Adding personal intentions in private recitation of LOTH

[HowardF]

HI All,

Within the past month I was introduced to the Liturgy of the Hours and have made it part of my daily prayer life. (Although I’m much more consistent about Evening Prayer than any of the others, I’m still working on it.) I know, I think, that during Morning and Evening Prayers, we can add our own requests to the Intercessions. What I don’t know is as a matter of practice how to do that.

The Intercessions are phrased so well, split into two parts to allow for a variation in responding; and all I’m thinking of are things like strength for someone going through a hard time in life, or protection for a friend having surgery, etc. I don’t know how to make it flow with the rest of the Intercessions. I’ve been trying to just say them, then use the italicized optional response given at the beginning of the Intercessions (and I think I read that any personal ones have to be before the final one that’s given), but I’m curious to know what others do to add their own prayer concerns to this part of Morning or Evening Prayer.

Anyone willing to share?

 

[OraLabora]

HI All,

Within the past month I was introduced to the Liturgy of the Hours and have made it part of my daily prayer life. (Although I’m much more consistent about Evening Prayer than any of the others, I’m still working on it.) I know, I think, that during Morning and Evening Prayers, we can add our own requests to the Intercessions. What I don’t know is as a matter of practice how to do that.

The Intercessions are phrased so well, split into two parts to allow for a variation in responding; and all I’m thinking of are things like strength for someone going through a hard time in life, or protection for a friend having surgery, etc. I don’t know how to make it flow with the rest of the Intercessions. I’ve been trying to just say them, then use the italicized optional response given at the beginning of the Intercessions (and I think I read that any personal ones have to be before the final one that’s given), but I’m curious to know what others do to add their own prayer concerns to this part of Morning or Evening Prayer.

Anyone willing to share?

I chant the LOTH but I tend to do the personal intercessions silently. One exception I started to make recently was praying for new vocations for the Abbey to which I’m affiliated as oblate. I had been doing it silently for years, then started to chant it on the same tone as the ones in my antiphonary, and within a couple of months the abbey admitted a new postulant who recently took the habit, and a second one is due next month.

So I guess singing a prayer really is praying it twice!