Can a Bible be turned into a Prayer Book?
Specifically can we basically reverse engineer the basic form of a Breviary into any Bible in a way that is readily useable for daily prayer?
Over the past decade this idea has percolated in my head and the more I thought about it the more I believed that not only could it be done but should be tried.
Do know that about a dozen printed bibles were marked up beyond recognition to bring you this hack.
1) A single, readily portable book.
2) Three times of prayer a day, morning, noon, and evening.
3) Full reading of the Bible on a near yearly basis.
4) Four week recitation of the psalter.
5) Maintains use of the scriptural canticles.
Materials needed:
A Bible: I strongly suggest a Bible with a single column of text, often called a reader's version. Further I do not suggest going with a compact or small Bible, I thought this was a good idea, small is portable, but this hack requires annotating the text and generally I find writing in one's bible an essential reality and for that we need space. The Bible really needs three ribbon markers, as we will be using other forms of place holders along with that. I also suggest getting a solid well bound Bible, just as a general reality. When I finally had all of this together I splurged on a Schuyler Caxton NLT and have not been disappointed. It is simply a beautifully bound book at every level.
Archival Pens: I strongly suggest Micron Pens for all Bible marking needs. They generally do not bleed through the paper, their ink is archival quality and will not run, blur, or otherwise ruin paper, and the fine point felt tips will not rip or tear the paper. One can find them at most artist supply stores and on amazon. I also sought out a bandolier for my Bible to hold the pens and keep everything else that ends up in my Bible, prayer cards, important photos, and the like, securely inside as I carry it around in my bag. The bandolier shown came from an amazing artist on Etsy called Cleverhands.
The other materials needed are bookmarks and bookdarts. For bookmarks I am using some vintage prayer cards I found at an antique shop for a couple of dollars each. Bookdarts might be a new product for many of you. They are simply an amazing invention that allows one to 'dog ear' a page without harming it. The photo shows one in action and once you start using them they become slightly addictive, especially if one is regularly working on papers and research. You can sometimes find them in independent bookstores but in most towns one needs to go straight to the source or Amazon.
One might also want a straight edge, or even a set of small stencils like those used in scrapbooking, for marking up the Bible in various ways. I used a stencil set I had hanging around for other reasons just because it makes the end result slightly more polished.
Once all, or most, of these materials are gathered (or whatever equivalents you choose) it is time to make the Bible Breviary Hack.
Start by turning the Bible to Luke 1:67. There you will find Zechariah's prophesy, which is the traditional canticle for morning prayer. This is where Morning Prayer starts every day using this process. I put both a book dart and a prayer card on this page of my bible. When it is time for midday prayer one turns back to Luke 1:46 and recites the Magnificat and when it is time for Evening Prayer one goes forward to Luke 2:29 to Simeon's prophecy. These should be on the same page or simply a page flip away. These three songs represent some of the earliest Christian poetry and are the foundation of every part of our daily prayer in this model.
After recitation of the canticle for the time of day we go to the psalms. The major process of this hack is marking the psalms. There is a lot of value in reorganizing the psalms thematically, I will not lie that I miss it a bit, but the biblical order has its own flow and it is, obviously, the easiest to use. This psalm plan is in a four week, 28 day, cycle that expects one to sit down and pray three times a day, nominally morning, noon, and evening. This means one reads around 30 verses of the psalms during each time of prayer. For instance on Day 1 for morning prayer one reads Psalms 1, 2, and 3 then at midday Psalms 4, 5 and 6 then in the evening Psalms 7 and 8. I use a prayer card to hold my place in the psalms. I made up a simple pattern to place around the numbers, three red dots with a green dot that moves from the left, morning, the middle, midday, and the right, evening, to mark the various times of prayer. I then placed an additional mark, roman numerals 1-28, next to the morning psalm that starts that day. The full cycle of psalms I use can be found at the bottom of the article.
