News
Rubrical changes
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The texts presented by the app are based on those prepared by the Divinum Officium Project, and in most cases, we follow the changes they make. Recent changes have given a different meaning to two of the choices in the app for rubrics, namely those currently (version 1.8) labeled “Pre-Trent Monastic” and “1960 rubrics with 2009 calendar.”
The Monastic option will be modeled on the 1963 Monastic breviary. Previously, it was a reconstruction of the pre-Trent office for the purpose of comparing it with other historical versions. This change will make it more useful for monks who pray the traditional Benedictine office today. It also means that there will be an actual printed edition to use as a model. Work on this is in progress.
The “1960 rubrics with 2009 calendar” was an experimental version prepared in the latter year: it used the Novus Ordo sanctoral cycle with the 1960 rubrics and temporal cycle. In 2011, Universae Ecclesiae indicated that an official solution would be forthcoming, and finally on 25 March 2020, CDF decree Cum sanctissima (dated 22 February 2020) was published. This option has therefore been changed to conform to Cum sanctissima. If you wish to take advantage of the provisions of the decree, and the saint you wish to celebrate is in the Novus Ordo calendar of the United States, then this option will allow you to celebrate the saint and make any necessary commemorations. Since the changes are recent, it seems prudent to beware of possible errors, in particular missing commemorations.
For more information on the rubrical versions available, see the details on the Divinum Officium Project website.
Breviarium Meum 1.8 released
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New versions of the apps for iPhone and iPad are now available from the App Store. The main improvement is support for Dark Mode. The theme choice for the dark appearance is independent of the choice for the light appearance.
Breviarium Meum 1.7 released
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Breviarium Meum 1.6: new translations
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A new option allows the use of the the Latin translation of the Psalms and Gospel canticles approved by Pius XII. The Latin is more classical, but less suitable for chanting. Pope Pius wisely decided to permit its use, but not require it. The 1961 editio typica was printed with this translation.
French has been added to the translations of the breviary available in the app. The translation is a work in progress, and at present only the Psalms are available. An English translation will appear for the parts of the office not yet available in French.
Breviarium Meum 1.5: themes
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The most obvious change in the new release is themes for the display of breviary texts. Besides the parchment background that has always been available, you can now choose a solid light or dark background. The former gives the app more of a modern look, and the latter is useful for reading in a dark environment.
This release also features the addition of a new breviary translation, namely Polish. French will probably be the next addition.
Breviarium Meum 1.4: more options for users
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The latest release of Breviarium Meum offers users more choices. Versions of the office prior to 1962 are now available. In particular, priests might want to look at the Divino afflatu version of Sunday Matins in order to see the more of the sermon on the Sunday Gospel. Similarly, the version “1960 rubrics with new calendar,” although it has been ruled out as a legitimate form of the office, could be a useful reference when celebrating or attending Mass in the ordinary form: it can be used to check the reading at Matins for the saint of the day.
More choices are available for the breviary translation as well: Italian has been added, and German can also be selected, although the latter translation is far from complete. Due to the way it has been organized, many texts which lack a German translation will appear in Latin rather than English. The Italian translation has been marked “beta,” especially because of a known bug, which sometimes causes two hymn translations to appear: the English translation of the correct hymn, and the Italian translation of a different hymn.
Another expansion of the translations regards the “orationes” contained in Breviarium Meum's appendix. Nearly all of these now have an English translation, which will be displayed if the English translation of the breviary is selected. Thanks go to Mark Kendall for supplying most of these translations. A few orationes also have an Italian translation.
The new release also includes some bug fixes, optimizations for recent Apple hardware and software, and prayers for confessors and penitents (in the Variae section of the orationes).