Liturgy of the Hours?

[Number 81]

What are they? It's like a prayer said at certain times in the day, right? How do I do it?

 

[Servus Iesu]

What are they? It's like a prayer said at certain times in the day, right? How do I do it?

You have hours of the day where you pray, primarily psalms, but also chapters from the New Testament, together with collects and petitions, etc. The hours are lauds (when you rise), prime (6:00 or 7:00), terce(9:00), sext (12:00), none(3:00), vespers(6:00), compline (7:00), and matins (traditionally some time in the middle of the night).

I purchased a monastic diurnal which contains all of the hours, save matins, with Latin and English. My advice to you is to purchase a booklet if you seriously want to pray the hours.

 

[Number 81]

I'm thinking about it, the only problem is that I am in school during 9 and 12 o'clock. Could I say the terce and sext at an earlier/later time?

 

[Servus Iesu]

I'm thinking about it, the only problem is that I am in school during 9 and 12 o'clock. Could I say the terce and sext at an earlier/later time?

You can do whatever you want to! You are not a religious so you have no obligation to pray every hour just because you bought the booklet.

Lately I haven't been saying most of the hours because of work. At a minimum I say compline every night before I go to bed. And I really believe it has helped me to sleep. I gave compline hymn to a friend of mine who has suffered for a long time with nightmares, and she told me that it has helped her a lot. So praying even one or part of one hour has benefits.

My further advice to you is to go to a Catholic bookstore and look through a selection of offices or diurnals. I'm not really an expert on such things, so I got guidance from one of my fellow parishioners (who owns such a store).

This is what I got http://www.promultis.com/missals.php
The fifth one down. You might not care about having a traditional calendar one with Latin, so maybe you'll want something else though.

 

[Virgil the Roman]

what are matins?

 

[FullyMT]

During Lent we (meaning University Ministry) prayed Morning Prayer at 10 AM and Evening prayer at 5 PM (Morning and Evening for most students). I recommend starting with just those hours, as they are the "easiest" to pray. I also suggest praying it with a group of people (it is meant to be prayed with a community), talk to your priest!

 

[TAquinas]

Here are two sites:

Liturgy of the Hours

Breviary

The second one is meatier, using the 1962 callendar. It also will take time to navigate until you understand how the Breviary works concerning feasts, ordinary time and so on. But it does break up the day into all the hours whereas the first site is morning, evening and nite prayers.

Just follow the rubrics and you should be fine and click on the ordo for the days feasts etc. It also has the lessons on it for the day (usually writings or sermons of the church fathers concerning the days readings). It also contains excellent biographies of the days saint.

The first site is easier for beginers.

Hope it helps.

Peace and God Bless
TAquinas

 

[Servus Iesu]

what are matins?

I don't know what they consist in exactly. What I know is that traditionally monks would get up in the middle of the night to pray Matins.

I was reading one of the Psalms, and there was a phrase about praising God in the middle of the night, and I though that the practice must have developed out of that. I also read a homily of St. John Chrysostom in which he exhorted people to get up in the middle of the night and pray. It isn't something I do regularly myself, but I try to pray sometimes if I naturally wake up in the night.

Another thing about the hours, my friend told me that they correspond to the events in Our Lord's Passion. Matins I believe is the arrest in the garden. I'm not entirely sure, but I think that sext is the crucifixion, none is the death of Our Lord, Vespers is the taking down of his body, and Compline is his being laid in the tomb. Maybe someone here knows better than I do and can correct me.

 

[TAquinas]

I don't know what they consist in exactly. What I know is that traditionally monks would get up in the middle of the night to pray Matins.

I was reading one of the Psalms, and there was a phrase about praising God in the middle of the night, and I though that the practice must have developed out of that. I also read a homily of St. John Chrysostom in which he exhorted people to get up in the middle of the night and pray. It isn't something I do regularly myself, but I try to pray sometimes if I naturally wake up in the night.

Another thing about the hours, my friend told me that they correspond to the events in Our Lord's Passion. Matins I believe is the arrest in the garden. I'm not entirely sure, but I think that sext is the crucifixion, none is the death of Our Lord, Vespers is the taking down of his body, and Compline is his being laid in the tomb. Maybe someone here knows better than I do and can correct me.

Acts 16:25 About midnight, while Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God as the prisoners listened,

Peace and God Bless
TAquinas

 

[a_ntv]

what are matins?

Matin is the prayer said by monks about at 4 am, till about the 6 am when monks have Mass


Usually lay people that like this kind of pray, say only the lauds (when you rise), and the vespers(6:00 pm).

There are books with only these two 'hours' and very easier to use (and shorter and by far cheaper) that the complete books for clergy or monks.

These two hours (lauds and vesper) can be prayed also by people who go to school or to work.

Each of them is about 20-30 minutes (that are not few). In fact we shall read the psalms and the prayers very slow, to allow us to pray God with our mind.
I can say that these written prayers simply help us to be concentrated in Christ and to give us same good hints for the personal prayer.

So dont hurry. It is better only a laud of 20 minutes before to go out from house than the complete cycle of all the eight hours, but said only one day or said quickly and without personal involment.

 

[Mysterium_Fidei]

I try to pray the Little Office of Our Lady each day, which is somewhat of an obscure shortened version of the Liturgy of the Hours. It is mainly used by particular religious communities, such as the Carmelites. Traditionally, those enrolled in the Brown Scapular were obligated to pray the Little Office daily.