After a brief immersion into the psalms it is time to read some scripture. This is straightforward. In the morning read two chapters from the hebrew scriptures. At midday read one chapter from the Mathew, Mark, Luke-Acts, John. In the evening read one chapter from the Epistles or Revelation. One is simply reading the Bible straight through using three different cycles. This will have one read through the Gospels and Acts about once every six months, the rest of the Greek Scriptures in a little less than a year, and the Hebrew Scriptures in a little more than a year. This is why having a bible with three ribbon markers is really important. It simply allows one to readily mark where one is in all three reading cycles. I realize this is a lot of Bible, but I was amazed how different my relationship with the bible became when I started reading it whole cloth in large sections. For those used to lectionary snippets, a concept that has value in so many situations, it is a game changer for one's faith.
We then end with a canticle from the Hebrew Scripture. There are many of these that have been used over the years and I am not using a comprehensive list of all of them Principally I am using canticles that are taken complete from one a set of verses. This is where the bookdarts become essential as we use them to mark where each canticle is within the Bible for easy reference. The little divots one can see amidst the pages are the bookdarts at work. They are non-intrusive but especially easy to find. I generally highlight the specific verses of the canticles, they are often excerpts from much larger poetical works. Another prayer card tracks which canticle should be recited and at the end of the office goes to the next canticle conveniently marked with a bookdart. A complete list of the canticles I have marked can be found after the psalm sequence.
I then generally end the office with a few moments of prayer, anything resting on my heart and mind at the time, followed by the Our Father and the Hail Mary. That is the ins and outs of the Bible Breviary Hack. I would not claim, by any stretch, that it is the solution for daily prayer but I think it is a functional modus that rests distinctly amidst the tradition of the church around breviary work but also allows complete reading of the bible about every year and is also exceptionally portable. Maybe it seems absurd to you, or for a few it looks like a possibility with amazing potential. For those it seems absurd, may you find a solid means to engage prayer and scripture and for those who are inspired I hope it serves you well.
Psalm List
Day
1 Morn 1, 2, 3 Noon 4, 5, 6 Even 7, 8
2 Morn 9 Noon 10, 11, 12 Even 12, 14, 15, 16
3 Morn 17 Noon 18 Even 19, 20
4 Morn 21Noon 22 Even 23, 24, 25
5 Morn 26, 27 Noon 28, 29, 30 Even 31, 32
6 Morn 33 Noon 34 Even 35, 36
7 Morn 37 Noon 38 Even 39, 40
8 Morn 41, 42, 43 Noon 44 Even 45, 46
9 Morn 47, 48 Noon 49, 50 Even 51, 52
10 Morn 53, 54 55 Noon 56, 57 Even 58, 59
11 Morn 60, 61, 62 Noon 63, 64, 65 Even 66, 67
12 Morn 68 Noon 69 Even 70, 71
13 Morn 72, 73 Noon 74 Even 75, 76
14 Morn 77 Noon 78 1-39 Even 78:40-72
15 Morn 79, 80 Noon 81, 82 Even 83, 84, 85
16 Morn 86, 87 Noon 88 Even 89
17 Morn 90, 91 Noon 92, 93 Even 94, 95
18 Morn 96, 97 Noon 98, 99, 100, 101 Even 102
19 Morn 103 Noon 104 Even 105
20 Morn 106:1-27 Noon 106:28-48 Even 107
21 Morn 108 Noon 109 Even 110, 111, 112
22 Morn 113, 114, 115 Noon 116, 117 Even 118
23 Morn 119:1-32 Noon 119:33-56 Even 119:57-88
24 Morn 119:89-120 Noon 119:121-144 Even 119:145-176
25 Morn 120, 121, 122, 123 Noon 124, 125, 126, 127 Even 128, 129, 130, 131
26 Morn 132, 133 Noon 134, 135 Even 136
27 Morn 137, 138, 139 Noon 140, 141 Even 142, 143, 144
28 Morn 145 Noon 146, 147 Even 148, 149, 150
Canticles
Exodus 15: 1-18
Deuteronomy 32: 1-14
1 Samuel 2: 1-10
Isaiah 33:13-16; 40:10-17; 42:10-17; 61:10-62:5; 66:10-16
Jeremiah 14: 17b-21; 31:10-14
Habakkuk 3:2-19
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