The Liturgy of the Hours Book Review on Aquinas and More

 (10/21/2010)

Orthodoxy: Completely orthodox.
Reading Level: Intermediate

By Ignatius Benedict (OH) - See all my reviews

Synopsis

Pray in the heart of the Church

Evaluator Comments

The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office, has for centuries been called the "prayer of the Church".  All the ordained are required to start the day with Morning Prayer and the Religious pray the entire Office. Since Vatican Council II, the laity have been encouraged to participate individually or as a community in this most sacred and ancient form of prayer.

The Liturgy of the Hours are divided into specific hours of the day, which comes to us from the Jewish tradition known to Jesus and the Apostles. We see in Scripture from the Book of Acts, the Apostles going to the Temple to pray during the 3rd hour or ninth hour. The Divine Office fulfills in Christianity the Jewish practice of praying 8 times a day. The Hours are: Lauds or Morning Prayer, Day Time Prayer which include Terce, Sext, None, Vespers or Evening Prayer, and lastly Compline or Night Prayer. 

This edition from the Catholic Book Publishing has all of the Hours available in an easy to follow format, once one understands how the book is structured. Also included in the Hours are the Readings which include Scripture and writings from the Fathers of the Church. The Hours include a four-week Grail Psalter following the Roman Calendar with Solemnities and Feast Days of the Saints. 

The structure of the Major Hours (Lauds, Vespers, Compline) goes like this:

Opening prayer or Invitatory

Hymn

Psalter with Canticles

Short passage of Scripture

Responsory

Canticle taken from Maginificant or Benedictus

Intercessions of the Church

The Lord's Prayer

Concluding Prayer

Blessing given by a priest or deacon

I highly recommend this edition of the Liturgy of the Hours and this form of liturgical worship. It draws one close to God through participating in the ancient prayer of the Church. 

You can purchase this book here from the leading Catholic online store, Aquinas and More.