What is the "Divine Office" and the "Liturgy of the Hours"

  • Thread starter Thread starter Image_of_God
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
What is the Divine Office? It is simply a wonderful way to pray. It is the prayer of the Church. Here is a good explanation of it from EWTN that I found.🙂 If you would like to start praying the Office I would recommend this book, which I have.

What I normally pray is the morning and night prayers. I did try the noon prayers but found it too frustrating as there were a lot of times I could not do them because of other things I had to do. I have not tried the evening prayers for the same reason. To start out I would recommend just the morning and night prayers and then go from there if you can or want to.
 
I’ve had the occasion to pray The Liturgy of the Hours with the Fathers of Mercy. It’s quite wonderful. One of the fathers was nice enough to guide me through it the first time (It can be a bit tricky).
 
I first discovered the Liturgy of the Hours while on retreat with Marianists. We read in scripture that we are to pray always. The Liturgy of the Hours is one way that is done by the universal Church as a whole, by recognizing each day that God gives us and the hours within that day. It is the prayer that is prayed within monasteries and religious communities, but it is not limited to the professed. The primary hours are Lauds (morning prayer) and Vespers (evening prayer) which are traditionally prayed at 6am and 6pm. There is also midmorning and afternoon prayer at 9am and 3pm as well as noon prayer and compline, or night prayer at 9pm. The Office consists of psalms, a short scriptural reading and intercessory prayers. Each prayer ends with the Our Father followed by a closing prayer. Within Lauds can be found the prayer Zechariah prayed at the birth of John. At Vespers, we have the Magnificat. Compline at the close of day has the prayer of Simeon at the Presentation and is followed by a Marian prayer like Salve Regina.
I generally pray Lauds and Vespers. I also pray the Office of Readings which is also included within the Divine Office without a specific time attached. With the Office of Readings, I read the scriptural readings listed at the back of my Christian Prayer plus a chapter or section from a devotional book. I just completed Dark Soul of the Night in this manner. I carry a Shorter Christian Prayer in my backpack for times when I may not be home for Vespers. The Christian Prayer that I carry is only one volume and has a 4 week cycle of prayers used for the Liturgy of the Hours. There is also a 4 volume edition.
 
Here’s the Wikipedia article on the LOTH
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy_of_the_hours

Our parish offered a class on how to pray them with one of our parishoners. I was making it so much harder than it was. Now we have a whole bunch of us praying it either together or you see everyone praying it themselves before or after Daily & Sunday Mass. Its wonderful. Most of us have the 4 volume set because we find it so much easier. But the Christian Prayer 1 volume is good.
 
Vatican II Document on Sacred Liturgy says the following about The Divine Office (Ch.IV):
“84. The Divine office, in keeping with ancient Christian tradition is so devised that the whole course of the day and night is made holy by the praise of god…It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father.”
89a) Lauds(Morning Prayer) and Vespers(Evening Prayer) are the “two hinges on which the daily office turns.”
b)Compline marks the close of day.
c) Martins (Office of Readings) may be recited at any time of the day–except in Choir where it retains its nocturnal nature.
e) In Choir, the minor hours of Terce (Midmorning), Sext (Noon), and None (midafternoon) are to be observed. Outside of choir, select any one of the three most suited to the time of day.
“90. The divine office, because it is the public prayer of the Church is a source of piety and a nourishment for personal prayer.”
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top