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nolabeliever
Guest
Can someone please explain what the LOTH is and how it is applied to the daily life of laity?? Kinda hate to ask such elementary questions, but some help will be greatly appreciated.
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TimothyH
Guest
The Liturgy of the Hours is second only to the Mass. It is the prayer of the universal Church to God.
The laity may enter into the Churches prayer by participating on the Liturgy of the Hours in some way, either in group or in private, all seven hours or only parts. Priests, Deacons and Bishops are required to pray LoTH. The laity may do so as a devotion.
When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, we are praying in unity with the universal Church.
-Tim-
The laity may enter into the Churches prayer by participating on the Liturgy of the Hours in some way, either in group or in private, all seven hours or only parts. Priests, Deacons and Bishops are required to pray LoTH. The laity may do so as a devotion.
When we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, we are praying in unity with the universal Church.
-Tim-
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nolabeliever
Guest
Apparently there are different types/versions of the LoTH available for purchase? What would be a good starting place? Does the prayers and all stay the same year after year or do they change, therefore requiring purchase new copies?
S
sousley
Guest
If you’re new to the LoTH, Universalis.com is a great place to get your feet wet. They offer all of the hours daily.
As far as the books, I have the 4-volume set and keep the volume I need handy all the time. They stay the same year after year and follow the liturgical year (ya know, like 16th Sunday of ordinary time). Usually when you order one, they’ll send you a St Joseph’s Guide that are very helpful for keeping you on track. The St. Joseph’s Guide outlines the calendar year for you so you can pick up a new one each for about $2.
I have also had in the past the smaller “Christian Prayer” book which is less expensive. It’s a great starter, but the content is limited and I outgrew it. It does a pretty good job with Lauds and Vespers hours (albeit with an abbreviated psalter) and night prayer, but a small sampling of the other hours. My concern with that book was that it didn’t necessarily match up with same readings as the full version, which if you’re wanting to pray along with everyone else (privately or communally) it would be nice to know you’re reading what everyone else is.
My son has a book called “Shorter Christian Prayer” (smaller yet) which I think is a little better; it only covers Lauds, Vespers, and night, but has the full psalter and matches up with my full set for the ordinary days, but doesn’t include anything else like feast days, etc.
So there’s options. Praying the hours is an amazing devotion but it does take some dedication and don’t get discouraged if you “drop the ball” a few times, just pick it back up. My suggestion would be to spend a little time with the website and if you feel like you’re going stick with it, just eat the money, and go right to the 4-volume set.
What could be more awesome than knowing that at morning prayer time God is hearing all the priests, bishops, etc. and participating laity (and me) singing psalms and praising Him, in unison, no matter where we are. And an hour later in the next time zone, another group starts. Gotta love being Catholic!
Hope to “hear” you soon.
As far as the books, I have the 4-volume set and keep the volume I need handy all the time. They stay the same year after year and follow the liturgical year (ya know, like 16th Sunday of ordinary time). Usually when you order one, they’ll send you a St Joseph’s Guide that are very helpful for keeping you on track. The St. Joseph’s Guide outlines the calendar year for you so you can pick up a new one each for about $2.
I have also had in the past the smaller “Christian Prayer” book which is less expensive. It’s a great starter, but the content is limited and I outgrew it. It does a pretty good job with Lauds and Vespers hours (albeit with an abbreviated psalter) and night prayer, but a small sampling of the other hours. My concern with that book was that it didn’t necessarily match up with same readings as the full version, which if you’re wanting to pray along with everyone else (privately or communally) it would be nice to know you’re reading what everyone else is.
My son has a book called “Shorter Christian Prayer” (smaller yet) which I think is a little better; it only covers Lauds, Vespers, and night, but has the full psalter and matches up with my full set for the ordinary days, but doesn’t include anything else like feast days, etc.
So there’s options. Praying the hours is an amazing devotion but it does take some dedication and don’t get discouraged if you “drop the ball” a few times, just pick it back up. My suggestion would be to spend a little time with the website and if you feel like you’re going stick with it, just eat the money, and go right to the 4-volume set.
What could be more awesome than knowing that at morning prayer time God is hearing all the priests, bishops, etc. and participating laity (and me) singing psalms and praising Him, in unison, no matter where we are. And an hour later in the next time zone, another group starts. Gotta love being Catholic!
Hope to “hear” you soon.
The_Reginator
Active member
As an introduction you may want to visit divineoffice.org.
I have it as my ‘home page’ on my computer.
