Liturgy of the Hours

[sawman]

Dear Mercygate,
I got the T-shirt. Have’nt tried the publisher though. By the time I needed it they were gone.
Thanks!
Peace!

 

[mercygate]

Dear Mercygate,
I got the T-shirt. Have’nt tried the publisher though. By the time I needed it they were gone.
Thanks!
Peace!

Hey! What am I THINKING! It only posts for one week at a time but go HERE for the current week.

 

[sawman]

Dear MercyGate,

Hey! I don’t know what you’re THINKING!

Thanks for the link, I somehow managed to get on the correct pages this morning. I couldn’t figure out which of the saints to pray so I took St. Pancras, cause I once met a Borther named Pancras. I suppose there is some kind of guidance for esoterica like that.

Thank you very much!

 

[Michael_Neal]

I have a few questions

1. How long does it usually take to say the morning and evening prayers?
2. Can you say them anytime during the morning/evening or must you say them at a particular time?

 

[Lazerlike42]

I have a few questions

1. How long does it usually take to say the morning and evening prayers?
2. Can you say them anytime during the morning/evening or must you say them at a particular time?

1. It depends on the sort of soul you are, really. I know some that pray them in 15 minutes. This would be a minimum for the Morning and Evening prayers. It usually takes me a half hour because I have to do it slowly and almost contemplatively. Same goes for the Rosary with me… it takes me at *least * 40-45 minutes to say 5 decades of the Rosary. Everyone else I know can do it in 20. Assume 15-25.
2. You can say them at any time… there is no set clock time. You are supposed to try to keep them as true to the intended times of morning and evening as possible. That is, morning prayer is said by most between say, 5 AM to 8 AM, and Evening prayer from 5-7 PM? Nothing wrong with saying it at 9 AM or 8 PM if that’s really all you can do, or if on a particular day it works out that way. It’s a matter of doing the best you’re able in your state in life.

It also matters if you intend to say the other prayers. For example, if you are planning on saying Daytime Prayer at noon, it would be best to not say Morning Prayer at like, 11 AM if it’s at all possible. One of the points of the LOTH is to consecrate our time to God, after all.

 

[Marauder]

1. How long does it usually take to say the morning and evening prayers?

As long as you want, everywhere from about 10 minutes to about 40 minutes. It depends on if you sing/chant it, say it, or pray it to yourself. It also depends on how much you think about what you are saying, and other things like that.

1. Can you say them anytime during the morning/evening or must you say them at a particular time?

There are the traditional times and the non-traditional time. If you are in a monestary or a religious order you may be obligated to say it at certain times as defined by that order. If not you can say it at the traditional time or any time you want. Obviously Morning prayer should be said in the morning and evening prayer in the evening.

Traditional times if I remember right are usually:
Morning (near dawn, usually 5 or 6:00 a.m.)
Mid-morning (10:00 a.m.)
Mid-day (12:00)
Mid-afternoon (3:00 p.m.)
Evening (near dusk, usually 5 or 6:00 p.m.)
Night (before bed)
Office (anytime, but “Lord open my Lips” part should proceed the first prayer of the day)

 

[mercygate]

Dear MercyGate,

Hey! I don’t know what you’re THINKING!

Thanks for the link, I somehow managed to get on the correct pages this morning. I couldn’t figure out which of the saints to pray so I took St. Pancras, cause I once met a Borther named Pancras. I suppose there is some kind of guidance for esoterica like that.

Thank you very much!

Actually, I start Vigils and MP at 4:10 a.m. I was still sleeping when I said “Lord, open my lips” – so I just prayed the office of the day. No saints. They were all optional memorials. At Mass, we had the Mass of the day as well: green vestments. No Pancras.

 

[mercygate]

I have a few questions

1. How long does it usually take to say the morning and evening prayers?

It takes me about 40 minutes to pray the Office of Readings (aka: Vigils) and MP (aka Lauds) back-to-back with the addition of daily prayers required by my vows. Others take longer or less, depending on personality or time constraints or prayer styles.

1. Can you say them anytime during the morning/evening or must you say them at a particular time?

For those who are obliged to pray the Office, the obligation of praying the office takes precedence over the desirability of praying the hours “on time.”

Vigils may be prayed at any time, but traditionally is prayed at midnight. Some monastic houses pray it very early in the morning right before Lauds – say 5:00 a.m.

Mid day prayer would be at (can you guess?) mid day.

I have a dispensation to pray the daytime hours in a cluster – weekdays I do it in the car before 7:00 a.m. Mass (I have already prayed Vigils & Lauds). Weekends I cluster them at mid-day.

EP is after dinner, Compline before bed. Sometimes, when I teach in the evening, I pray both EP & Compline together.

I’m not a monk, so I don’t keep a rigid schedule. I aim for routine without rigidity.

