Rosary vs. Liturgy of the Hours: If one only has time for one, which is better? Which is more powerful or better to be prayed?

[ethereality]

If one is constrained such that one does not have time to pray both the Rosary and the Liturgy of the Hours, what are the criteria determining which should be prayed? Is one definitively superior to the other? Is it a matter of personal preference? Is one more powerful than the other? Is one more encouraged?

Please help me in this matter; I am not certain which prayer is better, or whether one can be said to be better. For example, I have heard that the Liturgy of the Hours is recommended for all the faithful, and is “the common prayer of the Church”. However, I have seen promised rewards for praying the Rosary, and I have not seen any similarly promised rewards for praying the Liturgy of the Hours.

 

[louisak]

When I was a bachelor I used to recite the Office regularly. Now that I am married and I have kids, I don’t have time. I do pray the rosary each day, as far as I can.

The chief drawbacks of the Office are: the expense of buying the books, the amount of space needed to store them, the difficulty of navigating through the various sections (you have to jump from place to place depending on the day of the week, the feast or saint memorial for the day and so on), and finally the amount of time required to recite the various hours. There is a one-volume edition of the Office (the breviary) which makes it somewhat simpler. Still not as easy as saying the rosary though. On the other hand, distractions are less of a problem with the Office, at least that was the case for me.

Originally the Office was only for religious, and the rosary was a substitute for lay people. This was before the invention of the printing press, when books were rare and expensive. Today the division is not so clear-cut. The Office is still difficult for most lay people to recite, but it can be done with some dedication.

 

[Kenny_Kamel]

I don’t think anyone can quantify if either one is “better” than the other, but I myself vastly prefer the Rosary.

 

[triumphguy]

The LOTH is THE prayer of the Church.

The Rosary is a devotion.

 

[Della]

The Liturgy of the Hours is the prayer of the Church, while the Church considers the rosary a private devotion. The promises attached to the rosary are also considered private devotion and is not part of the liturgical prayer life of the Church.

Having said that, the rosary is just fine and quite good for most people who use it for their devotional life. The LOTH, though, follows the seasonal, liturgical life of the Church, including holy days and feasts. The Church is encouraging the faithful to enter into the full liturgical life of the Church by praying at least Morning and Evening Prayer.

Anyone who wishes to pray the LOTH can find it online at these sites: divineoffice.org/ and ebreviary.com/ and for those who prefer a more traditional form: universalis.com/. I believe there are apps, as well, but I don’t have access to them.

 

[coachdennis]

The LOTH is THE prayer of the Church.

The Rosary is a devotion.

On this reply

Asking which one is better is like asking a mother which child she would prefer if she could only have one. The whole question sounds like the type students in a dorm would ask each other in an all night bull session!

 

[odile53]

Since the Liturgy of the Hours is prayed by all sorts of people everywhere in the world at given times of the day, it is an official, corporate prayer of the Church, even if recited privately. You’re still praying “in common.” On the other hand, the rosary is a private devotion. Lay people are encouraged to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the ordained and many religious orders are required to pray it. So a lay person, praying at her breakfast table or on the living room sofa, is praying right along with all those other folks.

Personally, I like the Liturgy of the Hours, and pray that more consistently than the rosary, but then again, most days I pray the rosary as well.

Since I usually just pray from the book Christian Prayer, I usually just pray Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer. Morning Prayer gets prayed (I’m a middle aged working laywoman) when I get up, whether it’s 5 AM on a workday or 8 AM on a day off. Evening Prayer gets prayed anytime between quitting time and 9 PM. Night Prayer gets prayed before I go to bed. What I like about the Liturgy of the Hours is that the psalms, readings, and prayers are varied from day to day. I don’t have a full four volume set of the Liturgy of the Hours, I use the somewhat abbreviated Christian Prayer. Basically, each prayer period takes about ten minutes or so, hardly onerous. Even if you just decide to pick one Hour to pray, it still has the effect of setting the tone for your day (if you decide on the Morning Prayer,) or summing up your day (in the case of Evening Prayer.)

If you want something that is a little less varied, you could try the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary (it’s shorter, but there are still prayers at specific times of the day.) It repeats the same every day.

But to answer your question (I hope,) if you do not belong to a religious order which requires praying the Liturgy of the Hours, there’s no requirement to do it at all. Nor is there a requirement to pray the rosary. If you’re a lay person, it’s strictly personal preference, so there is no criterion for making this decision. You can download an app and see if the LOTH resonates with you, or try the rosary to see if that works better for you.

And don’t be surprised, either, if as your life circumstances change, so do your prayer preferences.

In other words, it’s all good.

 

[Luigi_Daniele]

The LOTH is THE prayer of the Church.

The Rosary is a devotion.

I love the Rosary. Pray it almost every day (rarely missing it). I love our Blessed Mother with my whole poor heart.

Liturgy of the Hours, if I have to choose only one.

