the prayer book as regula

The Prayer Book as RegulaLiturgical, Sacramental, Catholic Spiritual Life

by Matthew Dallman

If the Church is the extension of the Incarnation of Christ, then it is through the Church that Christ’s

presence continues to live and grow.

So, what is meant by “presence”?

The presence of Christ is understood at least five ways.


in all creation and creatures, generally


in all creation and creatures, generally in gatherings of the baptized



in the Word of Scripture proclaimed



in the Word of Scripture proclaimed in the person of the celebrating priest/bishop



in the Word of Scripture proclaimed in the person of the celebrating priest/bishop

in the Eucharist and as minister in all Sacraments

What the Prayer Book does expertly isarticulate a corporate response

to Christ's presence —

What the Prayer Book does expertly isarticulate a corporate response

to Christ's presence —that is, a response by the members of his Body.

With that introduction, we turn to a primary question:

With that introduction, we turn to a primary question:

What is the Prayer Book?

Yes, it is a bound collection of liturgies...


...for Baptism


...for Baptism...for Eucharist



...for Reconciliation



...for Reconciliation...for Confirmation




…for Matrimony




…for Matrimony...for Holy Orders (Bishop, Priest, Deacon)





...for Death and Burial





...for Death and Burial...for the entire Liturgical Year






...for the Divine Office






...for the Divine Office...for sanctification of all moments.

Yes, it is a bound collection of various books...


...missal


...missal...breviary



...prymer (catechism)



...prymer (catechism)...calendar



...prymer (catechism)...calendar…psalter



...prymer (catechism)...calendar...psalter

...pontifical




...pontifical

...lectionary




...pontifical

...lectionary...collectar (collects)




...pontifical


...rituale




...pontifical


...rituale...and more.

Yes, its title “Common Prayer” was a deliberate contrast to late medieval customs...

Yes, its title “Common Prayer” was a deliberate contrast to late medieval customs...

...when the official Divine Office wasthe private work of clergy and monastics.

Yes, its introduction disappointed both extremes...


...those who wanted complete change of the Church


...those who wanted complete change of the Church

...and those who wanted none.

Its introduction (1549) was not without turbulencebut it came to be loved

Its introduction (1549) was not without turbulencebut it came to be loved

and, under the Puritan governmentof the 17th century which tried to outlaw it,

protected and practiced in the home.

These are all important attributes of the Prayer Book — attributes that have been and continue to be subjects of

important study and debates.



And yet the primary question remains:

Yes, it involves a reaction to 16th-century movementsin the Western Church...


...to Martin Luther


...to Martin Luther...to John Calvin



...to Martin Bucer



...to Martin Bucer… to Huldrych Zwingli




...to Cardinal Francisco de Quiñones, and others





...to Medieval liturgical piety, in general





...to Medieval liturgical piety, in general...to perceptions of sacramental abuse in the Church





...to Medieval liturgical piety, in general...to perceptions of sacramental abuse in the Church

...to calls for Scripture and Liturgy in vernacular language

Yes, it is something of a product of the theology of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.

But, no!

But, no! It is not merely a product of the 16th century!

But, no! It is not merely a product of the 16th century!

There is a great deal of spirituality “behind the text”...

Its lineage also includes...


...the New Testament Church


...the New Testament Church...the Celtic penitential system



...the major influence of St Augustine and his heirs



...the major influence of St Augustine and his heirs…The Rule of St Benedict and

Benedictine/Cistercian monastic life in England




Benedictine/Cistercian monastic life in England…St Anselm (Archbishop of Canterbury)





...the influences of the Franciscans and St Thomas Aquinas






As well as a culture of English anchorite spirituality, reflected by







Ancrene Riwle (c. 13th century)







Ancrene Riwle (c. 13th century) The Scale of Perfection, by Walter Hilton (c. 1390)







Ancrene Riwle (c. 13th century) The Scale of Perfection, by Walter Hilton (c. 1390)The Revelations, by Julian of Norwich (c. 1393)







Ancrene Riwle (c. 13th century) The Scale of Perfection, by Walter Hilton (c. 1390)The Revelations, by Julian of Norwich (c. 1393)

The Book of Margery Kempe (c. 1420)

And, in terms of the prayer life, that is, the corporate experience,

And, in terms of the prayer life, that is, the corporate experience,

the Prayer Book interprets and clarifies

all ages of the English Church.

