The Missio Dei Breviary

Coming as I do from a liturgical background, I've been significantly enlivened by the contemporary / missional reengagement and creative re:mixing of the Catholic-Anglican practices of praying. Specifically I'm thinking of The Missio Dei Breviary, developed and published by the Missio Dei community (in Minneapolis, Minnesota). But first, a little background in respect of "breviary's": In liturgical language the (Roman) Catholic breviary was a book that set out the regulations for the celebration of Mass (`Breviarium Ecclesiastici Ordinis'). The name "has been extended to books which contain in one volume, or at least in one work, liturgical books of different kinds, such as the Psalter, the Antiphonary, the Responsoriary, the Lectionary, etc." In Roman Catholic terms it has come to include the following: the Psalter; the Proper of the Season (e.g. the lessons, psalms, prayers/responses etc for, for example Advent, or Lent etc); Proper of the Saints (e.g. the lessons, psalms, antiphons, and other liturgical formularies for the feasts of the saints); the Common; certain special Offices (e.g. the office for the dead). In essence, a breviary is a prayer book for daily prayer, historically most commonly associated with clergy (some have called it a "priest's prayer book") and monks. You might also hear it referred to as the "daily office", the "divine office", or the "liturgy of the hours". "The prayer of the Breviary is meant to be used daily; each day has its own Office; in fact it would be correct to say that each hour of the day has its own office, for, liturgically, the day is divided into hours founded on the ancient Roman divisions of the day, of three hours apiece -Prime, Terce, Sext, None, and Vespers, and the night Vigils." There was also Compline which was prayed as night fell. "Each of the hours of the Office in the Roman Liturgy is composed of the same elements: psalms (and now and then canticles), antiphons (often a verse taken from a psalm), responsories, hymns, lessons (readings from Scripture, the Church Fathers, and /or commentators on Scripture e.g. excerpts from homilies/sermons), versicles, little chapters, and collects (prayers)." In Anglican practice, the approach to prayer is often less complex and focuses on morning and evening worship featuring psalms, OT, NT, and Gospel readings. They also have prayer book liturgies for morning, midday, and evening prayer. Now, back to the Missio Dei Breviary. It's a whole lot less complex, and therefore more accessible (and considerably less expensive) than the `traditional' four volume "liturgy of the hours". It is a prayerbook for the ordinary person. It offers a wonderful means of embedding a prayerful rhythm into the ordinary and the everyday. It follows a four week cycle with morning and evening prayers. The morning prayers include an opening prayer, a Scripture reading, the Lord's Prayer, and a closing prayer. The evening prayers are similar, but contain a call to prai

One of the unfortunate casualties of the Protestant Reformation was the rejection of monasticism as an institution. In the past few years as the emerging movement in all its forms has grown, new monasticism has arisen as an effort by (mostly) evangelical Protestants to re-connect with the sensibilities of monastic life. Missio Dei has contributed a very unique and particular prayer book written by many of its members, which makes it quite different from many of the other recent efforts to create fixed-hour prayer books for evangelicals (i.e., Phyllis Tickle's Divine Hours, some distillations of Benedictine prayer books, Celtic breviaries, etc.) Rather than make their prayer book's content as general as possible, Missio Dei has presented their own unique character as a community. The prayers are focused on the "hard sayings" of Jesus in the Gospels, on practical action and love of the poor and marginalized. Definitely an invitation into the spiritual life of a particular community rather than just an assistant for one's own inner spiritual life, I encourage you to make a commitment to this prayer book and see what fruit it bears in your life.

Many are rediscovering the ancient practice of the fixed prayers to be an alternative to the habits impose by the global capitalist market. Prayer center us in the reality of a different Kingdom as well as moves us out to embody the values of that Kingdom. This book of prayers is well crafted with the heart of the community and practice in mind, a good alternative to the many mass publications produced with the sole intent on making the big bucks.