Liturgy of the Hours

The daily prayer of the Church

The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office or the Work of God (Opus Dei), is the daily prayer of the Church, marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer.  The Hours are a meditative dialogue on the mystery of Christ, using scripture and prayer.  At times the dialogue is between the Church or individual soul and God; at times it is a dialogue among the members of the Church; and at times it is even between the Church and the world.  The Divine Office “is truly the voice of the Bride herself addressed to her Bridegroom. It is the very prayer which Christ himself together with his Body addresses to the Father.” (SC 84)  The dialogue is always held, however, in the presence of God and using the words and wisdom of God.  Each of the five canonical Hours includes selections from the Psalms that culminate in a scriptural proclamation.  The two most important or hinge Hours are Morning and Evening Prayer. These each include a Gospel canticle:  the Canticle of Zechariah from Luke 1:68-79 for Morning Prayer (known as the Benedictus), and the Canticle of Mary from Luke 1:46-55 for Evening Prayer (known as the Magnificat). The Gospel canticle acts as a kind of meditative extension of the scriptural proclamation in light of the Christ event.  Morning and Evening Prayer also include intercessions that flow from the scriptural proclamation just as the Psalms prepare for it.

In the Hours, the royal priesthood of the baptized is exercised, and this sacrifice of praise is thus connected to the sacrifice of the Eucharist, both preparing for and flowing from the Mass.

“The hymns and litanies of the Liturgy of the Hours integrate the prayer of the psalms into the age of the Church, expressing the symbolism of the time of day, the liturgical season, or the feast being celebrated. Moreover, the reading from the Word of God at each Hour (with the subsequent responses or troparia) and readings from the Fathers and spiritual masters at certain Hours, reveal more deeply the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, assist in understanding the psalms, and prepare for silent prayer.” (CCC 1177)

The five Hours of the Divine Office are:

Office of Readings

“The office of readings seeks to provide God’s people, and in particular those consecrated to God in a special way, with a wider selection of passages from sacred Scripture for meditation, together with the finest excerpts from spiritual writers. Even though the cycle of scriptural readings at daily Mass is now richer, the treasures of revelation and tradition to be found in the office of readings will also contribute greatly to the spiritual life” (General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours [GILH], no. 55).

Morning Prayer

“As is clear from many of the elements that make it up, morning prayer is intended and arranged to sanctify the morning. St. Basil the Great gives an excellent description of this character in these words: “It is said in the morning in order that the first stirrings of our mind and will may be consecrated to God and that we may take nothing in hand until we have been gladdened by the thought of God, as it is written: ‘I was mindful of God and was glad’ (Ps 77:4 [Jerome’s translation from Hebrew]), or set our bodies to any task before we do what has been said: ‘I will pray to you, Lord, you will hear my voice in the morning; I will stand before you in the morning and gaze on you’ (Ps 5:4-5).”

“Celebrated as it is as the light of a new day is dawning, this hour also recalls the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the true light enlightening all people (see Jn 1:9) and “the sun of justice” (Mal 4:2), “rising from on high” (Lk 1:78). Hence, we can well understand the advice of St. Cyprian: “There should be prayer in the morning so that the resurrection of the Lord may thus be celebrated” (GILH, no. 38).

Daytime Prayer

(can be prayed at Midmorning, Midday, or Midafternoon)

“Following a very ancient tradition Christians have made a practice of praying out of private devotion at various times of the day, even in the course of their work, in imitation of the Church in apostolic times. In different ways with the passage of time this tradition has taken the form of a liturgical celebration.

“Liturgical custom in both East and West has retained midmorning, midday, and midafternoon prayer, mainly because these hours were linked to a commemoration of the events of the Lord’s passion and of the first preaching of the Gospel” (GILH, no. 74-75).

Evening Prayer

“When evening approaches and the day is already far spent, evening prayer is celebrated in order that ‘we may give thanks for what has been given us, or what we have done well, during the day.’ We also recall the redemption through the prayer we send up ‘like incense in the Lord’s sight,’ and in which ‘the raising up of our hands’ becomes ‘an evening sacrifice’ (see Ps 141:2). This sacrifice ‘may also be interpreted more spiritually as the true evening sacrifice that our Savior the Lord entrusted to the apostles at supper on the evening when he instituted the sacred mysteries of the Church or of the evening sacrifice of the next day, the sacrifice, that is, which, raising his hands, he offered to the Father at the end of the ages for the salvation of the whole world.’ Again, in order to fix our hope on the light that knows no setting, ‘we pray and make petition for the light to come down on us anew; we implore the coming of Christ who will bring the grace of eternal light.’ Finally, at this hour we join with the Churches of the East in calling upon the ‘joy-giving light of that holy glory, born of the immortal, heavenly Father, the holy and blessed Jesus Christ; now that we have come to the setting of the sun and have seen the evening star, we sing in praise of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…'” (GILH, no. 39).