How?

...some call it a “way of life”

How?

...some call it a “way of life”...some identify as “Prayer Book Catholics”

How?


...or “Prayer Book Christians”

How?


...or “Prayer Book Christians”

But what does this really mean?

It has everything to do with how we understandthe role of the Prayer Book in the communal life.

It has everything to do with how we understandthe role of the Prayer Book in the communal life.

Meaning . . .

The Prayer Book is a Regula.


...an order for a community’s life


...an order for a community’s life...an order for community’s prayer life.

What is “Regula”?


“Regula” refers to a system of worshipthat, as a whole,



articulates and gives shapeto an environment of

total and continuous relationshipwith the presence of God



articulates and gives shapeto an environment of

total and continuous relationshipwith the presence of God

by a community.


It is Latin for “rule,” in the sense of


It is Latin for “rule,” in the sense ofpattern, model, total system.

By means of Regula, we respond to Christ’s presence:


in creation and all creatures


in creation and all creaturesin gatherings of the baptized



in the Word proclaimed



in the Word proclaimedin the celebrating priest



in the Word proclaimedin the celebrating priest

in the Sacraments

When the Christian life is prayedas Regula, then...


the Liturgy is not a service but a dynamic system thatresponds to a sacramental environment.



the Liturgy is not our theology, but God’s theology.




Less important than how we imagine God to be is how God imagines us to be...




Less important than how we imagine God to be is how God imagines us to be...

...and God imagines us to be liturgical.

Regula empowers, capacitates, enables, enacts, strengthens, orders, shapes.

Regula empowers, capacitates, enables, enacts, strengthens, orders, shapes.

But it is always a response.

How is the Prayer Book a Regula?


Owing to printing press technology, the 16th-century English Church leadership codified and standardized the various liturgical practices and

uses of the age into a single, corporate, liturgical system.




So, the fundamental liturgical paradigm shifted




So, the fundamental liturgical paradigm shifted from visual to aural,





from sight-based to sound-based,





from sight-based to sound-based,from “left-brain” to “right-brain” (so-called).


Owing to printing press technology, the 16th century English Church leadership codified and standardized the various liturgical practices and




Importantly, the same system applies to clergy and laity alike.


Owing to printing press technology, the 16th century English Church leadership codified and standardized the various liturgical practices and




Importantly, the same system applies to clergy and laity alike.

Note: this is a 16th-centurty version of what St Benedict did with his Rule.

And, all of this is directly and immediately congruentwith the New Testament Church.

How do we know?

We know because of the 2nd chapter of The Acts of the Apostles.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the

prayers.” (Acts 2.42)



This is the basis and framework for The Rule of St Benedict

and the orthodox Catholic life in general.



This is the basis and framework for The Rule of St Benedict

and the orthodox Catholic life in general.

This is the basis and framework of the Prayer Book.

In our contemporary terminology:


apostles’ teaching and fellowship = “Devotion”



the breaking of bread = “Mass”



the breaking of bread = “Mass”

the prayers = “Divine Office”

These three practices respond to the environment described in Acts 2.1-41.

These three practices respond to the environment described in Acts 2.1-41.

And, by the way, have you looked at how insanely vibrantthat environment must have been?

Do so, immediately.

So, the Prayer Book as Regula works like this:

So, the Prayer Book as Regula works like this:

This is the “threefold” pattern of corporate response ordered by the Prayer Book.

To the triune God—the Holy Trinity—we respond with a threefold Regula:


Divine Office is our responding tothe transcendent reality of God the Father.



Mass is our responding to the presence of God the Son.



Mass is our responding to the presence of God the Son.

Devotion is our responding to the activity of God the Holy Spirit.

Divine Office

Divine Office

Response of praise and thanksgiving to the Father Almighty, our transcendent source of all Being, by the entirety of the Body of Christ: in

visible creation (Church Militant) and in Paradise (Church Expectant) and in Heaven (Church Triumphant) in the power of the Spirit.

Divine Office



The articulation of invariable, set-prayer forms developed by the Church, not subjectively in the moment. We join with the Angels and all the

company of Heaven — the paradigm of the “Our Father.”

