Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
Without knowing it, I have been praying portions of the Liturgy of the Hours since my late teens. The official prayer of the Roman Catholic Church is known variously as Liturgy of the Hours, Divine Office, Opus Dei (Work of God). Catholic priests, deacons and religious promise to pray this prayer daily for the rest of their lives on behalf of the whole church.
My first encounter with the Divine Office was praying a form of Night Prayer during summer household with an ecumenical group of single women. We chanted Psalm 4 and Psalm 91 and then the Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32) at the end of our day together. The format had been borrowed from a newly formed ecumenical group of men who were committed to live a communal life together.
From the very beginning of our married life Dcn. Dave and I would daily pray together in the morning and at night. Six months into our marriage we made a retreat to the Abbey of the Genesee in New York. There the monks pray the Divine Office seven times each day together. It is their Work of God; it is what they do. A more thorough explanation is given here. Genesee Abbey description of Divine Office
In both the Jewish and Christian traditions, this work of God was the prayer of all the people, clergy and laity. Due to various circumstances however, in the Christian Church it soon became the particular prayer of clergy and monks for many centuries. One of the blessings flowing from the liturgical reforms of Vatican II is the resurgence of the Divine Office among the laity. For our purposes we will refer to this form of prayer as the Work of God since that is the traditional Benedictine term.
According to the Constitutions of our Order: “‘Nothing is to be preferred to the Work of God. Accordingly, the Liturgy of the Hours is to be celebrated by the community which, in union with the Church, fulfills Christ’s priestly function offering to God a sacrifice of praise and making intercession for the salvation of the whole world.” Constitution 19.1.
I thank God that Dave was so moved to lead our family in daily prayer together. When the children started coming our time of prayer evolved to suit the ages of the children. Catechetical instruction happened at dinner with reading from the lives of the saints or Baltimore catechism. The day would always end with Night prayers amid groans and complaints that you would expect. Whenever we had dinner guests Dave would always invite them to join us for Night Prayers. It was such a gem that he just couldn’t keep it to himself.
This pattern continued until Dave entered diaconal formation and we discovered the full Divine Office in 2004. As a future deacon, he committed to praying Morning, Evening, and Night prayer. So, Dave and I began to pray together the Office of Readings (another set of prayers that are not linked to a specific hour of the day) with Morning prayer. He would pray Evening Prayer on his own and we continued to end the day with the whole family praying Night Prayers. As our children became adults some began to pray the Divine Office and asked to pray Evening Prayer together instead of the same two psalms we always chanted for Night Prayers.
The evening that Dave passed away, while we were waiting for the funeral home to remove his body, we gathered around him and prayed Office for the Dead – Evening Prayers. From Psalm 121 “The Lord will guard you from all evil, He will guard your soul. The Lord will guard your going and coming both now and forever.” (Psalm 121) From the reading “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and sin gets is sting from the law. But thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15:55-57). Such words of comfort for us!
With Dave’s passing I found it so difficult to pray the Liturgy of the Hours by myself. It was how we began and ended our days together. When prayed with others there is a back-and-forth call and response. When prayed alone it is read silently. At the end of each of the hours there is a blessing by a priest or deacon. if present. I really miss that daily blessing from my husband. It took me many months to get back to praying the Liturgy of the Hours consistently every day. I would get one or two of them but not the three that I had been doing.
My favorite part is the Office of Readings which has three psalms with antiphons and then a longer Scripture reading, often a whole chapter from the Old Testament and then another reading from the saints or church documents often illuminating the first reading. So rich!! I put sticky notes on those reading that move me. For example:
“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!”
(St. Augustine, Wednesday 8th week in ordinary time)
“Do not have Jesus Christ on your lips and the world in your hearts.”
(St. Ignatius of Antioch, Tuesday 10th week in ordinary time)
“Lord, who can comprehend even one of your words? We lose more than we grasp, like those who drink from a living stream. For God’s word offers different facets according to the capacity of the listener, and the Lord has portrayed his message in many colors, so that whoever gazes upon it can see in it what suits him. Within it he has buried manifold treasures, so that each of us might grow rich in seeing them out.”
(St. Ephrem, Sixth Sunday in ordinary time)
How can you get started praying the Liturgy of the Hours? The easiest way is to download an app on your phone. I have ibreviary on my phone. There are other apps as well. You just download the day or week and select Pray – Liturgy of the Hours then select the hour you wish to pray. The downside is needing to be connected to the internet which is a problem for me when I am up north with a half bar of signal strength.
I usually use the 4-volume Liturgy of the Hours with the Annual guide. The downside is the cost of the books ($150+) and learning how to navigate through the liturgical seasons – much flipping back and forth to different ribbons. Even with instruction it took me over a year to get comfortable with it and I still make mistakes.
I recently subscribed to the Liturgy of the Hours by Word on Fire which is currently $9/month. A book comes every month in the mail that has Morning, Evening and Night Prayers all laid out for each day with the proper feasts and solemnities as prescribed. No hassles with ribbons or flipping to different sections. I like the hymn selections with melodies that offer greater variety than the ones in the 4-volume set. (I have been using those for 15+ years.) The downside – No Office of Readings – Bummer! I often use this book when others are joining me as I can give it to them and it is simple for them to follow along.
Praying as a family was so foundational for us. Persevering through the groans and complaints instilled in our children the value that we held for our faith and for prayer in particular. If you wish to begin praying the Liturgy of the Hours with your family, start small. Begin with Night Prayer before bed. Some families give time for each person to mention what they are thankful for that day. It gives kids a chance to cultivate a sense of gratitude to God for all his many blessings. Give it some time to get familiar with it before adding Morning and Evening prayers. My this “Work of God” bless you as it has us. As Dcn. Dave loved to quote, “Sing the Psalms until they sing in you.”
You Are Loved 