BREVIARY OF THE ORDER OF ELUS COHEN
(source: Bml ms. 5526, Fonds Willermoz, ‘Prières au Elus Cohens”)
NOTES ON THE DIVINE OFFICE
PRAYERS FOR SIX O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING (Matins)1 INTRODUCTORY
+ In the Name of the Eternal Amen. + Amen. + Amen. + Amen.
V. R.
+O Lord open Thou my lips. And my mouth shall show forth Thy praise.
V. R.
+O God, make speed to save me. O Lord, make haste to help me.
V. R.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
O Divine Word. O Jesus. O Savior of the world: I join at this hour and at this moment with all the Spirits of Creation which compose Thy Celestial Court; and who, now, as Thou dost travel through all the circles of the universe, manifesting Thy glory, Thy justice and Thy mercy, do repeat in excellent harmony this hymn KADOSH! KADOSH! KADOSH! ADONAI ELOHIM SABAOTH HOLY! HOLY! HOLY! LORD GOD OF HOSTS: HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE FULL OF THY GLORY: HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST!
1
These prayers are to be said by the members of the Order at a convenient time between 3am and 9am. They are adapted from the 18th c. Roman Breviary and incorporate materials of the Divine Offices of Vigil, now called Matins (3am), Matins, now referred to as Lauds (sunrise/6am), Capital, now called Prime (1st canonical hour), and Terce together with additional contributions some of which doubtless come from T:.P:.M:. Dom Pasqually. They may be said responsively, read without ritual, or recited, standing, with bows and crossings according to tradition. Alternatively, they may be abbreviated as according to the directions given in the Appendix. –ed.
HYMN OF THE HOUR2 Veni, Sancte Spiritus, Et emitte coelitus Lucis tuae radium.
Come, O Holy Spirit, come; And from Your celestial home Shed a ray of light Divine;
Veni pater pauperum, Veni dator menerum, Veni lumen cordium.
Come, O Father of the poor, Ever bounteous of Thy store, Come, within our bosoms shine.
Consolator optime, Dulcis hospes animae, Dulce refrigerium.
Thou of Comforters the best, Thou the soul's most welcome guest, Sweet refreshment, sweet repose;
In labore requies, In aestu temperies, In fletu solatium.
In our labor rest most sweet, Grateful coolness in the heat, Solace in the midst of woes.
O lux beatissima, Reple cordis intima Tuorum fidelium.
O most Blessed Light Divine Shine within these hearts of Thine, And our inmost beings fill;
Sine tuo numine, Nihil est in homine, Nihil est innoxium.
Where Thou art not man hath nought, Nothing good in deed or thought, Nothing free from taint of ill.
Lava quod est sordidum, Riga quod est aridum, Sana quod est saucium.
Heal our wounds; our strength renew; On our dryness pour Thy dew; Wash the stains of guilt away:
Flecte quod est rigidum, Fove quod est frigidum, Rege quod est devium.
Bend the stubborn heart and will; Melt the frozen, warm the chill; Guide the steps that go astray.
Da tuis fidelibus, In te confidentibus, Sacrum septenarium.
Unto all Thy faithful just, Who in Thee confide and trust, Deign Thy sevenfold gifts to send:
Da virtutis meritum, Da salutis exitum, Da perenne gaudium.
Grant them virtue's sure reward, Grant them Thy salvation Lord, Grant them joys that never end.
2
Pope Innocent III, 12th c., from the Proper Mass of Whitsunday.
