![]() Then they become part of your subconscious, and that aids your private, more spontaneous devotions, as well." "The Church teaches that liturgical prayer is a higher level of prayer than private, spontaneous prayer - and repeating the psalms over the course of weeks and months is a painless way to memorize them. "It's an extension of the Mass, a way to celebrate the paschal mystery throughout each day," Hepler said. They found it an ideal way to pray together as husband and wife. ![]() So a time of renewed participation in the Divine Office seems to be at hand - and not a moment too soon.įormer Methodist minister Wayne Hepler and his wife, Patti, began saying Evening Prayer shortly after their conversion, and then added the morning and daytime hours to their routine. Witness, for example, the success of Magnificat, the popular monthly journal of liturgical prayer. Then, too, while many people are attracted to the liturgical hours in theory, they aren't always willing to invest in a breviary ($30-$40) that they may never figure out how to properly use.ĭespite the challenges, increasing numbers are indeed turning back to this ancient prayer today. The instructions are incomplete and seem to assume that one will learn the details by observing and imitating others. There are reasons why the Liturgy of the Hours retreated to monsteries and friaries.įor one, despite having been streamlined by the Second Vatican Council, the breviary - the book of structured prayers and readings that, together, make up the daily Divine Office - is difficult to learn to navigate on one's own. Over the course of the second Christian millennium, the liturgical hours moved from the public sphere into the domain of the clergy and religious orders. Up through the Middle Ages, laymen would regularly gather at the nearest church or monastery to participate in Lauds, Vespers and Compline (now called Morning, Evening and Night Prayer). ![]() This collection of psalms, Bible readings and prayers, keyed to liturgical seasons and feasts, has been around in various forms since the earliest days of the Church. The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office. He expressed the hope that it be promoted as "the prayer of the whole people of God."Īnd this hope echoes that of the Second Vatican Council, which more than three decades ago simplified it, largely to make it more accessible to the laity. In his 1998 apostolic letter Dies Domini, he asked that it especially be done on Sunday evening in parishes and homes. He has spoken about it during many of his Wednesday audiences since March 2002. Pope John Paul II has a suggestion to enrich the prayer life of the laity. This article first appeared in the August 8-14, 2004 edition of National Catholic Register. ![]() Simply Divine Office The Liturgy of the Hours makes a comeback ![]()
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