
When I pray with my grandchildren, the oldest says, “in Jesus name, send.” I love that innocence.
The youngest says, “Dear Heavily Father, Amen”. He is two.
Prayers are from the heart.

[Campion]

Also, I do not get prayer books, I think that prayers that are read aren’t much of a prayer.

The Divine Office is mostly Scripture, so it has to come from a book, of course. For example, vespers consists of an invocation, a hymn, three psalms, a short prose scripture reading, a short "responsory", the Magnificat from Luke 1, intercessions, and a closing prayer. Six of the ten items in my list are Scripture, either sung or read.

[svcw]

Oh, I get that some people do not know who to pray and may need help.
I just do not understand it.
Personally, I think God want from the heart what is troubling us or what we desire...
just to follow the Lord’s prayer if one does not know where to start, is just fine.

Matthew 6:9-13
(KJV)

9 After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

[Campion]

Oh, I forgot. The Lord's prayer is in Lauds and Vespers, too, after the intercessions and before the closing prayer. That's Scripture, too, as you note.

An ancient church manual, I believe the Didache, says that Christians are to pray the Lord's prayer 3x per day. People who pray Lauds, Vespers, and attend Mass daily do that automatically.

Not sure why you would find any fault with praying the Psalms; what prayer of mine could be better than one inspired by the Holy Spirit? Paul says in two different places that we are to pray the psalms.

[Campion]

Oh, I forgot. The Lord's prayer is in Lauds and Vespers, too, after the intercessions and before the closing prayer. That's Scripture, too, as you note.

An ancient church manual, I believe the Didache, says that Christians are to pray the Lord's prayer 3x per day. People who pray Lauds, Vespers, and attend Mass daily do that automatically.

Not sure why you would find any fault with praying the Psalms; what prayer of mine could be better than one inspired by the Holy Spirit? Paul says in two different places that we are to pray the psalms.

[NYer]

Oh, I get that some people do not know who to pray and may need help. I just do not understand it. Personally, I think God want from the heart what is troubling us or what we desire...

Judging from the conversation, I feel the word "pray" needs some clarification.

Dear friend in Christ, we Catholic, Orthodox and Mainline Protestants approach prayer in several different ways.

1. Adoration
In prayers of adoration or worship, we praise the greatness of God, and we acknowledge our dependence on him in all things. The Mass and the other liturgies of the Church are full of prayers of this sort, such as the Gloria (or Glory to God). Among private prayers, the Act of Faith is a prayer of adoration.

2. Expiation
In a prayer of expiation or contrition, we acknowledge our sinfulness and ask God for His forgiveness and mercy. he Confiteor or Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass, and the Agnus Dei (or Lamb of God) before Communion, are prayers of expiation, as is the Act of Contrition.

3. Love
Prayers of love or charity are just that—expressions of our love for God, the source and object of all love.

4. Petition
Prayers of petition are the type of prayer we are most familiar with. In them, we ask God for things we need—primarily spiritual needs, but physical ones as well. Our prayers of petition should always include a statement of our willingness to accept God's will, whether He directly answers our prayer or not. The Our Father is a good example of a prayer of petition, and the line "Thy will be done" shows that, in the end, we acknowledge that God's plans for us are more important than what we desire.

5. Thanksgiving
Perhaps the most neglected type of prayer is prayer of thanksgiving. While Grace Before Meals is a good example of a prayer of thanksgiving, we should get into the habit of thanking God throughout the day for the good things that happen to us and to others.

As several others have explained, Vesper (evening) prayers consist of all of the above. For example, the following is the Opening Prayer for Thursday evening, in my Prayers of the Faithful.

Lord God,
grant us to remain apart from the spirit of this corrupted world.
Give us the grace to praise you with heart and mind raised
above worldly preoccupations.
May this holy Lent help us to come closer to you
and to walk in the way of your commandments.
Then we shall praise you with the angels,
now and forever.
Amen.

This is followed by a a prayer of praise, Psalm 51 ("Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness .."), Psalms 102, 141, 142, more prayers, an examination of conscience, the Our Father and a closing prayer.

All of these prayers only take about 30 minutes and draw us into a conversation with God, contrition for any misdeeds we may have committed and praise for God who created and loves us. This leads to a closer relationship with our Lord.

Does this help you to better understand the nature of these prayers? If you subscribe to cable or satellite dish, turn on EWTN at 11 this morning. This will allow you to experience the profound richness and beauty of these prayers. God bless you!