liturgy of the hours

1. Breviary prayer
in the tradition
of the Church

2. Liturgy of the Hours: Why,
History, Development

3. Breviary
The Liturgy of the
Hours Latin: Liturgia Horarum)
or Divine Office (Latin: Officium
Divinum) or Opus Dei ("Work of
God") are the canonical hours, often
also referred to as the breviary, of
the Latin church.
 The Liturgy of the Hours forms the
official set of prayers "marking the
hours of each day and sanctifying
the day with prayer.“

4. The term "Liturgy of the Hours" has
been retroactively applied to the
practices of saying the canonical
hours in both the Christian East and
West and –particularly within the Latin
Liturgical rites – prior to the Second
Vatican Council and is the official
term for the canonical hours
promulgated for usage by the Latin
Church in 1971.
Before 1971, the official form for
the Latin Church was the Roman
Breviary, first published in 1568 with
major editions through 1962.

5. The Liturgy of the Hours,
like many other forms of
the canonical hours,
consists primarily
of psalms supplemented
by hymns, readings, and
antiphons and other
prayers and prayed
at fixed prayer times.

6. prayer
Together with the Mass, it
constitutes the public prayer of
the Church. Christians of both
western and Eastern traditions
(including the Latin Catholic,
Eastern Catholic Eastern
Orthodox, Oriental
Orthodox, Assyrian, Lutheran,
Anglican, and some other
Protestant churches) celebrate
the canonical hours in various
forms and under various
names.

7.  The five liturgical traditions of the 23 Eastern
Catholic Churches, comprising
the Alexandrian Rite, the Armenian Rite,
the Byzantine Rite, the East Syriac Rite, and
the West Syriac Rite, are shared with
other Eastern Christian churches.
 Consequently, the Catholic Church consists
of six liturgical rites, including the
aforementioned five liturgical traditions of
the Eastern Catholic Churches along with
the Latin liturgical rites of the Latin Church.

8. Eastern Catholic Churches
regularly allow
the ordination
of married men to
the priesthood(although not
to the episcopacy), a
different approach
to clerical celibacy than the
Latin Church takes.

9. The Liturgy of the Hours is a prayer
that is intimately tied to time and
seasons.
The Liturgy of the Hours is a daily
prayer, prayed in the morning, at
midday, at evening, before bed, and in
some places, in the middle of the
night.
We find this rhythm of time and
seasons expressed in the psalms used
for prayer.

10. Time today is complicated. We have
technology that allows us to have
light when it’s dark and to make it
dark when it is light outside.
The Liturgy of the Hours takes us
out of “clock” time and invites us to
enter into the eternal time of God.
Through prayer, we mark that all
time is holy, all time is of God

11. Let’sembarkonsome
timetravelandseewhat
dailyprayerlookedlike
forChristians
throughoutthe
centuries
 FIRST CENTURY.
 Jewish prayer was centered in the
temple, the synagogue, and the home.
 Until the time of the Temple’s
destruction in the year 70, morning
and evening sacrifices were conducted
there.
 In the synagogue there are four public
services on at least three days of the
week— the Sabbath and the market
days of Monday and Thursday.

12. In Jewish homes we
find that there is prayer
at the beginning and
the end of each day and
some private moments
of prayer three times
during the day.

13. While we don’t know
exactly what Christian
prayer looked like during
this time period, we can
assume some Jewish
influence, especially in
praying at fixed times,
such as morning and
evening.

14. The Gospels recount
various times when
Jesus prayed in the
morning, in the evening,
and even keeping vigil
throughout the night

15. In the Acts of the Apostles,
we hear of the apostles
gathering at the Temple as
a separate group from the
Jews but at the hours of
Jewish prayer and we hear
of prayer at the third,
sixth, and ninth hours of
the day.

16. This prayer was composed of:
psalms, hymns, readings, and
prayer of joy and
thanksgiving.
In a document dating from
around the years AD 50-70,
“The Didache,” we find an
admonition for the Christian
to pray the Our Father with a
doxology three times a day

17. Didachē, (Greek:
“Teaching”) also
called Teaching of the
Twelve Apostles, the
oldest surviving
Christian church order,
probably written in
Egypt or Syria in the
2nd century.

18. THIRDCENTURY
In the third century, we find
set times of prayer on rising,
at the 3rd, 6th, and 9th hours
of the day, before going to bed,
and during the night itself.
The Christians here were
urged to pray facing the East
as a symbol of awaiting the
second coming.

