Commentary on the "Office of the Passion" by St. Francis of Assisi

Updated March 2018

The more time I spend with the "Office of the Passion" the more I am impressed with it and St. Francis. It is a powerful overview of Franciscan theology. Anyone praying the Office would say these prayers seven times a day: bedtime, midnight, sunrise, 9:00 a.m., noon, 3:00 p.m. and sunset. Here are a few things that caught my attention.

First, the Office begins with the Our Father prayer or "The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father," a reflection on the Our Father prayer. Instead of quickly zipping through the Our Father prayer, like I tend to do, Francis is taking time to think deeply about it, i.e., ruminating. Note that when he reflects on "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" Francis borrows language from the opening of "The First Version of the Letter to the Faithful," which also is the prologue to the current SFO Rule.

Second, time and time again, Francis says God is the source of all good. This is conveyed early in "The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father" and at the end of "The Praises To Be Said at All the Hours." In the "The Praises To Be Said at All the Hours" and the short concluding prayer of the Office we are called to return that good to God.

Third, next Francis has us say "The Praises To Be Said at All the Hours." Notice that all creation is encouraged to join us in praising God. The Praises ends with his powerful super-prayer: "All-powerful, most holy, most high, and supreme God: all good, supreme good, totally good, You who alone are good...." Notice how intensely Francis sings the praises of God. Again, seven time a day! Imagine the impact on the person praying.

Fourth, Francis has us say the antiphon for the Holy Virgin Mary. Someone praying the Office has said this antiphon 14 times over the course of the day. I think this antiphon tells us a lot about how he viewed the Blessed Mother. Plus, Saint Michael the Archangel and all the saints are asked to pray for us.

Fifth, now, Francis really goes all out. He wrote 15 psalms that reflect on the passion of Christ. Each is a collage of his favorite scriptural passages. He knew Holy Scripture so well that he could pick and choose his favorites verses and weave them together into 15 of his own creations. Awesome! Then he figured out when they should be prayed during the day and over the course of five liturgical seasons.

Then Francis has us go back to the antiphon for the Holy Virgin Mary.

The Office ends with a short prayer.

Imagine the impact on your life of praying the Office several times a day for just a week.