How to Pray "The Office of the Passion" by St. Francis of Assisi

Merry Christmas!

"The Office of the Passion" is a devotional office written by St. Francis of Assisi. (Note: It was not intended to replace the Liturgy of the Hours, which is the official prayer of the church.) I found a straightforward guide on how to pray the office in "Studying the Life of Francis of Assisi: A Beginner's Workbook" by William R. Hugo, OFM Cap. The various parts of the office are in "Francis and Clare: The Complete Works" (Armstrong and Brady), but without Hugo's guide, I never would have figured out how to put them all together. And, I would have overlooked a real treasure. From time to time, especially during the Christmas Season, I like to pray the office.

Referencing pages and text found in "Francis and Clare: The Complete Works," you would pray the office in this order.

• The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father, p. 104
  
• The Praises to be Said at All the Hours, p. 101
  
• Antiphon: Holy Virgin Mary, p. 82
  
• Psalm (see table below)
  
• Antiphon: Holy Virgin Mary, p. 82
  
• Closing prayer: Let us bless the Lord…., p. 83

Alternatively, here are the pages and text found in "Francis of Assisi: Early Document, Vol. I, The Saint" (Armstrong, Hellmann, and Short).

• The Prayer Inspired by the Our Father, p. 158
  
• The Praises to be Said at All the Hours, p. 161
  
• Antiphon: Holy Virgin Mary, p. 141
  
• Psalm (see table below)
  
• Antiphon: Holy Virgin Mary, p. 141
  
• Closing prayer: Let us bless the Lord…., p. 141

In "Francis and Clare: The Complete Works" you will find the psalms composed by St. Francis on pages 81 to 98. In "Francis of Assisi: Early Document, Vol. I, The Saint" you will find his psalms on pages 140 to 157. The times are from St. Francis' era.

Psalms composed by St. Francis	Part I: Triduum and Weekdays During the Year	Part II: Easter Season	Part III: Sundays and Principal Feasts	Part IV: Advent	Part V: Christmas Season
Compline (bedtime)	1	8	8	13	15
Matins (midnight)	2	9	9	14	15
Prime (sunrise)	3	3	3	3	15
Terce (9:00 a.m.)	4	9	10	10	15
Sext (noon)	5	9	11	11	15
None (3:00 p.m.)	6	9	12	12	15
Vespers (sunset)	7	7	7	7	15

December 2008 Newsletter from Joe Stetzel, Minister, People of Peace Fraternity

Merry Christmas!

Epiphany Celebration
Our January 4 meeting will be a celebration of the Epiphany. There will be a representative of Holy Family Shelter to update us on their mission to serve homeless families. The members present at the December meeting approved a gift of $100 from the fraternity. Please be generous in bringing diapers, bath towels, washcloths & other items for the shelter. We will sing songs and have a special skit for all. Bring a special snack for all to enjoy.

Anniversary of SFO
We will celebrate the 800th anniversary of Secular Franciscans in 2009. We hope to have a special celebration that might attract more young families to our fraternity. Ideas as to how this might be accomplished would be appreciated.

February 1 Meeting
Clare Bain and Don Markovitch are going to present our formation on Centering Prayer. The ongoing formation for that month is on prayer. We will meet in St. Francis hall for this meeting only in order to use the quiet of St. Francis Chapel.

Demographic Survey
The National Fraternity is conducting a demographic survey of its members. See Joe Stetzel at the next meeting to get a copy of the survey. Those who cannot regularly attend will be mailed a survey. Thank you for your cooperation.

Holy Family Shelter
Our fraternity is responsible for serving the lunch on the first Saturday of each month at 1:00PM. The residents are very grateful for receiving this simple meal. Contact Bob Golobish, SFO at rwgolobish@marian.edu or work 955- 6775 to help with this ministry.

Novena of Intercession
During the third week of January and third week of July all fraternity members from Our Lady of Indiana region are being asked to pray a novena for the suffering people both home and abroad, especially those in Orissa, India. Copies of the novena will be available at the January meeting and those who cannot attend will receive a copy by mail.

Potential new members
Helen Burke, Jack Hill, and John Shelton, all from Marian College have begun inquiry into becoming SFO’s. Please keep them in your prayers as they begin formation.

Blue Plastic Container
We cannot locate the blue container that is used for supplies for our monthly meetings. If anyone has it call or e-mail Joe Stetzel. Thanks!

Time to Gather!

A reminder that there will be a fraternity meeting Sunday December 7th. Our topic will be "Turning Our Minds and Hearts Daily to God" pg. 65-72 from our formation book: To Set Themselves Free. Our presenter will be Mary Stickelmaier. Mary is a new SFO. Come prepared to join in the discussion of this topic.