Litanies

Each day the canonical hours must be recited according to proper and approved liturgical books. Besides, the Litanies are to be recited on the feast of St. Mark and on the three days of Rogations. It is said:

I. The canonical hours must be recited according to proper and approved liturgical books. Namely:

1. Of itself there is an obligation of reciting the canonical hours according to the form and rite of the Roman Breviary, issued by St. Pius V, revised by Clement VIII, Urban VIII, and Leo XIII, and reformed by Pius X in the Constitution Divino afflatu, 1 November 1911. But those who do not use this order of the Psalter "should know that they are not going to satisfy so grave an office."²

I said of itself, for Churches and Religions which in the year 1568 used another breviary, approved by a custom of at least two hundred years, could retain it.³ Nevertheless, with due observances preserved, it is lawful to assume the Roman Breviary;⁴ but once assumed it can no longer be abandoned.⁵ I said with due observances preserved, namely:

a) If a Church or Religion retained a legitimate breviary of another form, the public office of choir must be made from that particular breviary, unless the Bishop with the consent of the whole chapter, or the Prelate with the consent of the community, has assumed the Roman Breviary.⁶

b) Individual clerics who are not bound to choir can of their own accord, after renouncing the particular breviary, assume the Roman; but offices "proper to the diocese or order," although conceded by indult, must be recited by individuals when they have been accepted by the diocese or order.⁷

c) If a particular breviary legitimately prescribed is changed or altered, the breviary so changed becomes illegitimate, and, the prior privilege having been taken away, the Roman Breviary must be assumed.⁸

2. Besides these things, the proper calendar of the diocese or Religion obliges, if it has been approved by the Sacred Congregation of Rites; likewise particular offices permitted to a particular Church or Religion and once received by use oblige.⁹ Therefore:

a) A Bishop, both secular and regular, is bound to recite the office of the Church over which he presides. One who governs several dioceses can recite the office either of the diocese in which he habitually dwells, or of that in which he is actually staying.¹⁰

b) Priests must recite the office of the Church to which they are assigned.¹¹

c) Those staying outside their own domicile are bound thus:

a) Bishops and "beneficiaries are always bound to the office of their own Church; but simple priests can conform themselves to the Office of the place where they are staying."¹²

b) Religious bound by canon law to choir are bound, if they recite in choir, to stand by the calendar of the monastery in which they are guests. Reciting privately, they ought to follow the calendar of their own house if they are staying for a few days in another house; if for a longer time, they can at will follow the calendar of their own or of the other house.¹³ On a journey, they should follow the calendar of their own house.¹⁴ If nevertheless they are staying outside monasteries for a longer time, for example during Lent, they ought to conform themselves to the calendar of the Province, extended without any diversity for all in each year.¹⁵ Finally, religious not bound by canonical title to choir, if for a few days they are staying outside their own house, whether in another house or elsewhere, should recite the office of their own house; if they are staying outside their own house for a longer time, let them at will follow the calendar of their own house or of the other house, when in another house, but the calendar of their own house or of the province, if they are staying elsewhere, for example on a journey or in a hospital.

Corollary I. The obligation of following a determined calendar carries with it the obligation of obtaining for oneself new approved offices, and likewise readings notably changed.

Corollary II. If in useful time you lack the proper office of some Saint, you ought to recite the common office of Saints of the same class; and if you also lack that, another office from the breviary of the same rite, not of a different rite, must be recited.

II. Besides, the Litanies are to be recited on the feast of St. Mark and on the three days of Rogations. "Those," so the rubric says,¹⁶ "who are not present at the Procession of the Litanies should say them privately after Matins with their prayers and collects." Moreover, that there is an obligation, the Sacred Congregation of Rites has declared several times;¹⁷ that a grave obligation is present is deduced from the fact that there is question of grave matter (St. Alphonsus IV, 161, question 1).¹⁸

¹ As regards the history of the canonical hours and the legislation concerning it, compare S. Baümer, O.S.B., Geschichte des Breviers; Batiffol, Histoire du Bréviaire Romain; Baudot, Le Bréviaire Romain.

² Constitution of Pius V Quod a nobis, 9 July 1568.

³ Constitution cited.

⁴ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 10 May 1608, n. 249.

