I am an oblate of St. Benedict. We are to try to recite the LOH on a regular basis – maybe 1- 2x per day. Personally, it’s sometimes difficult for me to get into this, not so much because of the timing, but because I prefer to recite the Hours in community. For me, it’s just not the same saying it alone. As we know, “liturgy”, by its very definition, is communal prayer. So your dilemma is understandable. The mainstay of my daily prayer life is centering prayer. Our Benedictines say the most important thing is that you pray every day. Although the Hours and lectio are recommended, it’s not mandatory to do it everyday. But you didn’t really ask about the Benedictines, did you? Sorry for the rambling if it’s of no use.

Now here is what might help you. What our sisters suggest when we pose such queries as the one you did above is to just say the daily psalms from the Hours excluding the other parts of the Office such as the hymns, antiphons, etc. It’s shorter and gets to the heart of the matter.

Personally, I’m not a very structured person so I pray at different times per day. I mainly do my centering after lunch (or early evening if I’m at a meeting) and my Hours, spiritual reading, music meditation, etc. in the evening.

Good luck!

dee

This may be of limited interest as its all in Dutch, but our community’s liturgy can be heard live on the internet (seven times a day) at

http://www.katholieknederland.nl/mediapastoraat/getijden/live/index.html

There may also be English speaking monasteries that do this but I don’t know of any for sure.

Also, on the question of the office of readings / Matins / Vigils: you are correct that the reform of the breviary unlinked this from any particular time of day (part of the motivation being that it should rather be done when most of the community were able to be present – and perhaps also awake!). But the monastic communities have generally continued to see it as linked with the night (as part of the whole spirituality of praying at night, keeping vigil and watching for Christ). The Cistercians (at least the Strict observance / Trappists, I’m not so sure about the Common Observance) celebrate it very early in the morning (usually beginning around 3 or 4 a.m.). The Carthusians (and also some other Orders, as noted in the post on enclosed nuns) have it in the middle of the night and then go back to bed. The Benedictines vary and may do either of the above or may also celebrate it not quite so early in the morning but still before Lauds, or else the evening before (around 8 or 9 pm) as a vigil office.

Also, a wonderful book about one person’s experience with the Liturgy of the Hours is Phyllis Tickle’s The Shaping of a Life. She is Anglican, but has great knowledge of the Roman liturgy.

The Islamic Salah (ritual prayers) are 5 times a day and they are (very basically) from Dawn until sunrise; noon to just after noon; mid-day (before sunset); sunset to dusk; before midnight. Quite similar to your tradition. Muhammad is supposed to have said that if someone prays 5 times a day, it is like washing 5 times a day… you will never become dirty.

An American site, thus using the New American Bible and the Grail psalms (as opposed to the Jerusalem Bible translation of the British Universalis) is http://www.ebreviary.com

Fridays,Sundays and major feast days are included on ebreviary.com, but not all the weekdays. Night prayers for every night are posted. This on-line breviary does include the antiphons.

I hadn’t thought about its roots in Judaism, but of course! I’m not as familiar with Islam, but have always been impressed with how they honor the hours of the day.

At Mattins bound, at Prime reviled,
Condemned to death at Terce,
Nailed to the Cross at Sext, at None
His blessed side they pierce:
They take Him down at Vesper-tide,
in grave at Compline lay,
Who thenceforth bids His Church observe
her sevenfold Hours alway.

(from the preface of my breviary)

I have a handy little pocket size breviary with the Lesser Hours that I carry with me. It is simplified, and uses Psalm 119 divided up to be repeated several times in a week, except for Compline which uses the traditional Psalms for that Office. It is only a few dollars, go to http://www.anglicancatholic.ca and click on the Convent Society link, they’ll send a catalog free. Shipping is super fast. The breviary was compiled by our Diocesan Bishop Peter Wilkinson OSG and Fr. Shane Janzen of the ACCC. It suits a working person who has to say the Lesser Hours on the fly so to speak, grabbing a quick ten minutes wherever they can. It also contains miscellaneous prayers for clergy to use in emergencies and if hearing confessions somewhere away from usual.
As Anglos use the BCP for Matins and Evensong the book only has Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Compline, (and a Midnight Hour if you happen to suffer from insomnia ) Plus there are Office Hymns, and hymns to Our Lady, and the Propers of the Seasons. A good resource for the price. 164 pages in a spiral binding a half inch thick, 4″ x 6″.

Praying the Hours gives a whole new perspective to time itself…

Br. Dominic-Michael OHS

Thanks for writting on the liturgy of the hours. One little correction. Matins is the first hour. It comes before dawn and morning prayer.

You might look into its roots in Judaism and the times for prayer in the temple. Also, though few Catholic outside monasteries still pay attention to the hours for prayer, most Muslims do. They pray at work, at school, wherever they are.