Why are the Daily Hours so Complex?

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First century Christians continued the public prayer patterns of the Israelites, praying at the temple multiple times a day. As Christianity separated itself, its own traditions developed.

The Didache recommended praying the Lord’s Prayer three times daily. Within a century or two, this blossomed into seven times a day, and incorporated the Psalms and then hymns, etc.

My question is this: the Daily Office today appears to be quite an elaborate undertaking with multiple books to refer to, with different schedules based on the time of year, the season, etc. Why has this specific tradition grown so complex? Why not just stick to the Lord’s Prayer? Why not just read from the bible seven or eight times a day?
 
I got a four-volume set of books of the ‘hours’ at a very good discounted price (about $100 off) and I have not cracked it.

Obviously a cleric cannot know what the daily readings would be from memory, so he would have to consult one of those guides and be very handy in understanding it.

I think it’s so complex to vary the daily readings.
 
isaachunter said:
My question is this: the Daily Office today appears to be quite an elaborate undertaking with multiple books to refer to, with different schedules based on the time of year, the season, etc.
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To alleviate boredom was a major reason. The Liturgy of the Hours was developed in monastic communities where monks prayed together eight hours a day or more, eight times a day, day after day after day after day…

It gets old PDQ, and variety and intellectual stimulation were necessary to avoid going bonkers.
 
Good morning! I was given my one volume book of Christian Prayer by my sponsor when I entered the church 9 years ago. I will confess, it was very challenging to navigate.

At some point during this Lent, and I asked God to send someone to me to help me understand how to pray the LOH. He sent me washi tape! I went through my book and taped the sections out, watched a few YouTube videos and now I better understand what I am doing.

I have incorporated morning and compline prayers to my routine, and am beginning to add evening prayers. It has been a beautiful change in my life.
 
Thanks everyone for your responses. There seems to be a theme in the answers - that the complexity arose predominately to stave off boredom from the repetition.

My follow up question, then, would be: what is the overall purpose of the Daily Hours? Is it a religious ritual to give followers something to do, is there ascribed to the practice a mystical property unattainable otherwise? “Nnbricco,” how has it changed your life? Could you provide specific examples (or anyone else for that matter)?

I can see from the passages of Matthew 4:4, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” Psalms 119:164, “Seven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments” and Paul’s admonition to, “pray without ceasing” in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, a pattern of authority to establish the ritual of praying seven times daily. Of these began the tradition of first reciting the Lord’s Prayer. Then later was added the Psalms. But, I’m curious if there is any specific record of the rationale for adding more, which has grown into the complexity we see today.

Can anyone recommend a history of the Daily Hours which chronicles it’s development in detail?
 
This is a good thread topic. I would like to understand better how the Hours in all their complexity became the public prayer of the Church. I do not object to them being so or mind that they are complex, but they do seem really oriented to monastic life and not so much for everyone else, particularly in the days when one didn’t have handy phone apps and would have to tote books around in daily active life.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
one didn’t have handy phone apps and would have to tote books around in daily active life.
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My impression is that laity weren’t encouraged to pray the LotH before V2, and that it was cut down quite a bit to allow even priests to pray it. It used to go through the psalter in a week.

I was given the impression that for those reasons priests may have been expected to pray it, but didn’t always due to other duties. Hence reform.

OP mentions the practice growing out of praying the Our Father. I doubt that. As far as I know the practice grew directly out of Jewish practices. Even in the NT there’s examples of the Apostles praying early in the morning (a sort of proto-matins). Christians didn’t do away with and then later redevelope praying with the Psalms. They just always did. In much the same way as we didn’t “make up” having a Liturgy of the Word. That’s an ancient Jewish custom that was adopted into a Christian setting.

So I think the intended audience of the LotH has fluctuated over time, but it’s always been a part of the Church in one form or another. It’s becoming more popular now because the Bishops at V2 wanted it too. I personally find it a beautiful way to pray consistently and be in tune with the life of the Church and her saints.

