A devotional office rather than the Church's official public prayer. The first mention of it comes from the eleventh century, from the Camaldolese abbey of Fonte Avellana, and it was later taken up by monastic communities, by third orders and by lay confraternities, who bound themselves to recite it daily. The Liturgy of the Hours remains the public prayer of the Church; the Little Office is a devotion that imitates its shape, and the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy commends such offices while asking that they lead the faithful towards the liturgy itself.

Obtain an approved edition — the psalms, antiphons and hymns are fixed and short, and most editions print the whole office in one small volume. Pray the hours through the day as your state of life allows: Matins and Lauds in the morning, the little hours at their times, Vespers in the evening and Compline before sleep. If the whole office is too much, begin with Lauds and Vespers alone and add the others as the habit settles. Beginners should not treat it as a substitute for the Liturgy of the Hours, but as a devotion that trains the ear for it.

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