Click the following link for a Microsoft Word version that can be edited.
The St. Bernard Breviary is a specific liturgical book, primarily used within Anglican and Catholic traditions, that contains the Divine Office (the daily cycle of prayers) rather than a codified “Rule of Life” in the monastic sense. It is published by Anglican House Publishers and is based on the historical practices of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.
While the Breviary itself provides the structure for prayer, the spiritual disciplines often associated with Saint Bernard’s approach to life and humility include:
- The Twelve Degrees of Humility: A ladder of spiritual ascent involving the restraint of senses, silence, and self-knowledge, as detailed in his treatise On Humility and Pride.
- Silence and Contemplation: Emphasizing strict silence and the “guarding of the heart” to prevent evil thoughts.
- Preferencing Love of Christ: Prioritizing the love of Christ above all else, a core tenet often cited in Bernardine spirituality.
The St. Bernard Breviary serves as the practical tool for implementing these prayers, while the “Rules” are derived from the broader theological and ascetical works of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux Rules for Life – St. Bernard Breviary
According to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, (PDF Version) every Christian is encouraged to frame a personal Rule of Life in accordance with the Gospel and the faith of the Church. This rule serves as a structured guide to sanctify daily life, focusing on six key areas:
Public Worship: Regular attendance, especially at the Holy Communion.
- Private Devotion: Consistent practice of private prayer, Bible-reading, and self-discipline.
- Daily Living: Bringing the teaching and example of Christ into everyday life.
- Witness: Maintaining boldness in spoken witness to faith in Christ.
- Service: Engaging in personal service to the Church and the community.
- Stewardship: Offering money according to one’s means to support the work of the Church at home and overseas.
The Rule of Life is intended to be flexible, allowing for adjustment as life circumstances change while maintaining a central focus on loving God and others.
Why the St. Bernard Breviary?
Visit a Cathedral for Evensong, or a monastery for vespers and you will experience the splendor of chant — the glory of the sung Daily Office. As an Anglican, the Daily Office is the core of your prayer life, but of course they are usually said and not sung. But the experience of singing one’s prayers adds not only aesthetic beauty, but also a powerful tool to help slow down and focus the mind on the meaning of the words.
Plainsong psalters and hymnals with chant exist on the market, but they have two problems. First, the language of the prayers corresponds to earlier editions of the B.C.P., and Second, you have to juggle 4 or 5 books. Undaunted, say you set yourself to sing Morning Prayer. You gather up the necessary books to get started: The Book of Common Prayer, of course, and a Bible.
And then for the singing you need a Psalter pointed for chant, and a Hymnal for the Canticles, and perhaps an Office Book for an antiphon for the Magnificat. You open up these books and they are full of strange symbols and markings, nearly impossible to interpret. Let’s say you are able to eventually decipher them, and so it comes time to pray, and you are having to juggle four or even five books, constantly flipping through pages. It’s a mess…
What is needed is a single book, that is easy to use and easy to learn, that contains all the elements of the sung Daily Office, arranged appropriately. This type of book is called a Breviary, because it puts so many elements into one “brief” space (it was popularized by travelling friars in the High Middle Ages).
Now, for the first time, the Book of Common Prayer of 2019 has been transformed for the sung office with the ‘St. Bernard Breviary’ available in April 2024 from Anglican Liturgy Press. The St. Bernard Breviary has within it a unified and simple system of chant and corresponding “pointing”. It includes the full Daily Office, set to chant-music, with Plainsong for the Psalter and the melody-line of Anglican-Chant for the Canticles. It includes a 100-hymn hymnal, and all the readings from the Daily Office, arranged in the sequence presented in the 2019 Daily Office Lectionary.
With 8 ribbons for marking the propers of the Office, a deluxe leather-over-board hardcover binding, the St. Bernard Breviary will transform your praying of the Office. It is a seed, which, if you take it into your life, will plant a monastic choir.
