LIFE AS MYTH
JOURNAL
JOURNAL 2017
Secrets of the hidden garden
Hope
JOURNAL 2017
LIFEWORKS
ATLAS
JOURNAL 2017
ONCE UPON A TIME
THE LITTLE OFFICE IN THE GARDEN
This brief explanation of The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary may provide a helpful context for The garden polyptych. The Little Office is an old liturgical form popular in the Middle Ages. It is not only a spiritual practice but a dynamic storytelling cycle that transcends time, by spiraling back on itself and beginning again. The format is a weekly devotional cycle consisting of psalms, hymns and sacred readings. By the tenth century it was in widespread use, showing up as standard text in the book of hours. By the fourteenth century it was obligatory practice for all clergy. Since the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, The Little Office has endured in print and practice as an alternative to The Divine Hours. This option accommodates those who simply prefer The Little Office over The Divine Hours and also those who choose to center their daily spiritual practice around the Virgin Mary.
Each panel of The garden polyptych coincides with an hour found in The Little Office. Here Mary becomes the garden, revealing herself through form and color, over time, and within the miracle of one created day.
THE HOURS
The eight canonical hours are distinct intervals of time between the daily prayers. In the Roman and Anglican traditions the canonical hours are also known as 'offices'. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, they are called 'the divine services' and The Books of Hours is called a Horologian (Ωρολο´γιον).
Matins (The Annunciation)
Lauds (The Visitation)
Prime (The Nativity)
Terce (Annunciation to the Shepherds)
Sext (Adoration of the Magi)
Nones (Presentation in the Temple)
Vespers (Flight into Egypt)
Compline (Coronation of the Virgin)
