Intercessions in the Hours

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Can someone explain how to do the intercessions in the Hours? I am new to the Hours and need all the help I can get. While I can’t remember your name, I appreciate the help from the person that posted the Hours website. It is very helpful.

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Not too sure what part of the intercessions you have a problem with so I will simply explain how they are said.

They are very like the Prayers of the faithful at Mass. An intercessin followed by a response.
I take it you pray them alone? If this is the case then both the prayer of intercession and the response are said by you.
The first intercession has the response printed at the end of it and this response is then recited after each prayer of intercession when you see the ***R/ ***symbol.
I will be shot for this but since they are intercessions I always take some time here to add a few of my own :o .
You finish then with the recitation of the the Lord’s Prayer i.e. the ‘Our Father’.
I have been doing the Liturgy of the Hours for a few years now and am still straining to get it right!!!
Hope this answers your question.

fergal
 
I will be shot for this but since they are intercessions I always take some time here to add a few of my own :o .
fergal

Please DO add your own intentions. It is permitted by the general principles which are written in the very beginning of the book (pg. 35 in mine.)

One thing I love about the Liturgy of the hours is that our intentions are so rightly balanced. We spend most of the time praising God for His goodness & then ask for our little requests.

Enjoy!
 
First of all, notice that each petition is split in to two thus (for example)

We pray for N. our Pope, N. our Bishop
— come with youir power to help them

There are two ways to pray them.
  1. You can treat the first part (before the dash) as a call, the second part as a response (and therefore omit the given response at the beginning);
  2. You can read through the whole thing and say the response given at the Intercessions’ invitation (e.g. Lord, hear us).
And yes, add your own intentions; I do mine silently. Personal intentions are permitted by the General Instruction.

I don’t really know if I’m on target here, but I feel that when I add my own personal intentions, the rest of the Church is praying with me for those same intentions, just as I’m praying with other Christians for theirs, even if I don’t know what those intentions are. I seems to me consistent with the Office being the prayer of the entire Church.
 
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Dunmoose:
I use the 4 volume Liturgy of the Hours. What I do is say the bit in italics after each intention. Or at least try to!

I recently updated my Liturgy of the Hours Resource Page.
dunstanboyko.tripod.com/loh.html
Click to expand...
This is one way to do it. It’s ok to do it without repeating the italicized line also. I recently attended a retreat where the intercessions were read with the italicized line recited after the first line, then the intercessions were read antiphonally, then when people introduced their personal intercessions, the group responded with the italicized line. Solitary recitation, as you note, is a different thing.

At the convent where I sometimes attend morning prayer, this is not done. They just go through the written intercessions, then the officiant adds a couple of intercessions, such as prayers for the deceased sisters whose death anniversary it is, then we go right into the Lord’s Prayer.

The BEST resource I have ever seen on the Liturgy of the Hours is Madeline Pecora Nugent’s book, The Divine Office for Dodos (Devoted, Obedient, Disciples of Our Savior). It’s available at penitents.org/giftshoploh.html .
 
I’m so glad to see an interest in the Lit of the Hours. I first began to recite the Hours during a brief period of lay-off from my job. I was also going through a personal struggle (spiritually), and ended up experiencing a major conversion of Faith. I didn’t realize how attached I had become to worldly things.

I now recite Morning and Evening on my own, but when I began, it was in a group setting, under the direction of the priest. And, of course, I was completely lost for long while (we used the Pauline one-volume text, which is rather confusing when you’re just starting out). I’ve continued to use the one-volume text because it’s portable, and I can pack it in my brief case when I travel.

I usually follow each intention with the general refrain, and ALWAYS add my own when I recite Evening prayer. In the group setting, the priest would typically read the introduction, the congregation would follow with the response. Then for each intention, the priest would recite the first part and congregation would recite the second part–without reciting the response.

On another note:
The Lit of the Hours is a wonderful way to make a personal commitment to daily prayer. Our whole life is a road to holiness, and daily prayer helps you stay focused.

The church I’ve been attending (since my conversion) is very traditional, and our Pastor has even conducted evening adult education courses, one of which was focused on the Liturgy of the Hours. This also helped increase my understanding of the Liturgy.

I really wish the Church would be more active about encouraging and educating the laity to recite the Liturgy. It’s a beautiful devotion.

Best of Luck
Jim in Virginia
 
thanks for the help. the info was exactly what i was looking for.

sfx
 
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