Responsories in the Office of Readings
Date: February 9, 2025
Author: Fr. Edward McNamara, LC
Question: How should the responsories in the Office of Readings be prayed? There are some Internet applications that make the people repeat the first part. I find that this is against traditional custom (it was never repeated), and the current text of the breviary does not give rise to think that this is the case. It is very clear at lauds and vespers where the repetition is obvious, but there is no hint of this in the Office of Readings. -- C.V., Rome
Answer: The responsory is an ancient part of the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours and, in a shorter form, in other offices.
It is called “Responsory” because it was a sung meditation responding to the reading that preceded it, and hence serves a purpose analogous to that of the “Responsorial Psalm” of the Mass.
In the Latin editio typica, the initial “℟” (which stands for “responsum”) in the responsory refers to the part that the assembly should say, that is, the whole text including the part which will be repeated later. This repeatable part is indicated by either an asterisk (*) or a “℣.” The leader will then say the verse (“℣”), to which the assembly replies with the repeatable portion of the responsum (“℟”) marked by the asterisk.
Below is how the Latin editio typica presents the responsory for the Office of Readings for January 1:
℟. Beáta es, Virgo María, quæ Dóminum portásti creatórem mundi: * Genuísti qui te fecit, et in ætérnum pérmanes virgo.
℣. Ave, maría, gràtia plena, Dóminus tecum. * Genuísti.
The question posed by our correspondent regards how to begin the responsory. Should the whole assembly recite the entire responsum from the beginning (℟) or should the responsum be started by the leader and the people join him at the asterisk (*)? Alternatively, should the leader say the first line in its entirety and then the people repeat it?
Some vernacular printed editions simply reproduce the editio typica, for example, the Spanish and the English Liturgy of the Hours commonly used in the British Isles (which only completes the last phrase where the Latin only has the first word). Thus, we have for the Office of Readings for January 1:
℟. Blessed are you, Virgin Mary! You bore in your womb the Lord, the Creator of the world.* You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
℣. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you! * You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
Some editions expand on this to avoid possible confusion. The Italian printed edition changes the second asterisk (*) to the “℟” of “responsum,” making the moment of the people’s response somewhat clearer:
℟. Blessed are you, Virgin Mary! You bore in your womb the Lord, the Creator of the world.* You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
℣. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!
℟. You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
The North American printed edition tries to settle our question by splitting the responsory (℟) into two parts (exactly in the point where the asterisk is found in the Latin edition). Thus, the leader says the first portion, and the people respond by reciting the second:
Blessed are you, Virgin Mary! You bore in your womb the Lord, the Creator of the world.
—You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!
—You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
The apps mentioned by our correspondent adopt a different method. For example, the app of the Spanish bishops’ conference (not the printed edition) presents the responsory thus:
℣. Blessed are you, Virgin Mary! You bore in your womb the Lord, the Creator of the world. You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
℟. Blessed are you, Virgin Mary! You bore in your womb the Lord, the Creator of the world. You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
℣. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you!
℟. You gave birth to him who made you, and you remain a virgin forever.
The question at hand is whether this latter mode of reciting the responsory, with the repetition of the entire first line, is a correct interpretation of the rubrics.
The relevant norms regarding the responsories are dealt with in the General Introduction to the Liturgy of the Hours. To wit:
“IX The Responsories
“169. The biblical reading in the Office of Readings is followed by its own responsory. The text of this response, chosen from traditional material or newly composed, is designed to cast new light on the passage just read, to place the reading within the history of salvation, to draw it from the Old Testament into the New, to turn the reading to prayer and contemplation, or finally to offer further variety and beauty.
“170. In a similar way a suitable response is given to the second reading. This, however, is not so strictly linked with the text of the reading and thus favors greater freedom of meditation.
“171. The responsories, with their parts to be repeated, retain their value even in individual recitation. The part usually repeated in the responsory may be omitted if not sung unless repetition is demanded by its very meaning.