 

[Michael_Neal]

thanks for the responses, I have been contemplating joining a third order and am just trying to figure out if it is possible to fulfill the morning and evening prayer daily requirements. In the morning I get my child dressed and drop him off at school and then go to work and at night I help my wife feed him and get him ready for bed.

But I figure I could fit in 15-20 minutes without much problem, I currently recite the rosary in my car going to or from work.

 

[mercygate]

thanks for the responses, I have been contemplating joining a third order and am just trying to figure out if it is possible to fulfill the morning and evening prayer daily requirements. In the morning I get my child dressed and drop him off at school and then go to work and at night I help my wife feed him and get him ready for bed.

But I figure I could fit in 15-20 minutes without much problem, I currently recite the rosary in my car going to or from work.

If you are called to this form of witness, the Lord will let you know. I get up at 4:10 a.m. in order to pray the Office before leaving for work at 5:50, pray the daytime hours before Mass and attend the 7:00 a.m. Mass. I’m at my desk by 7:45. Home in the evening by 6:30.

 

[KarenElissa]

I started praying the LOTH right before Lent. Right now I pray Morning Prayer whenever ever I get up, usually around 7 or 8 and Evening Prayer when I get home from work at around 8:30 pm. That is what works for me.

I think the biggest thing is it has helped me pray more consistently. That has always been a struggle for me, but when I was just doing whatever, it was a lot easier to say oh, I’m to tired, I’ll do it later or tomorrow or whatever. This “forces” me to just do it, even when I don’t feel like it. Sometimes I find myself doing more reading than praying, but often once I start, I get more into it. (Although I figure even just reading it is better than doing it “tomorrow” ) I think since I’ve started, I’ve only skipped a day or two when I was sick and even watching tv was a stretch.

 

[Michael_Neal]

I was thinking of starting with the Magnificat magazine and eventually work my way to the full Divine Office morning and evening prayers.

 

[Marauder]

I was thinking of starting with the Magnificat magazine and eventually work my way to the full Divine Office morning and evening prayers.

Magnificat is a good starter. Another starter can be the 1 volume “Christian Prayer” version or even the “Shorter Christian Prayer” version. That way you don’t have to do as much flipping and figuring out where you are. If you are serious about joining a third/secular order, it would probably be good to just buy either the 1 volume (if the third/secular you Order you are joining allows it) or the 4 volume set outright since you will probably be required to have it anyway.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

I replaced the breviary, but it is not my “old friend” – the one with the shabby ribbons that has been baked and frozen n the car, had bugs land in it, been prayed into and wept into . . .

I know what you mean. When I had to replace my first one, held together by tape and glue, I felt like I was betraying an old friend.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B

 

[mercygate]

I was thinking of starting with the Magnificat magazine and eventually work my way to the full Divine Office morning and evening prayers.

That is a fine idea! If you follow the plan of Magnificat, as a layman, you will have a strong foundation for a rich devotional life.

 

[richardwy]

Mike, cut loose with $25 and buy “Christian Prayer.” It’s an abridged version of the 4 volume set.

Yet, it contains better hymn section than the 4 volume set. Better little office section.

 

[mercygate]

Mike, cut loose with $25 and buy “Christian Prayer.” It’s an abridged version of the 4 volume set.

Yet, it contains better hymn section than the 4 volume set. Better little office section.

Generally I am of the “more is more” school of thought and I prefer the LOH to Christian Prayer because CP doesn’t contain the Office of Readings, which I pray daily.

Bbut I have to give the nod to your evaluation of Daytime Prayer in CP. It is MUCH simpler than in the LOH. Since the psalms are limited to the Psalms of Ascent – only nine, and prayed EVERY day – and the readings, responsories and prayers are on a one-week cycle, the offices can be memorized easily so within a few months, one can pray them even without the book: very convenient.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I used the single volume, "Christian Prayer, The Liturgy of the Hours, for about 12 years. Last year, my wife and myself purchased the 4 volume set.

I found that for most people, the Christian Prayer version will fit them the best. It has Morning and Evening Prayer, just as the 4 volume set, and its what most people are limited to with their work schedules. Its also simpler to follow.

The 4 volume set, has the complete Office of the Reading, which is usually said at vigils, before morning prayer. However, for must of us, praying the OR before we leave to work is longer than we have time for, and if you’re like myself being half asleep at that time, its more difficult to get through. So, I skip the OR and do the Morning Prayer, which I did with the single volume “Christian Prayer.”

In my former OCDS group, we advised the new members to begin with Christian Prayer, which the majority of members had. Most of the 3rd order groups or parish groups who pray the LOH, will do morning or evening prayer, not the OR. So, the Christian Prayer version is actually the more suitable for most lay people, in my opinion.

You can probably purchase either versions, used, at Amazon.com

Jim