⁵ Constitution Quod a nobis.

⁶ Cf. Sacred Congregation of Rites, 6 September 1738, n. 2338; 24 November 1883, n. 3597, ad 1.

⁷ Response of the Holy See to the Archbishop of Besançon, 28 August 1856.

⁸ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 6 September 1738, n. 2338; 24 November 1883, n. 3597, ad 1.

⁹ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 6 September 1738, n. 2338; 24 November 1883, n. 3597, ad 1.

¹⁰ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 11 June 1605, n. 181; 17 January 1880, n. 3508; 28 May 1898, n. 3993, ad 1.

¹¹ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 4 February 1898, n. 3979, ad 7.

¹² Sacred Congregation of Rites, 12 November 1831, n. 2682, ad 46.

¹³ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 27 June 1896, n. 3919, ad 13.

¹⁴ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 31 August 1839, n. 2801, ad 1.

¹⁵ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 31 August 1839, n. 2801, ad 2.

¹⁶ Breviary, after the second Sunday after Easter.

¹⁷ Sacred Congregation of Rites, 12 March 1836, n. 2740, ad 8; 4 August 1877, n. 3428.

¹⁸ The precept of adding the Office of the Dead on the day of the Commemoration of All Saints to the office of the octave of All Saints was removed by the Bull of Pius X Divino afflatu, letter 8, n. 2. The Office of the Dead is already proper to the said day.

Must those obliged to the office recite under grave obligation the office of the Dead on the day of the Commemoration of all the Dead, and also the Litanies on the feast of S. Mark and during the triduum of the Rogations? - Reply to the first: "On the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, the office and Mass of the current day being omitted, only the office with Mass for the Dead is done, as is prescribed in the Appendix of the new Psalter. If on November 2 a Sunday or some double of the first class occurs, the Commemoration of the Dead is celebrated on the next following day, similarly not impeded; on which, if perhaps a double of the second class occurs, this is transferred according to the rule handed down title III, n. 3." C. Divino afflatu, Rubr. title XIII.

Reply to the second: "On the feast of S. Mark and in the triduum of the Rogations, the burden remains entire of reciting the Litanies of the Saints, even outside choir." C. Divino afflatu, Rubr. title VII, n. 3.

Can Matins of the office of the Dead and the litanies for the feast of S. Mark and the days of Rogation be recited on the preceding evening? - Reply to the first: Affirmatively. This is established from universal custom. Moreover previously in the Office of November 2, within the octave of All Saints, after Lauds it was said in the Rubric: "After Benedicamus Domino has been said, Matins of the Dead begins absolutely." Therefore, it was concluded, since Matins of the octave of the Feast of All Saints is accustomed, or certainly can, be anticipated, consequently Matins of the Dead also can be anticipated. S. R. C., July 9, 1895, General Decree n. 3864; L. 174. But now, since after the Constitution Divino afflatu, Rubr. title XIII, only the Office for the Dead is done, the custom remains unchanged, and as another Matins can be anticipated, so also that of the Dead, since nothing by the new Rubrics and Decrees has hitherto been changed.

Reply to the second: Negatively. The reason is that the litanies in themselves do not seem to be joined with Matins and Lauds, but are something altogether distinct. Moreover, if the feast of S. Mark is transferred, the litanies must not be transferred; therefore they do not strictly adhere to Matins, indeed they have no connection with it. Finally, they are recited in place of assistance at the procession, which assistance is altogether affixed to the day. L. 174; D'Annibale ed. 3, p. 3, n. 147.