I voted the third option (same frequency, which I take to mean LotH twice daily; Rosary once daily)

 

[porthos11]

I would choose the Liturgy of the Hours hands down, even if just for its liturgical character.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Prayer is prayer. Effectiveness depends on you, which one uplifts your soul more.

 

[marian_love]

The LOTH is THE prayer of the Church.

The Rosary is a devotion.

Great explanation.

 

[Rich_C]

The LOTH is THE prayer of the Church.

The Rosary is a devotion.

I used to think this way, but I changed my mind.

Our Lady of Fatima asked the laity to faithfully pray our rosaries every day. She didn’t ask ask us to pray the Office. Other saints urgently recommend praying the rosary. I don’t know of any that recommend praying the Office.

The Holy Sacrifice is certainly supreme, but after that it seems to me a Catholic should pray the rosary.

Of course, if you can do both, even better! I’m grateful that usually I can pray both the rosary and Office. I love them both. But if I have to choose, I choose the rosary.

 

[Luigi_Daniele]

I used to think this way, but I changed my mind.

Our Lady of Fatima asked the laity to faithful pray our rosaries every day. She didn’t ask ask us to pray the Office. Other saints, urgently recommend praying the rosary. I don’t know of any that recommend praying the Office.

The Holy Sacrifice is certainly supreme, but after that it seems to me a Catholic should pray the rosary.

Of course, if you can do both, even better! I’m grateful, though, that usually I can pray both the rosary and Office. I love them both. But if I have to choose, I choose the rosary.

This is brilliantly argued. You’ve changed my mind.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

I used to think this way, but I changed my mind.

Our Lady of Fatima asked the laity to faithfully pray our rosaries every day. She didn’t ask ask us to pray the Office. Other saints urgently recommend praying the rosary. I don’t know of any that recommend praying the Office.

The Holy Sacrifice is certainly supreme, but after that it seems to me a Catholic should pray the rosary.

Of course, if you can do both, even better! I’m grateful that usually I can pray both the rosary and Office. I love them both. But if I have to choose, I choose the rosary.

Still the LOTH is the prayer of the Church, as is the Mass.

The rosary is a private devotion. The message you quote from Fatima is a private revelation. No one is required to believe in any private revelation.

So if there is only time for one I would say “Pray with the Church”.

 

[Della]

I used to think this way, but I changed my mind.

Our Lady of Fatima asked the laity to faithfully pray our rosaries every day. She didn’t ask ask us to pray the Office. Other saints urgently recommend praying the rosary. I don’t know of any that recommend praying the Office.

The Holy Sacrifice is certainly supreme, but after that it seems to me a Catholic should pray the rosary.

Of course, if you can do both, even better! I’m grateful that usually I can pray both the rosary and Office. I love them both. But if I have to choose, I choose the rosary.

We have to remember that until modern times, especially since VII, the Daily Office was not available to most people. Many of the saints you cite lived in times in which most people were illerate. Indeed, the rosary grew from the desire to pray the Daily Office which the religious prayed–in Latin. The rosary began by reciting Hail Mary’s in lieu of reciting the Daily Office for lay people who could not read/write or pray in Latin. There should be no pitting one against the other, but the LOTH is the daily liturgical prayer of the Church. In effect, the rosary is an echo of the daily office, but for those who are able to pray the LOTH it takes precedence.

 

[coachdennis]

Still the LOTH is the prayer of the Church, as is the Mass.

The rosary is a private devotion. The message you quote from Fatima is a private revelation. No one is required to believe in any private revelation.

So if there is only time for one I would say “Pray with the Church”.

Thank you for putting this in perspective and balance.

 

[thewanderer]

Still the LOTH is the prayer of the Church, as is the Mass.

The rosary is a private devotion. The message you quote from Fatima is a private revelation. No one is required to believe in any private revelation.

So if there is only time for one I would say “Pray with the Church”.

This would be my vote as well. (Although I realize that there are people who will find it more beneficial to pray the Rosary). For me it is a combination of the fact that the LOTH is actually the communal prayer of the Church, that one prays with using the Psalms, and that when I took the promises about the Rosary too seriously in the past I only ended up believing in them in a superstitious way. I realize not everyone will find this to be the case, but for me I have a very hard time separating this superstitious attitude towards these promises from a healthy belief, and so when I do pray the Rosary I set the promises aside and do not focus on them at all. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE the Rosary, but if it has to come down to a choice I would definately choose LOTH, despite the promises connected to the Rosary.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

The LOTH is THE prayer of the Church.

The Rosary is a devotion.

I thought THE prayer of the Church was the holy Mass.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

I’d also like to switch my vote from rosary to LOTH but I can’t. Oops.

PS: LOTH is a lot shorter than the rosary at one time imho.

 

[Carlan]

Both will contribute to our growth in Holiness, however the Rosary is more convenient, can be said any time anywhere.
I have a copy of Catholic Prayer which is affordable and easier than the volumes of the LOTH.But then we have such a deep source of spirituality to choose from, it is what makes our Catholic faith so beautiful. Peace, Carlan