The Divine Office

What unites us?

During this time of division – social distancing and lack of Masses – this question has been at the forefront of our minds. But we need only look back to the Church in her infancy to know that this time of separation is indeed a small challenge in the history of our Catholic faith. Those first followers of Jesus sought ways to unify themselves through a bond of prayer – for centuries the Jewish people had stopped throughout the day to pray, to unite themselves to one another and to God. We see this continued in the Acts of the Apostles and onward, and those earliest followers of Jesus began to form a new manner of prayer; thus, the Divine Office, today known as the Liturgy of the Hours, was born.

This prayer is constant. As you read this, somewhere in the world, a Liturgy is happening. Right now. This is a reminder both of the immensity of the world, and of the closeness that God desires for each of us. Whenever you pray, you are united to the whole Body of Christ – together we can pray with and for one another, sanctifying our own lives and the world as a whole.

Whether you are praying the Psalms with your spouse, your whole family, a roommate, or by yourself, St. Benedict wants you to know that you are not alone. There is no such thing as a private recitation of the Office. When we pray, we pray as the whole Church – we, the Church Suffering, together with the angels and saints, with Jesus Christ as our head, are praising the divine presence of God who is always before us.

The Liturgy of the Hours has changed throughout the centuries to suit the needs of the day. This guide offers a broad overview of what the Liturgy of the Hours is, but, really, the best way to learn it is to start praying. If you’ve never prayed this way before, we recommend starting with a recording of Vespers on our Youtube channel: youtube.com/kansasmonks

Further, there are great resources online like Divineoffice.org or the iBreviary app for iPhone or Android that are great resources.

THE HOURS OF PRAYER The Liturgy of the Hours is broken into 5 principle parts; each of these sprinkled throughout the day is an invitation to return to God and rest in him. St. Benedict offered a special phrase for this: Opus Dei – the Work of God. It is in this work that we seek to unite ourselves to the whole Church to offer thanks and praise to him who gives us life. While St. Benedict called his own Rule a “little rule for beginners” we hope that this guide will serve as an even smaller set of suggestions to send you on your way.

Vigils

office of readings

In his Rule, St. Benedict encourages us to sleep clothed with a lamp burning, that we might be ever-prepared to rise and praise God. We begin our day with Vigils with the invitatory “Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise.” In the monastery this is to be our first utterance – keeping ever silent until we can gather together to pray. We enter into this, the longest hour of prayer, with a spirit of hope. We associate this hour with Christ on Holy Thursday, keeping vigil in the garden, meditating on what is to come.

Lauds

morning prayer

With Lauds we enter into a spirit of praise, offering this new day to our Father in Heaven. St. Benedict dedicated two chapters of his Rule on the praying of Lauds, exhorting us to pray Psalm 67, “May the peoples praise you, O God!” and Psalm 51 “Have mercy on me, God... and from my sin cleanse me.” In these prayers we are prepared for the day as we have praised God and begged for his mercy. Unique to this hour is the Benedictus, the prayer of Zechariah after the birth of John the Baptist – that we may act as John did and “go before the Lord to prepare his ways.” (Luke 1:76)

Midday Prayer

terce, sext, none

Midday prayer once occupied three seperate hours, interspersed throughout the day. Today, they are combined into a single Hour, the shortest of the day consisting of three Psalms, a hymn, and a short reading. It is in this prayer that we bring ourselves back to God to combat our acedia. Though it is short, it is a critical reset, to bend our minds, hearts, and wills back to the Father, that we may continue to serve him as we return to our work; for just as St. Benedict writes in the Rule, “We believe the divine presence is everywhere.” (RB 19:1)

Vespers

evening prayer

It starts with a spark, and rises – we begin Vespers singing, “Let my prayer rise like incense before you, O Lord!” In the hymn we meditate on this day of creation and offer our first prayers for protection during the coming night. At the apex of our prayer, the Magnificat is recited that we may echo the fiat of Mary in our lives, “My spirit rejoices in God, my savior... for [he] has done great things for me!” (Luke 1:47,49) Just as Christ instructed “this is how you are to pray” we conclude with the Our Father, a reminder to forgive and ask for forgiveness (RB 13:13).

Compline night prayer Our day comes to a close, and just as our first utterance was a prayer, so, too, do we return to our silence with another hour of prayer: Compline. It is here that we add the Confiteor to our prayer – though we seek to follow our Lord in all that we do, we recognize that we are prone to sin and must ask for his mercy. We conclude with the Canticle of Simeon, “Lord, now let your servant go in peace,” that we may go to our rest in peace, though ever watchful that we will be prepared to rise in the morning and continue to offer him praise.

THE PARTS OF PRAYER Each Hour of prayer has a unique form, some repeating Psalms or prayers each day, and others changing, but you can always expect to find Psalms, a hymn, and a reading. A great resource for this are chapters 8-20 of the Rule of St. Benedict (this is only about 10 pages of text, a quick read). While it is easy to “go with the motions” we encourage you to consider each portion of your prayer as you go through it.

