Liturgy of the Hours

Liturgy of the Hours refers to the Church’s formal set of prayers prayed at various times throughout the day. The practice grew from the Jewish tradition of reciting prayers at set times of the day.

‘Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.’  (Ps 119:164)

In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelite priests to offer sacrifices of animals in the morning and evening (Ex 29). These sacrifices soon moved from the Tabernacle (a moveable tent) to the Temple built by Solomon in Jerusalem. The first synagogues were established during the Babylonian Exile, when the Temple was no longer in use and services at fixed hours during the day, of Torah readings, psalms, and hymns, began to evolve. This ‘sacrifice of praise’ came to substitute the earlier animal sacrifices.

‍Divine Office

‍In the Christian tradition the Liturgy of the Hours, also called the Divine Office, developed as a necessary complement to the Sacrifice of the Eucharist, the highest act of worship of God. The Office came to be prayed at definite times, extending liturgical worship into the different hours of daily life thereby consecrating the course of day and night to God.

As the Divine Office grew more important in the life of the Church the traditional service of psalms and other hymns was enriched with readings from Scripture, early Church Fathers and Intercessory Prayers. The Office was well-established by the 9th Century and consisted of eight daily services and three (or four) nightly services (called nocturns, watches, or vigils).

The Office is principally a prayer of praise and supplication; indeed it is the prayer of the whole church with Christ and to Christ.  

Although the practice is believed to have been passed down from the Apostles (Acts 3:1) it wasn’t until St Benedict in 525 that the first official manual was written. The 11th Century liturgical renewal saw a new emphasis given to the Office, especially in the reformed Benedictine priories. As part of the reforms designed to unify all the variant usages of the West, the Church issued its own formal Roman Breviary, the Rite containing the liturgical formula for the various Hours.

‍Vatican II

‍Following Vatican II the Church simplified the observance of the various canonical hours of the Office seeking to make them more accessible to the laity, hoping to restore their character as the prayer of the entire Church. Prime, prayed at sunrise, was abolished, and the character of Matins, formerly prayed before Prime, changed so that it could be celebrated at any time during the day. Also, the period over which the Psalter (the collection of all 150 psalms) is recited increased from a one to a four week cycle.

Clergy pray the entire Office each day, with the practice among religious communities of praying the canonical hours varying according to their particular rule or constitution. ​

The Council also encouraged the lay faithful to pray the Office; many now faithfully observe the Liturgy of the Hours.

‍Morning & Evening Prayer

‍The current Roman Catholic celebration of the Office focuses on two major hours, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, and three to five minor hours:

‍†  Invitatory ‘introduction’ to first hour prayed of the day, whether it be Office of Readings or Morning Prayer).

‍†  Morning Prayer (Lauds)

‍†  Evening Prayer (Vespers) ‍

† Office of Readings  (formerly Matins)

‍†  Prayers during the day, which can be one or all of

‍† Midmorning Prayer (Terce)

‍† Midday Prayer (Sext)

‍† Midafternoon Prayer (None)

‍† Night Prayer (Compline)

Morning Prayer is characterised by praise and includes an Old Testament Canticle among its two psalms and the Benedictus (Zechariah’s Canticle); while Evening Prayer is that of thanksgiving and includes a New Testament Canticle and the Magnificat (Mary’s Canticle).

Praying the Office enhances the fruitful celebration of the Eucharist by fostering faith, hope and love, along with devotion and a spirit of self-sacrifice. All God’s faithful are encouraged to make the Office part of their personal prayer life. Ideally the Office is prayed in community but a person celebrating the Office by themself is never alone for their prayer is united with that of the whole Church and that of Christ himself.

Revised and adapted for the NLC 2024.Originally published in  ‘Prayer and Devotions’. ©  Diocese of Parramatta. 2007. Reprinted with permission.

Image Attribution - Cistercian monks praying the Liturgy of the Hours in Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Jorge Royan