19. THELITURGYOF
THEHOURS
Roots Benedictine Modern
Midnight Vigils
(nocturnes;
later matins
Office of Readings
(divorced from
hour)
Morning (6 am) Lauds (matins) Morning Prayer
3rd hour (9 am) Terce Mid-morning
6th hour (12 noon Sext Mid-day
9th hour (3 pm) None Mid-afternoon
Evening (c. 6 pm) Vespers Evening Prayer
Compline Night Prayer

20.  Matins - (during the night, at about 2
a.m.); sometimes called Vigil and
composed of two or three nocturns
 Lauds (at dawn, about 5 a.m., but earlier
in summer, later in winter)
 Prime - (first Hour = approximately 6 a.m.)
 Terce (third Hour = approximately 9 a.m.)
 Sext - (sixth Hour = approximately 12
noon)
 None - (Ninth Hour = approximately 3
p.m.)
 Vespers - ("at the lighting of the lamps",
about 6 p.m.)
 Compline - (before retiring, about 7 p.m.)

21. In this century, we begin to
see some standardization of
rubrics regarding standing
or kneeling, and we have
mention of psalms being a
common prayer of
Christians.

22. Themes begin to emerge
for the various prayer
times: Christ is seen as
the true sun and the true
day, and the day hours are
interpreted according to
the passion account found
in Mark’s gospel

23. FOURTH
CENTURY
This was the most
important era for the
development of Christian
prayer because of the Peace
of Constantine and the end
of Christian persecutions in
313.
 Christianity becomes the
official religion of the
empire.

24. All Christians were urged
to pray without ceasing,
and the Liturgy of the
Hours evolved in two
different fashions: one way
for the secular church and
another for the monastics
who went out into the
desert.

25. Christians gathered publicly
in large groups to pray in
“cathedrals” with the bishop
presiding.
This type of daily prayer
became known as the
cathedral office.
 It is a prayer of praise and
intercession.
Psalms are selected which are
appropriate to the particular
hour or service.

26. Within the prayer we find
much use of symbol and
ceremony as well as the use of
hymns, chants, and various
ministries.
The two privileged hours
were morning and evening
with both having light as a
primary symbol.

27. At the same time, men and
women fled to the desert to
lead a monastic life.
The “desert monastic” style
of prayer, unlike that of the
“cathedral” style, was less a
liturgical service than it was
a meditation in common.

28. Many of the desert monastics
prayed 12 psalms in course —
that is, in numerical order —
followed by two Scripture
readings and then another set
of 12 psalms.
It didn’t matter if the psalm
spoke of evening when it was
actually morning.

29. The purpose was to meditate
on the psalms not to see the
psalms as prayers in and of
themselves.
In descriptions of groups of
monks gathered for common
prayer we discover that one
monk recited the psalm while
the rest sat and meditated.

30. Many of them listened
while doing basic work
such as weaving or
basket making.
 For these monks “ora et
labora” meant continual
prayer and incessant
labor; all of life was a
prayer.

31. At the end of the psalm, all
arose with hands lifted and
prayed in silence.
A hybrid-type of prayer
began to develop in urban
areas where monks and the
secular churches came in
contact with one another.

32. Westernchurch
ofthefifthand
sixthcenturies
In the Western church of the
fifth and sixth centuries we see
that the hybrid style of prayer
continues to develop.
Morning and evening are still
the main times of prayer for the
general population.
The symbolism of the rising sun
as the light of Christ is echoed in
the lamp lighting ceremony at
evening.

33. Psalms are chosen to fit the
time of day.
There are some occasional
vigils celebrated, such as,
at Easter or before a
funeral, but this prayer at
night was most often a
private prayer said in one’s
home.

34.  In monastic circles, the length of the
office grows.
 “To pray without ceasing” seems to
imply to have more and longer periods
of formal prayer.
 Benedict, for his part, is an innovator
and will redistribute the psalmody,
eliminating repetitions of psalms, and
introducing hymns.
 Benedict’s office is one of moderation
and pastoral “good sense.”

35. Little changes in the
next few centuries.
The clergy living in
both cathedrals and
country chapels
celebrated the Liturgy
of the Hours in common
with the people of the
parish.

36. Only when the burden of
pastoral and liturgical care
fell to one presbyter did the
public celebration of the
Hours begin to suffer.
By the 13th century, the
full monastic course of
psalms had been made
obligatory for all clergy.

37. They didn’t have time to do
all of these prayers publicly,
so they recited them privately
as they were able.
It was during this time that
orders like the Franciscans
and Dominicans emerged.
 They had “to do the office”
wherever they were.