Call to Prayer

The greeting can be the most important part of any conversation – as we engage the Lord we make the Sign of the Cross – it is easy to gloss over this, rendering it the prayer equivalent of tying one’s shoes – but it is a reminder that all we do is in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. “God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.” This call to prayer is itself a call to humility, that we need our God.

Doxology

The word doxology come from the Greek doxa, meaning glory, and logos, meaning the word. Punctuating and sprinkled throughout each of the Hours, we are again reminded to offer praise to the Lord, “Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.” During this portion of prayer we rise to our feet and bow in reverence to the Triune God.

Hymn

It has been said that when you sing you pray twice. Each of the Hours of prayer contains a hymn – these songs are an intersection between the human and the divine: hymns composed and performed by us to render praise and thanksgiving to God. Often, when praying with a breviary, you may not know the melody, in which case, replace the hymn with one you know, or simply recite it.

Psalmody

The psalmody is the heart of the Liturgy of the Hours – the tradition of praying the Psalms goes back millennia. Jesus himself prayed the Psalms and it is clear how much they formed his character – at the peak of his mission on the Cross the Psalms remained on his lips. These ancient prayers contain every emotion and while the words remain the same they can offer us new insights each time we pray them.

Canticle

While some of the Psalms rotate in and out from day to day, the Gospel Canticle remains constant. In the Benedictus and Magnificat, St. Luke’s Gospel perfectly encapsulates Christian prayer, and we echo the words of Mary and Zechariah each day. These prayers of thanksgiving remind us that as we go forth from our prayer, we should remain ever grateful and keep our mind’s gaze on the Lord.

Closing Prayer

At the conclusion of the Office the closing prayer galvinizes us, that we may enter into the next portion of our day with the Lord as our shield and the Gospel as our guide, ever humble that the gift of life flows from our Father in Heaven. The word Amen, just as with the Sign of the Cross, can be easy to speak without thought, but it is our final word as we leave to turn back to God and say, “I believe!”

Marian Hymn

At the heart of every family is the mother; so, too, with the Holy Family, and indeed our whole Church, our mother is the heart: Mary. At the close of Compline we sing the Marian Hymn proper to the ligurgical season; and at St. Benedict’s Abbey we sing these hymns after Vespers as well, asking for our Blessed Mother to intercede for our vocational efforts.

THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER Nothing is easy at the outset, and prayer is no different. While entire books are dedicated to this topic, we hope that these seven P’s for prayer will help you dip your toe into the waters of the Liturgy of the Hours.

Preparation

How you prepare to encounter the Lord in prayer depends on the time of day; each Hour requires a different thought. In the morning, while it’s tempting to roll out of bed and begin, try and take a few moments to gather your thoughts and intentions for the day ahead, and seek to prepare for the other Hours of the day in a similar fashion, just sitting in silence preparing to speak to God. For Compline, try and do a true examination of conscience – remembering to recognize both where you have succeeded during the day, and where you can pray for the Lord to help you imrpove and grow.

Pacing

It can be easy to blaze through prayers, especially when we have them memorized. Often you’ll hear the Our Father recited at a rate on par with that of an auctioneer. As you pray, try and remember that this is the Word of God – what does it mean for you? When you return to a Psalm you may have prayed dozens, hundreds, or eventually thousands of times, try and find a word or phrase that strikes at the moment, or highlights your own, current experience. As you practice this meditation, you’ll hear the Lord speaking to you in new and profound ways in your prayer.

Posture

Our posture says a lot about our intentions and feelings. “Let us stand to sing the psalms in such a way that our minds are in harmony with our voices” (RB 19:7). How you address God is important – as you prepare for prayer consider how you’re sitting (or consider kneeling for a moment). Be sure to stand at the Doxology and bow as you recite, “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.” And stand for other portions of the Hours. (For more on posture, watch Br. Leven’s Talk on the Liturgy of the Hours from the Holy Week Retreat).

Place & Pauses

Praying can be difficult when you are not in a specifically religious setting. If you can, try and dedicate a space in your home to prayer. At left is a photo submitted by a Holy Week retreatant. As we mentioned before, the Liturgy of the Hours is broken up into several parts. In between each part, we are given an opportunity to look back, to take a moment to pause and reflect on what we have just prayed – what is God saying to you? It is in silence we can open ourselves up to God, and silence doesn’t just mean not speaking, but listening as well.

Patience & Perseverance

Let’s be realistic, very little in this world comes easily, and the Liturgy of the Hours is no different. If you feel distracted, that you are having a hard time getting started, or you’re just not in the mood, we have good news: you are normal! The best way to begin to add the Liturgy of the Hours to your life is a little at a time – if you try and do everything at once, you’re more likely to experience burnout. Try beginning by adding Compline each night and part or all of Morning Prayer. As you become comfortable, try adding more. Always remember, when you’re praying, you’re never alone! We remain, ever united, in Christ.