Liturgy of the Hours

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kathgirl
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
K

Kathgirl

Guest
Do some of you pray the LOH? I am a beginner and wd appreciate advice. Should I buy a simple version? Try the prayers on line first? Are the booklets for beginners a gd idea? Thanks!
 
I prayed in a Catholics womens house that I lived in in college. I would say buy the one book not the one with 4 and start with that one. From there you can go on to the one with 4. The single has all the prayers I think but in a condensed format.
 
Kathgirl said:
Do some of you pray the LOH? I am a beginner and wd appreciate advice. Should I buy a simple version? Try the prayers on line first? Are the booklets for beginners a gd idea? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hi, Kathgirl! I have dabbled in the prayers, but I have been unfortunate to forget to pray them daily, like I should, since I am enrolled in the Brown Scapular.

The first book I bought, Christian Prayer, did not have all the feast days, nor all the prayers as I learned when on retreat with the Carmelite sisters this past summer. I found it incomplete. I decided to splurge, and I found a 4 volume set (that was previously used by a priest!) on eBay for $30 that came with a free leather breviary cover. It is very well worn, but it has all the prayers that I was looking for. I would suggest, that if you are not used to the prayers, or you haven’t prayed them before, to use the online eBreviary or buy the Christian Prayer book, but ultimately, I think it is best if you buy the 4 volume LOTR set. It is a great buy if you can find one as cheap as I did. I know the sets, if they are brand new, usually run for $150, but they have EXCELLENT resale value if you decide that you can’t pray it.

Here is the eBreviary site:
ebreviary.com/

Are you discerning a religious order, or a secular order? God bless you!
 
Dear CarmeliteGirl,
Thank you for yr great advice. I have been on line for quite a while learning about the LOH and all the options as far as price, which volume(s), “how-to” books etc. I am eager to find a bk that is beautiful and complete…ribbons to mark the bk and forth sections wd be nice too. I still have my Missal from 1961 I think and just treasure it!
As far as discerning…I wish to become a contemplative but am so old that I have just about given up the dream. When I visit the websites you all share it really hurts that I missed the opportunity you all have. If only I had led a better, smarter life and made better decisions. You are so blessed and fortunate to have so much to look forward to as consecrated religious.
God bless each of you…you are in my prayers!
 
Kathgirl said:
Dear CarmeliteGirl,
Thank you for yr great advice. I have been on line for quite a while learning about the LOH and all the options as far as price, which volume(s), “how-to” books etc. I am eager to find a bk that is beautiful and complete…ribbons to mark the bk and forth sections wd be nice too. I still have my Missal from 1961 I think and just treasure it!
As far as discerning…I wish to become a contemplative but am so old that I have just about given up the dream. When I visit the websites you all share it really hurts that I missed the opportunity you all have. If only I had led a better, smarter life and made better decisions. You are so blessed and fortunate to have so much to look forward to as consecrated religious.
God bless each of you…you are in my prayers!
Click to expand...
No problem, my sister in Christ! As far as the ribbons, the LOTH have those in them. They come with ribbons to mark. And the how-to books are easy to find. I recommend the St. Joseph guide to the Liturgy of the Hours:

amazon.com/Saint-Joseph-Guide-Liturgy-Hours/dp/0899425917/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232236877&sr=8-3

It’s very easy to read and easy to learn. 🙂

As far as the Liturgy volumes, you can buy them separately, such as the “Weeks 1-17” Volume 3 right now, and buy the others as you go (which someone suggested to me, but I ended up finding the one for $30.

Here is a link to see the Christian Prayer book:

amazon.com/Christian-Prayer-Catholic-Book-Publishing/dp/0899424066/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232236877&sr=8-1

Here is a link for the volume set on Aquinas gifts:

aquinasandmore.com/index.cfm/title/Liturgy-of-the-Hours-Set/FuseAction/store.ItemDetails/SKU/300/

If you buy the 4 volume set there, it’s $145. For each book, if bought separately, it’s $36 a volume ($144 altogether, but you have to pay for shipping for all of them). Here is a link for the Volume 3 I was talking about earlier:

aquinasandmore.com/index.cfm/title/Liturgy-of-the-Hours-III/FuseAction/store.ItemDetails/SKU/294/

If you want to see the others, just hit the blue link above the book listing to see all of them.

As for the religious life, may I ask what your age range is? Have you ever heard of the Visitation order? There are some communities that will take women who have no mental health difficulties, and I would be happy to look them up for you, if you would like. God bless you, Kathgirl.
 
