The Divine Office aka Liturgy of the Hours aka the Breviary is a collection of daily psalms, prayers, and scripture readings that has been part of the Church's liturgical prayer life almost from it's very beginnings. It is prayed at morning, midday, evening, night, plus one other "floating hour" that can be done at any time. Many people only pray one or two of the liturgical hours each day rather than all five. The two principle hours are Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, and these are what the Church recommends to lay people above all the others. (Don't let the term "hours" scare you. It only takes a few minutes to recite each one.)
The prayers of the Divine Office rotate in a four week cycle throughout the year, with additional variations for the liturgical seasons and/or feast days.
Although long perceived to be the territory of religious and clergy, the Divine Office is strongly recommended by the Church to us lay people.
I have been praying the Divine Office for many years. The purpose of this blog is to encourage and teach people to pray it, and to share some of the spiritual treasures I find in its pages every day.
Do you want to know more about the Divine Office?
Did you buy a breviary but gave up trying to figure out how to use it?
Are you praying the Divine Office but not sure you're doing it right?
Are you finding it difficult and/or interesting to figure out what we should be thinking as we pray each psalm?
Do want a forum to share the thoughts and inspirations that come to you as you pray the Divine Office?
You've come to the right place. Ask questions in any comment box. You don't have to confine yourself to the topic of the post.
The prayers of the Divine Office rotate in a four week cycle throughout the year, with additional variations for the liturgical seasons and/or feast days.
Although long perceived to be the territory of religious and clergy, the Divine Office is strongly recommended by the Church to us lay people.
I have been praying the Divine Office for many years. The purpose of this blog is to encourage and teach people to pray it, and to share some of the spiritual treasures I find in its pages every day.
Do you want to know more about the Divine Office?
Did you buy a breviary but gave up trying to figure out how to use it?
Are you praying the Divine Office but not sure you're doing it right?
Are you finding it difficult and/or interesting to figure out what we should be thinking as we pray each psalm?
Do want a forum to share the thoughts and inspirations that come to you as you pray the Divine Office?
You've come to the right place. Ask questions in any comment box. You don't have to confine yourself to the topic of the post.
I'd like to hear your thoughts regarding LOTH versus other devotional practices, especially the Rosary. As a convert from Protestantism it seems like 99% of what I hear recommended is the rosary. Most of the sources that supported by journey (EWTN,Relevant Radio, blogs) emphasize the rosary. All the old timers at my parish mostly talk about the rosry. However I really feel more of a connection with LOTH. Just this morning I resolved that I was going to force myself to give the rosary a long term trial by skipping Morning Prayer and praying the rosary insead. Then I read the Popes comments on LOTH. Coincidence? I sometimes feel like an oddball because of this.
ReplyDeleteRob, your question and comments are SO good that I want to devote a blog post to it, probably in the next few days. My quick reply is that historically, the rosary developed as a kind of informal, substitute LOTH for the illiterate: it's 150 Hail Marys(the rosary used today is really 1/3 of a full medieval rosary) standing in for the 150 psalms. It's a powerful prayer and a great exercise in meditation. I say the rosary almost daily, and I'd hate to see you give up either the rosary or the LOTH in order to accomodate one of them. I often pray my rosary while I'm driving: consider trying that if you find yourself travelling for at least 15 minutes daily. There's a scriptural rosary CD you can play which give a verse of scripture to go with each Hail Mary. http://www.amazon.com/Mother-Mercy-Scriptural-Rosary-Vinny/dp/1884479367 That being said, the LOTH is liturgy, like the Mass, and as such is a higher form of prayer than the rosary. On the other hand, the LOTH has not been user-friendly for the laity until 1971, so that is why most Catholics are unaware of it.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your blog post about this. My first comments were a real ramble and I still missed a couple of things that I think about. On the one hand I read JP2 writing that the rosary is his favorite prayer and devoting an Apostolic Letter to it. Most Marian apparitions promote the rosary. On the other hand is the Vatican 2 document, the cathechism, and B16's recent comments about the high position the LOTH has. I know that one of the major changes in thinking I've had to overcome from Protestantism is seeing things as both/and instead of either/or. However, I have a limited amount of time, and sometime struggle to squeeze in just one of these forms of prayer.