“172. In a similar but simpler way, the short responsory at Lauds, Vespers and Compline (about which see nn 49 and 89 above), and the versicles at the Prayer during the Day, reply to the short reading. This brief response is a kind of acclamation and enables the word of God to penetrate more deeply into the mind and heart of the person reciting or listening.
“269. What the Second Vatican Council said with regard to singing in the Liturgy applies to every liturgical action but especially to the Liturgy of the Hours. Although each and every part has been so arranged that it can fruitfully be recited even by an individual, many of the parts, especially the psalms, canticles, hymns and responsories, are of a lyrical nature and are given their full expression only when sung.
“282. The nature and purpose of the responsories in the Office of Readings require that they should be sung. They are so composed, however, that even in individual recitation they retain their value. Singing may be used more often for the responsories which have simpler and easier melodies, than for those which are taken from the liturgical sources.”
Only No. 171 mentions “the parts to be repeated” and only insofar as saying that they may be occasionally omitted in private recitation. None of these numbers explain which are these “parts to be repeated.” We need, therefore, to look at the text itself to see if we can deduce an answer.
From what we have seen above, especially in the typical edition, there is not much support in the rubrics for the option of repeating the entire first line.
If we compare the responsory of the Office of Readings and those of lauds and vespers, we will notice that in these other prayers the repetition is always explicitly referenced. For example, take the responsory of lauds of January 1 in the editio typica:
℟. Notum fecit Dóminus, * Alleluia alleluia. Notum.
℟. Salutáre suum. * Allelúia, alleluia. Glória Patri. Notum.
Here we observe that the text explicitly indicates repetition by giving the first word of the responsum right after it (“Notum”), and again, after the Gloria Patri, at the end. Thus, this responsory of lauds is universally interpreted as follows:
Leader: Notum fecit Dóminus, Allelúia allelúia.
Assembly: Notum fecit Dóminus, Allelúia allelúia.
Leader: Salutáre suum.
Assembly: Allelúia, alleluia.
Leader: Glória Patri, et Fílio et Spirítui Sancto.
Assembly: Notum fecit Dóminus, Allelúia allelúia.
In the responsory of the Office of Readings, however, there is never any indication to repeat. This would imply that the responsum is not to be repeated by the assembly. This also corresponds to the manner in which responsory has been traditionally sung.
In Gregorian chant only the first few words of the responsum are intoned by the cantor, and then the assembly joins singing the rest of the responsum (℟), with no repetition of the first line.
This can be observed in the Gregorian scores of the responsories: They always signal with an asterisk (*) the point where the intonation concludes, and the assembly join in. In the responsory for January 1, the Gregorian score is: “Beáta es, * Virgo María, quæ Dóminum portasti ….” This means that the cantor intones “Beata es” and the assembly takes up the melody from “Virgo Maria ….”
This is the historical tradition for singing the responsories. While it might be argued that the Gregorian texts are complicated for many communities, the traditional mode of singing can serve as inspiration for structuring the singing of the responsories, even in the vernacular, which, as we have seen, is highly recommended in the norms for the Divine Office.
The experience of communities that regularly sing the responsories in vernacular is quite varied, going from tones based on the Latin chants to the use of simple modern melodies and even “recto tono” for ferial days. Most of these melodies are relatively simple and allow a community to quickly learn to sing most of the responsories.
What has been said for singing is also applicable to simple recitation as the customary mode of singing is a sound guide to how a text should be recited.
It would be impractical to expect the assembly to spontaneously begin reciting (or singing) the responsory all at the same time. Hence, we must conclude that the manner of reciting the responsories in the above-mentioned apps, repeating the entire response (℟), is an innovation that is not based on any norms and is not in conformity with any printed texts. It may be attributed to a misunderstanding of the significance of the initial “℟,” as if it were an “R” meaning “repeat.” This is not the case.
The most adequate solution for simple recitation would seem to be that offered in the American edition and in apps that follow it. The leader says the response (℟) until the asterisk (*), and the people continue from that point on.
If the responsory is sung then, either the latter solution could be used or, as in chant, the leader could intone the first words of the responsory (℟), and then the assembly takes up the melody.
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