| The Divine Office | ||||
| (Traditional Latin Rite) | ||||
| Opus Dei | ||||
| Matutinum | Matins | post midnight | also called Vigilia 'Vigil' or | |
| Ad Matutinas | Nocturns: Night Office | |||
| Laudes | Lauds | At daybreak | Day Offices (Lauds–Compline) | |
| more correctly Ad Laudes Matutinales (morning praises), Laudes Matutinæ or In Laudibus | ||||
| Ad Primam | Prime | 6:00 A,M. | ||
| Ad Tertiam | Terce | 9:00 A,M. | ||
| Ad Sextam | Sext | Noon | ||
| Ad Nonam | None | 3:00 P.M. | ||
| Ad Vesperas | Vespers | Early evening | ||
| Collatio | Gathering | Short monastic rite before Compline in the cloister | ||
| Ad Completorium | Compline | Before retiring | ||
| 'Little Office' | Little office of the BVM or All Saints, etc. | |||
| Plenum servitiu, | 'full service' | Full cycle of Office (as opposed to the Little Office | ||
| Placebo | 'I will please' | The 1st word of Vespers in the Office for the Dead, often refers to the entire office | ||
| Dirige | 'Direct' | The 1st word of the 1st Psalm antiphon of the Vigil of the Dead (Matins) often refers to the entire office. | ||
| Historia 'History' the Old Testament and Apocryphal books read at Matins during the summer months. (Kings, Wisdom, Job, Tobias, Judith, Maccabees, Ezekiel, Esther) | ||||
| Lesser Canticles: those other than the three canticles from the Gospel of St. Luke (Benedictus, Magnificat, Nunc dimittis) and the Te Deum, especially those used at Lauds in the psalmody and in the 3rd nocturne of monastic Matins | ||||
| Little Hours: Those without a canticle (Prime, Terce, Sext, None) | ||||
| Magnificat: First words of the Song of Mary; sung at Vespers | ||||
| Office of the Dead: fixed texts for Vespers, Matins, and Lauds said on the day of burial or commemoration | ||||
| Preces 'preces': prayers at the end of Prime and Compline (Lesser Litany, Pater noster, vesicles and responses) | ||||
| Votive: an Office, Mass, or service not part of the prescribe calendar, usually a special intention; Votive Office: one or more offices recited in addition to the Divine Offices | ||||
| Outline of the order of the Medieval Divine Office | ||||
| Matins | Lauds | Prime, Terce | Vespers | Compline |
| Sext, None | ||||
| Secular Use: | ||||
| Opening Versicles | Opening Versicle | Opening Versicle | Opening Versicle | Opening Versicles |
| INTRODUCTION PSALMS | PSALMS AND CANTICLES | HYMN | PSALMS | PSALMS |
| HYMN | Sentence from scripture | PSALMS | Sentence from scripture | Sentence from Scripture |
| First nocturn: | [Respond in monastic use] | Sentence fr. scripture | Respond | Respond |
| PSALMS | Hymn | [Secular use: Respond] | HYMN | HYMN |
| Prayer and Blessing | Versicle | Versicle | Versicle | Versicle |
| Reading with Responds | CANTICLE | [Prime in secular and | MAGNIFICAT | NUNC DIMITTIS |
| Second nocturn: | Prayer | all four in monastic | Prayer | Preces |
| PSALMS | Blessing | use: Preces] | Blessing | Prayer |
| Prayer and Blessing | Prayer | Blessing | ||
| Readings with Responds | Blessing | |||
| Third nocturn: | Monastic Use: | |||
| PSALMS | Opening Versicle | |||
| Prayer and Blessing | PSALM | |||
| Reading with Responds | KEY: | HYMN | ||
| TE DEUM LADAMUS | Caps=CHOIR CHANT | Sentence from Scripture | ||
| Lower=minister' chant or | Versicle | |||
| recitations | Preces | |||
| Italics=Dialogues btwn | Prayer | |||
| minister or cantor and | Blessing | |||
| Soloists and choir |