Do the prayers in the liturgy of the hours have to be prayed at the exact time they are indicated?

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April29

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I really want to start praying th Liturgy of the hours, but I have a few questions I hope you all can help me with. For example Compline is meant to be prayed at 9, but could I, say for example, pray it before going to bed instead ( which is much later than 9). Also, as a lay person, how many of the sections are recommended for us to pray?
 
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The Hours are not specific but a general time of day. You’ll even find variance among religious orders. Morning Prayer, for instance, could be anywhere from 5am to 9am, though depending upon the number of Hours one prays, you risk butting up against another - and even then, that may be OK to do. Personal recitation of the Office is not regulated in the same way communal recitation would be.

As a lay person, I would suggest start with Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer (and/or Compline). Add other Hours as you feel appropriate, but don’t over do it.
 
That’s great! I’ll start with morning and night prayers then! Thank you!
 
Thank you CajunJoy! You always help me so much and I thank you deeply!
 
I like the graphic! Just a note - while the Office of Readings is traditionally among the first hours prayed early morning, it can now be done at any time of day, even afternoon/evening/night.

Edit to add: Also, Prime has been suppressed for the modern Liturgy - it no longer exists.
 
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April29 said:
For example Compline is meant to be prayed at 9, but could I, say for example, pray it before going to bed instead ( which is much later than 9).
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Compline is to be prayed at bedtime. There’s not a specific time assigned to it.
 
@oralabora is the resident expert on the LOTH.

I’ve always heard that morning and evening prayer are the key hours since they’re the hinges of the day.

And the prayers don’t have to be done at a specific time though you want to get them at the general time of day. It would be a little strange to be praying something like “as dawn breaks…” at 3pm. For me, morning prayer comes before breakfast, evening prayer after work, and night prayer just before I go to bed.
 
The LOTH does not specify an assigned time to the Offices. They should be prayed according to their nature though (e.g. Morning Prayer should be said in the earlier part of morning not 11am). “This hour, recited as the light of a new day dawns…” and “Evening Prayer is celebrated when the day is drawing to a close…”.
Night Prayer is slightly different; “the final prayer of the day to be said before going to bed, even if after midnight.”
All quotations taken from the UK edition of The Divine Office, HarperCollins, 1976

For those using prayer books specific to religious orders the times specified should be used.

For those using the Ordinariate Offices there is even greater variation in that Matins and Lauds are combined and only the Psalms may differ. The Evening Office will change depending upon whether Compline is combined with it or to be said later.
 
In the LOTH the Office of Readings may be said at any time of day and even the evening before. The Universalis app offers an extended Morning Prayer which incorporates the Office of Readings. Hence the reason why the Invitatory Psalms may be used at other Offices; traditionally they would have been used at the Office of Readings/Nocturnes. Care should be taken though to maintain a regular pattern. (Should have mentioned that in previous post.)

Edited for spelling errors; typing on phone.
 
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That would get really weird for night shifters like me though. Breakfast is at 7pm and bedtime is at 11am.
 
Nope.
It’s easier just to start with morning and evening prayer. Or one of these. Try to establish a daily routine where prayer is part of it.

Is someone helping you with this.

It can be quite complicated initially. Do you have a Brievary
 
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The important thing is to respect the verity of the Hours, that is early AM for morning prayer, then mid-morning, mid-day and mid-afternoon for the minor hours, early evening for Evening prayer, and before bed for Compline. In private recitation, that gives considerable flexibility.

Obviously, in religious communities a fixed schedule is required, including for Compline, which in the Benedictine world is the start of Grand Silence, but not necessarily bed time. For instance the local abbey chants Compline at 7:45 pm, followed by Grand Silence. The monks are expected to be in bed at 9:30 pm as they rise for Vigils at 4:45 am (Vigils is at 5 am).

I myself pray Compline immediately after dinner, which means around 8 pm in the OraLabora household, and I precede Compline with « chapter », when I read the daily chapter of the Rule with commentary, followed by the next day’s extract from the Martyrology.

I tend to like fixed routines and except for Compline, I pray at fixed hours, with a winter and a summer schedule. It works well as I’m retired. For busier folk, respecting the nature of the hour is fine.
 
I am trying to do this on my own with YouTube, CAF, and apps 😅. It is a bit daunting, but the answers I’ve gotten have really helped so hopefully I can push through
 
Thank you so much OraLabora! That was very thorough and easy to follow! I truly appreciate your help 🙂
 
April do you have a hard copy of the LOTH.? If you do …

We could start a thread with page numbers. I am in Australia and think ours is a bit different to the iBreviary and Laudate apps but I wonder if people are interested.
 
I don’t have the hardcover yet unfortunately :(. Right not I’m just using the Laudate app
until I get a chance to go to the book store. However, I’m hoping to get it sometime next week, and I think that thread would be amazing until I ( and anyone who is just starting) get the hand of using the actual book! It is so kind of you to offer Roseeurekacross! Thank you 🙏
 
Let me know when you do. It’s been a great way for me to learn. It will be interesting to see if we of different countries are praying in the same way.
 
I read that all 150 Psalms were to be said within a week, then that changed later on, so that all 150 Psalms should be said each month is that right? Do you think that was changed owing to Satan putting distractions in front of the people saying The Hours so there’d be less prayer?
 
OraLabora said:
The important thing is to respect the verity of the Hours, that is early AM for morning prayer, then mid-morning, mid-day and mid-afternoon for the minor hours, early evening for Evening prayer, and before bed for Compline. In private recitation, that gives considerable flexibility.
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So what’s the proper procedure if “early AM” and “before bed” are the same time?
 
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