Consider Praying the Prayer of the Church: The Liturgy of the Hours
“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Think for a moment about the way you prefer to pray. Do you:
Love to include Scripture in your prayer?
Want to focus on the liturgical year (the seasons and feasts of the Church)?
Thrive on structure?
If so, the Liturgy of the Hours is probably a good fit for your prayer life. To learn more, here are some questions I’ve been frequently asked about this form of prayer:
Does the Liturgy of the Hours Take Hours to Pray?
Only if you want it to! The “Hours” are the set times of prayer; morning, evening, and night are the most commonly prayed Hours. But they take less than 15 minutes each, and Night Prayer only takes a little more than five minutes to pray.
Isn’t It Just for Priests and People in Religious Life? That’s not me!
Anyone can pray the Liturgy of the Hours. It’s true that priests, religious men and women, and deacons are required to pray it, but everyone is invited to participate in this prayer of the Church.
The Liturgy of the Hours did develop within the monastic tradition, but over the centuries, it was adopted by religious who ministered by preaching and teaching, as well as priests, deacons, and lay people. Some families pray it together. One of my sons learned to pray it in high school, when the priest teaching his religion class opened each day’s session with Morning Prayer. My husband and I split the difference: We pray Morning Prayer on our own and Evening Prayer together.
Whether you pray in a group, with your spouse or a friend, or on your own, when you pray the Liturgy of the Hours, you’re praying with the whole Church. As you pray, remember that somewhere else in the world, others are praying the same prayers you are. It’s likely that at any given moment, someone is praying the Liturgy of the Hours, and it’s beautiful to be able to participate in prayer with the Church in this way.
What Do I Need to Get Started?
Until fairly recently, the only way to pray the Liturgy of the Hours was to use a breviary, a bound book (or set of books) containing the Psalms and prayers used in the Liturgy of the Hours and the instructions for praying them throughout the liturgical year. But thanks to the magic of technology, now you have options:
Breviary (a four-volume set, the single-volume “Christian Prayer,” or the smaller single-volume “Shorter Christian Prayer”). You’ll find them online or in your local Catholic bookstore
Periodical (Word on Fire offers the Liturgy of the Hours in a monthly magazine format, containing Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer for each day)
Apps such as Divine Office or iBreviary
Podcasts
Radio programs
How Do I Learn to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours?
I’ll be honest: There is a learning curve. If you’re using a printed breviary, it’s going to take some getting used to. But, you’ll pray as you learn and learn as you pray! Catholic Book Publishing sells a small supplemental booklet, the “St. Joseph Guide,” that will point you to the correct pages for each part of each Hour—and this guide has several editions to match the various types of breviaries. It’s a great help in finding your way through the prayers until you get used to it.
If you use a periodical, app, podcast, or radio program, you can cross-reference it with your print breviary to help yourself find the right place. This is a great way to learn if you are learning on your own.
Teaming up with a friend who knows how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours is probably the most effective way to get started. That’s how I learned it, during my college days. Now, I have friends who will call or text me to check in about what page they should use for prayer that day—so your prayer buddy doesn’t necessarily need to be in the same room.
You will need to bring some patience and perseverance with you when you begin to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Set yourself up for success by marking the places in your book the night before or making sure the app or podcast is up to date. And stick with it. Even if you don’t pray it perfectly at first (and you won’t!), you are still praying.
What Do You Love Most About Praying the Liturgy of the Hours?
I love the rhythm of the Psalms, and the prayer itself has a rhythm: It’s set up on a four-week cycle of psalms and readings, but different aspects of the Psalms are the focus at different times in the Church year. The liturgical year brings variety, while the repetition of the Psalms provides familiarity in a beautiful balance. After a while, I found that I was learning many of the psalms “by heart,” and some verses would stay with me throughout the day.
There Are So Many Hours! What Should I Do First?
I don’t recommend that you try to pray all the Hours right off the bat. To ease into the cadence of the prayers, start with Night Prayer. It’s on a one-week cycle, so all you need to know is the day of the week, and then you pray it straight through, start to finish. The other Hours contain similar elements, but they are more extensive.
The long stretch of Ordinary Time that begins after Pentecost is an excellent time to begin praying the Liturgy of the Hours. The prayers during Ordinary Time are a little more straightforward, so if you start learning in the summer, you’ll be well acquainted with the rhythm of the Hours by the time things get more complex as Advent begins.
Praying the Liturgy of the Hours won’t be easy at first, but you can do it. You’ll find spiritual nourishment in the prayers, psalms, and other Scripture passages. And you’ll be following the examples of centuries of saints as you pray in union with the saints-to-be of today’s Church.
Barb Szyszkiewicz is a wife, mom, Secular Franciscan, and editor at CatholicMom.com. She blogs at FranciscanMom.com and is the author of “The Handy Little Guide to Prayer” and “The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours,” both from Our Sunday Visitor. Follow her on social media @franciscanmom.