I have it as my ‘home page’ on my computer.
A
anruari
Guest
There are a number of on-line sources:
Universalis.com Free to access, but for a $20 one off payment you get unlimited perminant access to all their “Premium” features, including the ability to create e-books and your own print-outs, plus access to the psalms in the correct translation.
iBreviary
many other online sources.
the above 3 versions all have smart-phone apps avaialble.
The Laudate app which is one of my favourites uses Universalis.com for much of it’s source material.
If you live outside the USA the names of the various books are different.
I live in the UK.
Here the options are:
3 Volume set called “The Divine Office”. published by Collins. this is equivalent to the 4 volume set by St. Josephs.
1 Volume “Daily Prayer”. (Collins) Contains the whole office except the Office of Readings.
1Vol. “Morning and Evening Prayer”. Contains the whole of Lauds, Vespers and Compline. includes all the seasonal variations. available from Collins (uk) or Veritas (ROI)
1Vol. “A Shorter Morning and evening Prayer”. Just the 4 week psalter, plus the propers for the Sundays of the year and Lent & Advent. None of the other variations or saints days. heard wearing “Vinyl bound”. Widely used by parishes to celebrate evening prayer on Sundays as a parish.
1Vol. “Prayer during the Day”. Contains Terce, (9am) Sext (12:00) and None(3pm) hours as a 4 week psalter. These do not vary much as the major hours do. These are shorter hours only taking a few minutes to pray. Vinyl bound. intended as a “Pocket book” to be carried with you on your working day. (where the full breviary or Daily Prayer would be too bulky)
Other options include a subscription to “Magnificat” magazine.
This is published in the USA. it presents in magazine format a simplified version of Morning and Evening prayer with no page flipping required. everything you need each day is presented in sequence.
As it is a magazine it’s cheaper to try for a couple of months, but in the long run you may decide to upgrade to a perminant book like those listed above.
I reccomend starting with a book which provides the Morning and Evening hours (Lauds and Vespers), like the full version of “Morning and evening Prayer”(Collins, UK. Veritas, IRL) , or “Shorter Christian Prayer” (St. Josephs, USA).
It is better to use a version intended for your country or region, as there are regional variations in the calendar used.
The St. Josephs versions also include text for optional “Psalm Prayers”: meditations to follow the psalms which are optional and not included in other versions (you would need a seperate book to find these elsewhere… like one I’ve seen by Pope Benedict.
Universalis.com Free to access, but for a $20 one off payment you get unlimited perminant access to all their “Premium” features, including the ability to create e-books and your own print-outs, plus access to the psalms in the correct translation.
iBreviary
many other online sources.
the above 3 versions all have smart-phone apps avaialble.
The Laudate app which is one of my favourites uses Universalis.com for much of it’s source material.
If you live outside the USA the names of the various books are different.
I live in the UK.
Here the options are:
3 Volume set called “The Divine Office”. published by Collins. this is equivalent to the 4 volume set by St. Josephs.
1 Volume “Daily Prayer”. (Collins) Contains the whole office except the Office of Readings.
1Vol. “Morning and Evening Prayer”. Contains the whole of Lauds, Vespers and Compline. includes all the seasonal variations. available from Collins (uk) or Veritas (ROI)
1Vol. “A Shorter Morning and evening Prayer”. Just the 4 week psalter, plus the propers for the Sundays of the year and Lent & Advent. None of the other variations or saints days. heard wearing “Vinyl bound”. Widely used by parishes to celebrate evening prayer on Sundays as a parish.
1Vol. “Prayer during the Day”. Contains Terce, (9am) Sext (12:00) and None(3pm) hours as a 4 week psalter. These do not vary much as the major hours do. These are shorter hours only taking a few minutes to pray. Vinyl bound. intended as a “Pocket book” to be carried with you on your working day. (where the full breviary or Daily Prayer would be too bulky)
Other options include a subscription to “Magnificat” magazine.
This is published in the USA. it presents in magazine format a simplified version of Morning and Evening prayer with no page flipping required. everything you need each day is presented in sequence.
As it is a magazine it’s cheaper to try for a couple of months, but in the long run you may decide to upgrade to a perminant book like those listed above.
I reccomend starting with a book which provides the Morning and Evening hours (Lauds and Vespers), like the full version of “Morning and evening Prayer”(Collins, UK. Veritas, IRL) , or “Shorter Christian Prayer” (St. Josephs, USA).
It is better to use a version intended for your country or region, as there are regional variations in the calendar used.
