Liturgy of the Hours

The Liturgy of the Hours is the second greatest prayer of the Church - second only to the Sacrifice/Celebration of the Mass and is required for all priests to pray each day.

Our family has been praying the Liturgy of the Hours for several years. It has only been in the last year that we have tried to do every hour as many days as possible.

Learning this beautiful prayer is difficult for me. There are pieces to the prayers all over the place and the 5-ribbon set doesn't feel like enough, but more would be even more overwhelming!

With a wonderful priest and close friend, I have formed a framework in my mind so I know what to expect next.

This chart is a rough attempt to visualize that framework.

Liturgy of the Hours Definitions:

• Antiphon: a short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle (usually a line from the psalm itself)
• Hagiography: writing on the life of a saint as a guide for the faithful. 
• Versicle: a short sentence said or sung by the prayer leader, to which the other participants give a response

Liturgy of the Hours Prayers: 

	Office of Readings: Matins	Morning: Lauds	Daytime: Terce Sext None	Evening: Vespers	Night: Compline
(theme)		Praise		Thanksgiving
Invitatory	Invitatory is done as you begin the first prayer hour that you do each day. When said, it replaces the Introduction. Lord, open my lips; and my mouth will proclaim Your praise. Glory Be (aka Doxology) Psalm 95 with Antiphon
Introduction	O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory Be
Examination of Conscience	---	---	---	---	Examination of Conscience and Act of Contrition
Hymns	Optional throughout the day
Psalms framed by Antiphons	Typically, three Psalms or one Psalm divided into three sections. Each Psalm (or section) ends with the Glory Be				Typically 1 Psalm
					Saturday and Wednesday have 2 Psalms
Scripture Reading & Responsory/Acclamation	Scripture Responsory is call/response: the response is shorter in the middle The last line is the Glory Be – only the first part – ending with the longer version of the response.
Second Reading: Hagiography & Responsory/Acclamation	Church Father,   Saint, Documents	---	---	---	---
Gospel Canticle	---	Canticle of Zechariah (Benedictus)	---	Canticle of Mary (Magnificat)	Canticle of Simeon (Nunc Dimittis)
Intercessions	---		---		---
Our Father	---	Our Father	---	Our Father	---
Te Deum (Sundays and Feasts)	Te Deum	---	---	---	---
Concluding Prayer	Begins with “Let us pray” when the Our Father is not utilized.
Dismissal/Blessing/ Acclamation	Dismissal only Let us praise the Lord – and give Him thanks.	Dismissal (and blessing when priest/deacon is present)	Dismissal only	Dismissal (and blessing when priest/deacon is present)	Dismissal only
Marian Hymn	---	---	---	---	4 options
WHERE TO FIND IN THE 4-volume set					Night prayer is all together in a   one-week cycle. Saturday is “after Sunday evening prayer I”

The Liturgy of the Hours Books: 

• Shorter Christian Prayer: Includes selections of Morning and Evening Prayer in an easier to navigate format. Good to get started, but does not include the full Morning and Evening prayers sets. 
• Christian Prayer: This version contains the complete texts of Morning and Evening Prayer for the entire year. 
• 4-Volume Liturgy of the Hours: Everything you need for the entire year, every hour of the day. Volume 1 is Advent and Christmas; Volume 2 is Lent and Easter; Volume 3 is Ordinary Time Weeks 1-17; Volume 4 is Ordinary Time Weeks 18-34. 

Notes on Intercessions: 

• You may add your own intercessions after these and before the Our Father. 
• The italicized portion is usually saved for large groups praying together. 
• Various options for this section. 
• Alone: Pray the introduction, followed by the italicized. Pray all of it straight through (or skip the italicized for the remainder). 
• With someone else: the leader prays the introduction; the second person reads the first half of each intercession, the leader responds. 
• With a group: some people can group together and do the style just above; or third person can pray the italicized line. OR someone can pray the entire first/second line and the other pray the italicized. 
• So many variations.