What about liturgical and prayer books? "In authentic editions of the Missal, Breviary, Ritual, Ceremonial of Bishops, Roman Pontifical, and other liturgical books approved by the Holy Apostolic See, let no one presume to change anything; if otherwise has been done, these new editions are prohibited." § 18. And other liturgical books: such as those which mark liturgical chant and which cannot differ from the authentic and typical Vatican edition, and therefore are to be approved by the Ordinary of the place. Pius X, motu proprio, April 25, 1904; Sacred Congregation of Rites, August 11, 1905; February 14, 1906. Anything of some moment. For if the matter is altogether slight, it will pertain to the ecclesiastical superior to permit or prohibit the use of the book. To change: not to correct a typographical error. To change: not to report something more fully, not abbreviated, for greater clarity and convenience, or to repeat it in its proper place. Let him presume: and therefore from intention, not inadvertently. If otherwise: namely if anything whatever has been changed from the typical and approved editions, whether there is approval or there is not; lacking that, the book is not by that very fact prohibited. Cf. E.M. 125. "All litanies, except the most ancient and common ones which are contained in Breviaries, Missals, Pontificals, and Rituals, and except the Litanies of the Blessed Virgin which are customarily sung in the sacred House of Loreto, and the Litanies of the Most Holy Name of Jesus already approved by the Holy See, are not to be edited without the review and approval of the Ordinary." § 19. Except, etc. By Decree of April 2, 1899, the Litanies of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus were also approved. By Decree of March 18, 1909, the litanies in honor of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, were likewise approved. Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. 1, p. 290 ff. Are not to be edited: here only the publication of those litanies is prohibited. But by force of the following paragraph the books themselves containing them, published without legitimate approval, are prohibited. From the Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, June 20, 1896, and February 11, 1898, Dub., the public recitation in churches or public oratories of litanies which the Holy See has not yet approved is prohibited, although the Ordinary approved them, even if that recitation is made without the intervention of a sacred minister. "Books or booklets of prayers, devotion, or religious, moral, ascetical, mystical doctrine and instruction, and others of this kind, although they seem to conduce to fostering the piety of the Christian people, let no one publish without permission of legitimate authority; otherwise, they are to be held prohibited." § 20. Books or booklets, not flying leaves. Or of doctrine... although, etc.: therefore there does not seem here to be question of books in which that doctrine is set forth merely speculatively. Of legitimate authority, namely of the Ordinary, who can also permit books of devotion containing a version of the Epistles, Gospels, and Canon of the Mass. Sacred Congregation of Rites, August 4, 1877. Collection of the Sacred Congregation de Propaganda Fide, n. 1890. Let him publish: otherwise. Therefore all books reviewed in this paragraph, to be edited from now on without authentic approval of the Ordinary and not previously edited, are to be held as prohibited. Cf. n. 1308, § 13; n. 1312, § 41. E.M.

Prayers for obtaining the intercession of Servants of God are to be approved by the Ordinary. Sacred Congregation of Rites, March 21, 1914.

Which litanies are common

90. 1. The most ancient and common litanies are the Litanies of All Saints¹ and the Litanies of the Dying.

Litanies of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

2. To the Litanies approved by the Holy See must now be ascribed the Litanies of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, which by decree of April 2, 1899, were approved for the whole Church.

Force of episcopal approval

3. The other Litanies which only a Bishop has approved can have only private use, so that publicly, even without the intervention of a sacred minister, they are prohibited from being recited in Churches or public oratories.

What if litanies are published without approval

4. Yet if the necessary approval is lacking, the use of a sheet or writing exhibiting Litanies is not prohibited. The general reason already repeated more than once returns. Thus the common opinion. But booklets or books of litanies which lack approval incur the reprehension of the immediately following article 20.

¹ These, with a few changes, recur in various sacred ceremonies, as in the Office of Holy Saturday, in Rogations, in sacred Ordination, etc.

8. LITANIES.—The word Litany (λιτάνεια) is derived from λιτή, i. e., an entreaty, or a supplication, and designates a form of united prayer by alternate sentences, in which the clergy lead and the people respond. These sentences embody petitions directed to God, or to the Saints, chiefly for the purpose of obtaining the divine assistance in important matters affecting either the Church or the faithful, or of appeasing God’s just wrath in calamities.⁴⁰

⁴⁰ F. Mershman, O.S.B., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. IX, pp. 286 sq.

Albertus, a priest who knows well the prescriptions of the Church concerning Litanies that must be approved by due authority, is doubtful about the lawfulness of certain Litanies that are found in a book of prayers approved by the bishops of the Province of Westminster, commonly called the Manual of Prayers. The same man found, on the walls of the church whose care he recently undertook, painted images of English martyrs not yet beatified, and beneath them, with the name of the martyr, the inscription—“Martyred”—on such a day and year. He doubts, however, whether due observance toward the Holy See and care for procuring the beatification of those martyrs require that the images be removed. Hence it is asked: