When The Laity Pray The Divine Office...

[Innocent]

I had always been under the assumption that a layperson praying the LotH alone in his room would be also taking part int he liturgical action of the whole Church that prays. This assumption was based on the following paragraph in the [url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdwgilh.htm"][b][i]GILH[/i][/b]:[/url]


[quote]
108. Those who pray the psalms in the liturgy of the hours do so not so much in their own name as in the name of the entire Body of Christ. This consideration does away with the problem of a possible discrepancy between personal feelings and the sentiments a psalm is expressing: for example, when a person feels sad and the psalm is one of joy or when a person feels happy and the psalm is one of mourning. Such a problem is readily solved in private prayer, which allows for the choice of a psalm suited to personal feelings. The divine office, however, is not private; the cycle of psalms is public, in the name of the Church, even for those who may be reciting an hour alone. Those who pray the psalms in the name of the Church nevertheless can always find a reason for joy or sadness, for the saying of the Apostle applies in this case also: "Rejoice with the joyful and weep with those who weep" (Rom 12:15). In this way human frailty, wounded by self-love, is healed in proportion to the love that makes the heart match the voice that prays the psalms. [3][/quote]


But today I noticed a blog post on the WDTPRS blog of Fr. Zuhlsdorf which indicates that it is not completely clear whether a layperson praying the LotH would be taking part in the liturgical action of the entire Church or not.

[url="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/06/quaeritur-do-laypeople-pray-liturgically-when-praying-the-office/"]QUAERITUR: Do laypeople pray “liturgically” when praying the office?[/url]

Even after a very active com-box discussion, no conclusion seems to have been reached on the blog.

Does anyone here have any insights on this matter?

[LouisvilleFan]

The closing of the office includes an option for a blessing if lead by an ordained minister, and if not we pray for God's blessing. Are religious brothers praying the divine office not participating in the liturgical life of the church?

Not sure that it matters all that much... it's obviously a liturgical prayer. Perhaps in the formal sense of liturgy (as the life of the Church) it must be celebrated or witnessed by an ordained minister. There is far more profit in praying the Hours with devotion than in knowing whether or not it's a liturgical action.

[Innocent]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' date='24 June 2010 - 10:30 PM' timestamp='1277395214' post='2133625']
There is far more profit in praying the Hours with devotion than in knowing whether or not it's a liturgical action.
[/quote]

Granted, but it would be nice to know, all the same. (While I would not be disappointed and would still continue praying the LotH even if it were concluded that a layperson praying alone would not be participating in liturgical action, I would certainly be happy if it were concluded that a layperson praying alone is also participating in the liturgy.)

Also if you ever are in a situation when you have an opportunity to talk to someone else who expresses interest in the LotH and asks you to explain to him what you know about it and why it appeals to you, they might want to know the liturgical status of the prayer.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Innocent

[LouisvilleFan]

[quote name='Innocent' date='24 June 2010 - 01:24 PM' timestamp='1277396669' post='2133634']
Granted, but it would be nice to know, all the same. (While I would not be disappointed and would still continue praying the LotH even if it were concluded that a layperson praying alone would not be participating in liturgical action, I would certainly be happy if it were concluded that a layperson praying alone is also participating in the liturgy.)

Also if you ever are in a situation when you have an opportunity to talk to someone else who expresses interest in the LotH and asks you to explain to him what you know about it and why it appeals to you, they might want to know the liturgical status of the prayer.
[/quote]

Agreed that the "status" as a formal liturgical action shouldn't affect our practice. Getting of bed in the morning is a liturgical action, but not of the Church; making a nightly examen is a liturgical spiritual practice, but it's like holy water to Confession, being more sacramental in nature. So I think it all depends on what you mean by "liturgical action" and just how loosely or strictly you are defining the term. At one end, the only liturgical action that ever occured is the Crucifixion, and at the other end, all actions by members of the Body of Christ are liturgical.

[abrideofChrist]

It is my understanding that the laity participate in the Liturgy when saying the Liturgy of the Hours in the same manner in which they participate at Holy Mass. Ordained men and those in the consecrated state and members of secular institutes/societies of apostolic life pray officially in the name of the Church and hence can "officially" lead the Liturgy of the Hours whereas lay persons can pray the LOTH together, but no one officially leads in the "name" of the Church.