38. Whereas common prayer
had once been the only
way, now it is becoming
simply a better way.
And the obligation to pray
that used to be sensed as
an obligation of all
Christians becomes more
and more the personal
obligation of the clergy.

39. Another development that
affected praying the Hours was
the development of the printing
press.
What had been the prayer of
the church was now a book: the
Breviary.
 This shortened version of the
daily prayer was designed for
priests to use wherever they
might be.

40. Another factor at work in the
15th century was the growth
of a spirituality called
“devotio moderna.”
The personal piety that
emerged saw common prayer
as a distraction to the “true”
inner, private prayer.

41. 16thcentury
By the 16th century, prayer in
the monastic life was
reaching a point of “liturgical
exhaustion.”
The church reformed the
Office, simplifying the prayer
and making the breviary
better suited to private use.

42. 19THCENTURY
Leaping ahead to the
19th century, we find
that daily prayer is
seen as the duty of the
clergy and religious.
Pius X in 1911
attempted a modern
reform of the liturgy.

43. He limited the number of
saints’ feast days in order
to re-emphasize the daily
character of the Office.
 He also redistributed
the psalms and limited
the number of psalms
said at a given hour.

44. 1960s
Moving forward to the 1960s,
we arrive at the Second
Vatican Council.
In the document on the liturgy,
the Council expressed the
desire that the principal hours
of the Divine Office —
Morning and Evening Prayer
— once again become the
prayer of all the people of God.

45. The Council decreed
that the sequence of
hours was to be
restored and that
the prayer itself was
to be revised.

46. Some of the revisions included
spreading the 150 psalms over a
longer period of time
 keeping each hour at the time
of day for which it was intended
 allowing the use of the
vernacular language rather than
Latin.

47. The Council also asked that
pastors ensure “that the
principal hours — especially
Vespers — be celebrated in
common in church on
Sundays and on solemn
feasts.
 The laity, too, are encouraged
to recite the divine office…”

48. So,whydowe
praytheLiturgy
oftheHours?
We can find some answers by
looking at the statement of
purpose in the front of the
monastery’s morning and evening
prayer books.
 First, we have the basic human
need to pray, to pray daily, and to
pray with others.
Paul Bradshaw, a liturgy scholar,
stated that there is no such thing
as private prayer.

49. There is personal
prayer and prayer
done communally, but
whenever a Christian
prays he or she does
so as a member of the
Body of Christ.

50. Second, praying with
the psalms gives us
words for our dialogue
with God.
The psalms speak of
every human emotion.

51. Third, we pray the Liturgy of
the Hours as intercessors for
our community, the Church,
and the world.
The General Instruction on
the Liturgy of the Hours
states that “the whole body of
the Church shares in the
priesthood of Christ.”

52. By praying the
Liturgy of the Hours
we fulfill our
baptismal call to pray
and to intercede for
each other, for all of
humanity, and for all
of creation.

53. Robert Taft, considered by
many to be “the” expert on
the Liturgy of the Hours,
has reflected that this
prayer is considered to be
the church’s daily prayer par
excellence because it is
biblical, objective, and
traditional.

54. He continues by
saying that it is
traditional because
it has stood the test
of time throughout
the history of
Christianity

55. It is biblical because the same
elements that made up the
prayer for the early church
continues in the Liturgy of the
Hours: remembering God’s
deeds, praying for God’s will,
committing oneself in covenant
with God in Christ, and praying
for the fulfillment of the end of
the ages

56. The Liturgy of the Hours is objective
in that it has as its aim to encounter
God through Jesus in the Spirit.
God speaks to us and we respond to
God.
This prayer can bring a balance to
other forms of prayer.
It can pull us out of concern only for
ourselves and those near to us.

57. It draws us into spiritual values
and connects us to all of the
Church and all of the world.
 The Liturgy of the Hours is a true
meditation that provides us with a
framework that molds us as
Christians, that feeds us, and that
opens us to be sent by God to be
Christ for the world

58.  opening or invitatory
 a hymn
 three psalms or portions of psalms
 a long passage from scripture, usually
arranged consecutively from the same
book of the Bible for one or more weeks
 a long patristic or magisterial passage or,
on the feast of a saint, a hagiographical
passage concerning the saint
 on nights preceding Sundays and feast
days, the office may be expanded to
a vigil by inserting three Old
Testament canticles and a reading from
the gospels,
 the hymn Te Deum (on Sundays outside of
Lent, during the octaves of Easter and
Christmas, on solemnities and feasts)
 the concluding prayer
Major hours
The major hours are
the Office of Readings,
Lauds and Vespers.
The Office of Readings
consists of:

