Q: The Liturgy of the Hours rubrics and the Ordo both allow “On weekdays of the fifth week of Lent, at the Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, and Evening Prayer, the hymns for Holy Week may be sung.” Since Daytime Prayer is not mentioned, are the hymns of Holy Week not permitted at this hour in the fifth week of Lent? If so, why was this hour not included in the allowance?
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A: This should become clearer when we get the revised translation of the Liturgy of the Hours. In the Latin typical edition, there are no special hymns for daytime prayer in Holy Week—but there are in the present English translation. These will almost surely be removed, leaving behind the hymns that continue throughout Lent at that hour of the day.
The rubric pertains to existence rather than permission. Since they exist in English, I’d vote for the option of using them if you want. But I can’t substantiate that for you.