Edit: this is mostly legalize, but it is the V2 document which concerns the office starting with chapter 4: Sacrosanctum Concilium
 
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If you don’t know already, Catholic Book Publishing Corp. publishes a relatively inexpensive guide every year that makes navigating Christian Prayer, the one-volume Liturgy of the Hours, a little easier by providing “clear, accurate references for each day of the year.” 2019 guide
 
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I have tried to pray a shorter version of the Liturgy of the Hours, known as Christian Prayer.

There’s an even shorter version called Shorter Christian Prayer.

The easiest way to pray the Liturgy of the Hours is to use the iBreviary app, which you can download to your iPad or iPhone. It downloads all the prayers of the day as well as other prayers on the liturgical calendar. The app can be set for silent mode, or you can set the app to pray with you. Unless you are a priest or religious, you are not required to say every hour. You might start with the evening prayer.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
This is a good thread topic. I would like to understand better how the Hours in all their complexity became the public prayer of the Church. I do not object to them being so or mind that they are complex, but they do seem really oriented to monastic life and not so much for everyone else, particularly in the days when one didn’t have handy phone apps and would have to tote books around in daily active life.
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The Liturgy of the Hours is loosely based on Synagogue worship (not the Temple)

If you ever attend a Reform Synagogue on a Saturday where they do a lot of the prayers in English, you will pick up on the fact that the Liturgy of the Hours closely resembles what is done in the Synagogues today.
 
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“Nnbricco,” how has it changed your life? Could you provide specific examples?

Starting my day with the hours has been very calming; I can focus on God throughout the day easier. It keeps me rooted, “like a tree planted by running waters.”

A couple of things have changed:
  1. I am calmer. Now, I wasn’t a mad crazy woman before, but there is a deepness to my being that I have not felt before. I can sit still during mass and adoration now. Before, I would twitch and move constantly. Stressors don’t bother me as much, and I can react to them in a manner that brings me closer to God.
  2. My prayers keep me focused on God all day.
  3. I sleep better, because saying my compline prayers give me peace.
I pray the Morning and compline prayers daily. I am beginning to do the evening prayer. During adoration, I will do the office of readings. And at times, I will do the noon prayers.

My husband is discerning to be a. Deacon, and the Divine Office will be a part of his day. He bought the 4 volume set. We will sometime pray together, me with my single volume and he with his 4-volumes, and this brings us even closer in our day.

Between the Liturgy of the hours and daily mass, there has been a significant change in my perspective.

Btw, I am not sure that “alleviating boredom” had anything to do with why the hours jump around.
 
isaachunter said:
First century Christians continued the public prayer patterns of the Israelites, praying at the temple multiple times a day. As Christianity separated itself, its own traditions developed.

The Didache recommended praying the Lord’s Prayer three times daily. Within a century or two, this blossomed into seven times a day, and incorporated the Psalms and then hymns, etc.

My question is this: the Daily Office today appears to be quite an elaborate undertaking with multiple books to refer to, with different schedules based on the time of year, the season, etc. Why has this specific tradition grown so complex? Why not just stick to the Lord’s Prayer? Why not just read from the bible seven or eight times a day?
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No it’s not complex. Sure you have to learn some liturgical principles but it’s not complex. No more than the Mass is complex.

Because if I have coin of gold (the Lord’s Prayer), would I just keep holding on to that when I have a whole chest of treasure for the taking (the rest of Scripture, especially the Psalms)?
 
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I don’t find it complex now. I use my guide as someone mentioned earlier. But when I took washi tape and separated out my sections, I.e., the Proper Of Seasons, the proper of commons, the Proper Of Saints, my hymns, my Office Of Readings, etc., and located my canticles and marked the edges of those pages with tape, I now understand better how to navigate through the prayers.
I will admit, it was a challenge in the beginning to understand flipping from page to page. But a short, earnest prayer to God made it all fall into pace for me.
 
If you want simple, that’s what the Rosary is for.

Instead of praying the 150 Psalms (the root and heart of the Office/liturgy of the hours), lay people would often just pray 150 Our Fathers. From that sprung Mary’s Psalter: 150 Hail Mary’s. And from that the modern Rosary.
 
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I did not realize the Jewish community did this. Very interesting. Thanks again to everyone for all the responses. The Encyclopedia article was a big help.
 
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