Liturgy Of The Hours

[Lisa]

Hi all! So, I've been doing Morning and Evening prayer at our parish with the Dominican priests. On Wednesday night, we also pray night prayer after our 9 p.m. Mass. However, I have been wanting to start praying Night Prayer each night (and I'm not usually there that late). So I bought Christian Prayer!!!!! (I just didn't have the money for the 4-volume- someday, though!)

Soooooo excited!

If you are discerning, praying the Liturgy of the Hours is one of the best things you can do, in my opinion. You are connecting yourself with the whole Church!

What's your favorite?Let's get talking about how to keep focused, what manner of praying the Office is most profound to you, etc.

Edited May 1, 2011 by Lisa

[LaPetiteSoeur]

Compline is by far my favorite.

I have a [i]really [/i]old breviary that I got from a church book sorting. It's from 1962, so it is Latin on one side and English on the other. And the wordings different from the current version. Anyway, there's a phrase "Grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end" that resonates with my soul every time. I love those psalms in Compline and the Canticle of Simon at the end!

Another great thing about the LIturgy of the Hours is that it's repetative, but the psalms are always different, at least mostly day to day.

At most diocesan retreats for vocations, the directors say the Breviary is one of the best things to pray. It's the weapon of the Mother Church!

[Lisa]

[quote name='LaPetiteSoeur' timestamp='1304259646' post='2235308']
Compline is by far my favorite.

I have a [i]really [/i]old breviary that I got from a church book sorting. It's from 1962, so it is Latin on one side and English on the other. And the wordings different from the current version. Anyway, there's a phrase "Grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end" that resonates with my soul every time. I love those psalms in Compline and the Canticle of Simon at the end!

Another great thing about the LIturgy of the Hours is that it's repetative, but the psalms are always different, at least mostly day to day.

At most diocesan retreats for vocations, the directors say the Breviary is one of the best things to pray. It's the weapon of the Mother Church!


[/quote]

I love the Canticle of Simeon. And Compline's my favorite too! But, I love the Magnificat, so evening prayer is right up there! And it's amazing to learn new psalms

[TeresaBenedicta]

Unfortunately, as of late, I've fallen out of the habit... but I generally (and will once more!) pray Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer. When I was at school I would often pray it with others, but now it's pretty much just me.

I just love the psalms. I love praying with the Church.

My s/d once chastised me for my laziness after I had decided to pray the hours, he said that there were many people who desired to pray the hours but couldn't (those imprisoned for their faith, etc)-- if nothing else, I should pray them on their behalf.

[HopefulBride]

I usually pray Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Evening and Night prayer. My favorite is Office of Readings, I think it is because the readings include letters/sermons from the church fathers and I find that so..... I feel like I am connected to them in a special way.

Of course I loe the psalms and simeon's canticle is just about my favorite.

[JenDeMaria]

I pray the whole thing. The Liturgy of the Hours was part of my conversion process -- at a point when I was really being pushed by the Holy Spirit to look at the Church and I was still dragging my feet, I ran across an altered version of the Liturgy of the Hours redone for a community of very non-mainstream Anglican women. It was my very first contact with the breathtaking beauty of Liturgy and it made me say "Wait! If the Catholic Church can produce something THIS beautiful what else am I missing?!! And what does the REAL thing look like?" When I finally decided that I needed to join the Church I started looking around for my own copy of "the real thing" (because I had no idea what it really was or what it was called). After a few days of googling, I was so overwhelmed by all the options I had... Christian Prayer, Shorter Christian Prayer, 4 Volume LOTH, preconciliar breviary... I wound up praying the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary for 2 years.

But our new priest started bringing in readings from Matins and talking about the breviary off and on and I found myself really desiring to be able to pray the Office of Readings. When I realized that, given my indisputable attraction to the Carmelites, I will eventually find myself in a situation where I will be required to pray the LOTH in one fashion or another, I decided that I might as well start now.