I believe one enrolled in the Brown Scapular is now allowed to substitute the Rosary, some psalms, or another devotion in place of the Little Office.

Priests are obligated to say the Liturgy of the Hours, I think.

 

[Buzzcut]

What are they? It's like a prayer said at certain times in the day, right? How do I do it?

Usually laypeople just do Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer. (This is using the new terminology. The traditional names for these hours were Lauds and Vespers I think.)

The Little Office of the BVM is the easiest format to understand, as it's just a 7-day cycle.

The next easiest is the book Shorter Christian Prayer, which uses a 4-week cycle plus different formats for solemnities and major feasts.

Then there is Christian Prayer in 1 volume and the full Liturgy of the Hours in 4 volumes. Both are fuller, but therefore more complex.

 

[Carrye]

At a minimum I say compline every night before I go to bed. And I really believe it has helped me to sleep. I gave compline hymn to a friend of mine who has suffered for a long time with nightmares, and she told me that it has helped her a lot.

I have found that as well.

"Protect us Lord as we stay awake, watch over us as we sleep, that awake we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep rest in His peace."

 

[AnnieG]

I have a one-volume breviary (meant for women religious) in Polish. It has all the current hours of the four-week cycle for every liturgical time, the feasts and the introduction. It is as easy to use as a (somehow) complete breviary can be. It is different from the (officially) complete four-volume version in so far that it doesn't have the readings for the Hour of Readings (now prayed instead of Matins) and less repititions. But it is printed on good quality ("Bible style") paper in two colors (black and red) and has a nice picture of David playing a string instrument on it.
The only major problem with it is that the price is too high for many people in Poland.

 

[Brother_Justin]

I pray the hours when the school year is around.


Also for the brown scapular we are obligated to say atleast 3 Hail Marys daily. I do a full Rosary usually but 3 is the minimum .


Brother Justin <M><

 

[Servus Iesu]

I have found that as well.

"Protect us Lord as we stay awake, watch over us as we sleep, that awake we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep rest in His peace."

This is the version of Compline Hymn (Te Lucis) I use:
Before the closing of the day
Creator of the World we pray
that we Thy wonted favor thou
wouldst be our guard and keeper now

From evil dreams defend our eyes
From nightly fears and fantasies,
tread under foot Thy ghostly foe,
that no pollution we might know

O Father that we ask be done
Through Jesus Christ thine only Son
Who with the Holy Ghost and Thee
Shall live and Reign eternally, Amen

 

[pax]

The Liturgy of the Hours went through a lot of reforms (along with the other liturgies of the Church) after the Second Vatican Council. The current breviary has 7 hours. The Office of Readings consists of a hymn, 3 psalms (or three parts of a long psalm), a reading from the Bible and a reading from a saint or other religious text. Morning Prayer and Evening prayer both consist of 2 psalms (or 2 parts of a larger psalm) and a canticle (a prayer from another part of the Bible). They also have readings, responsories, and intercessions. The Canticle of Mary and Canticle of Zechariah are recited at MP and EP respectively.

There are 3 daytime offices, but most people only pray one...psalms and readings...it's relatively short. Night prayer also consists of 1-2 psalms, a reading, the Canticle of Simeon and ends with an antiphon to Our Lady.

The LOH is a great way to add a rhythm to your prayer life and become more familiar with the Bible, especially psalms. It's also a liturgy of the Church that's designed to sanctify time. It's the song of the bride to the bridegroom. It can be dry sometimes, but there's a lot of good in it.

I wouldn't recommend the old breviary since it is much more complicated (and primarily in latin even though there are some english translations). The normative one is much more user-friendly and what most people pray today. The website mentioned above, www.breviary.net is not in communion with the Church and is run by sedevacantists...so I wouldn't really recommend that one.

I would talk to a priest about it...Christian Prayer is probably a good place to start. It has MP, EP, and NP for the entire year with selections from DP and OOR. It's a great resource and much cheaper than the 4 volume that has the complete Office of Readings.

The books are kind of complicated, but there are aids and you'll get the hang of it after awhile.

God bless

 

[Virgil the Roman]

Matin is the prayer said by monks about at 4 am, till about the 6 am when monks have Mass


Usually lay people that like this kind of pray, say only the lauds (when you rise), and the vespers(6:00 pm).

There are books with only these two 'hours' and very easier to use (and shorter and by far cheaper) that the complete books for clergy or monks.

These two hours (lauds and vesper) can be prayed also by people who go to school or to work.

Each of them is about 20-30 minutes (that are not few). In fact we shall read the psalms and the prayers very slow, to allow us to pray God with our mind.
I can say that these written prayers simply help us to be concentrated in Christ and to give us same good hints for the personal prayer.

So dont hurry. It is better only a laud of 20 minutes before to go out from house than the complete cycle of all the eight hours, but said only one day or said quickly and without personal involment.

thanks for replying to me! I'll have to check a Catholic bookstore, by me to see if they carry a book with the vespers and Lauds for the Lay folk.

 

[Virgil the Roman]

Also, would anyone happen to know a where a good place would be to buy a scapular? I think, that I might want to get one. Any replies to this post would be greatly appreciated!

 

[lionroar0]

thanks for replying to me! I'll have to check a Catholic bookstore, by me to see if they carry a book with the vespers and Lauds for the Lay folk.

Just an FYI. The cover may say something along the lines of: The Shorter Christian Prayer or the Shorter Form of the Christian prayer.

Peace