Office for the Dead
            QUESTION from Jon on June 10, 2004

Dear Brother Ignatius, I have a couple of questions I hope you can help me with regarding the Office of the Dead. My prayer life is a mix of the old Breviary (Compline) and the LOTH (Lauds and Vespers) each day. I find the LOTH fairly simple and direct when it comes to the hinge hours, but unlike the old Breviary, light on clues when it comes to the lesser celebrated hours. Not only that, but I use the one volume Christian Prayer, which, I assume, doesn't contain all the rubrics, even within the Ordinary. At any rate, this evening I wanted to pray the Office of the Dead from the LOTH. I looked it over beforehand, and had a few questions. I consulted an unabridged copy of the General Instruction, and still had the questions. Here they are: In the old Office of the Dead, the Office begins immediately at the antiphon of the first psalm, without "O God come to my assistance..." I couldn't tell if the Office begins the same in Christian Prayer. In the old Office, each psalm ends with "Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them," rather than the Gloria Patri. I can't tell if this is also done in the LOTH. In the old Office, the hour ends with "Eternal rest...upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen." Does the LOTH end that way, or with the customary, "May the Lord bless us, protect us...? Thanks again for the help, and I'll say a prayer that the heat's not too hard on you this summer! Jon