Spiritual Life
Praying the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the Hours · Roman Rite — the Divine Office tradition
The public prayer of the Church spread through the hours of the day — psalms, canticles, Scripture readings and intercessions — by which the whole course of the day and night is made holy. Bound on clergy and religious, it is warmly commended to every baptized Catholic.
Instructions
Get the four-volume Liturgy of the Hours, or the one-volume Christian Prayer, or use an approved app or website that follows the current calendar; the texts change daily. Begin with the two hours the Second Vatican Council calls the hinges of the Office: Morning Prayer (Lauds) and Evening Prayer (Vespers). Each hour follows the same shape, so it becomes easy quickly: the introductory verse ("O God, come to my assistance"), a hymn, two psalms and an Old or New Testament canticle with their antiphons, a short Scripture reading and responsory, the Gospel canticle — the Benedictus at Morning Prayer, the Magnificat at Evening Prayer, the Nunc Dimittis at Night Prayer — intercessions, the Our Father, and the concluding prayer. Say the psalms slowly, and aloud when you can; alternate the verses with anyone praying beside you. Add the Office of Readings, Daytime Prayer and Night Prayer as the rhythm settles. Night Prayer (Compline) closes with an examination of conscience and a Marian antiphon such as the Salve Regina or, in Eastertide, the Regina Caeli. On Sundays outside Lent, on solemnities and on feasts, the Te Deum is sung at the Office of Readings.
Background
Sacrosanctum Concilium (nn. 83-101) restored the Office to the rhythm of the true hours, named Lauds and Vespers its two hinges, and urged the laity to pray it, alone or in common, especially with their priests.
Practice kind
Liturgy of the hours
Tradition
Roman Rite — the Divine Office
Duration
About 15 minutes
Frequency
Daily; at minimum Morning and Evening Prayer
Content subtype
liturgy_of_the_hours