I offer up all the readings for the whole day for a specific intention for our priests. On Saturday, for instance, I pray that Holy Spirit will help our priests prepare for Sunday Mass. I believe that having a specific intention really really helps me be consistent in prayer.

I can't pick a favorite hour. They are all amesome. If we sang Ave Maris Stella at Evening Prayer, though, I would probably pick that hour. I love reciting the Magnificat, too.

The best thing about the LOTH, though, is that if you're consistent, it almost works like a kind of spiritual day-planner. When you're immersed in the daily cycle of prayers, you always know where you are in the liturgical calendar, you're constantly impressed by the sacred Catholic sense of time... that noon is the hour when our Lord was nailed to the cross, that it was at the 3 o'clock hour that he died, that at Evening Prayer we remember him laid in the tomb and that our whole life is a preperation for our final death and rebirth into Heaven... I stick my additional prayers into my breviary at the hours that I want to pray them, along with notes from my morning and evening meditation and my tithing envelopes and my reminder for the First Saturday of the month, etc.

I'd say that, very easily, immersion in the formal prayers of the Church is one of the top 5 things I have done to improve my spiritual life in a dramatic and immediate way.

Edited May 1, 2011 by JenDeMaria

[OnlySunshine]

I find it difficult to pray the LOTH by myself because my mind wanders.

I do love the Compline because of the Salve Regina that is traditionally sung at the end by Dominican orders. My favorite prayers or hymns within the LOTH are the Canticle of Mary (Magnificat) and the Canticle of Zechariah. I've prayed it several times with Sisters and also when I go on the retreat at the end of the year with my YA group.

[Lisa]

[quote name='MaterMisericordiae' timestamp='1304278157' post='2235406']
I find it difficult to pray the LOTH by myself because my mind wanders.

I do love the Compline because of the Salve Regina that is traditionally sung at the end by Dominican orders. My favorite prayers or hymns within the LOTH are the Canticle of Mary (Magnificat) and the Canticle of Zechariah. I've prayed it several times with Sisters and also when I go on the retreat at the end of the year with my YA group.
[/quote]


I have actually found that trying to chant it when I'm praying by myself helps. As I try to make the words rythmic, I focus more on the prayers themselves- it's much better than when I just read through it outloud, and much better than just reading silently (I never can focus when I try to pray it silently- which basically just turns into reading). . Since I am by myself, I know that only the Lord is hearing my not-so-nunlike voice


the Salve Regina

[cmaD2006]

I'm the one person with the other . When I pray the liturgy of the hours I pray usually by myself in SPANISH. I have as well at times prayed it with others, again IN SPANISH. The one problem that I've had praying in spanish is that there are two versions of the l.o.t.h, one published by spain and one by Mexico. The wording is slightly different, so if you brought a version of the l.o.t.h. from spain and someone else has the mexican version, it makes praying in community interesting.

I did enjoy chanting the l.o.t.h -- I just don't have all of the chant tones. Wished I did (then I'd chant the psalm during Mass whenever I'm the musician).

[tnavarro61]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' timestamp='1304264153' post='2235325']


My s/d once chastised me for my laziness after I had decided to pray the hours, he said that there were many people who desired to pray the hours but couldn't (those imprisoned for their faith, etc)-- if nothing else, I should pray them on their behalf.
[/quote]

will always keep this in my mind.

[Sister Marie]

I love Compline best because our sisters always say Psalm 91 at the end of night prayer before the Salve Regina for protection. It is such a special custom to me and I am glad we have continued to do it. We pray compline privately most of the time because of our various ministries, but when we do pray it together it is beautiful to sing the salve together. I usually pray it at night before I go to bed in my room and it makes my room a special place of prayer before I go to sleep. It is here that I am most able to gather my feelings and desires, experiences and dreams from the day before I retire. The other special part of compline is including a short examen of the day. It is in our Rule to examine our consciences daily and Compline is a great time to do so. It all fits together perfectly.

