Liturgy of the Hours (4 Volume Set)

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catholic03

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Pax Christi:

I own the four volume set of the Liturgy of the Hours. I am a teenager and so unfortunately I do not have a huge amount of time in my life.

I have two questions:

A) What parts would you recommend I pray and how long will it take to do so? Is it okay to pray more of the Liturgy of the Hours when I have more time (e.g. on the weekends), or must I pray the same everyday.

B). I only received the set for Christmas. It cost my parents $230 in New Zealand dollars (155 USD or £120). I hear they are replacing it soon. Is it likely to happen soon. I will be devastated if it is overridden in a few months. I hear from some it might still take a few years?

C) If a new one is released will it be fine to use my current set? Will it still count as the official prayer of the Church. I have little intention of praying it in a group. Will it be okay to use my current set and will it still count as the official prayer of the Church when the new edition comes out. I see no reason to replace it until it is worn out (which may be decades) if it will still count.

I would ask my priest, but I think he may find it a little peculiar that a teenager in my secular country would want to pray the four volume Liturgy of the Hours!

God Bless.
 
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A lot of good questions there and I can’t answer all because I don’t know the answers. But as a lay person you have no obligation to pray the Divine Office (Liturgy of the hours) It is wonderful that you desire to do so and it will be a gift for your life. Yes, the set is very expensive and not sure when the new one will come out but I am sure your questions will be asked by many.
Just a thought – you might start with morning or eve prayer for weekends or every day will depend on your schedule. You are not obligated to pray – so enjoy what feeds your soul when you can pray it. Night prayer for Sat and Sunday is beautiful and not long. When you have time check out the readings for Office or Readings – they are amazing and really takes you into the lives of the saints, etc. And hopefully your priest would be delighted to answer any questions and also help you regarding praying the Liturgy of the hours.
 
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Morning and Evening Prayer are the main hours (the hinges to the day of you like). Start with those. Compline is a lovely short Office to end the day with.

The Office of Readings is longer but often has beautiful readings. If I’m stuck for time I may just read one of the longer texts from that Office.

Pray as you can; not as you can’t. If you have extra time you can choose to pray some of the other Offices.

A new English translation will probably take some years. The substance of the Offices will not change though so you can continue to use the set you have.
 
Thank you. I love reading the sacred scriptures, the Catechism, learning the Ordinary and Extraordinary Form through my missals and also learning the Liturgy of the Hours.

The Liturgy of the Hours is a masterpiece of prayer and is so rich and beautifully written.
 
catholic03 said:
I am very surprised that others have not replied!
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Not very many lay Catholics pray the LotH (I use an app on my phone sometimes). It’s like a hidden treasure in some ways. It’s awesome that you are making a concerted effort. Clergy would be the best people to ask about it and I think there are a few here who post once in a while. These forums are also based in the US and it’s very early morning there.
 
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It is fine to pray more on the days that you have more time and less on the days that you don’t.
I recommend that you set up a schedule for yourself that would do that. It takes me about 5 - 10 minutes to say Lauds or Vespers or the Office of Readings.
As you are not a priest or a professed religious then it would be ok to use that version indefinitely.
I recommend Lauds in the morning and Vespers in the evening and Compline at night. There is a section in each of the volumes called the Ordinary which should give you the instructionis on how to use it
 
catholic03 said:
A) What parts would you recommend I pray and how long will it take to do so? Is it okay to pray more of the Liturgy of the Hours when I have more time (e.g. on the weekends), or must I pray the same everyday.
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As AngelusDomini has said Morning and Evening prayer are the hinges on which the day rests so start with these and perhaps add night prayer when you can. It helps to find a pattern that works for you and then stick to it - so for example Morning Prayer as soon as you wake up/before breakfast and Evening Prayer before dinner. You might like to pray just the readings (and not the psalms) from the Office of Readings on Sundays and feasts/solemnities of saints. How long it will take it difficult to answer because it depends how meditative you want to make it and also how fast you read but to pick a figure I’d say 10 minutes a piece for morning and evening prayer and shorter for Night Prayer.
B). I only received the set for Christmas. It cost my parents $230 in New Zealand dollars (155 USD or £120). I hear they are replacing it soon. Is it likely to happen soon. I will be devastated if it is overridden in a few months. I hear from some it might still take a few years?
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I believe it is due sometime before the second coming although don’t hold me to that!
C) If a new one is released will it be fine to use my current set? Will it still count as the official prayer of the Church. I have little intention of praying it in a group. Will it be okay to use my current set and will it still count as the official prayer of the Church when the new edition comes out. I see no reason to replace it until it is worn out (which may be decades) if it will still count.
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As a private devotion (since you’re not obliged to say it) you can really do what you want with whatever texts you want. So, in the incredibly unlikely event that the new version was released tomorrow you could continue to use your current one (believe me when I say that I know more than a few priests who would definitely do just that).
I would ask my priest, but I think he may find it a little peculiar that a teenager in my secular country would want to pray the four volume Liturgy of the Hours!
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Tbh he’d probably find it more peculiar that you’re using the four volume given that the three volume is more common in your part of the world. That aside, if anything I’d say he’d be encouraged by your devotion.
 
Laity who do the Hours generally do Lauds, Vespers, and the Office of Readings ( formerly known as Matins)
However as a lay person you aren’t required to do them so anything you do is considered praiseworthy. If you skip over the Psalms of the Office and just do the Bible and Saint reading that is praiseworthy. It isn’t to be thought of something as if you are bound to do it but more so as a lay person something to enrich you spiritually. Religious are bound to say them. Most priests say the three mentioned above plus the Psalms of the day and Compline. I believe most secular priests are only bound to do four.
Monks on the other hand will do all seven.
 
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Thank you very much everyone. Just one more question: I know that the Liturgy of the Hours retains the title of ‘Prayer of the Church’, and is thus the most enriching form of prayer. When the new edition comes out, will my old four volume set still be the ‘Prayer of the Church’, or would it simply count as a private devotional. Would I need to get a new set for it to be the ‘Prayer of the Church’.

For example, would a priest who is bound to pray the Liturgy of the Hours still fulfill his obligation by praying the version I currently have when the new one comes out?
 
You’ll have to wait and see what happens when it’s promulgated but it’s possible there will be some wiggle room to allow time to acquire the books. When the LOTH came out the old breviary was still permissible for the elderly, or for particular reasons, with permission of the ordinary (for those bound) and only in private recitation.
 
catholic03 said:
For example, would a priest who is bound to pray the Liturgy of the Hours still fulfill his obligation by praying the version I currently have when the new one comes out?
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I suspect that most bishops/superiors will allow priests to continue using the old edition. Religious orders may leave the decision to individual communities (assuming they do in fact pray together) while diocesan priests typically say it in private anyway so there’s less of an issue there. Tbh I’ll just go with whatever my bishop decides but then I like to think that I take my promise of obedience seriously. 😁
 
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