Can i listen to the liturgy of the hours?

[LilRichy]

Hi there. I want to pray the liturgy of the hours. I got the divine office iPhone app and I notived it had an audio file for each hour. The hymns are great and I can listen while doing chores and stuff. Would just listening be appropriate ?

Thanks

 

[phoage]

LOTH is not something that is required of the laity although it is strongly encouraged. It is a liturgy (public prayer of the Church) just as the Mass is. You can listen to the Mass although it is not the same as participating so I suppose you can just listen to the Hours in the same manner.

Patrick
AMDG

 

[tvknight415]

I occasionally download the podcast if there is no way I’ll be able to do morning prayer and listen/follow along on the way to work. I don’t find it nearly as good as actually praying it with my breviary. I think though, that if you’re just starting out, the app and/or podcast will help you get comfortable if you use it and follow along.

 

[Roseeurekacross]

Of Course, it will also teach you how to pray the LOTH.

 

[CRM_Brother]

Hello Richard,
This is a yes and no answer.

Yes, listening to the Liturgy of the Hours is a perfectly valid way to pray it. If you are actually praying along with them in your head and focusing on your prayers, your body can be doing repetitive work. The minor hours of the Liturgy of the Hours were sometimes prayed this way in monasteries in Medieval times. If they were out in the fields working, usually they would stop and pray the hour in the field, but there were also times that they sang the hour as they worked. If my brothers are driving for long periods of time, many times they will put on the Liturgy of the Hours to pray as they drive.

Here’s the no to the answer. If you are listening to the Liturgy of the Hours and your mind is not engaged in the prayers, but the work in front of you (like doing your taxes) it would not be a legitimate form of praying the hour. You can still listen to it as background music/noise, but for those of us who are obliged to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, it does not fulfill the requirement.

Hope this helps.

God Bless,
Br. Ben, CRM

 

[Gabika50]

Detach from the electrical and READ- no harm in putting down the electronic addidction…

 

[edward_george1]

Who says the OP has an addiction? Nothing wrong with technology of itself, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be an addiction.

Listening to the Liturgy of the Hours is a perfectly fine way to pray it. We fulfill our Sunday Mass obligation by listening, even without reading along, so it’s fine to pray by listening and uniting our intentions to what is being said. The older term for going to Mass was “hearing Mass.” To “attend” even has that sense in older usage.

“Faith comes by hearing.”

-Fr ACEGC

 

[Vico]

Hi there. I want to pray the liturgy of the hours. I got the divine office iPhone app and I notived it had an audio file for each hour. The hymns are great and I can listen while doing chores and stuff. Would just listening be appropriate ?

Thanks

The ideal is vocal prayer.

Catechism

2703 This need also corresponds to a divine requirement. God seeks worshippers in Spirit and in Truth, and consequently living prayer that rises from the depths of the soul. He also wants the external expression that associates the body with interior prayer, for it renders him that perfect homage which is his due.