Obispo, Miguel Santino D.

Sem 4- 2B

LITURGY OF THE HOURS

Under the Rule of ST. Benedict

It consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns, readings and other prayers and
antiphons. Together with the Mass, it constitutes the official public prayer life of the
Church. The Liturgy of the Hours also forms the basis of prayer within Christian
monasticism.

The Liturgy of the hours is recognized as the “official prayer of the church.” The Liturgy
consists of mainly of the praying of the Psalms at a particular time. The practice of
prayers on a fixed time has been in existence even Before Christ was born and was
practiced by Christ himself as when he was crucified, he prayed asking God why he had
forsaken him.

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”

Up to now, the practice of prayer is still observed. An example of this was the praying of
The Angelus at 6PM. It consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns, readings
and other prayers and antiphons. Together with the Mass, it constitutes the official
public prayer life of the Church. The Liturgy of the Hours also forms the basis of prayer
within Christian monasticism.
The Celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours is an obligation undertaken by the priests
and deacons intending to become priests but deacons intending to remain deacons or
obliged only to recite a part of the prayers.

The Liturgy of the Hours has formed part of the Church’s public worship from the
earliest times. A variety of Christians have religiously celebrated and practiced the
Liturgy of Hours under various forms and names.

The Previous structure also known as the Monastic Liturgy of Hours was originally
composed of Seven daytime hours and at night. This stems from a saying in Psalm
118/119:164 “Seven times a day I praise you”.

The following are the 7 canonical hours:

1. The Matin and Lauds – this is also called Vigils and sometimes composed of two
or three Nocturns
2. Prime- The Dawn Prayer
3. Tierce- The Early Morning Prayer
4. Sext- Mid day Prayer
5. Nones- Afternoon Prayer
6. Vespers- Evening Prayer
7. And Compline Prime.- Night Prayer

The Current Structure was created by the decree of Pope John Paul VI. The hours of
prayer were cut down from 7hours to just 3 major hours and a Minor hour for prayer.

As mentioned above, the origins of the Liturgy of the Hours stemmed from Jewish
practices where during the Babylonian Exiles, the first synagogues were established. By
the rise of the Roman Empire, the Jews and the Christians began following the business
practices of the Romans and soon incorporated such practice into their hourly prayers.
Even throughout the middle ages, such practices have been unbroken and in fact
strictly observed.

From the above given, it seems that the Liturgy of the Hours has undergone a
tremendous historical development. The Liturgy of the Hours is important to be
observed not only on part of the priests and deacons or deacons intending to remain
deacons, but for everyone as this could be a mean in order to have constant contact
with The Lord so as to have his blessings.