The Divine Office before Our Lord exposed in the Monstrance.

A Brief Breviary Appeal

A HandmaidHPB Vocations, News, Prayer Life

We could use a little help with some books. Very special books. Likely expensive. We are talking about the four volume breviaries we use to chant the Divine Office or the Liturgy of the Hours (LOTH).
 
We need the new version: The Liturgy of the Hours 2nd Edition (that’s the SECOND Edition publishing soon for use in March 2027) rather than new replacements of the Liturgy of the Hours 1st Edition (published in 1975).
 
If you are not familiar with Nuns, we have two types of books we use the most: our bibles and our breviaries. Both are heavily used daily. But our breviaries are used seven times a day in formal prayer chanted before Our Lord exposed in the monstrance on the altar.
 
A Handmaid prays the Divine Office

The entire Divine Office is prayed in common daily.

Pick them up.
Open them up.
Flip back and forth to the parts we sing, chant, and read, close them,
put them away…all day long and into the night.
 
This is the “bread and butter”, as it were, of our diet of prayer 24/7/365.
 
The current English breviaries were first approved by the Vatican in 1971 and published for the United States in 1975…that’s 51 years ago. After over half a century of unrelenting wear and tear, they’re pretty weathered.
 

Emergency Repair Kit: Replacement covers, replacement ribbons, book tape, glue, scissors and lots of ingenuity keep old books in “service”.

New copies of these 1st Edition breviaries can be purchased between $175 and $200 today yet again that’s not what we are asking assistance for.

These First Edition Breviaries are NOT what we are asking for. Obsolete by Dec 2028.

Why?
 
There’s big news!
 
 
Totally New breviaries will be published for use in 2027!
 
They will be the Liturgy of the Hours 2nd Edition using the The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, updated hymns from the Divine Office Hymnal, and updated artwork. And this time, unlike 1975, there is a choice of two great publishing houses: Ascension Press and Word on Fire. We haven’t yet made a study or selection of which publisher we will choose but we already know both are reputable for high quality and beautiful products.
 

Ascension Press LOTH 2nd Edition Mock Up

 

Word On Fire LOTH 2nd Edition Mock Up

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Here’s what we do know:
  1. The first of the new volumes (Lent/Easter) will be out for Ash Wednesday 2027. Mandatory use of the full four volume 2nd Edition will begin December 3rd, 2028.
  2. We are poor and have a vow of poverty. We are not rolling in the dough. These books are not cheap. But they are built to last.
  3. We will need assistance in order to obtain a new breviary set for each Sister by the time they are available.
  4. Orders and wait lists are already filling up. We want to transition to the new breviaries as soon as we can and are already receiving inquiries about submitting advanced orders as early as July 1st, 2026.
  5. Neither publishing house is explicitly listing prices yet but it’s a good bet they may cost more than $175 for a four volume set. Multiply that by the number of Nuns and it’s a fair expense.

So, we are wondering if anyone would like to contribute toward the final cost of this critical tool that plays such an important role in our daily (and nightly) schedule. What we DO is this prayer. That is our work. We give that gift of prayer back to you and for you in deepest gratitude for your support. Thank you for considering assisting us! God bless you!

We also have a separate need to obtain copies of the Divine Office Hymnal published in 2023 containing the music for all the hymns used in the LOTH 2nd Edition. An organ accompaniment edition is also needed (just one copy).