V. R.
Send forth Thy Holy Spirit and it will make a new creation and Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
COLLECT PRAYERS3 O God! Who hast instructed the hearts of the faithful through the light of the Holy Spirit, grant us this same Spirit, which allows us to experience good; and which endues us forever with His divine consolation. Kindle, O Lord, our body and our loins with the sacred fire of Thy Spirit that we may serve Thee, as Thou would have us do, through the chastity of our bodies and the purity of our ways. Lord, we beseech Thee to influence our actions by Thy Spirit and to guide them through Thy constant assistance that all our prayers and all our works shall begin and end in Thee. … Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
PSALM 62 (63)4 Deus Deus meus, ad te. (1 A psalm of David when he was in the desert of Edom.) 2 O God, my God, to Thee do I watch at break of day. For Thee my soul hath thirsted; for Thee my flesh, O how many ways! 3 In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before Thee, to see Thy power and thy glory. 4 For Thy mercy is better than lives: Thee my lips shall praise. 5 Thus will I bless Thee all my life long: and in Thy name I will lift up my hands. 6 Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips. 7 If I have remembered Thee upon my bed, I will meditate on Thee in the morning: 8 Because Thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert cover of Thy wings: 9 My soul hath stuck close to Thee: Thy right hand hath received me. 10 But they have sought my soul in vain; they shall go into the lower parts of the earth: 11 They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword; they shall be the portions of foxes. 12 But the King shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by Him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things. V. R.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
To the Immortal and Invisible King of all ages;* to God alone be all honor and glory forever and ever. Amen 3
Additional Collects may be included for feasts or as appointed. All are said under the one conclusion, as given, and the total number of Collects is to be an odd number. 4 Numbered according to the Latin Vulgate and given here in the Douay-Rheims translation of the same; corresponding to Ps. 63 in the King James Version.
V. O Christ! Son of the living God, R. Hhave mercy on upon me! V. R.
Thou who art seated at the right hand of the Father,! Have mercy upon on me.
Kyrie Eleison Lord have mercy Christe Eleison Christ have mercy Kyrie Eleison Lord have mercy Our Father, Who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Any forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,* but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, The Lord is with thee, Blessed art thou among women And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, Now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
PRECES V. R.
Unto Thee have I cried, O Lord, and my prayer shall go before Thee in the morning.
V. R.
Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise that I may sing of Thy Glory and of Thy Greatness all the day long.
V. R.
5
V. R.
Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.
V. R.
Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit (7) from me.Do we know what these numbers are? Should
5
O Lord, Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Versicles from the 50th (51st) Psalm, verses 11-14
we be inserting the angel of the day, or are we simply perpetuating a misprint? V. R.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation, and strengthen me with a perfect spirit. (10)
V. R.
I have entreated Thee to have mercy on me: heal my soul from the stains it has received from sin.
V. R.
Look upon me Lord, and let Thyself be moved by the ardent prayers of Thy Minor6.
V. R.
Deliver me, O Lord, from evil; Liberate me from the evil one.
V. R.
Rescue me from mine enemies, O my God, Be my tower of strength against all who assail me,
V. R.
Rescue me from these evildoers, Deliver me from blood-thirsty men.
V. R.
Thus I will sing to eternity to Thy Holy Name; and as I wait, I will pay tribute to Thee every day.
V. R.
Lead me, Lord, in the path of righteousness, and teach me the way: for Thou art my God and my Savior.
V. R.
Remember, O Lord, Thy mercy: and have mercy on me forever.
V. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: (is is worth including the Hagios a Theos, Hagios Ischyros, Hagios Antthanatos Eleison Imas in Greek – I’m more familiar with that…) R. Have mercy upon us. (x3) Is the Eleison imas once after each ejaculation or three times at the end? V. R.
Bless the Lord, O my soul; my innermost heart: bless His Holy Name.
V. R.
Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget none of His benefits.
V. R.
He pardons all my guilt and heals all my suffering.
V. R.
He rescues me from the pit of death and surrounds me with constant love, with tender affection;
6
Minor - Dom Martinez Pasqually refers to the spirits of Man, both saints (reconciled) and sinners, by this term in his, “Treatise on the Reintegration of Beings”.
V. R.
He contents me with all good in the prime of life, and my youth is renewed like the eagle's.
CONFITEOR V. R.
Our help is in the name of the Lord. Who hath made heaven and earth.