Divine Office



The articulation of invariable, set-prayer forms developed by the Church, not subjectively in the moment. We join with the Angels and all the

company of Heaven — the paradigm of the “Our Father.”

The Divine Office affirms objective doctrine about God and the salvation we gain through Christ alone.

Mass

Communion with God the Son, whose reality is both immanent and transcendent, in the power of the Spirit and by virtue of our

creatureliness owing entirely to the Father.

Mass



Both invariable and variable — Christ's identity fixed and growing/becoming through the Church, the extension of Incarnation.

The paradigm of Sacrament of the Eucharist:our daily and eternal bread of life.

Mass



Both invariable and variable — Christ's identity fixed and growing/becoming through the Church, the extension of Incarnation.

The paradigm of Sacrament of the Eucharist:our daily and eternal bread of life.

Through Christ, we can look backward: examination of conscience in the week of ministry past,

forward: ministry ahead and the ultimacy of the future, andin the present: open acceptance of the past and commitment to the future.

Devotion

Response of openness to the presence of God the Holy Spirit, our immanent comforter, who guides the baptized into the unity of all truth, all goodness, all beauty, the source of which is God the Father through

definitive expression in his Son.

Devotion



Essentially variable: an existential and subjective living-into a Scriptural life in love and stewardship and ministry toward God's creatures and the

seeking and serving of Christ in all persons — the paradigm of our baptismal covenant.

Devotion



Essentially variable: an existential and subjective living-into a Scriptural life in love and stewardship and ministry toward God's creatures and the

seeking and serving of Christ in all persons — the paradigm of our baptismal covenant.

Scripture is the thesaurus of our corporate experience: Scripture and the Church’s corporate experience

mutually interpret one another.

Because Regula is the means for total response, omission or de-emphasis of any element of Regula

can lead to spiritual imbalance.

Because Regula is the means for total response, omission or de-emphasis of any element of Regula

can lead to spiritual imbalance.

Simply put, omission means a less than full response to God.

De-emphasis of the Divine Office diminishes our sense ofdivine transcendence and can lead to subjectivism,

sentimentality, pantheism, earth-bound faith.

De-emphasis of the Mass diminishes our sense of sacramental fellowship and can lead to idolatry and un-integrated life.

De-emphasis of Devotion diminishes our sense of divine immanence and can leads to rigidity,

formalism, and insularity.

Only a complete and full Regula supports a living and creative faith.

Only a complete and full Regula supports a living and creative faith.

Through Regula, the whole person, and a whole people,

respond to God.

Of course, the threefold Regula corresponds to, and initiates, a variety of additional practices.


These make up “habitual recollection,”


These make up “habitual recollection,”that is, seeing the divine presence in all things.

Key examples are:

Key examples are:

Catechesis (of children and adults)

Key examples are:

Catechesis (of children and adults)Evangelization

Key examples are:


Mystagogy

Key examples are:


MystagogyService and Stewardship

Key examples are:



Spiritual Direction

Key examples are:



Spiritual DirectionExamination of Conscience

So how does all that work?

Well, if you will excuse a diagram...

This is something of the Catholic life, a fuller expression,

This is something of the Catholic life, a fuller expression,of Regula and the means for habitual recollection,

This is something of the Catholic life, a fuller expression,of Regula and the means for habitual recollection,

all of which is supported by the Prayer Book.

And, yes, we aren’t big fans of diagrams either.

That said ...

Through Catechesis, Mystagogy, and Spiritual Direction, we respond particularly to Christ’s first commandment:

Through Catechesis, Mystagogy, and Spiritual Direction, we respond particularly to Christ’s first commandment:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind (Mt 22.37).

Through Evangelization, Service and Stewardship, and Examination of Conscience, we respond particularly to Christ’s second

commandment:

Through Evangelization, Service and Stewardship, and Examination of Conscience, we respond particularly to Christ’s second

commandment:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22.39).

Note that Regula is necessary, but does not as a single concept express the entirety

of Christian possibility.

Because Catechesis, Evangelization, and the rest are really not optional, are they.

Yet Regula ensures balance, stability, and obedience day-to-day.