ReplyDeleteDaria is right....it's not either a rosary or the litury of the hours. For me,its both.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if the color ribbons should be used specifically for certain sections. Or it is purely an individual preference? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThere's no significance to the colors that I've ever heard of. I like to keep them from criss-crossing, so I use the one nearest the front of the book for the proper of seasons, the next one for the Psalter, the next one for night prayer, the next for the feasts, and the last one for the commons.
ReplyDeleteI never have managed to figure out how to the books other than as bookends on my shelf. However, I found a website, Universalis, that provides the whole set of prayers and readings each day. In asmuch as I can open the site and do the readings from the screen each day I use it.
ReplyDeleteBTW. I do the LAUDS following my dailey scripural rosary. They go together nicely. Being retired allows me the time for both. If I were still working, I would have to do the rosary during the morning commute.
Universalis is wonderful, Walt. So is ibreviary, which I keep a widget for here on this site and use on my Kindle. Divineoffice.org is another wonderful online breviary which also offers audio podcasts to the hours. I use all of these quite often. If you ever want to learn to use those bookends, check my How-to page, or just ask any questions you want. Those books come in handy around here when the power is out or when I'm traveling and have not computer access.
DeleteHey there, love the Blog. I've got a quick question to throw your way about praying the hours.
ReplyDeleteAt what time specifically do I pray the different Hours? Are there certain cutoff points where I couldn't pray for example the evening prayer but have to move on to the Night prayer? Or is the placement of the prayers more of a loose guideline like maybe I could pray the evening prayer at 10 pm?
Thanks and God Bless,
Ryan
Glad you like the blog. Your question is one that gets ask ed a lot.
DeleteClergy, who are obliged to say all the hours each day, are permitted, if need be, to pray them at whatever time they can get to them, so that means there is no time at which it is "too late" if you have the obligation. On the other hand, the Church also says that since the point of the LOTH is to sanctify the various hours of day, they should normally be said at the appropriatetness whenever possible. There are not set cutoff times. The sense I get is that you should pick times that fit with your state in life. Traditionally, Evening prayer is done within striking distance of sunset, and/or as the working day draws to a close. So,roughly between 430 and 730. But the General Instruction emphasizes adapting the hours to one's situation in life, especially for lay people. So if you go to bed fairly late, then 10pm may be just right for your evening prayer. And night prayer is supposed to be done close to bed time, so if a person didn't turn in until the small hours of the morning,they would still say night prayer. I have one reader that works a night shift and says night prayer at 8 in the morning. In conclusion,this is a "both/and" situation. It makes sense to stick to the appropriate times of day since the prayers often reference dawn, sunset, etc. But there is no precise cutoff, and adaptation to one's needs is encouraged.
Thank you very much :) I won't feel guilty praying a few prayers back to back if I run late then :P.
DeleteAlso, don't feel guilt if you are very tired or very busy and just need to skip it now and then!
DeleteHehe, will do :) thanks.
DeleteThanks for this site, Daria. I am currently using the abbreviated Magnificat version of morning prayer and night. I am going to get the downloadable version.
ReplyDeleteI like your blog.
Blessings,
Sharon
Welcome to Coffee&Canticles! Magnificat is a great way to enter in to praying the psalms, however, the psalms they choose are not always from the correct office of the day (I'm not sure why that is.) If you want to pray the psalms that are in harmony with the whole church each day, I urge you to try a real breviary. There are several good online ones, so it's not hard to do. Feel free to ask any questions here if anything about the breviary doesn't make sense to you.
ReplyDeletelovely work Daria, just came across the site through Dr. Ferrier :)
ReplyDeleteWanted to share a couple of resources for anyone who is interested in making a move to Latin eventually - Vatican Radio has beautiful (free) podcasts for every day's morning, evening, and night prayer: http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/on_demand.asp?gr=ltg
and Baronius Press is just now accepting advance orders for their new Latin/English Breviary set: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2012/03/review-roman-breviary-in-english-and.html
Again, great blog, God's blessing on your efforts!