I have and use Christian Prayer. As I understand it, Christian Prayer includes the full prayer for Morning and Evening Prayer, and I think Night Prayer too. It has a shortened Office of Readings and Daytime Prayers. I don’t pray those, so I’m not really sure. 😃 I think it is a good mix between being “complete” and not paying for a ton of stuff I won’t use. It seems that most laity don’t pray everything anyway.

This is the one that I ordered. It is some kind of leathery cover (probably fake) and does include all of the ribbons and such.
 
Hi Kathgirl,

I bought the four volume set, because that has all the prayers and the feast days, and I actually think it’s less confusing than the smaller books (I used to use Shorter Christian Prayer). Buy the books one at a time, and they last for about a quarter of the year depending on which season you are in. After a year, you will have the complete set and it won’t feel like you spent that much!

I also have “Lord Open my Lips” by Seth. H. Murray, which helped me to learn how to pray the Hours correctly. They really aren’t that difficult and are now my favorite devotional prayer!

Also, usually the books come with the St. Joseph’s guide which tells you which prayers are for which days. I used that for the first year but then decided not to buy this year’s because the pages are online here: liturgyofthehours.org/todays-pages/four-volume
 
Hello,

I have been praying the Liturgy of the Hours for almost a year now and I just use the Christian Prayer book. There version I got from a small town book store (because it was all that they had) had a preface with how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

I think the best way to learn, would be to talk to a local priest/sister who prays them. Either way it seems like some really good resources have been given to you.

For me, The Christian prayer book is all I need, for now, because I only have time for morning, evening and night prayer, which I believe are complete in the Christian Prayer book. Anyways, good luck in procuring your book/books and I pray that you are as blessed by the Liturgy of the Hours as I certainly have been.

God Bless.
 
I got a message from Kathgirl earlier stating that she had purchased the 4-Volume set. 👍
 
I am so excited about starting this beautiful lifetime devotion with roots in the very early Church. While I wait for the books to be delivered I am saying the prayers on line. My principal (I am a middle school math teacher) is an SSND and she will help me learn the ropes because it is a little complicated if you want to say all the prayers and follow them perfectly. There will be days when I fall short but my desire is to be faithful and reverent. Waiting for the UPS man…:
Thanks everyone!
Kathgirl
 
I am currently using the the Christian Prayer book. I have managed how to use the book yet but I am following the directions with guys that I am sharing the house with. We pray around 6:30am, 6pm and 9pm. (at noon, each goes to work).

Sometimes, it takes years to see the effect of the wonderful of the LIturgy of the Hours.
 
I have to echo what CarmeliteGirl and Andy said. I have had the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (different from the LOTH, but basically a very similar format), Shorter Christian Prayer, and now the 4 volume. I was super confused, and a friend of mine had showed me the one volume, but had said that it left out some of the prayers as well. Confusing. Skipped putting my money down for the one volume and not getting what I wanted so I got the four volume. I am so glad you got the four volume. It has everything, and it is just so much simpler to follow. Not so confusing at all. I had a couple priests agree that the Office of Readings is what helps them to keep praying the LOTR. I love the Office of Readings, and I agree. I really love Night Prayer as well. I think the four volume is the best, and while it is more expensive, it is a great investment.
 
Hi DaughterofMary,
This 4-Volume set is so beautiful and I look forward to reading the prayers as I go through the day. The St. Joseph Guide was included but it is only for 2009 and you have to order another one for 2010, 2011 etc. I think I wd be lost without the Guide. Each nt I place the ribbons where they belong for the next day so that it is easier to jump rt.in. You are so right about the Office of Readings…What a great investment this has been.
Kathgirl
 
Kathgirl said:
Hi DaughterofMary,
This 4-Volume set is so beautiful and I look forward to reading the prayers as I go through the day. The St. Joseph Guide was included but it is only for 2009 and you have to order another one for 2010, 2011 etc. I think I wd be lost without the Guide. Each nt I place the ribbons where they belong for the next day so that it is easier to jump rt.in. You are so right about the Office of Readings…What a great investment this has been.
Kathgirl
Click to expand...
Buying the St. Joseph Guide for each year is invaluable for beginners, I think. Inexpensive too.

When I lived in Boston, I used to ride the subway to work and prayed the LOH on the way. One day an African-American gentleman noticed that I was praying and asked about the book I was using. I said that it was a collection of Psalms, readings from the scriptures, and prayers for every day of the year. He said that he would have to get himself a copy sometime. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d have to go to a Catholic bookstore to find one! Pretty sure he wasn’t a Catholic from his questions.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top