59. The character of Lauds
isthat of praise and
dignifying the morning;
of Vespers that of
thanksgiving. Both
follow asimilar format:
 opening versicle "O God, come to our
aid: O Lord, make haste to help us"
(this form of introduction is not used
when the invitatory, that open
introduces the whole office
immediately precedes Lauds)
 a hymn
 two psalms, or parts of psalms with a
scriptural canticle.
 At Lauds, this consists of a psalm of
praise, a canticle from the Old
Testament, followed by another psalm.
 At Vespers this consists of two psalms,
or one psalm divided into two parts,
and a scriptural canticle taken from
the New Testament.
 a short passage from scripture

60.  a responsory, typically a
verse of scripture, but
sometimes liturgical poetry
 a canticle taken from
the Gospel of Luke:
the Canticle of
Zechariah (Benedictus) for
Lauds, and the Canticle of
Mary (Magnificat) for Vespers
 intercessions
 the Lord's Prayer
 the concluding prayer

61. if a priest or a deacon is
present, he dismisses the
people with the greeting
"The Lord be with you"
and a blessing; Otherwise
the celebration is
concluded with "The Lord
bless us", etc.

62. Compline has the
characterof preparing
the soul for its
passageto eternal life:
 opening versicle
 an examination of conscience
 a hymn
 a psalm, or two short psalms;
The psalms of Sunday – Psalm
90/91 or 4 and 133/134 – may
always be used as an alternative
to the psalm(s) appointed on
weekdays
 a short reading from scripture
 the responsory In manus tuas,
Domine (Into Your Hands, Lord)

63.  the Canticle of Simeon, Nunc
dimittis, from the Gospel of Luke,
framed by the antiphon Salva
nos (Save us Lord)
 a concluding prayer
 a short blessing (Noctem quietam
et finem perfectum concedat
nobis Dominus
omnipotens. Amen.)
 a Marian antiphon used for the
appropriate liturgical season.
 In addition to the antiphons given
in The Divine Office, others may
be approved by the Episcopal
Conference.

64. Liturgical
variation
In addition to the distribution of
almost the whole Psalter over a
four-week cycle, the Church also
provides appropriate hymns,
readings, psalms, canticles and
antiphons, for use in marking
specific celebrations in the Roman
Calendar, which sets out the order
for the liturgical year.
These selections are found in the
'Proper of Seasons’
(for Advent, Christmas, Lent and Ea
ster), and the 'Proper of Saints'
(for feast days of the Saints).

65. The invitatory precedes
the canonical hours of the
day beginning with the
versicle "Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim
your praise" (Ps 50/51 v.17),
and continuing with an
antiphon and the Invitatory
Psalm, usually Psalm 94/95,
24,100, and 67.

66. Obligation of
recitation
In the Latin Church of the
Catholic Church, bishops,
priests, and deacons planning to
become priests are obliged to
recite the full sequence of the
hours each day, observing as
closely as possible the
associated times of day, and
using the text of the approved
liturgical books that apply to
them.
Permanent deacons are to do
so to the extent determined by
their Episcopal Conference.

67. Members of institutes of
consecrated life, societies of
apostolic life, or other religious
associations (e.g., Benedictine
oblates, Third Order Dominicans)
who are not clerics and are
therefore not subject to these
obligations are bound according
to the norm of their
constitutions.
Members of such institutes and
societies who are deacons,
priests, or bishops, remain
bound to their more severe
obligation as clergy.

68. The Latin
Church
 The Latin Church (Latin: Ecclesia Latina) is the
largest particular church within the Catholic
Church, whose members constitute the vast
majority of the 1.3 billion Christians in communion
with the Pope in Rome.
 The Latin Church is one of 24 churches sui iuris in
communion with the pope; the other 23 are
referred to as the Eastern Catholic Churches, and
have approximately 18 million members
combined.
 The Latin Church traditionally employs the Latin
liturgical rites, which since the mid-twentieth
century are very often translated into
the vernacular language.
 The predominate liturgical rite is the Roman Rite,
elements of which have been practiced since the
fourth century.

69.  The Latin Church is directly headed by the
Pope in his role as the Bishop of Rome,
whose Cathedra as a bishop is located in
the Archbasilica of Saint John
Lateran in Rome, Italy.
 The Latin Church historically developed
within, and has strongly influenced Western
culture; as such, it is also known as
the Western Church Latin : Ecclesia
Occidentalis).
 It is also known as the Roman
Church (Latin: Ecclesia Romana), and in
some contexts as the Roman Catholic
Church (though this name also refers to the
Catholic Church as a whole).
 One of the pope's traditional titles in some
eras and contexts has been the Patriarch of
the West.

