Welcome to the Divine Office official feedback forum. Do you have an idea? Do you recognize a good idea when you see one? We want to hear from you!
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60 votes
Add Morning Prayer for all weekends in Ordinary Time
When our ministry started we focused on completing week days and did not do the weekends so now the weekends only occasionally have Morning Prayers recorded.
Status: planned -
23 votes
Recite psalms antiphonally and ...
that the quality of expression is very good and I enjoyed listening to your podcast of the Divine Office. However, I found it very distracting that the antiphons were repeated between each strophe (verse) of each psalm throughout the Psalmody. According to the instructions in the "Ordinar... more
Status: plannedThank you for your detailed critique. This kind of input and feedback is essential to "getting it right" and so here is our justification regarding the antiphons. I will tackle the items you bring up when I have a little more time.
Antiphons. Repeating the antiphon is not a usual practice, is not depicted that way in the Ordinary and could well be a distraction for some. Though it is not prohibited in the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours and in fact is specifically mentioned as a preferred method at times. In No. 114 ("The antiphons in the psalter have been designed to lend themselves to vernacular translation; they are also constructed for repetition after each strophe, in accordance with no. 125. When the office of Ordinary Time is recited, not sung, the sentences attached to the psalms may be used in place of the antiphons.") No. 125 ("In addition, when the character of the psalm suggests it, the divisions of the strophes are indicated, in order that, especially when the psalm is sung in the vernacular, the antiphons may be repeated after each strophe...").
No. 279 ("... One must strive above all to inspire hearts with a desire for genuine prayer and to show that the celebration of God's praise is a thing of joy.") And No 110 ("In the Latin tradition of psalmody three elements have greatly contributed to an understanding of the psalms and their use as Christian prayer: the titles, the psalm-prayer and in particular the antiphons.")
Thus it has been decided to repeat the antiphons in the Divine Office.com recordings: their importance to the Christian understanding and use in prayer, the effort and style to recite the psalm with melodic and lyrical voice (thus "singing" the psalm, in a sense with respect to our limitations and capacities), as well as the General Instruction recommend. Also, we chose to repeat the antiphons as a means for those who could only listen, who did not have the printed text, to engage more fully with the psalm. We certainly do not intend for the antiphon to be a distraction. We intend the recitation / repetition of the antiphon as a way to linger and bask in the psalm. As we have recorded the psalm, we have often commented, one to another, that the antiphon provided a rich context and texture to each strophe and the strophe a similar effect to the antiphon. Doing this repetition has certainly meant more time and effort in recording and editing. Our intention is to inspire hearts in genuine prayer. Hopefully those who find our way a distraction, will stay with us when it is convenient, necessary and/or desirable and see if for the reasons stated here, that it is worthwhile to repeat the antiphons -perhaps not in some particular community or in private- when praying with DivineOffice.com.Thank you very much for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience because it is greatly appreciated by us and, I am certain, our community.
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7 votes
Option to automatically switch on Airplane mode
Would be great if there was an option that the phone automatically switches to Airplane mode when the hour begins - then it blocks incoming calls at the time of prayer....
Status: planned -
7 votes
iPhone/iTouch timer should count down, not up
The timer should be a count down timer, not a count up timer. So you know how much time it will take.
Status: planned -
2 votes
Windows Mobile SmartPhone
Since the site redesign I have not been able to access prayers on my Windows Mobile SmartPhone (Motorola Q), which is often the best way for me to access them. Any suggestions?
Status: plannedWe didn't realize this changed. Our developers are looking for a fix.
