Exactly when ought one pray each Liturgy Of Hours part?

[mkamoski1]

All -

Please help.

I was wondering exactly when ought one pray each Liturgy Of Hours part?

Currently, my plan is as follows…

04:00am Invitatory

06:00am Office Of Readings

08:00am Morning (Lauds)

10:00am Mid-Morning

12:00pm Midday

03:00pm Afternoon

06:00pm Evening (Vespers)

09:00pm Night

…but I am wondering if there is a prescription or norm or tradition for the times used?

Please advise.

(FWIW, I am using a great app on my Android phone which makes it VERY easy to read the Liturgy Of Hours, as there is no flipping around, no cross-referencing, etc, and if you are interested then you can find it at market.android.com/details?id=com.aycka.apps.MassReadings online or in the “Market” on your Android phone, but note that I am just an enduser of the app and I am not affiliated with the maker of the app in any way.)

Thank you.

Yours In Christ,

• Mark Kamoski

 

[BouncingBall]

Hi there!

Well, I read somewhere that it’s all right to do the Office of Readings anytime after sundown the day prior. So, because of the rhythm of my day I do the following:

6, 7, or 8AM – Invitatory and Morning
9AM – mid-Morning
noon – Midday
3PM – Afternoon
Evening commute home – Evening and then the Office for the next day
Before dozing off – Night

 

[SonCatcher]

Those seem to be fitting times. Don’t worry too much if you have to adjust the times occasionally, however. My family usually says Vespers at around 8:30 PM. If we have opportunity, Lauds is between 7 and 9 AM.

In case you were curious:
The Invitatory may be whenever you wake up or immediately before the next prayer as opposed to a set time. (there need not be gaps between the Invitatory, Office of Readings and Lauds)

I think that, traditionally, “midmorning” is 9:00 (Terce - the “third hour of the day”)

Night prayer may be immediately before you retire. (there need not be a gap between Evening and Night)

 

[Bbigam]

I was wondering exactly when ought one pray each Liturgy Of Hours part?

Currently, my plan is as follows…
04:00am Invitatory
06:00am Office Of Readings
08:00am Morning (Lauds)
10:00am Mid-Morning
12:00pm Midday
03:00pm Afternoon
06:00pm Evening (Vespers)
09:00pm Night

…but I am wondering if there is a prescription or norm or tradition for the times used?

That’s all fine, except - the Invitatory should not be said by itself. It’s not an Hour on its own, but is the introduction to the Hours of the Day, and is properly attached to the beginning of the Office of Readings or Lauds (traditionally, it would be attached to the Office of Readings, as it was always part of Matins which the Office of Readings is the successor to).

The traditional time for Midmorning Prayer (Terce) was 9 am, but 10 am is fine too. In the modern Liturgy of the Hours, the times are not precisely defined.

I would recommend familiarizing yourself with the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours (GILH). This will make it clear about how the Invitatory is supposed to work. The GILH is the official set of instructions for how to celebrate the modern Liturgy of the Hours. You could also read the traditional General Rubrics of the Breviary and Missal and General Rubrics of the Roman Breviary for historical perspective - but note that these apply to the older Form of the Divine Office, and, where the GILH and these Rubrics conflict, you have to follow the GILH in celebrations of the modern Liturgy. Note too that the old Rubrics mention the Office of Prime - this has been suppressed in the modern Liturgy.

It’s wonderful that you want to pray the Liturgy of the Hours! Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. You might consider starting with just Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer (Lauds, Vespers and Compline) if the complete cycle is too much. But it’s wonderful if you can pray all seven canonical Hours.

 

[laszlo]

In my church the clergy prays in community

7:15 AM : Office of Reading Morning prayer (start with Invitatory)

4:45 PM : Midday prayer, Rosary, Vespers

6:45 PM : Compline

Previously the Midday prayer was at 11:45 , they changed it a few months ago

This is the obligatory part of the Liturgy of Hours

I, being conservative pray the grandfather of that prayer:

3:30 AM Matins and Lauds
6:00 AM Prime
9:00 AM Terce
12:00 PM Sext
3::00 PM None
5:00 PM Vespers
7:30 PM Compline

 

[estesbob]

My scheducle

7:00 AM Invitiatory, Office of Readings and Morning Prayer

8:30 Mass

Noon- Miday Prayer, Rosary

5:30 Evening Prayer

Right before i go to bed- Night Prayer

You should not be saying the Invitiatory by itself-should be said right before either the OOR or Morning prayer-whichever you do first.

 

[fieldsparrow]

I am doing as was suggested earlier and starting with just Invitatory, Morning, Evening and Night Prayer. I do usually end up reading Daytime Prayer during lunch at work, though not aloud.

So my schedule generally looks like:
5:45am - Invitatory/Morning Prayer
7am - Mass
8am - Rosary (on the bus)
(12:15pm - Daytime Prayer)
5:15pm - Rosary (on the bus)
7pm - Evening Prayer
9:30pm - Rosary/Night Prayer

I am trying to read the OOR each day as well but admit that I don’t get to it every day yet. The above is fairly “easy” to keep up with and as I adjust and make it a regular habit I will add in more.