70.  The Catholic Church teaches that
its bishops are the successors of
Jesus' apostles, and that the Pope is the
successor to Saint Peter upon
whom primacy was conferred by Jesus
Christ.
 Within the substantial cultural and
theological unity of the Latin Church, local
traditions flourished in ancient times as is
exemplified by the different theological
methodologies of four major figures known
as the Latin Doctors of the Church who lived
in the 2nd–7th centuries in territories which
included Roman north Africa and Palestine.

71. Latin Church

72. WHATIS
LITURGYOFTHE
HOURS

73. TheJewishRoots
oftheLiturgyof
theword

74. THEFOURMAJOR
PAPALBASILICAS
OFROME

75.  Major basilica is a name given to
the four most highly ranked Roman
Catholic churches.
 Although they are all located
within the diocese of Rome, St
Peter’s Basilica is the only one
actually located in Vatican City,
within the jurisdiction of the
Holy See, while the other 3 are in
Italian territory (receiving
extraterritorial status under the
Lateran Treaty).
 These grand churches, some of the
most extraordinary in the world,
each house a set of Holy Doors
that are opened for each Jubilee

76. The art and architecture
within them is enough to
inspire pilgrims and
tourists from every
corner of the world –
whether they are
religious or not.
 What’s more, each
basilica is free to enter
and explore, making them
un-missable highlights
for your next Roman
holiday!

77. Archbasilica ofSt.
JohnLateran

78. by Rome’s first Christian
Emperor Constantine I, is the
oldest and most highly ranked
basilica in Rome. It’s
importance shows in its full
name: “The Sacrosanct Papal
Cathedral Greater Roman
Archbasilica of the Most Holy
Savior and of Saints John the
Baptist and the Evangelist in
the Lateran, the Mother and Head
of all the Churches of the City
and the World”. The Altar of the
Holy Sacrament contains the
table that is said to have been
used by Jesus and his Apostles
for the Last Supper.

79. ST PETER’S BASILICA
(BASILICA DI SAN
PIETRO)

80. The magnificent basilica which towers
over St Peter’s Square today was built
between 1506-1626, that’s right – it
took 120 years to build! It is widely
accepted as the largest church in the
world, covering over 15,000 square
meters.
A whopping 85% of its facade was
made from stone which was sourced
from the Colosseum.
Michelangelo Buonarroti designed the
dazzling cupola, or dome, which tops
the church, housing his iconic sculpture
of “La Pieta” inside.

81. At the high altar,
located directly above St
Peter’s tomb, Gian
Lorenzo Bernini’s bronze
baldachin canopy can be
found. Bernini is also
responsible for the
design of the colonnades
in St Peter’s Square,
which surround the
Egyptian obelisk at its
centre. Explore every
facet of St Peter’s
Basilica and other
treasures on our Vatican

82. ST PAUL OUTSIDE
THE WALLS (SAN
PAOLO FUORI LE
MURE)

83. This 4th century
neoclassical church,
founded by Emperor
Constantine I over the
burial place of St Paul, is
the 10th largest in the
world, covering over 8,500
square meters. It is truly
grand with glimmering
mosaics on its façade and
enormous colonnades lining
the inside. The beautiful
monastery cloister was

84. completely destroyed by
fire in 1823, but was
reconstructed identical to
its previous form and
reopened in 1840 as a
result of Pope Leo XII’s
outreach for donations. In
1891, a gunpowder explosion
destroyed the church’s
stained glass windows,
which have since been
replaced with more durable
copies of translucent
alabaster.

85. PAPAL BASILICA OF ST
MARY MAJOR (BASILICA
DI SANTA MARIA
MAGGIORE)

86. Church of Rome is located on
the summit of the Esquiline
Hill. The classical structure
was built under Pope Sixtus
III between 432 and 440,
following the 431
proclamation that Mary was
indeed Mother of God.
 The “Crypt of the Nativity”,
or “Bethlehem Crypt”, located
beneath the high altar,
boasts a crystal reliquary
which is said to contain wood
from the Holy Crib of Jesus

87. Athenian marble columns
support the nave where a
triumphal arch can be
found, as well as mosaics,
which are considered to be
the oldest representations
of the Virgin Mary in Late
Christian Antiquity. The
14th century bell tower,
reaching 246 feet in
height, is the tallest in
Rome.

88. THANKS
End of the
presentatio
n
Thanks