Liturgy of the hours confusion

[Emc3]

Sometimes I stay up past midnight. I always pray compline right before I go to bed. Should I pray it for the previous day or the new day? Are the prayers designed to be spoken or can you also say them in your head? I tend to feel awkward praying out loud when I’m by myself, so I pray them mentally.

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

I would pray Compline that ends my day. So if it is 1am on Thursday, I would figure that I was ending my Wednesday and pray it for Wednesday.

I find that praying out loud slows me down a bit. It’s not a case of “mumble mumble mumble” in my mind, but paying attention to the words.

 

[felsguy]

I would pray Compline that ends my day. So if it is 1am on Thursday, I would figure that I was ending my Wednesday and pray it for Wednesday

This is exactly what I just did and often do. It is now about 1:30 am on Thursday where I am and I recited Compline for Wednesday right before signing on here. I think doing it this way makes sense for those of us who are not obligated to recited the Hours. I’ll leave it for someone else to weigh in regarding those who are obligated.

 

[TheMortenBay]

I always pray compline right before I go to bed. Should I pray it for the previous day or the new day?

I try to pray the whole Office every day. But due to work and other circumstances I am sometimes unable to finish all the hours within the designated 24 hour time frame. So sometimes I’ll end up saying Compline (and sometimes even Vespers) at 2am or later. But I always pray the previous day’s prayer.
Think about it: If you were obligated to pray the Office you wouldn’t start praying the next day’s prayers because you’d need them the next evening anyway.

Are the prayers designed to be spoken or can you also say them in your head? I tend to feel awkward praying out loud when I’m by myself

Now imagine having to pray in a public place like a train or whatever. Traditionally, the prayers had to be “recited” every day. In practice that meant you had to at least form the words with your lips. I usually do a very low whisper, but no sound is also fine. Just remember: so long as you’re not obligated to say the Divine Office you can’t actually do anything wrong whichever way you pray it.

 

[TheMortenBay]

I’ll leave it for someone else to weigh in regarding those who are obligated.

I think if you’re obligated you’ll want to pray the Office of the “previous” day, just like you would. The difference is it’s actually a mortal sin for an obligated cleric to not recite it within the 24 hour period (unless there are mitigating circumstances of course).

 

[Phemie]

Sometimes I stay up past midnight. I always pray compline right before I go to bed. Should I pray it for the previous day or the new day? Are the prayers designed to be spoken or can you also say them in your head? I tend to feel awkward praying out loud when I’m by myself, so I pray them mentally.

You pray the Compline of the previous day if you pray it after midnight. That’s why the iBreviary app opens on the actual day but offers two options: Night Prayer & Yesterday Night Prayer.

My understanding is that you are supposed to recite the Office. If I’m alone I do it aloud. If hubby is sleeping next to me I recite it in a very low whisper.

I’ve found it helpful to consult the General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours.

General Instruction on the Liturgy of the Hours (2 February 1971) | EWTN

 

[Jbrady]

Should I pray it for the previous day or the new day? Are the prayers designed to be spoken or can you also say them in your head? I tend to feel awkward praying out loud when I’m by myself, so I pray them mentally.

Since you have no obligation to pray them at all as a layperson, you can pray them any way you want, in whole or in part, any time you like, anywhere you like and any way you like. You do not have to follow any time table or calendar. You can mix and match prayers from widely diverging dates and seasons as you please. You can pray any prayers from any the Hours at any time of the day or night, as you please.

For you as a layperson, praying the Hours is strictly a personal devotion. Any rules don’t apply to you. If you want to follow them to the best of your ability, fine. If you don’t, equally fine. Whatever works to improve you spiritual wellbeing is best for you.

 

[gotDoug]

According to No. 86 of the General Instructions:

1. Night prayer is the last prayer of the day, said before retiring, even if that is after midnight.

My interpretation of that is saying whatever day’s Hours you were saying while awake (e.g. you would say Wednesday’s Night Prayer on Thursday at 1am if you were still awake).

 

[porthos11]

For you as a layperson, praying the Hours is strictly a personal devotion. Any rules don’t apply to you. If you want to follow them to the best of your ability, fine. If you don’t, equally fine. Whatever works to improve you spiritual wellbeing is best for you.

No, it’s not. The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of the whole Church, and belongs to everyone. For laypeople it is fully liturgical prayer, even when prayed alone because it is an exercise of the common priesthood of the baptized.

Whether or not “the rules apply to laity” not otherwise bound depends on whether you want to offer the Official Public Prayer of the Church, then the rules DO apply. Liturgy is still governed by the Church. If you just want to adapt it as private devotional prayer, sure, but then, it’s personal private devotional prayer; you’ve always been free to do that. But if you want to offer the Liturgy of the Hours AS the Liturgy of the Hours, then you still need to follow the right translations and the right rubrics, omitting nothing that is required.

But why would anyone want to deprive himself of the great grace of joining his voice with the Prayer of Christ through his Church?