Divine Office

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I do lauds every morning M-F, and may pray vespers on those days I get out of school in time to.
 
I pray the Office of Readings, Lauds, Sext, and Vespers from the Liturgy of the Hours. But, I also pray Compline in Latin from the traditional Breviarum Romanum.
 
Whatever hours I can make time for – Most regularly that means the Office of Readings.

tee
 
I’m trying to make this a regular part of my daily prayer. I have the Christian Prayer book and not the full 4 book set. When I do pray I try at minimum to do Morning, one of the Daytime, Evening and Night. I love the Night prayer not because of the brevity but rather the Antiphons and even the final blessing are so beautiful.
 
Although I don’t say I MUST under all conditions, I pray Morning, Evening and Night Prayer - I also have a copy of The Little Office of Our Lady that fits into my handbag if I’m out and about and have a few moments.
 
I was regularly praying the *Shorter Christian Prayer * for a couple of years (and briefly, Magnificat magazine, which carries the readings) when, for whatever reason, I just stopped doing it. I picked it up during this Easter Tridium and, please God, I’ll be able to stick with it from here on out.

Carrying it around with you is a good idea. I’ve been trying to squeeze it in before and after work, probably the two most hectic times of my day.
 
I was trying to say it from the web site www.liturgyofthrhours.org but began to get too distracted by the use of the cpmuter. I found an excellent copy of the book used, which looks brand new. I think the book will be better for me ecuase it has less distractions than the computer. It is the one volume edition that some how has everything in it. Problem is there is so much information and I am having trouble negotiating it.

I hope this is not hijacking the thread, but I was thinking about purchasing the book:
**Lord, Open My Lips: The Liturgy of the Hours As Daily Prayer
**by Seth H. Murray

hoping that it will teach me to navigate the book. Has any one used it? There are no reviews on the web site for it. Amazon recommended the Divine Office for Dodos, but it is almost twice the price, and I don’t like the dodo pictures. Yeah, stupid complaint sorry. I just want a simple introduction.
 
My routine is Lauds at 7am and Vespers at 6.30pm and rosary at 3pm. It is not always possible to complete this duty but I try. Unusually enough it was very difficult over Easter as I was involved in setting up the liturgy and environment for The Easter Triduum for one of our Bishps, I was also the MC for the Liturgy. However I think God understands when we cant make it to the breviary.
Pray always in the heart
God bless
 
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serendipity:
I found an excellent copy of the book used, which looks brand new. I think the book will be better for me ecuase it has less distractions than the computer. It is the one volume edition that some how has everything in it. Problem is there is so much information and I am having trouble negotiating it.
…
I just want a simple introduction.
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I am not familiar with either of the books you mention, but if you have found the Catholic Book Publishing edition and if you think you might be all right with just a couple of hints, the guide for that book is published weekly here:
Online Guide to (CBP) Christian Prayer

tee
(friend of the store owner, but neither of us make money off that link)
 
Thanks for the link Tee. The edition of the Christian prayer I have is the St. Paul’s edition, and I don’t think the link corresponds to the readings for today from that edition, because what I am finding seems to correlate with the Ascension, rather than Easter. I may be reading it wrong. I feel like such a moron!
 
I started with the liturgy of the hours on universalis.org and felt uncomfortable. This I tried cold without knowing a single thing about The Divine Office.
Now I am reading The School of Prayer An introduction to The Divine Office for all Christians by John Brook. With each turn of the page, I look foward to receiving the Shorter Prayers book in my mailbox. I refuse to use the computer again. I will start with the shorter prayers but hope that eventually I will graduate to the full office.
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serendipity:
I was trying to say it from the web site www.liturgyofthrhours.org but began to get too distracted by the use of the cpmuter. I found an excellent copy of the book used, which looks brand new. I think the book will be better for me ecuase it has less distractions than the computer. It is the one volume edition that some how has everything in it. Problem is there is so much information and I am having trouble negotiating it.

I hope this is not hijacking the thread, but I was thinking about purchasing the book:
Lord, Open My Lips: The Liturgy of the Hours As Daily Prayer
****by Seth H. Murray

hoping that it will teach me to navigate the book. Has any one used it? There are no reviews on the web site for it. Amazon recommended the Divine Office for Dodos, but it is almost twice the price, and I don’t like the dodo pictures. Yeah, stupid complaint sorry. I just want a simple introduction.
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If you guys can organize something at church, or find a church near you that pray it…there is NOTHING like doing it in a group, with leaders, responses, parts 1 and 2…it’s beautiful.
 
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alyssa:
If you guys can organize something at church, or find a church near you that pray it…there is NOTHING like doing it in a group, with leaders, responses, parts 1 and 2…it’s beautiful.
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I agree. If I’m able to, I try to go to 7am daily Mass, after which a few very devout women (God bless them) are always there to say Morning Prayer together.

I’m not sure, but someone told me it’s actually “preferred” that we say it in a group if you’re able, rather than alone. Do you agree?

Also, I used to say Morning Prayer right after I woke up and Evening Prayer before I go to bed. But someone told me there are specific times when they’re to be said. So much to learn!