Yet Regula ensures balance, stability, and obedience day-to-day.

Note: these are Benedictine principles!

Overall, what does the Prayer Book order?

The Prayer Book orders lifeaccording to the New Testament pattern:

profoundly trinitarian and anchored in response —and an ongoing response to God means

The Prayer Book orders lifeaccording to the New Testament pattern:

profoundly trinitarian and anchored in response —and an ongoing response to God means

We live seeking our God-bestowed vocation.

And the Prayer Book orders a parish culture that catechizes and evangelizes:

And the Prayer Book orders a parish culture that catechizes and evangelizes:

sacramental intimacy with the presence of Godalways and everywhere.

And, so

The Prayer Book is a system...

of discipleshipdelighting in God’s will and walking in Christ's ways

of discipleshipdelighting in God’s will and walking in Christ's ways

of ascetical theologyan articulating of the Church's corporate experience

rooted in English monasticism — Celtic then Benedictine

rooted in English monasticism — Celtic then Benedictine

and lived by laypersons, religious, and clergy alike.

Why?

Because its fundamental patternaccords with the environment of Acts 2

Why?

Because its fundamental patternaccords with the environment of Acts 2

and the practice of the Church in all times and places.

That’s why.

For further reading about the Prayer Book as Regula, see

English Spirituality: An Outline of Ascetical TheologyAccording to the English Pastoral Tradition

by Martin Thornton

Bibliography

Blunt, J.H. “Introduction to the Daily Office” in The Annotated Book of Common Prayer: being an historical, ritual, and theological commentary on the devotional system of the Church of England. New York: Dutton, 1903.

Fagerberg, David W. Theologia Prima: What is Liturgical Theology? 2nd ed. Chicago, Hillenbrand, 2004.Gasquet, Aiden Cardinal, and Bishop, Edmund. Edward VI and the Book of Common Prayer. London: Sheed and Ward,

1928.Hale, Robert. Canterbury and Rome: sister churches. London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1982.Hatchett, Marion J. Commentary on the American Prayer Book. New York: Seabury, 1980.Irvin, Dale T., and Sunquist, Scott W. History of the World Christian Movement: volume II, modern Christianity from 1454-1800. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis, 2012.Macquarrie, John. Paths in Spirituality. 2nd edition. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse, 1992.Macquarrie, John. Principles of Christian Theology. 2nd edition. London: SCM Press, 1977.Maltby, Judith. Prayer Book and People in Elizabethan and Early Stuart Period. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.McLuhan, Marshall. The Gutenberg Galaxy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1962.Moorman, J.R.H. A History of the Church of England. New York: Morehouse, 1986.Morrison, Stanley. English Prayer Books: an introduction to the literature of christian public worship. London: Cambridge

University Press, 1943.Proctor, Francis, and Frere, Walter Howard. A New History of the Book of Common Prayer. London: Macmillan, 1949.Spinks, Bryan D. “Anglicans and Dissenters”, in The Oxford History of Christian Worship, edited by Geoffrey Wainwright

and Karen B. Westerfield Tucker. London: Oxford, 2006.Targoff, Ramie. Common Prayer: The Language of Public Devotion in Early Modern England. Chicago: University of Chicago

Press, 2001.Thornton, Martin. English Spirituality: an outline of ascetical theology according to the English pastoral tradition. 2nd edition.

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cowley, 1986.Thornton, Martin. Feed My Lambs: Essays in Pastoral Reconstruction. Greenwich, Connecticut: Seabury, 1961.Thornton, Martin. Prayer: A New Encounter. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cowley, 1988.Thornton, Martin. The Purple Headed Mountain. Riverside, Illinois: Akenside Press, 2014.Thornton, Martin. The Rock and the River: An Encounter between Traditional Spirituality and Modern Thought. New York,

Morehouse, 1965.Wall, John N. Transformations of the Word: Spenser, Herbert, Vaughan. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1988.

The Prayer Book as RegulaLiturgical, Sacramental, Catholic Spiritual Life

by Matthew Dallman

the prayer book as regula

Education

bound collection of

confirmationfor matrimony

baptizedthe presence

holy orders bishop

generallyin gatherings

incarnation of christ

prayer book

entire liturgical year