SPLIT: What exactly is the LOTH?

[Semper_Zelare]

I’m very interested in praying the Liturgy of the Hours, but I don’t know what exactly the Liturgy of the Hours is. It seems more complex than any other Catholic prayers I know.

I printed off some Liturgy of the Hours once, and prayed it.

Isn’t the Liturgy of the Hours like different every day? And, every hour of that day is different?

Don’t you need a book of Liturgy of the Hours to pray it? Does that book have different prayers for every day of the year?

 

[mdstanzel]

I’m very interested in praying the Liturgy of the Hours, but I don’t know what exactly the Liturgy of the Hours is. It seems more complex than any other Catholic prayers I know.

I printed off some Liturgy of the Hours once, and prayed it.

Isn’t the Liturgy of the Hours like different every day? And, every hour of that day is different?

Don’t you need a book of Liturgy of the Hours to pray it? Does that book have different prayers for every day of the year?

divineoffice.org/

This is a website that has the Divine Office - Liturgy of the Hours

 

[Jean_Anthony]

aaa

 

[mdstanzel]

Sorry about getting off topic. I just responded to your post.

There are other websites that you might want to check out as well. For example,

universalis.com/
divineoffice.org/

You can also purchase the one book Christian Prayer for a reasonable price. I would recommend buying the book to avoid the embarrassing moment when a not so technologically advanced or overly scrupulous priest confronts you in front of others while your reading the office. That happened to me once. I confronted him about it and he started back peddling over it. My pastor apologized to me for it. But it’s best to avoid it altogether I guess.

 

[Semper_Zelare]

Ok, I checked out both of the websites you cited, but I’m still lost.

So… the LOTH is different for every day? So there’s like 365 different days of prayers in it?

How long has it existed?

Why is it so hard for someone to learn about the Liturgy of the Hours? Was it originally only for monks?

There were some other posts on a thread on here that said that the Divine Office, which… is that the same as the Liturgy of the Hours? Anyways, it said that the Divine Office is a higher form of prayer than a Rosary, because a Rosary is only a devotional. So, what’s the difference?

 

[mdstanzel]

What promted the recent interest?

The LOTH has been developing for well over a millennium. It started out with monks reciting memorized Psalms. Eventually books became more readily available and made it more accessible. The Jews do something similar. When I was in the Army, I carried my breviary around with me everywhere. Rumors in the ranks gosipped that I was Jewish. Later I realized that Jews also pray from books, though different. The rosary is said to be a simplified version of the LOTH for the laity.

So, if you were to recite the LOTH you would find a 4 week cycle with repeated psalms. Further, there are readings from sacred scripture and the saints as wel las official church documents. Further, there are Feast, Solemnities to consider.

If you were to obtain a “Shorter Christian Prayer” book you’d get a very stripped down version of the LOTH. It’s fairly limited but will provide the same 4 week cycle. The LOTH is comprised of the Divine Office, read before morning prayer typically, followed by morning prayer. Then there is a mid morning prayer, an afternoon prayer, and a mid afternoon prayer. By evening, typically aroudn dinner time, there is the Evening Prayer. Right before one goes to bed you would read the Night Prayer integrated with an examination of conscience. Very few monastic orders still perform the midnight, and 3 am hours. But at one time all of them held to it.

Praying the hours is a very spiritual journey that brings one closer to God and his people. I personally love it.

 

[KarenElissa]

So… the LOTH is different for every day? So there’s like 365 different days of prayers in it?

No, it isn’t totally different everyday. The LOTH revolves around a four week Psaltar, so the prayers and psalms are basically different everyday for four weeks and then the cycle starts over. The exception to this is there are also special prayers for the various feast days and holy days.

How long has it existed?

A long time. Here is a site with a short history.

Why is it so hard for someone to learn about the Liturgy of the Hours? Was it originally only for monks?

Yes, it was originally prayed by religious. A lot of that has to do with practical reasons, time and literacy rates. As for how hard it is to learn, it does take a bit of getting used to the flow and pattern, but it really isn’t that difficult. It helps if you have a good guide or a real person to help answer questions. And the thing to remember while you are learning, is that it isn’t like God won’t hear your prayers if they aren’t exactly right, He is perfectly happy with or feeble and confuse attempts.

There were some other posts on a thread on here that said that the Divine Office, which… is that the same as the Liturgy of the Hours?

The Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office, and Breviary are all essentially the same. Sometime you will hear people use one term more for the older version (kind of like the EF vs. OF), but they are pretty much interchangeable.

Anyways, it said that the Divine Office is a higher form of prayer than a Rosary, because a Rosary is only a devotional. So, what’s the difference?

The LOTH is the official prayer of the Church, second only to the Mass. It is what religious pray, what priests and deacons pray, and what many laity pray.

When you hear people say the rosary is “only a devotional” I think they are often reacting to the attitude that ALL Catholics MUST pray the rosary or they aren’t “good” Catholics. If anything, it really should be the other way around since the LOTH is the “official” prayer of the Church.

In real life though, we don’t have time to participate in every devotion out there, so we use what draws us most to God. For many, that is the rosary, for others that is the LOTH, or even something else. I wouldn’t get caught up in which is “better.”

 

[estesbob]

No, it isn’t totally different everyday. The LOTH revolves around a four week Psaltar, so the prayers and psalms are basically different everyday for four weeks and then the cycle starts over. The exception to this is there are also special prayers for the various feast days and holy days.

A long time. Here is a site with a short history.

Yes, it was originally prayed by religious. A lot of that has to do with practical reasons, time and literacy rates. As for how hard it is to learn, it does take a bit of getting used to the flow and pattern, but it really isn’t that difficult. It helps if you have a good guide or a real person to help answer questions. And the thing to remember while you are learning, is that it isn’t like God won’t hear your prayers if they aren’t exactly right, He is perfectly happy with or feeble and confuse attempts.

The Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office, and Breviary are all essentially the same. Sometime you will hear people use one term more for the older version (kind of like the EF vs. OF), but they are pretty much interchangeable.

The LOTH is the official prayer of the Church, second only to the Mass. It is what religious pray, what priests and deacons pray, and what many laity pray.

When you hear people say the rosary is “only a devotional” I think they are often reacting to the attitude that ALL Catholics MUST pray the rosary or they aren’t “good” Catholics. If anything, it really should be the other way around since the LOTH is the “official” prayer of the Church.

In real life though, we don’t have time to participate in every devotion out there, so we use what draws us most to God. For many, that is the rosary, for others that is the LOTH, or even something else. I wouldn’t get caught up in which is “better.”

if you pray the office of the readings, which is the main difference between the liturgy of the hours and Christian prayer, you do indeed have different readings 365 days of the year.

 

[hilde_the_dog]

If you buy the four volume set it comes with instructions. Also there is the Saint Joseph Guide for the Liturgy of the Hours, it can bought from Aquinas and more or Catholic Book publishing for about $2. It will tell you what pages to read from.

 

[nickybr38]

Do you have a smart phone or an iphone?

There is an application called the Divine Office that leads you through the LOTH. You don’t have to worry about what prayer is proper at what day or what time because it basically leads you through it (All you have to do is figure out the difference between Terce, Sext, etc).

Such an application is excellent for us newbs to the LOTH.

I’d highly reccommend you seek the Divine Office app if you have a smartphone/Android phone or iphone.

PS: The app cost me $14, but if I were buying a prayer book the price would probably be about the same and the app is handy because it reads the readings TO me so I can pray while I drive if I get caught in traffic.

 

[Semper_Zelare]

Do you have a smart phone or an iphone?

There is an application called the Divine Office that leads you through the LOTH. You don’t have to worry about what prayer is proper at what day or what time because it basically leads you through it (All you have to do is figure out the difference between Terce, Sext, etc).

Such an application is excellent for us newbs to the LOTH.

UGH.
Well, unfortunately I do not have a smart phone. I still think that if I want to use the internet, that’s what a computer is for. And… often to the detriment of my life being easier.

As for my interest in the LOTH, I would say that my prayer life has been on a gradual increase for a long time now. Some days that I fast on I would like to pray the Liturgy of the Hours for that day. But, it just seems very complicated to me. At present, I’m forced to make sure I have the right day and print it offline. And, after all that work, it’s only good for one day.

Anyways, I’ve heard people give you gifts once you are confirmed. Well, I am in need of a Rosary, a Catholic Bible, and now apparently a Liturgy of the Hours. Since my parents are non-practicing Catholics, and I live in Alabama these things are almost impossible to come by.
And, on this forum, people tell me to be wary of buying these things anywhere other than a specifically Catholic store… so… I have to go without for the moment.

 

[hazcompat]

ewtn.com/library/CURIA/CDWGILH.HTM

peace