Liturgry of the Hours Question

  • Thread starter Thread starter DanWelshiMac
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
D

DanWelshiMac

Guest
**I have prayed the 4 volume LOTH for years.
I have recently gone to Christian Prayers because of my state in life has
changed; as a husband and a father who also deals with a mental illness.
I have tried many time to pray the Office out loud but I have a learning
disability and stumble over the words. I seem to get more out of it when
I just pray it quietly and meditate on the psalms. I have worked very hard
to pray out loud but always fail. My Parish Priest prays it quietly and so
do the other around the area I live; unless they say it in a group.
Is Quiet Liturgy acceptable when used in private?
Feed back wanted.
Thank You
Dan
**
 
I learned to pray the LOTH from a priest who told me, outloud, silently it really does not matter. Do what the Holy Spirit moves you to do! 😉

When I came back to the Church, one of the things that caused me a lot of “angst” was the fact that I found no comfort or solace in praying the Rosary.:o I found it to repetitive and often found myself obsessing about making sure I did it "right". I did have a very powerful devotion to Mary, and prayed and spoke to her often. My spiritual director helped me to see that I was praying with the intent of the Rosary, so the “rubrics” did not really matter.
His words were-
“Pray as you can, not as you can’t! It’s not how you pray, it’s that you pray, that is what’s important!!” 😉

Even Jesus tells us this-
Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

Hope this helps! 🙂
Peace be with you on your journey!
 
Of course it is. The liturgy of the hours is like any other prayer, although more formal in nature. Giving your time several times a day to God and lifting up your mind to him is more important that following the ritual. In private, silent prayer would certainly be very appropriate. Adapt what you have to your state in life. Do not heap burdens on yourself, enjoy the Presence of God in your life through meditation and prayer as you suggest. God bless!
 
While the original intent was that the Liturgy of the Hours was to be sung in choir by monks or nuns in Latin. Thanks be to God, that is no longer a requirement or we’d all be stumbling over it. It is however the official prayer of the church. I live alone and like to simply say mine alone often I’ll have coffee with morning prayer… I’ve chanted it in a monastery and said it in a Hogan chapel on retreat on the reservation and have done it for many years now. I would like to comend you on the practice since it’s not exactly easy especially since, the book hasn’t been updated since 1977 and the suppliment since 1993 and the Franciscan suppliment since I’m a lay Franciscan is falling apart and unfortunately is not available in large print. One of my ministries, has been training people in it’s use. Keep being faithful to the practice. One thing to think about in this regard is while you may stumble a bit you are praying the same prayers monks and nuns are praying, communities lay and monastic are praying and even Pope Benedict said this morning there really is something comforting in that.
 
mike52ad said:
Of course it is. The liturgy of the hours is like any other prayer, although more formal in nature. Giving your time several times a day to God and lifting up your mind to him is more important that following the ritual. In private, silent prayer would certainly be very appropriate. Adapt what you have to your state in life. Do not heap burdens on yourself, enjoy the Presence of God in your life through meditation and prayer as you suggest. God bless!
Click to expand...
Well said 👍
 
**Thank you all for your feedback! I love CAF!
As of now, I will say Lauds silently and see about the rest of the Hours.
I anyone else want to chime in, please do!

Thank You All
Dan
**
 
Hi there - I, too, pray the Divine Office.

If I prayed Christian Prayer out loud at home, I’d wake my husband during Morning Prayer. I might annoy him if I prayed Evening Prayer out loud, but then maybe not. I honestly haven’t tried.

If I prayed Christian Prayer Daytime Prayer out loud at work, I’d draw unnecessary attention to myself.

It is quite a luxury when I can pray it out loud during my Holy Hour when no one else is there with me except our Lord. He doesn’t mind if I pray the Divine Office silently or out loud. 😉
 
Keep in mind that lay persons do not have an obligation to the Divine Office unless affiliated to a religious order such as Benedictine Oblates who have an obligation to recite it to the extent their situation in life allows.

So any way you chose is fine. It’s a blessing that you elect to follow that discipline and you should not let your inability to read it aloud affect your devotion to the Divine Office.

In the monastery, I see many elderly monks just sit there reading along and not participating in the chanting of the Divine Office. It’s a perfectly acceptable way to approach it, if that’s the only thing your circumstances allow.
 
My basic rule for my students:

Pray as you can; not as you can’t. 😉
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top