In the Early Church it was customary (and remained so for many centuries) to have a Vigil on the night preceding important feasts. This Vigil was divided into three parts, from which we get the first Offices- Vespers, Matins and Lauds. Vespers would begin in the evening, with Lauds ending in the early hours of the morning. Eventually these three divisions would be split apart, with Vespers prayed in the evening, Matins in the early morning and Lauds following Matins. The Office of Matins took the place of Vigil service, and was itself divided into three divisions called Nocturns.
Monks would wake in the early hours of the morning (around 2am) and chant Matins, with Lauds immediately following and ending just after sunrise. The monks would then return to bed. When they awoke again they would chant the Office of Prime to begin the day.
Three daytime Offices were added to correspond to three Nocturns of Matins. The monks would gather mid-morning to sing the Office of Terce, again around noon for Sext, and once more in the mid-afternoon for None.
Monastic communities eventually found it necessary for a final Office to be prayed after the late afternoon or early evening Office of Vespers. So Compline came into being in the evening immediately before bed.
While the times often differ in practice, with various offices being prayed at the same time, here is the regular timetable for the traditional Divine Office, still followed by many monasteries (especially those under the Rule of St. Benedict):
Matins- before sunrise
Lauds- sunrise, after Matins
Prime- 6am
Terce- 9am
Sext- noon
None- 3pm
Vespers- sunset, around 6pm
Compline- around 9pm
The prayers of the Divine Office are contained in the
Brevarium Romanum, the breviary (though other liturgical Rites have their own breviaries, such as the
Brevarium Ambrosianum; the Benedictines, while using the Roman Rite for their Mass, have their own breviary, the
Brevarium Monasticum). Outside of monasteries, secular clergymen were required to pray the Divine Office daily. Parish churches would sometimes have some of the offices (especially Lauds and Vespers) sung publicly. Those who use the entire Divine Office as their personal prayer outside of formal liturgical structures often rearrange the offices and even leave some out to make them more convenient. So the following is common among laity using the Divine Office:
Matins- omitted, except on major feasts
Lauds- 6am or upon waking
Prime- omitted
Terce- omitted
Sext- noon, or before lunch
None- omitted
Vespers- 6pm, or before dinner
Compline- 10pm, or before bed
There is also the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin, which began as a medieval devotion used by the laity. It is meant to be a more simplified of the Divine Office especially suited for the laity. Like the Divine Office it is organized into the eight Offices and prayed in the same manner at the same times.
The Novus Ordo made vast reforms to the Divine Office. Matins was changed into the Office of Readings and can be said at any time during the day, while Prime was abolished. Terce, Sext and None were condensed and known collectively as The Little Hours, only one of these being required for the day. Vespers is more commonly called Evensong today (a term that originates in Anglicanism).
Here are some links to books of the Divine Office and the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin:
The Roman Breviary online
With commentary and rubrics.
**[%between%]("
http://www.angeluspress.org/oscatalog/item/6597/divine-office"Divine Office from Angelus Press[/URL)
This is a condensed version of the breviary for laymen. It contains Prime, Sext and Compline for every day of the week, with Lauds and Vespers for Sundays.
**
Roman Breviary from Preserving Christian Publications**Two-volume set of the 1962 edition of the breviary, in Latin only.
Little Office of the Blessed Virgin from Angelus press
The 1914 edition of the Little Office of Our Lady
Little Office of the Blessed Virgin from Baronius Press
The 1961 edition of the Little Office of Our Lady. Includes the chants of the Offices in traditional notation and meditations.
Baronius Press is currently in the process of publishing the full breviary in English and Latin which should be available sometime this year.**