I only have the one-volume Christian Prayer book, so I’m not sure how to do anything else besides Morning and Evening Prayer.
 
My spouse and I pray Morning and Evening prayers together every day. It is a great marriage builder too. I heartily recommend it for every married couple.
 
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alyssa:
If you guys can organize something at church, or find a church near you that pray it…there is NOTHING like doing it in a group, with leaders, responses, parts 1 and 2…it’s beautiful.
Click to expand...
Our parish does that before 8:30am Mass each day.

It works out really well for me. My son starts school at 8:00 (at the parish school), so I drop him off and bring in my daughter (kindergarten) . We say the D.L. and I drop her off when kindergarten starts at 8:30 and head into work.

When I was in Korea on a business trip, I had to fly back home on a Sunday morning, so I went to the 6:00pm Saturday Vigil Mass at the Cathedral in Seoul.

I got there about 1/2 hour early and found the Cathedral about 2/3 full with people praying Vespers. They finished at 6:00pm, the Cathedral bells rang and everyone stood for the Angelus. Then Mass started.

Why can’t we get that here??
 
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tsb278:
I’m trying to make this a regular part of my daily prayer. I have the Christian Prayer book and not the full 4 book set. When I do pray I try at minimum to do Morning, one of the Daytime, Evening and Night. I love the Night prayer not because of the brevity but rather the Antiphons and even the final blessing are so beautiful.
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Ditto, although I usually am not able to do daytime.

SFX
 
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Viajero:
I’m not sure, but someone told me it’s actually “preferred” that we say it in a group if you’re able, rather than alone. Do you agree?
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Yes and no. It’s sort of like the adage, “He who sings, prays twice;” I don’t SING the Office usually! The Office is based on monastic choir prayer, where monks and nuns were obligated to chant all offices together approximately every three hours throughout the day and night. Diocesan priests have never had this obligation to pray in common, even though many priests like to pray the Office together. St. Ignatius of Loyola intentionally left out the group requirement for the Society of Jesus to emphasize their charism to be soldiers ready to be deployed for God’s work at any moment. I like to pray with others when I can.

I’ve prayed the Office relatively regularly since 1989. I pray the full office but with the single volume (red color) Christian Prayer, mostly because that is the volume the religious I sometimes pray with use. The greater preference rather than common recitation is that each office be offered at generally the approximate time, i.e., Lauds in the morning, Vespers in the evening, Compline at night, rather than the entire day’s prayer being recited one after another. I usually pray Matins, Lauds and Prime early in the morning before Mass and then Vespers and Compline at night. It would be better and more in keeping with the character of the Office for me to break it up a little more, but I just read yesterday that this was the same schedule Pope Paul VI used, so I felt like I was in good company!
 
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Fortiterinre:
Yes and no. It’s sort of like the adage, “He who sings, prays twice;” I don’t SING the Office usually! The Office is based on monastic choir prayer, where monks and nuns were obligated to chant all offices together approximately every three hours throughout the day and night. Diocesan priests have never had this obligation to pray in common, even though many priests like to pray the Office together. St. Ignatius of Loyola intentionally left out the group requirement for the Society of Jesus to emphasize their charism to be soldiers ready to be deployed for God’s work at any moment. I like to pray with others when I can.

I’ve prayed the Office relatively regularly since 1989. I pray the full office but with the single volume (red color) Christian Prayer, mostly because that is the volume the religious I sometimes pray with use. The greater preference rather than common recitation is that each office be offered at generally the approximate time, i.e., Lauds in the morning, Vespers in the evening, Compline at night, rather than the entire day’s prayer being recited one after another. I usually pray Matins, Lauds and Prime early in the morning before Mass and then Vespers and Compline at night. It would be better and more in keeping with the character of the Office for me to break it up a little more, but I just read yesterday that this was the same schedule Pope Paul VI used, so I felt like I was in good company!
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I am finding all the posts in this thread of real interest. I try to pray Morning and Evening Prayer and also Night Prayer with a daily examination of conscience. At times, however, I have not time … and so I have contacted my local OCD Carmelite Monastery and asked them to unite me with them at those times I cannot get to formal prayer. This is one of the functions of our contemplatives in The Mystical Body of Christ, The Church, to pray on our behalf when the demands and duties of our fast paced at times secular lives in the world preclude formal prayer time.
I too find the prayers of The Divine Office of great beauty and especially the psalm at Night Prayer with its antiphon: “At last all Powerful Master you give leave to your servant to go in peace according to your promise…” Would, indeed, time always be present to turn prayerfully to the Divine Office.
Regularly, but sadly not often, I do stay in the Carmel guest house and then am able to join with the nuns in praying The Divine Office in community…the is a wonderful experience. The Divine Office recited alone or in community has great beauty…but I think that beauty reaches its heights when it is prayed communally.

Regards, Barb smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/17/17_1_16.gif
South Australia
Wed 4.5.05 5.15am
 
I pray the Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer from the one volume “Christian Prayer”. I would love to pray this in community, but I don’t have the opportunity to do so.
 
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