Hi Anne,
DeleteMeant to reply to you sooner, then got distracted. Those are two entirely different ways to move into Latin: Vatican Radio podcasts are the current version of the Liturgy of the Hours, but I believe Barionius Press is the pre-Vatican II breviary. Either of which, I suppose, is exciting to those who are good at Latin. And that ain't me,sweetheart, not by a longshot.
hi i want to know what to pray during EUCHARISTIC ADORATION! PLS WRITE DOWN. THANK YOU!
ReplyDeleteAdoration is your own private time with Jesus. You may use any prayers that you wish, such as the rosary, meditating on a passage of the Bible, or simply speaking to the Lord from your heart. In fact, you do not have to pray with words at all. Simply rest in God's presence.
DeleteThere is a good book that makes many suggestions on how to spend adoraton time. It's called 21 Ways to Worship by Vinny Flynn. The publisher is Ignatius Press.
HELP! Can anyone provide me with the ribbon placements for the single edition of the LOTH for April 5-8, 2013?
ReplyDeleteI will be out of town, no internet access.
If you can help, thanks. okjabc@gmail.com
Okay, I'm back. Friday, 4/5: go to page 446 for Friday in the octave of Easter. It will tell you to go to Easter Sunday, p. 427 for the psalms and antiphons, then come back to 446 for the rest. Evening Prayer instructions on p. 447.
DeleteContinue on Saturday, 4/6, on page 449.Sunday, p 451, etc.
For Monday and the rest of the following week, use Monday of week II in the psalter for the psalms, then turn back to p. 457 for the reading onward.
This pattern will hold for the entire Easter season. You'll use the psalter each day for the psalms, then turn to the front of the book (proper of seaosns) for everything else.
Good luck.
Hi! Just saw this today. Will get back to you later tonight with your answers.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteAs a "coming back" Catholic, may I recommend that should people find themselves intimidated to take on the LOTH, they may want to start with the "Little Office" dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It's a wonderful tool and is constructed for the active lay members in the church to continue to truly honor "the church, our mother." It contains instructions and both the major and minor with the theme focused on Our Blessed Virgin Mary.
The actual title is: The Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which may be found wherever religious books are sold.
- Peace!
That's certainly a good option for beginners.For those who spend lots of their day online or are attached to a mobile device, ibreviary.com has the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the regular Liturgy of the Hours.
DeleteHas anyone experimented with online or local groups for recitation of LOTH? I am a home worker with a lot of flexibility and am lucky enough to have a nearby parish where Morning Prayer is recited by a few people before Mass every weekday - but how about the other hours? I have seen Rosary groups via Skype but never LOTH groups. No monasteries nearby, sadly. Glad to hear of any experiences.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good question/topic. I'll bring it up in my next weekly Q&A post.
DeleteThank you, look forward to reading more!
DeleteHere in Chicago, Daytime Prayer and Evening Prayer are recited in Holy Name Cathedral before the 12:10pm and 5:15pm Masses respectively, Monday through Friday. The Evening Prayer group is quite large sometimes. They're led by two leaders, one standing on each side of the front pews. The psalms are said alternating sides, strophe by strophe. They use (and provide copies to borrow) Christian Prayer published by the Daughters of St. Paul.
ReplyDeleteThe Canons Regular of St. John Cantius chant the LotH publicly in church daily at St. John Cantius Parish:
http://cantius.org/
Copies of Shorter Christian Prayer (published by Catholic Book Publishing) are provided for borrowing.
I keep hearing lots of good things about that order and that parish in particular. You belong to one of the best parishes in the country, judging by all the great things one sees about them on the internet.
DeleteIn the interest of full disclosure, I should say I'm a member of the Church of the Ascension (Episcopal/Anglo-Catholic) in Chicago, where our LotH (Daily Morning and Evening Prayer from our Book of Common Prayer) are prayed in the church every day (M-F 6:40 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Sat 9:40 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Sun 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.). I'm the leader on Wednesday evenings. But I do admire St. John Cantius, have visited there several times for Sunday Vespers, and have chanted with their schola in an Extraordinary Form Requiem for a friend's mother. My parish is at http://www.ascensionchicago.org and St. John Cantius is at http://www.cantius.org.
Delete