Praying Without Ceasing: The Divine Office
Though we’re all aware that we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes 5:17) and “continually offer God a sacrifice of praise” (Heb 13:15), actually bringing God into every moment of our day can be quite a challenge. Fortunately, the Church knows that life too often gets in the way of prayer and has given us the Liturgy of the Hours to help with this very problem. This prayer is specifically designed to help us sanctify our day and recall God at various moments. And, contrary to popular belief, the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office) is for everyone in the Church, not just priests and religious.
The beautiful tradition of praying in the morning and the evening has its origins in lay people gathering with their pastors to offer to God the first fruits of their day and an evening sacrifice of praise. There are writings from the earliest centuries of the Church that encourage all people to come together before and after work to praise God for the day, learn about Him, and intercede for the needs of the world. Saint John Chrysostom in the 4th century wrote that people gather to make supplication for the world and its rulers. We can see through these witnesses that from the beginning of the Church, praying at certain hours of the day, every day, was for everyone. Unfortunately, the universal nature of these gatherings got a bit lost throughout the centuries as clergy and religious slowly regulated the prayers that were to be said and made the method of praying these prayers more elaborate. In the process, praying the Divine Office became complicated and time consuming, leading to a significant decrease in lay participation. However, the Office recently went through a makeover (during Vatican II), with the intention of making it accessible once again to the Church as a whole. So, taking the Church’s prompting, we would like to cordially invite you back to this beautiful tradition.
We know the Divine Office can be intimidating, so here are a few reasons why you should consider making it a regular part of your day along with a couple of tips to help you get started. It’s not as complicated as it may seem, and it has potential to bear much fruit.
Ways praying the Liturgy of the Hours can benefit your life:
Sanctify Your Day – The Liturgy of the Hours is designed to help us bring God into multiple and varied moments of every day. In Morning Prayer, we offer the “first fruits” of our day to God and we ask Him to be present with us in all that lies ahead. In Evening Prayer, we offer the day back to Him once again. In the intercessions, we also are able to bring to God all of the concerns that have arisen and the people we’ve encountered throughout the day. Acknowledging God and entrusting ourselves to Him in this way is great for ordering our lives correctly. When we prioritize what should be prioritized, everything else can fall into place. It isn’t easy, though. Commitment to prayer throughout the day “wrests us violently at times from our business.” (Tertullian) But that is exactly the point. Our day should be ordered toward God. He is worth it. And recalling Him can help everything else we do go more smoothly.
Learn How to Pray Better – The basic format of the Liturgy of the Hours is the recitation of Psalms and then some back and forth conversation between God and us. The Psalms are prayers from the Old Testament that were originally written with the help of the Holy Spirit. By reciting them, we mold our heart and mind to this Master’s work. The back and forth is also an example to us of how personal prayer should go. God says something and then we consider it and respond. By praying this liturgy regularly, we can learn how prayer is supposed to work and take those lessons with us into less scripted personal prayer time.
Get to Know Scripture – Between the readings, the Psalms, and the Canticles of Morning and Evening Prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours repeatedly emphasizes many Scripture passages that only appear occasionally in the regular Mass cycle. By praying it then, you can regularly see a larger portion of the Bible. Additionally, by encountering the same readings at distinctive times of the day and in the midst of varied life circumstances, each passage can hit you in a unique way or a new light can shine on it that will help you see God’s word in a way you haven’t before.
Immerse Yourself in the Prayer of the Church – Along with Mass, the Liturgy of the Hours is the official, prescribed prayer of the Church. As the Mystical Body of Christ, when the Church prays in its official capacity, it is praying specifically in the name and person of Christ. This kind of prayer is uniquely effective in its intercession, and it unites everyone participating in the One Body. Even when you’re praying this prayer by yourself, you are united to the universal Church through the common liturgy. An added bonus to this is that the Church has done all of the planning for you. No need to play Bible roulette or spend time searching for a devotional. You can just open up to the right day and walk in step with Christ.
Tips for getting started:
Pray in a group – The fastest and easiest way to learn how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours is to join someone else who already knows how. While it can be prayed alone, the Divine Office is really meant to be prayed in a group setting anyway, so join a group that is already dedicated to it, add it to the meeting of a group you’re already in, or encourage your pastor to offer it at your parish (the Church encourages all pastors to do this anyway, but they might need a friendly nudge and some assurance that people will show up.)
Find a tutorial – If you’re going it alone, there are websites dedicated to the Divine Office that can be helpful. Look up a tutorial. Some sites even have audio, so you can follow along until you get comfortable with it yourself.
Commit and Schedule it – Find a time, or make a time, in your day that you can pray one of the Hours consistently. And then stick to it. It won’t be easy, but it’ll become a habit which God can then use to transform your day.