The St. Josephs versions also include text for optional “Psalm Prayers”: meditations to follow the psalms which are optional and not included in other versions (you would need a seperate book to find these elsewhere… like one I’ve seen by Pope Benedict.
M
Michael_Allen
Guest
Hi nolabeliever,
If I may recommend a book that I think conveys some of the beauty of the Liturgy of the Hours, it is “Music of Silence: A Sacred Journey Through the Hours of the Day” by the Benedictine monk Brother David Steindl-Rast.
I wrote a summary here in case that’s of interest: monasticbookreviews.wordpress.com/2013/05/30/music-of-silence-a-sacred-journey-through-the-hours-of-the-day-brother-david-steindl-rast-osb/
God bless +
Michael
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agnes_therese
Guest
Divineoffice.org uses the same text as the 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours; universalis uses, I believe, a different translation of the psalms.
You can use divineoffice.org (free) to become familiar with the LoH and its structure; then you can decide whether you want to buy the books, either Christian Prayer or the 4-volume set.
You can use divineoffice.org (free) to become familiar with the LoH and its structure; then you can decide whether you want to buy the books, either Christian Prayer or the 4-volume set.
A
AntonyOfNJ
Guest
For more information about the Liturgy of the Hours, check out the following blog. She posts regularly, and has links to a variety of resources to get you started. It is also helpful for those who have been praying for awhile now.
dariasockey.blogspot.com/
dariasockey.blogspot.com/
E
Evan
Guest
“Christian Prayer” has the complete Lauds and Vespers, It may have complete Night Prayer also. “Shorter Christian Prayer” is an abridgement.
I pray from *Christian Prayer *with my wife who has the 4 volume set. The only difference seems to be the readings in Christian Prayer are often LONGER than in the 4 volume set. It also has the music for the given hymns that is not available in 4 volume or Shorter Christian Prayer versions.
L
Luigi_Daniele
Guest
FWIW, Universalis is not the official translation. You could certainly use it as a private devotion, but you would not be praying with the Church if you use it.
N
nolabeliever
Guest
I very much appreciate all the good replies…
I
Imparo
Guest
Can someone explain this to me , please?
Or advise a decent book or website.
I’ve checked out Divine Ofiice and Universalis and they help a bit.
It’ll cost £135 to buy them in book form (which annoys me).
What are they (the hours) called?
Why do some of their names appear to have changed.
If doing the hours on my own (which will be necessary as no Catholic church in my city does them - despite their being 6 of them, including a priory with 7 friars) do I just read them silently? Even the hymns? I presume I don’t sing them out loud if I’m on my own.
Or advise a decent book or website.
I’ve checked out Divine Ofiice and Universalis and they help a bit.
It’ll cost £135 to buy them in book form (which annoys me).
What are they (the hours) called?
Why do some of their names appear to have changed.
If doing the hours on my own (which will be necessary as no Catholic church in my city does them - despite their being 6 of them, including a priory with 7 friars) do I just read them silently? Even the hymns? I presume I don’t sing them out loud if I’m on my own.
H
hannajomar
Guest
Many who are starting, try morning and evening prayer only. Very few people who aren’t cloistered religious are able to pray all seven times through the day/night. One thing I love about Liturgy of the Hours is that people all over the world are praying the same thing on the same day. The Pope is praying this, priests in my own community, little nuns who are cloistered, and lay people in their homes or churches.
A cheaper and simpler option is a book called “Shorter Christian Prayer.” It focuses on morning and evening prayer. While I enjoy using an actual book, I often refer to the universalis website to make sure I am on the correct day.
Here’s the book:
amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_13/177-3206889-7069219?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=shorter%20christian%20prayer&sprefix=shorter+chris%2Caps%2C145&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ashorter%20christian%20prayer
It’s fine to read them silently, although when I’m by myself I like to belt out the hymns. But that’s not necessary.
A cheaper and simpler option is a book called “Shorter Christian Prayer.” It focuses on morning and evening prayer. While I enjoy using an actual book, I often refer to the universalis website to make sure I am on the correct day.
Here’s the book:
amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_13/177-3206889-7069219?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=shorter%20christian%20prayer&sprefix=shorter+chris%2Caps%2C145&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ashorter%20christian%20prayer
It’s fine to read them silently, although when I’m by myself I like to belt out the hymns. But that’s not necessary.
R
RCIAGraduate
Guest
“…may mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance.” Jude 1:2
If you have a phone try to download the laudate app-it has the Universalis LOTH-so you will need internet connection though.