[Innocent]

[quote name='LouisvilleFan' date='25 June 2010 - 07:05 AM' timestamp='1277426124' post='2133833']
Agreed that the "status" as a formal liturgical action shouldn't affect our practice. Getting of bed in the morning is a liturgical action, but not of the Church; making a nightly examen is a liturgical spiritual practice, but it's like holy water to Confession, being more sacramental in nature. So I think it all depends on what you mean by "liturgical action" and just how loosely or strictly you are defining the term. At one end, the only liturgical action that ever occured is the Crucifixion, and at the other end, all actions by members of the Body of Christ are liturgical.
[/quote]

Good point about the sanctification of ordinary life. (St. Josemaria Escriva is one of my favourite saints, by the way.)

Edited June 25, 2010 by Innocent

[Innocent]

[quote name='abrideofChrist' date='25 June 2010 - 07:15 AM' timestamp='1277426714' post='2133838']
It is my understanding that the laity participate in the Liturgy when saying the Liturgy of the Hours in the same manner in which they participate at Holy Mass. Ordained men and those in the consecrated state and members of secular institutes/societies of apostolic life pray officially in the name of the Church and hence can "officially" lead the Liturgy of the Hours whereas lay persons can pray the LOTH together, but no one officially leads in the "name" of the Church.
[/quote]

Thanks for the answer. What you said makes sense, but what I'd like to know is whether there is a concept of "assisting at the LotH" similar to assisting at Mass, and if so, does a layperson praying the LotH alone in his or her room "assist at the LotH?"

[LouisvilleFan]

I feel like if no real conclusion could be reached after lengthy discussion at a blog like WDTPRS, there may not be a definite answer. I would accept the GILH. It's more authoritative than any of our speculation

By the way, if you have a copy of Sheen's "The Priest is Not His Own" handy, the last two sections of the 8th chapter, "The Breviary is Weighted" and "Aids to the Breviary" are good reading.

Edited June 25, 2010 by LouisvilleFan

[Guest kmcphx]

[quote name='Innocent' date='24 June 2010 - 05:46 AM' timestamp='1277379979' post='2133589']
I had always been under the assumption that a layperson praying the LotH alone in his room would be also taking part int he liturgical action of the whole Church that prays. This assumption was based on the following paragraph in the [url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/curia/cdwgilh.htm"][b][i]GILH[/i][/b]:[/url]





But today I noticed a blog post on the WDTPRS blog of Fr. Zuhlsdorf which indicates that it is not completely clear whether a layperson praying the LotH would be taking part in the liturgical action of the entire Church or not.

[url="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/06/quaeritur-do-laypeople-pray-liturgically-when-praying-the-office/"]QUAERITUR: Do laypeople pray “liturgically” when praying the office?[/url]

Even after a very active com-box discussion, no conclusion seems to have been reached on the blog.

Does anyone here have any insights on this matter?
[/quote]

[Guest kmcphx]

There are many lay people who are charged to pray the Liturgy of the Hours who, due to their vocation, must pray the Hours alone. This would include diocesan priests, members of the lay or "third" orders or oblates, as well as religious men and women who live alone even though they belong to communities who normally would pray the Hours communally. There is no doubt in my mind that all of these are equally participating in this beautify of the Church. That being said, I personally prefer to pray the hours with other people. When I left the order I had been in, what I missed most was the communal celebration of the Hours.

[MithLuin]

I agree that saying the Hours as a community is preferable to saying it alone. For one thing, I can't chant worth anything, and I feel silly speaking aloud in an empty room, so I end up more muttering/saying it quietly to myself...very unsatisfying.

Now, that does not mean when I say it alone that I'm...saying it alone. I am participating along with all the rest of the Church who is saying the Hours that day, so it's very much a communal activity. Kinda like how we unite ourselves with the sacrifice of the mass throughout the world, not just in our little parish.

I would say that of course it's the liturgy of the hours (hence, liturgy) and of course we're all participating in it if we say it. Whether or not there's a liturgical role of some sort involved...well, I never really thought about that. I guess it's a lot like a lay person being a reader at Mass. There are, of course, blessing reserved for when a priest recites the Hours, but that aside...it's pretty much the same for everyone, right?

My dad's a deacon, so of course he has to say the liturgy of the hours. My mom makes the effort to say it with him, so they say it together rather than him just saying it alone. My sister is a member of a religious community, so if she comes home to visit (she's merely a postulant at the moment), she says her Hours each day, same as the community, unless she is given some special dispensation from the novice mistress while traveling. While she'd rather say them with her community, of course, she very much considers her prayers to be united with theirs even if she is saying them on her own.