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Down to the Reformation the Little Office of Our Lady formed a large part of the Primer or Lay-folk’s Prayer-book , and was customarily recited by the devout laity, by whom the practice was continued for long afterwards among the persecuted Catholics. Today it is recited daily by Dominican, Carmelite, Augustinian, and by large numbers of the Franciscan, Tertiaries, as well as by many pious laymen who desire to take part in the liturgical prayer of the Church. It is worth noting that the form of the Little Office of Our Lady has varied considerably at different periods and in different places. The earlier versions varied very considerably, chiefly as regards the hymns and antiphons used: in England in medieval times the main differences seem to have been between the Sarum and York Uses. Since the time of St. Pius V, that most commonly recited has been the version of the reformed Breviary of that pope. In this version, which suffers somewhat from the classicism of the sixteenth century, are to be found the seven Hours , as in the Greater Office. At Matins, after the versicles follow the invitatory Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum with the Venite then the hymn Quem terra, pontus, sidera ; then three groups of psalms, each with their antiphons, of which one group is said on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays, the second on Tuesdays and Fridays, the third on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Next follow three lessons with responsories and (except in Lent and Advent) the Te Deum . At Lauds, there are the eight psalms of the Divine Office for Sundays, sung to five antiphons. Then the Little Chapter, and the hymn O Gloriosa Virginum . Next a versicle and the canticle Benedictus with its antiphon. Lastly, the prayer and commemoration of the saints. In each of the four Little Hours the hymn Memento rerum conditor immediately follows the versicles; then three psalms are recited, under one of the antiphons of Lauds; then are said the Little Chapter, versicles, and a prayer. At Vespers, after the versicles and five psalms with their antiphons, follow the Little Chapter, the hymn Ave Maris stella , a short versicle, and the canticle Magnificat with its antiphon; then the prayers as at Lauds. Compline begins with special versicles, then follow three psalms without antiphons, then the hymn Memento rerum conditor , a Little Chapter, a versicle, the canticle Nunc Dimittis , versicles, a prayer, and the Benediction. After the hours are recited the Pater Noster and the proper antiphon of Our Lady for the season. This last, the antiphons of the psalms and canticles and the Little Chapters are the only parts of the office that vary with the seasons. Pope Leo XIII granted (17 Nov., 1887), to those who recite the whole Office of Our Lady, an indulgence daily of seven years and seven quarantines, and a plenary indulgence once a month; to those who recite Matins and Lauds only, a daily indulgence of three hundred days; and (8 Dec., 1897) to those who recite Vespers and Compline only, and for each Hour, an indulgence of fifty days.
