© 2011 Edizioni Qiqajon - € 40,00

 PREFACE

by Enzo Bianchi, prior of Bose,
to the sixth edition (2011)

To mark time by praying the psalms is the Church’s ancient heritage, a treasure that the first Christian communities inherited in their turn from Hebrew tradition. It is in this uninterrupted continuity of faithful prayer by the people of God that the recitation and singing of the Divine Office have provided the daily rhythm from the very beginnings, from the time when my solitary life was the starting point from which unfolded the adventure of common life in celibacy. From that time on our daily monastic life has felt the need to formulate its own expression of the liturgy of the Hours, adapted so that it can be prayed by all Christians, even by Christians belonging to different confessions.

Thus was born the Preghiera dei giorni (Daily Prayer), published by our community for the first time in 1973, and it has grown together with us, a book edited several times, revised and enlarged to offer an ecumenical liturgy of the Hours, an organic liturgy, the fruit of our assiduous daily practice. We are not the first to take this road; the Cérémonial des Veilleurs in the twenties of the previous century, the Office divin of the movement “Église et liturgie” in the forties, the Office de Taizé in the sixties, and the Priére orientale des Églises of Father Jean Corbon in the seventies paved the way and have been precious references for our prayer. Meetings and exchanges and fraternal visits with many monastic communities over the years have enriched our research, and the presence at our liturgy of friends and guests belonging to different Christian confessions has contributed to revive its profound ecumenical sensibility.

This Preghiera dei giorni, nourished by the rich patrimony of faith and of prayer common to the Churches of East and West, nevertheless takes its place within the great Latin liturgical tradition, with a particular reference to the monastic liturgy of the Hours. It preserves the structure of this liturgy, while drawing on the Old and New Testament and on various Christian liturgies. We have thought that in this way we are placing at the disposition of others a text that, in addition to forming our daily common prayer, may contribute to the prayer life of the Churches especially when Christians of various confessions experience the great gift of being able to pray together. With humility and love we offer this our labor and joy, a daily instrument for an ecumenical liturgy of the Hours, and pray with insistence for the gift of visible unity for all Christ’s Churches, so that the world may believe (cf. Jn 17,21).

 Marana tha! Lord Jesus, come quickly!