I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever-Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, James and John and to all the Saints, (and to you my brethren), that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed, both in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, Through my fault, my own fault, my own most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever-Virgin, and all the Holy Angels and Saints of God, (and each of you), to pray for me to the Lord our God. +May God Almighty have mercy upon me; forgive me my sins, and bring me to everlasting life. Amen. May the all-powerful and merciful Lord grant me pardon, +absolution and remission of my sins. Amen.
CONCLUSION OF THE PRECES 7
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep me? Etc…us this day free from sin without sin?. Have mercy upon meus, O Lord, have mercy upon meus. O Lord, Let Thy mercy be upon meus, even as Iwe have set myour hope in Thee. O Lord, in Thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded. At every hour of the day that I invoke Thee, O Eternal One, make haste to answer me. V. R.
O Lord, hear my prayer and let my cry come unto Thee. 8
PRAYERS
O God, Who hath safely brought me to the beginning of this day, save me by Thy grace that I may not commit any sin today; but that all my thoughts, words and deeds may only be in accordance with Thy just laws.
7 8
Part of the Te Deum of St. Ambrose of Milan Additional Prayers, for particular intentions or occasions may be inserted here
O Lord, King of heaven and earth, deign this day to order, sanctify, lead and govern my body, my soul, my feelings, my thoughts, my words and my deeds, according to Thy law, so as to obey Thy commandments: that I may merit, through Thy grace, O Savior of the world, to be redeemed and saved, now and for ever. Amen. + Amen. + Amen. + Amen. Holy Mother of God incarnate, I invoke thy powerful protection; do not refuse my prayers in my temporal and spiritual privation, but deliver me, through thy intercession, from all dangers, Virgin, filled with benediction and glory. V. R.
Pray for me, O Holy Virgin, my protectress, my aid, that I may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
ORISON Grant O Lord, that I, (name), Thy servant, may always enjoy health of soul and, temporally, of body, according to Thy will and through the Blessed Mary ever-Virgin, may I be delivered from this present sadness to experience eternal joy. May I experience Thy mercy in the present hour even as I pray unto Thee, O my God and Father! That, having tasted the sweetness of Thy law, I may end this day with the most humble acts of grace. Preserve me from all accidents throughout this day. Bless the works I will undertake to fulfill my worldly needs, keep me from all motives of greed, ambition and vainglory. Protect me from the danger of riches and the ills of poverty. Keep me in modest mediocrity for fear that either of the two extremes may corrupt my heart. Grant me, O Father my daily spiritual and worldly bread and above all, may Thy Holy Will be accomplished in me. I know, O my God, that the life of a sinner must be a life of humiliation and sorrow; knowing this, I submit myself to all those to whom (‘to which’ – they are sorrows not people?) thou art pleased to subject me to this day. I am ready to suffer without complaining, the rebuffs, the scorn, the insults and the injustices of man. This I render to Thee, O my God, the task to which Thou hast subjected me, for my sin; the trials and practices of my faith; caring for my needs and all the anxieties of life. Help me, Lord, to fulfill all these duties faithfully; may Thy grace accompany me throughout the day: that I may make the most of every hour; and when I give account of them to Thee, may they be full of works worthy of Thee. I ask all these graces of Thee through the intercession of Mary. Amen
PRAYER TO THE GUARDIAN ANGEL O Divine Spirit, Spirit of strength, wisdom and light, Powerful being with whom I desire to have the closest unity, I call upon thee and I invoke thee. Come to mine aid; guide me throughout this day along the path of salvation. Kindle me with that divine love with which thou art aglow: send me thy wisdom at all times; give me the weapons I need to conquer my spiritual enemies. Guide my steps in truth; I surrender myself with the greatest confidence to thy leadership.
O Divine Word! Who hath sent Thine Angels to protect and guide us; grant that I may benefit from their powerful operations and be protected from all sin and peril this day. May I come to know intimately this Spirit which Thou hast appointed to me personally. I ask this grace through Thine (Thy) – Thine would mean there was not object…?) precious blood which has become the seal of my atonement with Thee. Amen End of prayers for 6 o'clock in the morning. **********
