Persons who are scrupulous about the recitation of the Hours should have
help from their confessors, who should deal specifically with any of the
scruples which arise in the daily task. Scruples generally concern the
necessary intention, the necessary attention, pronunciation, and the
time necessary for a good and faithful recitation of the canonical
Hours. How should a confessor deal with scruples about intention? A
confessor should tell a cleric, scrupulous in this point, that his fear
is groundless and that by the very act of taking up his Breviary he
expresses his intention of praying, of saying his Hours; that it is not
necessary that such intention be actual or reflexive, it is sufficient
if it be virtual, and that such an intention _does_ exist every time one
opens the Breviary to say his Hours. The saying slowly and deliberately
the prayer "_Aperi Domine_" is a great aid to the scrupulous in forming
a right intention and in dispelling their vain fears.

Clerics troubled about attention are helped and comforted by their
confessor repeating to them what they well know themselves, about
voluntary and involuntary distractions, and the telling of the anxious
ones that this very anxiety and anguish show that their fear of losing
attention in their prayer is a true and real sign of its existence. In
dealing with scruples about vocal and integral pronunciation a confessor
should advise that no stopping should be made in the saying of the
psalms, etc., but that the recitation should be continued quietly,
without restraining the voice, without impatience, and without scrutiny
of the pronunciation of the part said, "God is a father, full of
goodness, not an exacting taskmaster, and He is more honoured by
moderate care than by a disturbing solicitude." Above all things, a
confessor should remember that it is important to forbid scrupulous
persons to repeat the whole or even the part of an Hour. An effort
should be made by him to tranquilise the troubled soul with the