If you are on a computer you can also go to Universalis as well as Divine Office.org.
Have a good day and good luck with the development of your prayer life
If you have a phone try to download the laudate app-it has the Universalis LOTH-so you will need internet connection though.
If you are on a computer you can also go to Universalis as well as Divine Office.org.
Have a good day
and good luck with the development of your prayer life
Z
z_0101
Guest
My favorite website for this is Divine Office - Liturgy of the Hours there are links here that will give you information about the Divine Office.
On my Ipad I have the “iBreviary HD” app. I really like this app, if I can’t have my Breviary in hand, this is the very next best thing (and if I didn’t like the feel of a book in my hand so much, I’d say this is almost better (if they would allow ps100 v ps95 as an option ) - just remember to connect to the internet and do the update; however, you can download a week at a time, which I do, just in case you don’t have an internet connection )…
and in my hand I have a Breviary, also known as “Christian Prayer - The Liturgy of the Hours” - this is a subset of the entire office (goto the Website I linked to above they have sets for sell, it’s massive, or you can usually find them or have them ordered thru any Catholic Bookstore, be aware though that using the textbooks can be a challenge and having a Deacon, Priest, or other person who prays to help will make the experience so much better). Mine is a version published by the Daughters of St. Paul - Pauline.org; however, it doesn’t seem to be widely available. I prefer this version as there is a lot less “flipping” versis the other versions.
The other thing is to have someone to help. I am very blessed that one of the Deacon has a holy hour just after mine and that Fr. often prays evening prayer during my holy hour; thus, if I get off (easy during lent, easter, advent) I always have someone to help get me on track. We have a joke between the three of us, if one of us dies, one of the others will make sure to get the ribbons in right spots before the Bishop shows up
- and they say priest don’t have a sense of humor!
On my Ipad I have the “iBreviary HD” app. I really like this app, if I can’t have my Breviary in hand, this is the very next best thing (and if I didn’t like the feel of a book in my hand so much, I’d say this is almost better (if they would allow ps100 v ps95 as an option
) - just remember to connect to the internet and do the update; however, you can download a week at a time, which I do, just in case you don’t have an internet connection )…and in my hand I have a Breviary, also known as “Christian Prayer - The Liturgy of the Hours” - this is a subset of the entire office (goto the Website I linked to above they have sets for sell, it’s massive, or you can usually find them or have them ordered thru any Catholic Bookstore, be aware though that using the textbooks can be a challenge and having a Deacon, Priest, or other person who prays to help will make the experience so much better). Mine is a version published by the Daughters of St. Paul - Pauline.org; however, it doesn’t seem to be widely available. I prefer this version as there is a lot less “flipping” versis the other versions.
The other thing is to have someone to help. I am very blessed that one of the Deacon has a holy hour just after mine and that Fr. often prays evening prayer during my holy hour; thus, if I get off (easy during lent, easter, advent) I always have someone to help get me on track. We have a joke between the three of us, if one of us dies, one of the others will make sure to get the ribbons in right spots before the Bishop shows up
- and they say priest don’t have a sense of humor!
H
hazcompat
Guest
GENERAL INSTRUCTION OF THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
Congregation for Divine Worship
ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWGILH.HTM
Peace
Congregation for Divine Worship
ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWGILH.HTM
Peace
D
daria1588
Guest
Hi!
You’ve had plenty of good replies, but at the risk of doing some shameless self-promotion, you might want to get my book, **The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours. ** It will answer almost any question you could have about it. It explains what the LOTH is, where it came from, and why you should consider praying it. It lists all the breviaries, both print and online, giving the pros and cons of each.
Look it up on Amazon, read the review, and see what you think.
I wish you joy in your endeavor to pray the universal public prayer of the Catholic Church.
You’ve had plenty of good replies, but at the risk of doing some shameless self-promotion, you might want to get my book, **The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours. ** It will answer almost any question you could have about it. It explains what the LOTH is, where it came from, and why you should consider praying it. It lists all the breviaries, both print and online, giving the pros and cons of each.
Look it up on Amazon, read the review, and see what you think.
I wish you joy in your endeavor to pray the universal public prayer of the Catholic Church.
R
Razanir
Guest
What about divineoffice.org?
N
NickD
Guest
If you’re in America, and do end up getting the 1-volume Christian Prayer or 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours, I recommend a book called The Divine Office for Dodos. It’s quite helpful for figuring it all out 
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