[AccountDeleted]

I think it depends on a lot of factors, especially the community that one is with (or whether alone). I use the Divine Office 3 volume set (UK version). I also used to have a 4 volume LOH when I was in the States but I found it difficult to chant to it because it lacks the chant marks that the UK version has, plus I prefer the UK translation of the Psalms. The Grail Psalter is good too, but I don't own a copy of it. I do have a Latin/English Breviary but it doesn't have all the Hours in it, so I use it more for the reference to learn the Latin words, and its translation is slightly different again from the UK Breviary.

I love every Hour for its own unique beauty and find the whole combination together to be just perfect. I chant Lauds (MP)which has the Benedictus and when this is sung beautifully, it is amazing. The Little Hours during the day I usually recite, although I sing the hymns. Vespers (EP) is another one that is beautiful to chant, and of course, the Magnificat makes it very special. In Carmel, we used to sing the Salve either before or after Vespers (depending on the community) on Saturdays, and not as a night anthem to Mary (we used other ones for that). Readings (Matins) prepares one for the next day (we used to do it the day before) and Compline was the sweetest, closing to the day, offering honour to Mary at the end and then the Asperges to bless us all before sleep.

I love Daniel's canticle on Sunday week 1 Laud's if it is sung and I have many other favourites as well. I love the repetition and the liturgical cycles. I love that the Office is the prayer of the whole Church. I love the night hymn (113 in the UK Breviary) that reminds us that

[i]"The sun that bids us rest is waking,
Our brethren 'neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high."

[/i]It reminds me that there is always someone, somewhere in the world, praising the Lord through the Divine Office.

I prefer to chant with a community, but there is also a specialness about being alone with God while reciting or chanting His praises. I don't know the Office in Latin (apart from a few hymns) but would love to learn more. I do love the English version though and feel it is definitely an act of prayer. We are very blessed in the Church to have this great work of prayer for all of us to share.

[MargaretTeresa]

I want to learn how to pray them!

Me no understand....

Pax and God bless.

[Shana]

[quote name='MargaretTeresa' timestamp='1304370721' post='2235948']
I want to learn how to pray them!

Me no understand....

Pax and God bless.
[/quote]

I know what you mean, when I first tried I gave up because I was so confused. I'm catching on now...being friends with a consecrated virgin helps because I can learn from example and ask her questions when I get confused. I really think that the Liturgy of the Hours is best learned through praying it with others who know what they are doing. Now I wish I knew how to chant and sing a lot of the songs which are unfamiliar to me...I'm thinking if I were praying with others it would be easier to catch on.

[AccountDeleted]

Before I learned how to pray the Office (I bought the set and then was too confused by it to use it! ) I had The Shorter Christian Prayer. I think, if you want to learn the Office, this is a good place to start. As I recall, it has Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer and Night Prayer only - and is a simplified version of the Office. It gets you into the habit of praying it, and you learn the structure, which is basically...

For Lauds and Vespers

Intro
Hymn (according to the season)
Antiphon 1, Psalm, Glory Be, Antiphon
Antiphon 2, Psalm, Glory Be, Antiphon
Antiphon 3, Psalm, Glory Be, Antiphon
Scripture
Short Responsory
Benedictus/Magnificat Antiphon followed by Ben/Mag followed by Antiphon again
Intercessions
Our Father
Concluding Prayer
Closing Prayer

As I recall, the US LOH also has some short prayers between Psalms? The UK doesn't have these.

This is the basic structure, but the content changes every day with repetitions of course, and over the course of four weeks, all of the Psalms (except the curse ones) are covered. Some of the content changes according to the day - if it is a Memoria or a Feast or a Solemnity. For example, today is the Feast of the Apostles, St Philip and St James, so a lot of it is taken from the Common of Apostles, and what isn't, is taken from the Proper of Saints. I did find it hard at the beginning, but it is like anything that is worth learning, make the effort and reap the rewards. The Office is just so rich and the rhythm and cycle of the liturgical year has a beauty all its own. It definitely brings one closer to God.