The Divine Office: Considered from a Devotional Point of View

This classic work offers practical advice and spiritual insight for praying the Divine Office—the Church’s official daily prayer—with deeper attention, piety, and fruit.

Drawing from Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the example of the saints, the author explores the excellence and spiritual fruits of the Divine Office, common faults that reduce its value, the dispositions of faith, hope, and charity needed for fruitful prayer, and the benefits of thoughtful study of its Psalms, hymns, lessons, and structure.

Above all, the volume provides tested methods to sustain devotion during recitation: preparation through recollection, union with Christ, particular intentions, attention to the text, reverent posture, suitable time and place, avoidance of haste, and specific points to renew piety.

M. l'Abbé Bacquez was a 19th-century French Catholic priest who served as director of the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, a major institution for the formation of clergy run by the Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice.  Author of the work Le Bréviaire considéré au point de vue de la piété, originally published in French and later translated into English (notably in this 1885 edition), which seeks to deepen the appreciation and devout recitation of the Divine Office (Breviary) among priests, drawing on liturgical, theological, and devotional insights.

“The recitation of the Divine Office is a sort of incessant Communion by which our Lord continues the work of sanctification in the souls of His ministers.”

Format: Paperback, 309 pages.