Electric Prayer

The Liturgy of the Hours, the Mass, and other things.

“Waking up to God”: a review

Posted by universalis on 17 April 2018

José Manuel Eguiguren, Waking up to God: an Experience of Lectio Divina, Downside Abbey Press 2017, ISBN: 978-1-898663-19-5, £20 from Downside Abbey Bookshop (follow the link or email them at books@downside.co.uk).

In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI said, ‘Leading men and women to God, to the God who speaks in the Bible: this is the supreme and fundamental priority of the Church and of the Successor of Peter at the present time.’ The ancient practice of Lectio Divina is becoming increasingly well known to Catholics and is building strong links with Christians of other Churches and traditions. Universalis has recently included in its offer an approach to Lectio Divina that takes users to the Gospel of the day and places it within a framework that encourages readers to listen with the ear of the heart, as Jesus’ first disciples listened to him and, where possible, to share with one another what God’s Word is saying to them in their own personal situation.

There are already a great many books on Lectio Divina and Waking up to God is big (over 500 pages). Why should you read it?

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April 2018 Newsletter

Posted by universalis on 12 April 2018

Happy Easter!

There is really nothing that can be added to those two words, in their fullest meaning. Easter is why we are Christians at all. Easter is why there is any point to the world. Some of our yearly Easters seem to pass without much happening, but when God chooses to use one of them to the full, what an Easter that is! So again, happy Easter. He is truly risen, alleluia!

Office of Readings • Study Hymns • Lectio Divina • New season’s e-books

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March 2018 Newsletter

Posted by universalis on 16 March 2018

By the time you read this, the moon will be either new or very young.

At this time of year, that is not a whimsical or irrelevant observation. From now on, the fuller the moon is, the closer to Easter we are. All we need to do to see how close we have got is to look up into the sky. When the moon is full, it is Holy Week.

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When do the psalm-prayers happen?

Posted by universalis on 23 February 2018

In the revision and renewal of the Liturgy of the Hours that was completed in the early 1970s, one of the important and interesting changes was the addition of “psalm-prayers”, collects that are inserted after each psalm and canticle. As §112 of the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours puts it:

Orationes super psalmos, quae recitantes adiuvent in eorum interpretatione praecipue christiana, in Supplemento libri Liturgiae Horarum pro singulis psalmis proponuntur et possunt ad libitum adhiberi ad normam veteris traditionis, ita scilicet ut, absoluto psalmo et aliquo silentii spatio observato, oratio psallentium affectus colligat et concludat.

“Prayers on the psalms, to help those who recite the psalms to interpret them in a particularly Christian sense, are offered for each psalm in the Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours. They can, if wished, be added to the Office, following an ancient tradition – that is, the psalm having been completed and a certain period of silence having been observed, to bring together the thoughts and feelings of those who have recited the psalm, and to bring them to a conclusion.”

That section does not say anything about exactly when the psalm-prayers should be said (if people choose to use them). Some American books place the psalm-prayers before the final antiphon. This is wrong. The psalm-prayer should go after the final antiphon and an optional period of silence. Here is §202 of the General Instruction:

The purpose of this silence is to allow the voice of the Holy Spirit to be heard more fully in our hearts, and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and the public voice of the Church. […] Periods of silence may be inserted in different ways: after the psalm, once its antiphon has been repeated… and especially if there is a Psalm-prayer after the silence…

Accordingly Universalis places the psalm-prayers after the final antiphon.

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Updating apps and programs

Posted by universalis on 21 February 2018

Depending what Universalis app or program you are using, it may update itself automatically when a new version comes out. Here are all the details, with instructions for manual updating.

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The date of the Epiphany

Posted by universalis on 5 January 2018

Starting in 2018, the bishops of England and Wales have switched from the commercial to the religious calendar for the feasts of the Epiphany and the Ascension. For the Epiphany, this has the following effect:

2018: moved from 7 January (the first Sunday after 1 January) to 7 January (Saturday the 6th, transferred to the Sunday).

2019: moved from 6 January (the first Sunday after 1 January) to 6 January.

2020: moved from 5 January (the first Sunday after 1 January) to 5 January (Monday the 6th, transferred to the Sunday).

2021: moved from 3 January (the first Sunday after 1 January) to 6 January.

To summarize: the first time you see any difference will be in 2021. But the change is already there in Universalis, and if you are bored or curious, you can use Universalis to look at the calendar for 2021 and see it in action.

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How to update an Android app

Posted by universalis on 19 September 2017

Quite a few people have ancient versions of Universalis on Android and are wondering how to bring them up to date.

Google Play

If you got Universalis (or Catholic Calendar) from Google Play, here are Google’s instructions.

Amazon Appstore

If you got Universalis (or Catholic Calendar) from Amazon, then open the Amazon Appstore app and go to the “App Updates” tab. Here are some illustrated instructions.

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Mass readings on the Memorials of saints

Posted by universalis on 29 August 2017

The Lectionary gives readings for most saints’ days. So do the printed missals, and so do a lot of web sites.

In most cases the readings given should not be used.

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The Gospels in Week 18

Posted by universalis on 1 August 2017

Next week is the 18th week in Ordinary Time. On the Monday, the Gospel is the Feeding of the Five Thousand. However, the Gospel for Sunday of the 18th week in Ordinary Time in Year A is also the Feeding of the Five Thousand. This means that the same Gospel could be read on consecutive days, which is a bad thing. It is avoided by reading Tuesday’s Gospel on the Monday  (Jesus walking on the water) and by having a different Gospel on the Tuesday.

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New Mac version available

Posted by universalis on 13 July 2017

We have just released a new version of the Universalis program for the Mac. Please visit our web site and install it. There are various improvements, especially in the layout of the screens.

If you have a Universalis app from the Mac App Store, hold on: we will submit an update to Apple in the next few days.

Posted in Downloadable Universalis | 2 Comments »

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