Night Prayer

“Night prayer is the last prayer of the day, said before retiring, even if that is after midnight” (GILH, no. 84).The Psalms that are chosen for Night Prayer are full of confidence in the Lord.

_________________________________________________________

Evening Prayer (Vespers)

Evening Prayer (also called Vespers) is part of the Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office. In the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church fulfills Jesus’ command to “pray always” (Luke 18:1; see also 1 Thessalonians 5:17). Through this prayer, the people of God sanctify the day by continual praise of God and prayers of intercession for the needs of the world.

The Liturgy of the Hours includes several specified times of prayer. The most important times, called the “hinge hours,” are Morning Prayer (which takes place upon rising) and Evening Prayer (which takes place as dusk begins to fall). The other hours are the Office of Readings (a service with a biblical reading and a reading from the Fathers or Church writers or a reading related to a saint which may take place at any time of day), a Daytime Prayer (which may take place at Midmorning, Midday, or Midafternoon), and Night Prayer (said before going to sleep).

Bishops, priests, deacons, and many men and women in consecrated life pray the Liturgy of the Hours each day. Their work is organized around this prayer, keeping God always at the center of their days. Lay people are encouraged to pray the Liturgy of the Hours as well, especially Morning and Evening Prayer. Many parishes in the United States schedule communal Morning and Evening Prayer on a regular basis.

Evening Prayer gives thanks for the day just past and makes an evening sacrifice of praise to God (see Psalm 141:1).

The structure of Evening Prayer is as follows:

Introductory Verse

The Prayer begins with the Sign of the Cross, a request for God’s assistance, and a doxology of praise.

Hymn 

The introduction is followed by a hymn suited to the season or event.

Psalmody 

Singing or recitation of Psalms follows the hymn. At Evening Prayer, the psalmody consists of two psalms (or two parts of a longer psalm) and a canticle (or hymn) taken from the Epistles or the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. The Psalms are an important part of the Church’s prayer. In praying the Psalms, the Church follows Jesus’ example since he, too, prayed the Psalms (see, for example, Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 which quote Psalm 22 or Luke 23:46 which quotes Psalm 31). The New Testament canticles come from the earliest days of the Church.

Each Psalm is preceded by an antiphon. The antiphon calls attention to the spiritual meaning of the Psalm, particularly any meaning especially appropriate to the feast or season. When the Psalms are chanted, the antiphon gives the tone (or melody) for the singing.

Each Psalm is followed by a brief period of silent reflection. It may be followed by a short prayer highlighting important themes of the Psalm.

Scripture Reading

The Psalmody is followed by a reading from Sacred Scripture (the Bible). This reading may be followed by a period of silence or a brief reflection.

Responsory

A short responsory is sung or recited. This responsory highlights themes of the reading or the season and concludes with a doxology of praise.

Gospel Canticle 

At Evening Prayer, those assembled sing or recite the Canticle of Mary, also called the Magnificat after the first word in the Latin text of this prayer. This canticle comes from Luke 1:46-55. Mary sang this song upon meeting her kinswoman Elizabeth, a meeting that took place shortly after Mary assented to God’s plan that she bear his Son, Jesus. This Canticle is treated with the reverence given to the reading of the Gospel at Mass. It is introduced with an antiphon and the Sign of the Cross and it concludes with a doxology of praise and the repeating of the antiphon. At celebrations of particular solemnity, it make be accompanied by incense.

Intercessions 

In the Intercessions, those assembled pray for the needs of the Church and the world. These Intercessions often include a prayer for those who have died.

Lord’s Prayer 

The Intercessions conclude with the Lord’s Prayer (also called the “Our Father” or the ” Pater Noster“). Jesus taught this prayer to his disciples when they asked how to pray (cf. Mt 6:9-13, Lk 11:2-4). In this prayer, the people join their voices to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom and to ask God to provide for our needs, forgive our sins, and bring us to the joy of heaven. Each day the Our Father is prayed by the Church at Morning Prayer, at Evening Prayer, and at Mass.

Concluding Prayer 

The celebrant then offers a final prayer of praise and intercession to God. This prayer is appropriate to the Church season.

Dismissal

Unless a layperson is presiding, the celebrant blesses the people and dismisses them from the celebration, inviting them to “Go in peace.” When a layperson presides, those present ask the blessing of God and are dismissed as usual.